JP2010218209A - Related information providing device, system therefor, program therefor, and method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system capable of obtaining information related to a web page under browsing easily by a user. <P>SOLUTION: The system acquires browsing page information on a content of the web page browsed by the user from a user terminal 120, and determines a category of the browsing web page using a category database 151. The system displays a category selection part capable of inscribing the determined category inputted by the user terminal 120, and capable of displaying a web page related to the web page browsed by the user such as a recommended merchandise article about the category by selection using a specified information database 152 in a tool bar display part of the web page browsed by the user. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a related information providing apparatus that displays a web page using the Internet or the like, a system thereof, a program thereof, and a method thereof.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a configuration in which a so-called content match advertisement in which an advertisement related to a web page being browsed by a user is inserted into a web page is also known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
According to Patent Document 1, when content is selected by a user terminal, product information related to the selected content is also selected at the same time. And based on the display conditions of the selected product information, display / non-display of the product information is determined for each user. When a plurality of product information can be displayed by such processing, display priority is determined between the product information, and during the content display, each product is based on the display priority determined in the processing. A configuration is employed in which data indicating the content of information is displayed together with the content.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-312190

  However, browsing web pages called so-called net surfing one after another has been implemented. That is, the user may perform a search based on the content of the web page being browsed. For example, there is a case where a web page such as news is browsed and a product search related to the news is performed or a stock price of a company is searched. However, in the thing of patent document 1, when browsing the next related web page as mentioned above, a user makes a special transition to the web page which provides such a specific service, and the service page The user needs to perform a keyword search above, and the operation is complicated.

By the way, browser plug-in software called a toolbar is known. In the browser plug-in software, a service selection list is provided along with the input of keywords.
However, since the service item in the selection list is also a predetermined service, the user has to select it separately when there is no desired service.
In addition, as for the advertisement displayed by the content match advertisement as described in Patent Document 1, the advertisement related to the content is appropriately extracted and displayed, but is not linked to the service intended by the user.

  In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a related information providing apparatus, a system thereof, a program thereof, and a method thereof that can obtain information related to a web page being browsed more easily for a user. It is.

  The related information providing apparatus according to the present invention is a related information providing apparatus that provides information related to a web page displayed on a web browser of a terminal device, and is a category that classifies information provided by various information providing servers. And a category database for storing a plurality of related keywords associated with each category in association with each other, and browsing information reception for receiving page information of the web page displayed by the web browser from the terminal device via the network Category judging means for judging a category to which the web page belongs based on the relation between the means, the web page corresponding to the page information received by the browsing information receiving means, and the related keyword stored in the category database And the category determined by the category determining means A category selection unit for each category that has connection information for connecting the terminal device to the information providing server that provides the web page so that the corresponding web page can be displayed on the terminal device, and can be selected and set on the terminal device Category selection unit control means for transmitting to the terminal device an instruction command for displaying the message on the terminal device.

  In the present invention, a plurality of subcategories associated with each category, a lower category database in which a plurality of lower-level categories in the category and a plurality of keywords related to the lower-level categories are associated and stored, and the category determination unit The subcategory to which the web page belongs based on the relevance between the related keyword associated with the lower category corresponding to the category determined in step 5 and the web page corresponding to the page information received by the browsing information receiving means. The category selection unit control means provides the web page corresponding to the lower category determined by the lower category determination means so that the terminal device can display the web page. The terminal device to the information providing server It is preferable that the terminal device further includes an instruction command for displaying on the terminal device a category selection unit for each lower category that has connection information to be continued and can be selected and set by the terminal device. .

  Further, in the present invention, the category selection control means displays the lower category determined by the lower category determination means together with a higher category list so that the category can be selected alternatively. It is preferable that an instruction command for displaying the selection unit is further transmitted.

  The present invention further includes a feature word extraction unit that extracts a feature word from a web page corresponding to the page information received by the browsing information reception unit, and the category selection unit control unit is configured such that the category selection unit includes the category selection unit. Command information for causing the information providing server corresponding to the category of the selected category selection unit to search for the feature word extracted by the feature word extraction means as a search keyword when selected and set by the terminal device. It is preferable that transmission is included in the selection unit.

