JP2009140473A - Multi-view browser - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a web browser capable of simultaneously browsing many web pages without performing a complicated operation and effectively narrowing down detection results. <P>SOLUTION: The web browser is provided with a plurality of display areas in one window and can simultaneously display different web pages in the display areas. A web browser in the second embodiment has a function for retrieving links of a URL from among the list of retrieval results displayed on the web page of a retrieval site and automatically developing and displaying the links as web pages in the plurality of display areas. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a web browser (also called a WWW browser or Internet browser), and in particular, has a function of simultaneously displaying a plurality of web pages on one window, and further stores the URL of the web page to be displayed. The present invention relates to a web browser having a function and a function of expanding and displaying a link displayed as a search result on a search site as a web page at a time.

  Software called a “browser” is generally used for browsing web pages published on the Internet. The browser is usually software that communicates with a WWW server on the Internet, downloads a web page at a specified URL from the WWW server using the HTTP protocol, and displays it on the user's computer. Perhaps the most widely used browser in the world at present is the “Internet Explorer®” from Microsoft®. This browser can display a web page at a specified URL on the Internet on one window, and can simultaneously open a plurality of windows. Further, this browser has a function of storing the URL of the web page being displayed in the browser. This function is generally called “favorite” or “bookmark”. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a conventional web browser that displays one web page on one window.

JP 2006-268849 A

  However, as the number of bookmarked web pages increases, each time the user starts the browser, the user designates URLs one by one from the bookmarks in order to comfortably browse many web pages at once. After that, the size of each window must be adjusted, and the display position of the web page for each window must be adjusted one by one. This is because Internet Explorer only remembers the size of the first opened window. The Internet Explorer is not designed to store the display position of a web page. Such inconvenience is particularly problematic when a user browses a web page such as a “blog”. This is because web pages that publish blogs usually display a large number of advertisements that are not of interest to the user around the blog. “Blog” is a general term for diary-like web pages that are operated by individuals and groups and updated daily. Many users bookmark a number of blogs that they are interested in and check daily whether they are updated. However, as a matter of course, the browser of the present invention is also effective for browsing web pages such as bulletin boards other than blogs.

  In addition, Google (registered trademark), Yahoo! When searching a web page using a search site such as (registered trademark) or MSN (registered trademark), the user first opens the web page of the search site, inputs a keyword there, and then returns the search result. In order to find the web pages that interest you from the listed links, you must click on each of those links, open a new window, and check the contents. When a favorite web page is found, the URL of the web page is bookmarked in the browser. For this reason, a browser such as Internet Explorer has to perform a very complicated operation in order to search for a web page of interest from among a large number of listed links.

  Also, conventional web browsers such as Internet Explorer do not have a fixed space for sponsor sites to display advertisements. If there is a web browser having a function of always displaying advertisements on the browser, the advertisement opportunities can be increased, which is advantageous for the sponsor site. Further, as long as a conventional web browser is used, the link to the advertisement web page of the sponsor site displayed on the web page of the search site is not displayed as a web page unless the user clicks them. Even if the user does not click on the link, if there is a web browser that automatically expands the link to such an advertising web page as a web page and forces the user to see it, the advertising opportunity can be increased. Yes, it is advantageous for sponsor sites.

  In view of the above problems, the present invention provides a browser capable of simultaneously displaying a large number of web pages on one window as a first embodiment. The browser further has a function of storing the URL of the web page to be displayed in each display area, the position of the boundary line between the display areas, the display position of the web page in each display area, and the like.

  As a second embodiment of the present invention, a web page of a search site is displayed, URL links listed as search results for a keyword input by a user are expanded at once, and a large number of expanded web pages are displayed as one. Provide a browser with the ability to display simultaneously on two windows. This browser has an “Erase” function for selectively erasing unnecessary web pages from the currently displayed web pages, and when another list is newly expanded, it is specified from the currently displayed web pages. It is further provided with a “protect” function for keeping the web page on the window.

  Further, as an improved embodiment of the first embodiment, an embodiment further provided with a multi-view / single-view switching function and further provided with an advertisement space is also disclosed. Further, as an improved embodiment of the second embodiment, a multi-view / single-view switching function is further provided, an advertisement space is further provided, and the advertisement web page of the sponsor site is simultaneously displayed when the search result web page is expanded and displayed. An embodiment further provided with a display function is also disclosed.

  FIG. 1 illustrates a hardware configuration of a computer system 100 that implements a multi-view browser according to various embodiments of the present invention. The computer system 100 includes a processor 102, a memory 103, a storage device 104, a network adapter 105, a display device 106, and an input device 107, and is connected to a network such as the Internet 108 via the network adapter 105. The storage device 104 stores an operating system, and when the computer system 100 operates, the processor 102 reads the operating system from the memory 103 and executes it, thereby controlling the entire system. As the input device 107, a mouse, a trackball, a pointing device such as a touch pad, and a keyboard are used. In order to ensure high-speed operation of the system, a semiconductor memory having a high access speed is generally used as a primary storage device such as the memory 103. However, other types of memory may be used as long as they have a speed suitable for the application. On the other hand, secondary storage devices such as the storage device 104 generally include an optical disk, a large-capacity semiconductor memory, and the like in addition to a magnetic disk such as a hard disk capable of maintaining information even when the system power is turned off. used. As the display device 106, a CRT, a liquid crystal display device or the like is used. Note that the storage device 104 and the display device 106 may be placed outside the computer system 100 as depicted by dotted lines in the figure. That is, the multi-view browser of the present invention operates as it is on most commercially available personal computers and workstations. The embodiment disclosed in the present specification uses the Microsoft Windows (registered trademark) operating system as an operating system, but it should be understood that those skilled in the art will be able to use the present invention according to the teachings of the present specification. It would be possible to modify the multi-view browser to work with other operating systems.