  The related information providing system according to the present invention includes a terminal device that displays a web page using a web browser, a related information providing device that notifies the terminal device of related information about the web page displayed on the terminal device, Are related information providing systems connected via a network, wherein the related information providing apparatus associates categories of information provided by various information providing servers with a plurality of related keywords respectively associated with each category. The category database to be stored, the browsing information receiving means for receiving the page information of the web page displayed by the web browser from the terminal device via the network, and the page information received by the browsing information receiving means. Corresponding web pages and associations stored in the category database A category judging means for judging the category to which the web page belongs based on the relevance to the word, and providing the web page corresponding to the category judged by the category judging means so that the terminal device can display the web page The terminal device has connection information for connecting the terminal device to the information providing server, and transmits to the terminal device an instruction command for displaying on the terminal device a category selection unit for each category that can be selected and set by the terminal device. Category selection instruction control means, and the terminal device displays display information for displaying a web page with the web browser, and browsing information for transmitting page information of the displayed web page to the related information providing device. To display the category selection unit transmitted from the transmission means and the related information providing device When the instruction command is received, a selection unit display unit that displays the category selection unit on the display unit so that the category selection unit can be selected and set, and when the displayed category selection unit is selected, the category selection unit Server connection means for transmitting a connection request to the information providing server corresponding to the connection information.

  The related information providing program according to the present invention causes the calculation means to function as the related information providing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

  The related information providing method according to the present invention is a related information providing method for providing information related to a web page displayed on a web browser of a terminal device by a computing means, wherein the computing means provides various information Using the category database that stores a category for classifying information provided by the server and a plurality of related keywords respectively associated with each category, and stores the page information of the web page displayed by the web browser. From the browsing information receiving step received via the network, the web page corresponding to the page information received in the browsing information receiving step, and the related keyword stored in the category database, the web Category determination process for determining the category to which the page belongs, and the category Connection information for connecting the terminal device to the information providing server that provides the web page so that the web page corresponding to the category determined by the disconnecting process can be displayed on the terminal device can be selected and set on the terminal device And a category selection unit control means for transmitting to the terminal device an instruction command for displaying the category selection unit for each category on the terminal device.

  According to the present invention, a category to which a web page being browsed by a user belongs is determined based on a category database, and the web page corresponding to the determined category is provided so that the user can display the web page on the terminal device. Since the category selection unit having the connection information to be connected to the information providing server to be displayed is displayed on the terminal device so as to be selectable and settable, the related web page can be browsed only by the input operation of the category selection unit, and the related web page is newly displayed. It is not necessary to carry out a search process for browsing, and browsing can be performed with extremely simple operations.

1 is a system configuration diagram of an embodiment according to the present invention. The figure which shows the browser display screen of the web page of the search object displayed on the user terminal in this embodiment. The figure which shows the state by which the category selection part was provided in the web page of FIG. The figure which shows the pull-down menu of a category selection part on the web page of FIG. The figure which shows the web page which publishes the recommendation goods in this embodiment. The figure which shows the data structure of a category database. The figure which shows the data structure of a low-order category database. The figure which shows the data structure of a recommendation information database.

  FIG. 1 shows a configuration diagram of a related information providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 shows a browser display screen of the present embodiment. FIG. 3 shows a browser display screen of a web page on which recommended products are posted.

[Information display system configuration]
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 100 denotes an information display system. The information display system 100 is a system that provides information related to a category of a web page (web page) that a user browses on the Internet, for example, to the user. This embodiment demonstrates the structure which illustrates the category of the various information provision server relevant as a relevant object information based on the web page which a user browses as information relevant to the web page which a user browses. In addition, when a user browses the JPO homepage, it can be configured to provide various information such as categories related to amendment of patent law related to the JPO homepage, and information recommended in each category It is good also as providing.

The recommended product information as the related target information is information related to recommended products that introduces personally or periodically recommended products for the user for sales purposes. The recommended product information includes recommended product specifying information and recommended price information.
The recommended products are not limited to articles, but can also be services that are various services. In addition, the related target information provided to the user includes not only recommended products but also information such as technology and know-how.