  The computer system 100 may be implemented as a personal digital assistant (PDA) or a mobile phone. In that case, for example, a wireless network is used as the network 108. In recent years, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and mobile phones have become highly functional, and they already have the same hardware requirements as the computer system 100 described above to operate a web browser. It has sufficient processing capacity and storage capacity.

  FIG. 2 shows a screen configuration of the multi-view browser 200 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated, the multi-view browser 200 includes four display areas 202, corresponding operation buttons 203 displayed beside each display area 202, and groups 1 to 5 with the four display areas 202 as one group. And a group button 204 for switching, and is displayed in a window 201 provided by the operating system. A button such as a button with numbers (“1” to “4”) displayed on the operation button 203 is an indicator 205 for displaying the number of the corresponding display area 202.

  The group button 204 is used to switch the four display areas 202 currently being displayed to another group. That is, in short, the multi-view browser 200 includes a total of 20 display areas 202, which can be switched four by four with the group button 204 and displayed at the same time. The function to display is provided. However, the number of groups, the number of display areas, button notation, and the like are merely examples, and may be different from this example. The grouping of the display areas is a measure for displaying a large number of web pages in an easy-to-see manner, and may not be performed depending on the embodiment.

  The operation buttons 203 include a “Previous” button, a “Next” button, a “Original” button, and a “Setting” button. For example, when the upper right display area 202 is operated, the upper right operation button 203 corresponding to the area is used. Other display areas are similarly operated by corresponding operation buttons 203. Note that the operation buttons may be arranged as long as the correspondence between the display area and the operation buttons is visually easy to understand. When the “Previous” button is pressed, the web page displayed in the corresponding display area is switched to the previous page. Similarly, when the “Next” button is pressed, the displayed web page is switched to the next page. When the “original” button is pressed, the displayed web page is switched to a specific web page registered in advance for the display area. In other words, the “original” button works like a “home” button in the Internet Explorer. When the “set” button is pressed, a screen display setting dialog 300 as shown in FIG. 3 is opened. The user can change the URL of the web page registered for each display area from the screen display setting dialog 300.

  FIG. 3 shows a screen display setting dialog 300. The currently registered URL is displayed in the “URL being set” column, and the URL of the currently displayed web page is displayed in the “URL being displayed” column. The user can change the displayed web page to that URL by writing a desired URL in the “URL being displayed” field and pressing a “URL change” button 301. Thereafter, the user can register (store) the URL being displayed in the browser by pressing a “setting” button 302. Alternatively, when the “From Favorites” button 305 is pressed, a dialog block 304 is opened. In the dialog block 304, links registered as favorites in the Internet Explorer are displayed in a tree shape. By selecting a desired link from among them, the user can write the URL indicated by the link in the displayed URL column. Thereafter, the user can register the URL being displayed in the browser by pressing the “setting” button 302. The latter input method is very convenient because there is no need to type a URL and bookmark data stored in an existing browser can be utilized.

  The screen display setting dialog 300 is also used for changing the display position. When the web page does not fit in the display area 202, the user operates the triangle “display position” button 303 representing the top, bottom, left, and right on the screen display setting dialog 300 to adjust the display position of the web page, and then perform “setting”. By pressing the 302 button, the display position of the web page can be registered in the browser for each display area. When the browser 200 is activated, a part or all of the web page is displayed in each display area 202 according to the registered display position. Since the display position is individually registered for each area, the user does not need to adjust the display position every time the window is opened as in a conventional browser. It is also possible not to display information unnecessary for the user (for example, advertisement).

  FIG. 4 shows the position of the boundary line 401 changed in the multi-view browser 200 of FIG. The boundary line 401 between the display areas 202 can be freely moved up and down and left and right by dragging with a pointing device such as a mouse or a touchpad. When the position of the boundary line 401 is moved, the position of the boundary line is automatically registered in the browser, and when the browser is activated next time, the registered position of the boundary line is reflected on the screen. The position of the boundary line is individually registered for each group. Therefore, the user does not need to perform a complicated operation of adjusting the size each time a new window is opened, which has been performed in a conventional browser.

  Next, the operation 500 of the multi-view browser 200 described with reference to FIG. 2 will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. Operation begins at block 501 where the processor 102 launches the browser 200 and proceeds to block 502 where it reads a list of registered URLs from the storage device 104 into the memory 103. The list of registered URLs is installed in the storage device 104 as an appropriate URL list (for example, all http://www.google.co.jp/) at the time of browser installation, and can be freely changed after the browser is started. can do.

  Next, in block 503, the processor 102 reads display position data from the storage device 104 into the memory 103. The display position data is represented by, for example, X and Y coordinates with the origin at the upper left of the web page. However, the data representation format is not necessarily this format. The display position data is also installed in the storage device 104 as appropriate display position data (for example, all data indicating the upper left of the web page) when the browser is installed, and can be freely changed after the browser is activated.

  Next, in block 504, the processor 102 reads boundary position data from the storage device 104 into the memory 103. The boundary line position data is represented by, for example, the X coordinate or the Y coordinate with the upper left corner of the window as the origin. However, the data representation format is not necessarily this format. Note that the boundary line position data is generated as appropriate boundary line position data when the browser is first started (for example, boundary line position data in which the sizes of the four display areas are equal is calculated from the window size) Thereafter, it can be freely changed.

  Next, in block 505, the processor 102 downloads a web page to be displayed in each display area 202 from a website on the Internet 108 via the network adapter 105 according to the registered URL list read in block 502. The same HTTP protocol as the existing browser is used for downloading the web page.

  Next, in block 506, the processor 102 displays the four display areas 202 in one window, and displays the web page acquired in block 505 in each display area 202. When the browser is activated, four display areas 202 belonging to group 1 are displayed. At that time, first, the boundary line 401 is displayed according to the boundary line data read in the block 504, and the four display areas 202 are displayed in a size corresponding to the boundary line 401, and are partitioned and displayed by the boundary line 401. The The acquired web page is displayed in each display area 202 according to the display position data read in block 503.

  Next, in block 507, the processor 102 checks whether the group button 204 is pressed. If the group button (1-5) is pressed, the processor 102 changes the group of the display area to be displayed to the group of the number of the pressed group button, and then returns to block 506 to update the display. That is, the four display areas 202 to be displayed are switched to those of the pressed group.

  Next, at block 508, the processor 102 checks whether any boundary line 401 has been dragged. When the boundary line 401 is dragged, the processor 102 updates the boundary line position data according to the position of the moved boundary line 401, and then returns to the block 506 to update the display. That is, the boundary line 401 is redrawn at the moved position.

  Next, in block 509, the processor 102 checks whether any of the “Previous”, “Next”, or “Original” button 203 has been pressed. If the “Previous” button is pressed, the URL of the web page to be displayed in the corresponding display area 202 is changed to the previous URL, and then the process returns to block 505 to reacquire the web page. Similarly, when the “next” button is pressed, the URL of the web page to be displayed in the corresponding display area 202 is changed to the next URL, and then the process returns to block 505 to reacquire the web page. If the “original” button is pressed, the URL of the web page to be displayed in the corresponding display area 202 is changed to the URL specified for the display area, and the process returns to block 505 to reacquire the web page. .

  Next, in block 510, the processor 102 checks whether the “set” button 203 has been pressed. When the “SET” button 203 is pressed, the process proceeds to block 601 in FIG. 6 and the screen display setting dialog 300 is opened. The function of this dialog will be described later.

  Finally, in block 511, the processor 102 checks whether “End Application” has been selected from the “File” menu at the top of the screen. If “end application” is selected, the browser 200 is ended. If end is not selected, the process returns to block 507 to continue the process.

  After displaying the screen display setting dialog 300 in block 601 of FIG. 6, in block 602, the processor 102 checks whether or not the “URL change” button 301 on the dialog has been pressed. When the URL change button 301 is pressed, the URL of the currently displayed web page is changed to the URL entered in the “URL being displayed” field, the display is updated, and the process returns to block 602 to continue the processing. To do.

  At block 603, the processor 102 checks whether the “From Favorites” button 305 has been pressed. When the “From Favorites” button 305 is pressed, the processor 102 displays a selection dialog 304 and displays a list of links registered as favorites in a tree form from a predetermined directory in which Internet Explorer favorites are stored. To do. When the user selects a specific link, the “URL being displayed” field is rewritten with the URL of the link, the web page in the display area is updated, the selection dialog 304 is closed, and the process returns to block 602 to perform processing. Continue.

  Next, in block 604, the processor 102 checks whether or not the “display position” button 303 indicating up, down, left, and right on the screen display setting dialog 300 has been pressed. If any display position button 303 is pressed, the processor 102 updates the display after rewriting the display position data so that the display position of the web page is moved in the direction of the pressed button, and block 602. Return to and continue processing.

  Next, at block 605, the processor 102 checks whether the “set” button 302 has been pressed. When the setting button 302 is pressed, the processor 102 writes the registered URL list currently used in the browser and the display position data back to the storage device 104, and then closes the screen display setting dialog 300, and the block shown in FIG. Returning to the process of 507, the process is continued. On the other hand, if the setting button 302 has not been pressed, the process returns to block 602 to continue the processing.

  FIG. 7 shows a program configuration of the multi-view browser 200 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated, the multi-view browser 200 includes an activation processing module 701, a display update module 702, and an event processing module 703. The program is read into the memory 103 and executed by the processor 102. That is, in the description of FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, each process executed by the “processor 102” can be said to be executed by those modules or programs. The program may be executed in a form recorded on a computer readable medium. Below, the relationship between the function of each module and the processing of FIGS. 5 and 6 will be described.

  The activation processing module 701 functions to read a registered URL list, display position data, boundary line position data, and the like from the storage device 104 to the memory 103. That is, the activation processing module 701 is responsible for the processing of blocks 502 to 504 in FIG. In response to a request from the event processing module 703, the display update module 702 acquires a web page and updates a display area. That is, the display update module 702 is responsible for the processing of block 505 and block 506 in FIG. The event processing module 703 monitors the operation of buttons, menus, border lines, and the like by the input device, performs various processes according to the operation, and requests the display update module 702 to update the display area or the like if necessary. do. That is, the event processing module 703 is responsible for the blocks 507 to 511 in FIG. 5 and the processing in FIG.

  FIG. 8 shows an activation screen 801 of the multi-view browser 800 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Similar to the first embodiment, the multi-view browser 800 also has five groups, and three display areas 802 of group 1 are displayed on the startup screen 801. Unlike the other groups, the group 1 has a large display area 802 (also referred to as “search area 803” for convenience of explanation) on the left side for searching, and two display areas 802 arranged vertically on the right side. On the other hand, the other groups 2 to 4 have four display areas 802 as in the first embodiment. Then, as in the first embodiment, the groups 1 to 5 can be switched by the group button 807. However, in this case as well, the number of groups, the number of display areas, button notation, and the like are merely examples, and may be different from this example.

  On the left side of the search area 803, buttons labeled “Search 1”, “Search 2”, “Search 3”, “Search expansion”, “Previous”, “Next”, and “Clear all” are displayed in order from the top. line up. Search site selection buttons 804 (“Search 1”, “Search 2”, “Search 3”) correspond to predetermined search sites registered in advance, such as Google, Yahoo, and MSN, respectively. A web page of the search site is displayed in the search area 803.