The information display system 100 is configured such that an information providing server 110, a user terminal 120 as a terminal device, and a server 130 as a related information providing device are connected to each other via the Internet 140 so that they can communicate with each other. ing.
The Internet 140 is the Internet based on a general-purpose protocol such as TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) / IP (Internet Protocol), but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, an intranet such as a LAN (Local Area Network), a network such as a communication line network or a broadcasting network in which a plurality of base stations capable of transmitting and receiving information via a wireless medium constitute a network, and a medium for directly receiving data Any configuration for transmitting and receiving data, such as the wireless medium itself, can be used.

[Information provision server]
The information providing server 110 provides various information such as search information including recommended product information (related target information) and various news reports information, that is, a web page displayed by a web browser on the user terminal 120 connected via the Internet 140. This is a distribution source device.
Specifically, for example, a personal computer or the like is used as the information providing server 110, and an input device such as a mouse or a keyboard, various display devices such as a liquid crystal panel, and the like, which are not shown, are connected and controlled as a whole of the information providing server 110. It has a main unit. Note that the information providing server 110 is not limited to one configuration, and may be configured for each distribution source of various types of information.

  And the information provision server 110 transmits the web page according to the request | requirement from the user terminal 120, the information provision server display means 111 which makes this user terminal 120 display, and the information for a provider to input the web page Provided server input means 112, information providing server transmission / reception means 113 for transmitting the web page input by the information providing server input means 112 to the server 130, and the like.

The information providing server display unit 111 includes a program developed on an OS (Operating System) that controls the display device and the main device, and displays recommended product information on a display, for example. The information providing server display unit 111 can use various display devices such as a liquid crystal panel, a PDP (Plasma Display Panel), an organic EL panel, and a CRT.
The information providing server input unit 112 is configured by a program or the like developed on an OS (Operating System) that controls the input device and the main device, for example, according to an input operation using a mouse, a keyboard, or the like by the user Web page data (for example, HTML data) is input. The configuration of the setting input is not limited to a configuration using an input device such as a mouse or a keyboard. For example, a setting input by an input operation of a touch panel provided on the display device of the information providing server display unit 111, a setting input by voice, or the like A setting input method using various configurations can be used.
The information providing server transmission / reception unit 113 transmits, for example, a web page input by the information providing server input unit 112 to the network by a program or the like developed on an OS (Operating System) that controls the entire main apparatus.

[User terminal]
The user terminal 120 displays various web pages on a display screen by a web browser as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, for example, in accordance with a search request that is a search or browse request of the user. That is, the user terminal 120 is, for example, a personal computer, and includes an input device such as a mouse and a keyboard, various display devices such as a liquid crystal panel, a main body device that is connected to the user terminal 120 and is controlled as a whole. ing.
Specifically, the user terminal 120 performs processing based on the user terminal display unit 121, the user terminal input unit 122 that can be input by the user and allows various settings to be input by the input operation, and the toolbar program downloaded from the server 130. Toolbar processing means 123, and the like.

  The user terminal display unit 121 is configured by a program developed on an OS (Operating System) that controls the display device and the entire main body device, such as a program that controls a web browser or a display device, and displays various web pages. Display on the screen. As the user terminal display unit 121, various display devices can be used as in the information providing server display unit 111.

The user terminal input unit 122 is configured by a program or the like that is developed on an OS (Operating System) that controls the input device and the main device.
Then, the user terminal input unit 122 outputs and sets and inputs a signal corresponding to the input operation when the user performs an input operation using a mouse or a keyboard. For example, when the user terminal input unit 122 accepts a user keyword input, the control unit of the user terminal 120 transmits a search request to a search engine (for example, an information providing server) on the Internet 140, and responds to the search request. Web page data including the search result is received and displayed on the user terminal display unit 121.

The toolbar processing unit 123 is realized based on a program developed on an OS that controls the entire user terminal 120, for example. The toolbar processing means 123 is a processing function unit realized by a toolbar program that is an accompanying program linked with a web browser (hereinafter, functions corresponding to the toolbar program are collectively referred to as “toolbar”). Specific processing functions include a search function for transmitting a search request based on a keyword input in the input window to the server, a new mail status display function, a bookmark function for registering the URL of the web page being browsed, and the like. is there. This toolbar program is generally installed (installed) as an additional function of the web browser.
Further, the toolbar processing unit 123 includes a browsing information transmission unit 123A, a selection unit display unit 123B, a server connection unit 123C, and the like.