  FIG. 9 shows that the “Search 1” button 804 is pressed and a Google screen is displayed in the search area 803. When the user inputs a keyword, URL links indicating search results are listed in the search area 803 as shown in FIG. Here, when the user presses a “search expansion” button 808, two web pages from the top of the search results 1 to 50 are displayed in the two display areas 802 on the right side of the group 1 as shown in FIG. The A numbered button displayed on the buttons arranged next to each display area 802 is an indicator 806 indicating the number of the search result. In this example, the search result to be displayed at one time is set to 50 in the Google setting. The subsequent search results 3 to 18 are sequentially expanded and displayed in the display areas of the groups 2 to 5. Therefore, the user can freely view up to 18 web pages by simply switching the groups 1 to 5. For example, if the display is switched to group 2, web pages of search results 3 to 6 among search results 1 to 50 can be viewed as shown in FIG. In this way, the multi-view browser 800 can expand a number of linked search results at once as a web page and display it on the screen simply by pressing the “search expansion button” 808. You don't have to click the search result links one by one and check the contents like in the browser.

  As shown in FIG. 12, an indicator 806, a “Previous” button 1202, a “Next” button 1203, a “Protect” button 1204, and a “Delete” button 1205 are arranged next to each display area 802 from the top.

  When an “erase” button 1205 is pressed, the search results displayed in the corresponding display area 802 are deleted, and the search results of subsequent numbers are moved up and displayed. This function is very convenient for narrowing down web pages because it can erase web pages that are not of interest and automatically fill and display only the remaining web pages.

  When a “protect” button 1204 is pressed, the search result currently displayed in the corresponding display area 802 is designated as a protected search result, and can be left on the screen even when search expansion is performed again. Become. For example, FIG. 13 shows that the “Protect” button 1204 has been pressed in the display area 802 displayed in the upper right of the group 2. When a “protect” button 1204 is pressed, a “★” mark is added on the indicator 806 indicating the search result 5 currently displayed in the display area 802 so that it can be seen that it is protected. When the display is switched to group 1 in this state and the “search expansion” button 808 is pressed, the search result 5 marked with “★” is displayed in the top display area (that is, the display area in the upper right of group 1). Subsequently, the search results 1 to 17 are displayed over the groups 1 to 5. When the protection button 1204 is pressed, the button display changes to “release”, and the user releases the protection specified in the search result 5 by pressing the “protect” button 1204 (“release” button) again. be able to.

  The “Delete All” button 805 (FIG. 8) displayed next to the search area 802 of the group 1 is currently displayed in the display area 802 of the groups 1 to 5 including the protected search results marked with “★”. It is for erasing all existing web pages.

  As described above, the multi-view browser 800 according to the second embodiment of the present invention can expand and display the search result list as a web page at a time, and selectively delete unnecessary ones from the list. In addition, since the specific web page selected when the search expansion is performed again can be left on the screen, it is more interesting than the number of test results displayed compared to the conventional browser. Very useful for screening certain web pages.

  FIG. 14 shows an operation 1400 of the multi-view browser 800 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The operation starts at block 1401 and proceeds to block 1402, where the display area of the group to be displayed is displayed in the same window. At the time of startup, the display area of group 1, that is, three display areas 802 (one on the left side is search area 803) is displayed. Next, proceeding to block 1403, the processor 102 checks whether the group button 807 has been pressed. If any group button 807 is pressed, the processor 102 changes the group to be displayed to a group corresponding to the pressed button, and then returns to block 1402 to update the display. That is, the display area to be displayed is switched to that of the pressed group.

  Next, in block 1404, the processor 102 checks whether or not the “search site selection button” 804 has been pressed. If any search site selection button 804 (“Search 1”, “Search 2”, or “Search 3”) is pressed, the processor 102 has pressed the URL of the web page to be displayed in the search area 803. After changing to the URL of the search site corresponding to the button, the process returns to block 1402 to update the display. That is, the web page of the search site displayed in the search area 803 is switched to that of the corresponding search site.

  Next, in block 1405, the processor 102 checks whether the “search expansion” button 808 has been pressed. When the “search expansion” button 808 is pressed, the processor 802 extracts a URL indicating the search result from the web page listing the links in the search area 803 as the search result, and the search result web page is displayed in the groups 1 to 3. 5 in the display area 802. Since the web page described in HTML includes URLs other than the search result, it is necessary to extract only the URL indicating the search result. In this URL extraction, first, a block in which the search result is described is determined based on the class name of the block tag from the web page, and a character string indicating the URL of the search result is extracted from the cut block. This is done by determining based on the class name of the anchor tag. Many search sites specify a unique class name indicating the search result as the class name of the tag.

  Next, in block 1406, the processor 102 checks whether the “Delete All” button 805 has been pressed. If the “delete all” button 805 is pressed, the processor 102 deletes all URLs from the list of URLs of the web pages to be displayed in the display areas 802 of the groups 1 to 5, and then returns to the block 1402 for display. Update. That is, all the web pages displayed in the display area 802 including the protected search results are erased at once.

  At block 1407, the processor 102 checks whether the “Previous” button 1202 has been pressed. If the “Previous” button 1202 has been pressed, the processor 102 changes the URL of the web page to be displayed in the corresponding display area 802 to the previous URL, and then returns to block 1402 to update the display. That is, the web page displayed in the display area 802 is changed to the previous one.

At block 1408, the processor 102 checks whether the “Next” button 1203 has been pressed. If the “Next” button 1203 has been pressed, the processor 102 changes the URL of the web page to be displayed in the corresponding display area 802 to the next URL, and then returns to block 1402 to update the display. That is, the web page displayed in the display area 802 is changed to the next one.

  At block 1409, the processor 102 checks whether the “delete” button 1205 has been pressed. If the “Erase” button 1205 is pressed, the processor 102 displays a list of web page URLs to be displayed in the display areas 802 of the groups 1 to 5 in the display area 802 corresponding to the pressed button. After deleting the URL of the currently displayed web page, return to block 1402 to update the display. That is, the web pages displayed in the display area 802 following the display area 802 are moved up to the display area 802 after the display area 802 and displayed in order.

  At block 1410, the processor 102 checks whether the “protect” button 1204 has been pressed. If the “Protect” button 1204 has been pressed, the processor 102 designates the web page of the search result displayed in the corresponding display area 802 as the protected search result, and then returns to block 1402 to update the display. . When protection is specified for the search result, the character on the button 1204 is changed from “protect” to “release”. Accordingly, in block 1410, if “protection” has already been specified for the search result, that is, if the “cancel” button 1204 has been pressed, the processor 102 determines the protection of the specified protection for the search result. Cancel the specification.

  At block 1411, the processor 102 determines whether “End Application” has been selected from the menu. If “End Application” is selected, the program ends at block 1412. If not, processing returns to block 1403 and continues.

  FIG. 15 shows a program configuration of the multi-view browser 800 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The multi-view browser 800 includes a display update module 1501 and an event processing module 1502. The program is read into the memory 103 and executed by the processor 102. In other words, in the description related to FIG. 14, each process executed by the “processor 102” can be paraphrased as being executed by those modules or programs. The program may be executed in a form stored on a computer readable medium.

  The display update module 1501 acquires a web page and updates a display area in response to a request from the event processing module 1502. That is, the display update module 1501 is responsible for the processing of block 1402 in FIG. The event processing module 1502 monitors the operation of buttons, menus, and the like by the input device, performs various processes in response thereto, and functions to request the display update module 1501 to update the display area and the like if necessary. That is, the event processing module 1502 is responsible for the processing of blocks 1403 to 1411 in FIG.

  FIG. 16 shows a screen configuration of a multi-view browser 1600 that is an improved embodiment of the multi-view browser 200 according to the first embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. In the figure, elements having the same functions as those of the multi-view browser 200 are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted. In this embodiment, a display mode switching button 1601 is further provided below the operation button 203, and an advertisement space 1602 is further provided beside the group button 204. As shown in FIG. 16, in a state where four display areas 202 are simultaneously displayed in the window (for convenience of explanation, hereinafter referred to as “multi-view mode”), “enlargement” beside the selected display area 202 is displayed. When the display mode switching button 1601 marked with is pressed, the remaining display area 202 in the window is hidden as shown in FIG. 17, and the selected display area 202 (in the example of FIG. 17, the upper right display area 202 is changed). Only selected) is displayed in full in the window, and the character displayed on the display mode switching button 1601 is switched to “reduction”. On the other hand, in the state where only the selected display area 202 is displayed in the window as shown in FIG. 17 (hereinafter referred to as “single view mode” for the sake of explanation), the display mode switching described as “reduced” is performed. When the button 1601 is pressed, the multi-view mode as shown in FIG. 16 is restored. That is, the display mode switching button 1601 functions as a toggle button.

  As described above, according to the display mode switching button 1601, when the user scans a large number of web pages in the multi-view mode and finds a web page of interest in the web page, the user can perform a single view with a single button. You can switch to mode and view only the selected web page on a wide screen. Therefore, it is very easy to find the web page that interests you and examine its contents.

  An advertisement at a predetermined URL is always displayed in the advertisement space 1602. Even when the user performs various operations on the display area 202, the advertising space 1602 always displays an advertisement at a predetermined URL. This predetermined URL is hard-coded in, for example, a browser execution program so that the user cannot change it. This advertisement display function is useful for the browser seller to provide various advertisements to the user.

  FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing an operation 1800 of the multi-view browser 1600. In the figure, the same processes as those in the multi-view browser 200 shown in FIG. After reading the border position data at block 504, at block 1650, the processor 102 downloads the web page at the predetermined URL from the website on the Internet 108 via the network adapter 105 and displays it in the advertising space 1602. . This predetermined URL is hard-coded in, for example, a browser execution program so that the user cannot change it.

  Next, in block 1651, the processor 102 stores the display mode flag 1670 (not shown) indicating whether the display area 202 should be displayed in the multi-view mode or the single view mode for each group. Is stored in the memory 103 and, as an initial setting, a display mode flag 1670 having a predetermined value is written in the area. The display mode flag 1670 is expressed as, for example, 5-bit data in which each bit corresponds to one of five groups. For example, bit 0 represents a multi-view mode, and bit 1 represents a single view mode. However, the data representation format is not necessarily this format. In one embodiment, the display mode flag 1670 is initialized to a value of all zeros, for example. However, as another embodiment, the display mode flag 1670 may be initialized to another value. When the process of block 1651 ends, the processor 102 proceeds to the process of block 505.

In block 505, after downloading the web page to be displayed in each display area 202 from a website on the Internet 108, the processor 102 proceeds to the processing of block 1652. In block 1652, the processor 102 first reads the bit corresponding to the group currently selected by the group button 204 from the five bits of the display mode flag 1670 from the memory 103, and sets the display area 202 based on the value. It is determined whether to display in multi-view mode or single-view mode. When the read bit value indicates that it should be displayed in the multi-view mode (for example, in the case of bit 0), the four display areas 202 are displayed in one window as in the process shown in block 506 of FIG. And the web page of the designated URL is displayed in each of them. Then, the character displayed on the display mode switching button 1601 is set to “enlarged”. On the other hand, when the read bit value indicates that it should be displayed in the single view mode (for example, in the case of bit 1), only the selected display area 202 is displayed in the full window, and specified in that Display a web page. Then, after the character displayed on the display mode switching button 1601 is set to “reduction”, the process proceeds to block 507.

  In block 507, the processor 102 checks whether or not the group button 204 has been pressed, and if not, proceeds to the processing of block 1653. At block 1653, the processor 102 checks whether or not the display mode switching button 1601 has been pressed. When the display mode switching button 1601 is pressed, the processor 102 inverts the bit corresponding to the group currently selected by the group button 204 among the five bits of the display mode flag 1670 and then returns to the block 1652. , Update the display. That is, the display mode is switched.