  The browsing information transmission unit 123 </ b> A performs processing for transmitting the page information of the web page displayed on the user terminal display unit 121 to the server 130. Based on an instruction command from the server 130, the selection unit display unit 123B allows the user terminal display unit 121 to select and set the category selection unit 321 transmitted from the server 130, which will be described in detail later, by the user terminal input unit 122. Process to be displayed. When the displayed category selection unit 321 is selected and operated, the server connection unit 123C transmits a connection request to the information providing server 110 corresponding to the connection information included in the category selection unit via the Internet 140 to connect to the information providing server 110. do.

  Here, as a web page to be displayed on the user terminal 120, for example, a browser display screen 200 of a web browser as shown in FIG. 2 in which search target information (web page) related to a search or browsing target is posted according to a user search request. Is displayed. Further, the browser display screen 210 shown in FIG. 3 in which the category is determined based on the browser display screen 200 on which the web page is displayed, and further lower than the category of the web page displayed on the browser display screen 210 shown in FIG. The browser display screen 220 shown in FIG. 4 in which the category is further determined, and the recommended product information (related target information) in the category is posted by selecting a lower category of the browser display screen 220 by the user. 5 is displayed on the browser display screen 230 shown in FIG.

That is, the browser display screen 200 shown in FIG. 2 includes a web page display area 201 that displays a web page acquired from the Internet 140, a toolbar display unit 202 that displays a processing function of the toolbar, and the like.
Also, the browser display screen 210 shown in FIG. 3 is provided with a category selection unit 321 that represents a category related to the contents of the web page display area 201 in the toolbar display unit 202 in the browser display screen 200 shown in FIG. Specifically, “shopping” and “health” category selection sections 321 are displayed as categories related to the contents of the web page displayed in the web page display area 201. These category selection units 321 can be set and input by a selection operation using the user terminal input unit 122 in the displayed user terminal 120, and the information providing server 110 that distributes the corresponding category web page by operating these. Connection information, that is, URL is associated (hyperlinked) so that it can be acquired by connecting (accessing) to.

  Further, the browser display screen 220 shown in FIG. 4 is in a state in which a pull-down menu 322 for displaying a list of lower categories is displayed when the category selection unit 321 in the browser display screen 210 shown in FIG. 3 is selected. Specifically, when the category selection section 321 of the “shopping” category is selected, a pull-down menu 322 displaying a lower category of “drinks and alcohol” and a lower category of “sweets” is displayed. The By selecting one of these categories and lower categories, the information providing server 110 which is a web server corresponding to the category selecting unit 322 is accessed, and the information provided by the information providing server 110 Information belonging to the category (related information) is displayed. That is, when “drink, alcohol” in the lower category selection unit 322 is selected, a web page as shown in FIG. 5 is displayed.

  The browser display screen 230 illustrated in FIG. 5 displays the web page acquired from the information providing server 110 in the web page display area 231. In addition, the browser display screen 230 includes web pages of “beer” and “wine” that are lower than “drinks and liquor” that are categories related to the contents of the web page in the web page display area 231, that is, the lower category. A category selection unit 321 for displaying on the user terminal 120 is provided. In addition, although the structure which provided the hyperlink 211A in this web page display area 231 is illustrated, it is not this limitation.

〔server〕
The server 130 performs processing for displaying a category related to the web page displayed on the user terminal 120.
For example, a personal computer or the like is used as the server 130. The server 130 includes a server input device such as a mouse and a keyboard, various server display devices such as a liquid crystal panel, and a server main body device to which these are connected and controlled as a whole. Yes.
Further, the server main unit of the server 130 includes a storage unit 150 and a calculation unit 160.

The storage unit 150 is connected to be readable and recordable by the calculation unit 160, and includes storage areas of various table structures such as a category database 151, a lower category database 152, a recommended information database 153, and a user information database 154. ing.
The storage unit 150 also stores various types of information such as various programs developed on the OS and a form for screen display.

The category database 151 is constructed in a table structure that stores a plurality of category information 151A, for example, as shown in FIG. The category information 151A includes category-specific phrase information 151A1 that is a phrase that specifies a category for classifying various web pages provided by the information providing server 110, related keyword information 151A2 that is a keyword related to the category, and a web corresponding to the category. Connection information 151A3 for connecting (accessing) to the storage unit 150 of the information providing server 110 or the server 130 that provides a page, specifically, information on the URL of a web page is associated as one piece of data.
The category specific phrase information 151A1 and the related keyword information 151A2 are, for example, text data. Then, category specific phrase information 151A1 is displayed on the category selection unit 321.

As shown in FIG. 7, for example, the lower category database 152 is constructed in a table structure that stores a plurality of lower category information 152A.
The lower category information 152A includes lower category specific phrase information 152A1 as a service group phrase that is a phrase that specifies a lower category obtained by further subdividing the service contents in the categories stored in the category database 151, and the lower category. Keyword information 152A2 as a group phrase that is a related keyword, and connection information 152A3 for connecting (accessing) to the storage unit 150 of the information providing server 110 or the server 130 that provides a web page of a lower category (specifically, web Page URL information) is linked as one piece of data.
These lower category specific phrase information 152A1 and keyword information 152A2 are, for example, text data. Then, the lower category specific phrase information 152A1 is displayed as an item of the pull-down menu 322 as shown in FIG.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 8, the recommended information database 153 stores a plurality of pieces of recommended information 153 </ b> A that are associated with each of the lower categories and that allow the user terminal 120 to display a web page on which recommended product information related to recommended products is displayed. Is built into a table structure.
The recommendation information 153A includes, for example, store name information 153A1 related to the name of the store that handles the product, product name information 153A2 related to the product name, recommended period information 153A3 related to the period recommended by the store, price information 153A4 related to the price, and a web on which recommended product information is posted URL information (connection information) 153A5 related to the URL of the page is associated as one record.

  If there is a web page related to a lower category of “drink, liquor” in the “shopping” category, for example, the web page shown in FIG. URL information 153A5 of the URL of the web page may be stored as product name information 153A2 in association with the “shopping” category or the subcategory “drink, liquor”. Moreover, it is good also as a structure which memorize | stores the recommendation information 153A in which product name information 153A2 was directly linked | related with the category without a lower category.

The user information database 154 is constructed in a table structure that stores a plurality of user information related to users who use the system.
As the user information, for example, information set when registering to use the present system is stored. Specifically, an example in which a user name, an identification number, a user address, a contact address, a mail address, and the like for specifying a user are associated as one record can be exemplified. Furthermore, information related to user preferences such as hobbies and luxury items based on a questionnaire, information related to behavioral targeting that serves as an index of preference such as purchase history in the user's past Internet auctions, and the like may be associated.

  The user information database 154 includes a history information database 154A. The history information database 154A stores information related to browsing history in which the user browsed information on recommended products in the past with the present system. That is, the history information database 154A relates to the category specific phrase information 151B corresponding to the category selection unit 321 input and operated on the user terminal 120, and the recommended product displayed on the user terminal 120 based on the input operation of the category selection unit 321. The URL information 153A5 of the web page and the frequency counter information that expresses the frequency by, for example, a score value are associated with each other as one frequency information and stored in a table structure.

The calculation means 160 is a browsing content information acquisition means 161 as a browsing information receiving means, a browsing category judgment means 162 that functions as a category judgment means, and a history information processing means as various programs developed on the OS that controls the entire server 130. 163, a display control unit 164 as a category selection unit control unit, an information provision processing unit 165, and the like.
The arithmetic means 160 also has various configurations for operating the server 130 such as a program and hardware for transmitting and receiving information, a program for operating an input device and a display device, and a program for timing.

The browsing content information acquisition unit 161 acquires browsing page information related to the web page displayed on the user terminal 120 from the user terminal 120 via the Internet 140.
Specifically, browsing page information (information that can specify a web page such as URL and HTML data) transmitted from the browsing information transmitting unit 123A of the toolbar processing unit 123 of the user terminal 120 is acquired.