  The above is the operation of the multi-view browser 1600. The added blocks do not necessarily have to be performed at the positions depicted in the flowchart of FIG. For example, the block 1650 and the block 1651 may be performed at any position before the block 1652, and the block 1653 may be performed at any position as long as it is within the loop of the blocks 507 to 511. May be. Further, both the display mode switching function and the advertisement display function are not necessarily implemented, and only one of them may be implemented depending on the embodiment. Furthermore, the display mode switching button 1601 is not necessarily a toggle button, and may be implemented as a push button or a radio button. Further, the character displayed on the display mode switching button 1601 does not necessarily have to be “enlarged” / “reduced”, and may be another character as long as the user can intuitively understand the display mode. Good. For example, characters such as “full screen” / “return” may be used. Further, the position of the advertisement space 1602 does not necessarily have to be next to the group button 204, and may be provided at any position in the window.

  The program configuration of the multi-view browser 1600 is basically the same as the program configuration of the multi-view browser 200 shown in FIG. In one embodiment, block 1650 and block 1651 are implemented by the activation processing module 701, block 1652 is implemented by the display update module 702, and block 1653 is implemented by the event processing module 703. However, the module configuration is not limited to this example.

  FIG. 19 shows a screen configuration of a multi-view browser 1900, which is an improved embodiment of the multi-view browser 800 according to the second embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. In the figure, elements having the same functions as those of the multi-view browser 800 are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted. This embodiment further includes a delete all button 805, a display mode switching button 1901 below each delete button 1205, and an advertisement space 1902 next to the group button 807.

  When group 1 is displayed as shown in FIG. 19 and a search keyword is input to the web page of the search site displayed in search area 803 and the search button on the web page is pressed, as shown in FIG. In addition, a list 1911 of links indicating the search results is displayed together with the link 1912 of the advertisement web page of the sponsor site (in this example, “Mona Lisa” is input). Next, when the search expansion button 808 is pressed, as shown in FIG. 21, two of the links 1912 of the advertisement web page of the sponsor site are expanded and displayed as web pages in the two display areas 802 on the right side. Next, when the display is switched to the group 2, as shown in FIG. 22, the links 1911 corresponding to the search results No. 1 to No. 4 are expanded and displayed as web pages in the four display areas 802, respectively. If the group is switched to 3-5, search results after the fifth can also be viewed as web pages.

  Thus, when the multi-view browser 1900 expands and displays the search result link as a web page, the web page other than the search result such as the advertisement web page of the sponsor site is also expanded as a web page together with the search result. Can be displayed. Thus, this embodiment has the advantage of increasing advertising opportunities for the sponsor site.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 22, in a state where four display areas 802 are simultaneously displayed in the window (“multi-view mode”), a display mode indicated as “enlarged” beside the selected display area 802 is displayed. When the switch button 1901 is pressed, the remaining display area 802 in the window is hidden as shown in FIG. 23, and only the selected display area 802 (in the example of FIG. 23, the upper right display area 802 is selected). Is displayed in full in the window, and the characters on the display mode switching button 1901 are switched to “reduction”. On the other hand, when only the selected display area 802 is displayed in the window as shown in FIG. 23 (“single view mode”), when the display mode switching button 1901 marked “reduced” is pressed, FIG. Return to the multi-view mode as shown in. That is, the display mode switching button 1901 functions as a toggle button.

  As described above, according to the display mode switching button 1901, when the user scans a large number of web pages in the multi-view mode and finds a web page of interest, the user switches to the single view mode with one button. Only the selected web page can be viewed on a wide screen. Therefore, it is very easy to find the web page that interests you and examine its contents.

  An advertisement at a predetermined URL is always displayed in the advertisement space 1902. Even when the user performs various operations on the display area 802, the advertisement space 1902 always displays an advertisement at a predetermined URL. This predetermined URL is hard-coded in, for example, a browser program so that the user cannot change it. This advertisement display function is useful for the browser seller to provide various advertisements to the user.

  FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing an operation 2400 of the multi-view browser 1900. In the figure, the same processes as those in the multi-view browser 800 shown in FIG. At block 1950, the processor 102 downloads the web page at the predetermined URL from the website on the Internet 108 via the network adapter 105 and displays it in the advertising space 1902. This predetermined URL is hard-coded in, for example, a browser execution program so that the user cannot change it.

  Next, at block 1951, the processor 102 stores an area for storing a display mode flag 1970 (not shown) indicating whether the display area 802 should be displayed in the multi-view mode or the single view mode for each group. Is stored in the memory 103 and, as an initial setting, a display mode flag 1970 having a predetermined value is written in the area. The display mode flag 1970 is expressed as, for example, 5-bit data in which each bit corresponds to one of five groups. For example, bit 0 represents a multi-view mode, and bit 1 represents a single view mode. However, the data representation format is not necessarily this format. In one embodiment, the display mode flag 1970 is initialized to all zero values, for example. However, as another embodiment, the display mode flag 1970 may be initialized to another value. When the process of block 1951 ends, the processor 102 proceeds to the process of block 1952.

  In block 1952, the processor 102 first reads the bit corresponding to the group currently selected by the group button 807 among the five bits of the display mode flag 1970, and sets the display area 802 in the multi-view mode based on the value. It is determined whether or not to display in the single view mode. When the read bit value indicates that it should be displayed in the multi-view mode (for example, when it is bit 0), as in the process shown in the block 1402, four display areas 802 (three in the case of group 1) A display area 802) is displayed in one window, and a search result web page and a sponsor site web page are respectively displayed therein. In one embodiment, the two display areas 802 on the right side of group 1 are used to display advertising web pages for sponsor sites. Then, the character displayed on the display mode switching button 1901 is set to “enlarged”. On the other hand, when the read bit value indicates that it should be displayed in the single view mode (for example, in the case of bit 1), only the selected display area 802 is displayed in the window, and the search result is included in it. A web page or an advertisement web page of a sponsor site is displayed. Then, after the character displayed on the display mode switching button 1901 is set to “reduction”, the process proceeds to block 1403.