The browsing category determination unit 162 determines the category based on the relationship between the web page corresponding to the browsing page information acquired by the browsing content information acquisition unit 161 and the related keywords in the category database 151 and the lower category database 152. . That is, the category of the web page displayed on the user terminal 120 is determined using the category database 151 based on the browsing page information. The browsing category determination unit 162 includes a category determination unit 162A, a lower category determination unit 162B, and the like as programs.
Here, the determination of the relevance between the web page and the category will be described in detail later, but for example, it is obtained from a dictionary database or the like provided separately with synonyms, synonyms, etc. For example, it is possible to determine that a category that has a high degree of match with a related keyword or a document classification technology that has a high similarity between the feature vector of the category and the feature vector of the document is the category. is not.

  The category determination unit 162A matches the phrase extracted from the information in the corresponding web page stored in the storage unit 150 as the browsing page information with the related keyword of the related keyword information 151A2 of the category database 151. Then, the category specific phrase information 151A1 in which many related keywords identical to the phrase of the browse page information are associated is determined. As this determination, a predetermined number of categories are selected in descending order of the number of related keywords that are the same as the phrase of the browsing page information. These determined categories are determined as categories related to the web page being browsed by the user, and stored in the storage unit 150.

  The lower category determination unit 162B selects a lower category classified in the category selected by the category determination unit 162A, in the same manner as the category determination unit 162A. That is, the phrase extracted from the information in the corresponding web page stored in the storage unit 150 as the browsing page information is matched with the keyword in the keyword information 152A2 in the lower category database 152. Then, the lower category specific phrase information 152A1 in which many keywords identical to the phrase of the browse page information are associated is determined. As this determination, a few lower categories are selected in descending order of the number of keywords identical to the words of the browsing page information. These determined lower categories are determined to be lower categories related to the web page being browsed by the user, and are stored in the storage unit 150.

The history information processing unit 163 recognizes a category corresponding to the category selection unit 321 input on the user terminal 120 and a web page displayed on the user terminal 120 based on the input operation of the category selection unit 321. Frequency information is generated by associating combinations of categories and web pages with their frequencies. Then, the history information processing unit 163 performs processing for sequentially storing or updating the generated frequency information in the history information database 153A of the storage unit 150.
Here, as the frequency of the combination in the frequency information, information on the input operation of the category selection unit 321 in the user terminal 120 is acquired, the category corresponding to the category selection unit 321 and the URL of the web page displayed by the input operation A method of adding the score value of the frequency counter information associated with the frequency information each time a combination with the frequency information is recognized can be exemplified.

The display control unit 164 performs processing for displaying the category selection unit 321 related to the category or lower category determined by the browsing category determination unit 162 on the toolbar display unit 202 of the user terminal 120. That is, an instruction command for displaying the category selection unit 321 (including information related to the display form of the category selection unit 321 and connection information corresponding to the category selection unit 321) is transmitted to the user terminal 120.
Further, when the category selection unit 321 is selected on the user terminal 120, the display control unit 164 transmits a command command for causing the user terminal to display a lower category for each category of the category selection unit 321 on the pull-down menu 322. That is, when displaying the category selection unit 321 on the toolbar display unit 202 of the user terminal 120, an instruction command (including the name of the lower category and connection information corresponding to the lower category) is transmitted to enable pull-down menu display. To do.

  The category selection unit 321 transmitted by the display control unit 164 selects the Internet address of the information providing server 110 for displaying the web page corresponding to the category or the lower category on the user terminal 120 by being selected and set. The URL as the connection information shown is transmitted in a linked state.

  In addition, when displaying the category selection unit 321, the display control unit 164 recognizes the user's preference along with the category or lower category determined by the browsing category determination unit 162 and displays the category selection unit 321 according to the preference. You may let them. In this case, a display form in which the preference is added to the result of the category or lower category determined by the browsing category determination unit 162, for example, the category selection unit 321 that is close to the preference in order from the right side of the toolbar display unit 202 is displayed side by side. You may display in the state (identification by a magnitude | size or a color) from which visibility becomes high according to palatability. Further, the category selection unit 321 may be displayed based on the result determined by the browsing category determination unit 162, and the category selection unit 321 corresponding to the preference may be displayed. Furthermore, when the pull-down menu 322 of the category selection unit 321 is displayed, the lower categories may be displayed in the order according to the closeness to the preference.

  As the determination of the preference, the history information database 153A of the user information database 153 is searched based on the information specifying the user received from the user terminal 120. For example, the category or the subordinate category having a large value of the frequency counter information, An example is a method of recognizing that the preference is high.

  When the category selection unit 321 displayed on the user terminal 120 is selected by the display control unit 164, the information provision processing unit 165 selects the user terminal 120 based on the connection information related to the category or lower category corresponding to the category selection unit 321. When accessed from, the web page corresponding to the connection information is displayed. That is, the information provision processing unit 165 transmits the web page corresponding to the selected category selection unit 321 to the user terminal 120 to display the web page.

[Operation of information display system]
Next, the operation of the information display system of this embodiment will be described.
In the present embodiment, the user terminal 120 accesses the server 130, and a toolbar program for using the system is already downloaded and available, for example, by member registration.

The user appropriately inputs the user terminal input unit 122 of the user terminal 120, and inputs a web page browsing request relating to desired information using, for example, a search engine (for example, input of a URL or input of a search query). . In response to this browsing request, the user terminal 120 causes the web page acquired via the Internet 140 to be displayed on a browser display screen 200 (user terminal display means 121) as shown in FIG.
When the web page is displayed on the screen, the user terminal 120 uses the browsing information transmission unit 123A of the toolbar processing unit 123 to display the URL of the web page being browsed by the user and the data of the web page itself as browsing page information. The data is transmitted to the server 130 via the Internet 140.
In addition, when transmitting the browsing page information from the user terminal, information for specifying the user, for example, user information such as an identification number or a number for identifying the user terminal 120 is transmitted.

The server 130 acquires the browsing page information transmitted from the user terminal 120 by the browsing content information acquisition unit 161 of the calculation unit 160. Here, the browsing category determination acquisition unit 162 extracts words displayed in the web page being browsed on the user terminal 120 from the browsing page information. Extraction of a phrase that is a characteristic word from this web page can be exemplified by using a dictionary of synonyms and synonyms using morphological analysis.
Then, the server 130 uses the category database 151 to determine the category of the web page displayed on the user terminal 120 by the browsing category determination unit 162 based on the browsing page information. For example, a category highly relevant to the phrase extracted from the browsing page information, specifically, related keyword information 151A2 in the same category database 151 is detected, and some categories having the same number of related keywords are extracted. Then, the browsing category determination unit 162 determines that the extracted category is a category related to the content of the web page being browsed on the user terminal 120 and stores the category in the storage unit 150.

  Further, when the browsing category determination unit 162 recognizes the category, the browsing category determination unit 162 also determines whether there is a web page, a lower category, or a recommended product associated with the category. That is, using the lower category database 152 and the recommended information database 153, the URL of the web page and the presence / absence of information related to the lower category or recommended product are searched. For example, there are lower-category words and lower-category web pages associated with the category (upper-level) of the category database 151, words such as recommended product names or product names, and information on recommended product web pages. And when the information regarding the web page relevant to these categories, the lower category relevant to a category, or recommended goods is recognized, these information is also memorize | stored in the memory | storage means 150 with a category.

  Further, when the user information is received by the history information processing unit 163, the server 130 uses the user information database 153 to identify the user based on the user information. Then, the calculation unit 160 determines the preference corresponding to the identified user. Specifically, the category based on the preference information included in the user information and the category with the high score value of the frequency counter information in the history information database 153A are recognized and stored in the storage unit 150. When recognizing this category, the presence or absence of a lower category or recommended product related to the category is also recognized based on the lower category database and recommendation information.

Then, when the server 130 determines the category by the browsing category determination unit 162, the display control unit 164 displays the toolbar displayed on the web page toolbar 202 shown in FIG. As shown, the category selection unit 321 is displayed.
That is, the display control unit 164 transmits a command command for displaying the category selection unit 321 corresponding to the recognized category to the user terminal 120. When a lower category is recognized, a command command for displaying a pull-down menu 322 capable of selecting the lower category in association with the upper category is transmitted to the user terminal 120.