  If the group button 807 has not been pressed at block 1403, processing proceeds to block 1953. At block 1953, the processor 102 checks whether or not the display mode switching button 1901 has been pressed. When the display mode switching button 1901 is pressed, the processor 102 inverts the bit corresponding to the group currently selected by the group button 807 among the five bits of the display mode flag 1970 and then returns to the block 1952. , Update the display. That is, the display mode is switched. On the other hand, if the display mode switching button 1901 has not been pressed in block 1953, the process proceeds to block 1404. If the search site selection button 804 is not pressed in block 1404, the process further proceeds to block 1905.

  At block 1905, the processor 102 checks whether the “search expansion” button 808 has been pressed. When the “search expansion” button 808 is pressed, the processor 802 extracts the link 1911 indicating the search result displayed in the search area 803 and the link 1912 to the advertisement web page of the sponsor site, and these are extracted into the group 1. Are displayed as web pages in the display area 802 of .about.5. As described above, in one embodiment, the two display areas 802 on the right side of group 1 are used to display advertising web pages of sponsor sites, and the display areas 802 of groups 2-5 are display of web pages of search results. Used for. Unlike the multi-view browser 800, the multi-view browser 1900 has a function of extracting and displaying not only links indicating search results but also other links (for example, links of advertisement web pages of sponsor sites). Then, by intentionally displaying the advertisement web page together with the search result, for example, the advertisement web page of the sponsor site can be forcibly “showed” to the browser user.

As described above, the web page of the search site includes a URL other than the URL indicating the search result. In order to extract the URL indicating the search result from the web page of the search site, first, a block describing the URL of the search result is determined based on the class name of the block tag, and further, the search result is extracted from the extracted block. A character string indicating the URL is determined based on the class name of the anchor tag. Many search sites specify a unique class name for the block tag class name of the block describing the URL of the search result. Similarly, in order to extract the URL of the advertisement web page of the sponsor site from the web page of the search site, first, a block describing the URL of the advertisement web page of the sponsor site is based on the class name or ID name of the block tag. Further, a character string indicating the URL of the advertisement web page of the sponsor site is determined from the extracted block based on the class name of the anchor tag. Many search sites specify a class name or ID name that is unique to the block tag class name or ID name of the block that describes the URL of the advertising web page of the sponsor site.

  The above is the operation of the multi-view browser 1900. In the main flow diagram of FIG. 18, when branching from the block 510 to the subflow diagram of FIG. 6 and then returning to the main flow diagram (Y branch from the block 605), of course, the block 507 of FIG. Return to. Further, the added block is not necessarily executed at the position depicted in the flowchart of FIG. For example, the block 1950 and the block 1951 may be performed at any position before the block 1952, and the block 1953 may be performed at any position within the loop of the blocks 1403 to 1411. Also good. Further, both the display mode switching function and the advertisement display function are not necessarily implemented, and only one of them may be implemented depending on the embodiment. Further, the display mode switching button 1901 is not necessarily a toggle button, and may be implemented as a push button or a radio button. Further, the character displayed on the display mode switching button 1901 does not necessarily need to be “enlarged” / “reduced”, and may be another character as long as the user can intuitively understand the display mode. Good. For example, characters such as “full screen” / “return” may be used. Further, the position of the advertising space 1902 is not necessarily beside the group button 807, and may be displayed at any position in the window. Further, in the illustrated embodiment, the two display areas on the right side of group 1 are used to display web pages other than the search results such as the advertisement web page of the sponsor site. The number and in which display area 802 of groups 1 to 5 it is displayed may differ from the illustrated embodiment.

  The program configuration of the multi-view browser 1900 is basically the same as the program configuration of the multi-view browser 800 shown in FIG. In one embodiment, block 1950, block 1951, and block 1952 are implemented by display update module 1501, and block 1953 is implemented by event processing module 1502. However, the module configuration is not limited to this example.

  This specification describes in detail several embodiments for the purpose of providing a thorough understanding of the invention. However, the disclosed embodiments are not intended to strictly limit the scope of the invention to those embodiments. Those skilled in the art can make modifications to the disclosed embodiments and implement various alternative embodiments. For example, in the disclosed embodiment, the multi-view browser program is composed of a startup processing module, a display update module, an event processing module, and the like. It is also possible to integrate the processes in one module. In some embodiments, some processes in the flowchart may be omitted. Further, the processes described in the flowchart do not necessarily have to be performed in the order described, and may be performed in an order different from the disclosed order. Of course, such embodiments are also within the scope of the present invention. The scope of the invention is defined by the claims.

  In the drawings, the web pages drawn as examples in the display area 202 and the display area 802 are appropriately selected as examples for the convenience of explaining the screen configuration of the browser of the present invention and the functions of various buttons. Alternatively, the results retrieved using the search website at any given time are shown as examples only, and there is no intention to have selected those web pages. In addition, in order to prevent misunderstanding, the second embodiment of the present invention described above is a web having a convenient function for effectively utilizing the search results of the search site. It is a browser invention, and of course, the web browser itself does not have a unique search function.

It is a figure which shows the hardware constitutions used in common with both the 1st Embodiment and 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the screen structure of the multi view browser 200 by the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the screen display setting dialog of the multi view browser 200 by the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the movement of the boundary line in the multi view browser 200 by the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the multi view browser 200 by the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the screen display setting process of the multi view browser 200 by the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the software structure of the multi view browser 200 by the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the screen structure of the multi view browser 800 by the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the place which pushed the "search 1" button in the multi view browser 800 by the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the place which input the keyword in the multi view browser 800 by the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the place which performed "search expansion | deployment" in the multi view browser 800 by the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the place which switched the display to the group 2 in the multi view browser 800 by the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the place which set "protection" to the specific search result in the multi view browser 800 by the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the multi view browser 800 by the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the software structure of the multi view browser 800 by the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the screen structure of the multi view browser 1600 by the improvement embodiment of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the function of the display mode switch button in the multi view browser. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the multi-view browser 1600. FIG. It is a figure which shows the screen structure of the multi view browser 1900 by the improvement embodiment of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the link of the search result displayed on the web page of a search site in the multi view browser 1900, and the link to the advertisement web page of a sponsor site. 10 is a diagram illustrating a function of displaying an advertisement web page of a sponsor site in a multi-view browser 1900. FIG. It is a figure explaining the function of the display mode switching button in the multi-view browser 1900. It is a figure explaining the function of the display mode switching button in the multi-view browser 1900. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the multi-view browser 1900. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

100 Computer System 102 Processor 103 Memory 104 Storage Device 105 Network Adapter 106 Display Device 107 Input Device 108 Internet 701 Startup Processing Modules 702 and 1501 Display Update Modules 703 and 1502 Event Processing Module

Claims (18)

A program for operating a computer (100) as a web browser for displaying a plurality of web pages on the same window, the computer (100) being connected to a network (108), a processor (102), a primary storage device (103 ), A secondary storage device (104), and an input device (107), the program is executed by the processor (102),
Display updating means (1501) for displaying the computer (100) with a plurality of display areas (802) contained in a single window, wherein a first display area (803) of the plurality of display areas (802) is displayed. ) Displays the search result link of the search site, and in response to a request from the event processing means (1502), acquires the web page at the URL specified in the request from the network (108), and acquires it. Display update means (1501) having a function of displaying the displayed web page in the remaining display area (802), and in response to an instruction of “search expansion” by the input device (107), the remaining display The URL indicated by the search result link displayed in the first display area (803) is designated as the URL of the web page displayed in the area (802), and the web displayed in the display area (802) is displayed. Request the display update means to update the page Event processing means (1502)
A program that is intended to function as   The event processing means (1502) sets the URL indicated by the link displayed in the first display area (803) as the URL of the web page displayed in the remaining display area (802) in the displayed order. The program according to claim 1, further comprising a function of designating each. The event processing means (1502) is a URL of a web page displayed in the remaining display area (802) in response to an “erase” instruction for the display area (802) selected by the input device (107). The URL of the web page currently displayed in the selected display area (802) is deleted from the list of the display area, and the display update means (1501) updates the web page displayed in the display area (802). ) Further required functions,
Accordingly, the web pages displayed in the display area (802) following the selected display area (802) are moved up to the display area (802) after the selected display area (802) in order. The program according to claim 2 displayed on the screen.   The event processing means (1502) is a search currently displayed in the selected display area (802) in response to an instruction of “protect” for the display area (802) selected by the input device (107). Even when a result is designated as a protected search result and search expansion is performed after that, the function of leaving the protected search result as one of the web pages displayed in the remaining display area (802) is further provided. The program as described in any one of Claims 1-3.   The event processing means (1502) designates protection from the search result in response to a “release” instruction to the display area (802) displaying the protected search result by the input device (107). The program according to claim 4, further comprising a function of canceling.   The display update means (1501) is configured to preferentially display the protected search result in a top display area (802) of the remaining display areas (802). Or the program of Claim 5. The event processing means (1502), in response to an instruction of “Erase all” from the input device (107), selects all URLs from a list of URLs of web pages displayed in the remaining display area (802). After deleting, further comprising a function to request the display update means (1501) to update the display area (802),
Accordingly, the program according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein all web pages displayed in the display area (802) including the protected search result are erased at once. The plurality of display areas (802) are divided into a plurality of groups,
The display update means (1501) further includes a function of displaying the display area (802) of one group at a time in one window and a function of displaying a group button (807) for switching the group. Prepared,
The event processing means (1502) switches the display area (802) displayed in the window to that of the selected group according to the group button (807) selected by the input device (107). The program according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising a function of requesting the display update means (1501) to request this.   The display update means (1501) further comprises a function of displaying only the selected display area (802) in a window and hiding other display areas (802). A program according to any one of the above. The display update means (1501) includes a flag (1970) indicating whether to display a plurality of display areas (802) or only a selected display area (802) in the window. ) And a function of switching the display form of the display area (802) according to the value of the flag (1970),
The program according to claim 9, wherein the event processing means (1502) further comprises a function of rewriting the flag (1970) in response to an instruction from the input device (107).   The program according to claim 10, wherein the instruction from the input device (107) is executed by a button (1901) corresponding to each display area (802).   The display update means (1501) acquires a web page at a predetermined URL from the network (108), and displays the acquired web page in a predetermined space (1902) provided at a predetermined position on the window. The program as described in any one of Claims 1-11 further provided with the function to perform.   The program according to claim 12, wherein the web page displayed in the predetermined space (1902) is an advertisement web page of a search website.   The program according to claim 12 or 13, wherein the predetermined URL is hard-coded in an execution program of the web browser so that a user cannot change the URL. When the event processing means (1502) designates the URL of the web page displayed in the remaining display area (802) in response to the “search expansion” instruction, the event processing means (1502) is not the URL indicated by the search result link. Is also configured to specify the URL of
Thereby, the display update means (1501) is configured to further display a web page other than the web page indicated by the search result link in a part of the display area (802). The program as described in any one of them.   The program according to claim 15, wherein the web page other than the web page indicated by the search result link is an advertisement web page of a sponsor site. The computer (100) includes a personal digital assistant (PDA) and a mobile phone,
The program according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein the network (108) comprises a wireless network.   A computer-readable medium storing the program according to claim 1.

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