  By transmitting these command instructions, the selection unit display unit 123B of the user terminal 120 displays the category selection unit 321 shown in FIGS. When the user terminal 120 also receives a command for a lower category, the user terminal 120 selects a pull-down menu 322 as one of the category selection units 321 as shown in FIG. Display as a part.

  Then, for example, when the user finishes browsing the web page and selects the displayed category selection unit 321 to acquire another web page related to the web page being browsed, the user corresponds to the category. A web page is displayed. That is, when the category selection unit 321 is selected by the user terminal input unit 122 or when any lower category of the pull-down menu 322 is recognized, it is transmitted from the server 130 associated with the selected category. The connection information (URL) is accessed, a web page is acquired via the Internet 140, and displayed on the screen.

In the web page shown in FIG. 4, the category selection unit 321 corresponding to “shopping” is selected, and “drink, liquor” in the pull-down menu 322 is selected and executed, thereby being associated with this “drink, liquor”. The corresponding web page shown in FIG. 5 is displayed on the browser display screen 230 by the server connection unit 123C based on the connection information. The web page related to the selected category is acquired based on the URL information 153A5 transmitted from the server 130 in advance.
When the category selection unit 321 is selected, if the pull-down menu 322 is not displayed and is selected and executed as it is, a web page (not shown) based on the previously acquired URL information 153A5 corresponding to the lower category in the pull-down menu 322 is displayed. Is displayed.

On the other hand, when the category selection unit 321 is operated to display a web page, the browsing information transmission unit 123A of the user terminal 120 transmits browsing page information about the web page displayed on the web browser to the server 130.
Then, the server 130 that has received the browse page information performs a process of adding the score value of the frequency counter information in the frequency information corresponding to the received phrase by the history information processing unit 163.

  Further, when the web page is displayed on the user terminal display unit 121 by the selection execution of the category selection unit 321, the browsing information transmission unit 123 </ b> A transmits the browsing page information of the web page to the server 130 again, and sequentially processed in the same manner. The That is, a web page is acquired based on browsing page information, and feature words are extracted from the web page. Then, the feature word is compared with the keyword information 152A2 stored in the lower category database 152, and the related lower category is determined based on the number of matching words. The display control unit 164 transmits an instruction command for displaying the category selection unit 321 having the connection information 152A3 associated with the determined lower category to the user terminal 120.

[Effect of the embodiment]
In embodiment mentioned above, there can exist the effect shown below.

That is, in the said embodiment, the browsing page information regarding the content of the web page which a user browses is acquired from the user terminal 120, and the category of the web page currently browsed using the category database 151 is judged. Then, the category selection unit 321 having connection information 151A3, 152A3, and 153A5 to the web page of the content related to the category can be input and operated on the user terminal 120 with the determined category written and selected and executed. It is displayed on the tool bar display unit 202.
For this reason, information related to information being browsed by the user can be browsed only by an input operation of the category selection unit 321, and there is no need to perform a search process for browsing related information again. Browsing can be performed only by an extremely easy operation of selecting 321. Furthermore, since it is possible to browse related information sequentially with easy operations, the use of this system can be easily expanded, and it is possible to guide to specific sites by expanding the use, thereby improving the ability to attract customers. It is done. Further, by providing information such as introduction of recommended products as related information, the ability to attract customers can be further improved.

  In particular, by selecting and executing the category selection unit 321, a web page on which related information is posted is immediately displayed by the information provision processing unit 165. For example, a web page on which related information is posted is browsed and displayed. Therefore, it is not necessary to perform another process such as selecting URL information when informing the user of URL information, and the user convenience can be improved.

The category selection unit 321 can display a pull-down menu 322 from which a lower category can be selected.
For this reason, it is information related to the information being browsed, and information desired by the user can be provided easily and with a single operation, thereby improving the usability of the user.

When displaying the pull-down menu 322 as a list, the user information database 153 is used to calculate the degree of matching between the user preference and the service content corresponding to each category, and the pull-down menu 322 is displayed in the order corresponding to the degree of matching. A list is displayed.
For this reason, when the pull-down menu 322 is displayed, it is displayed in the order of the service contents that match the user's preference. Therefore, it is easier to display a web page on which related information is posted, and the user's usability is further improved. it can.

And the category selection part 321 which can acquire the web page which publishes relevant information is provided in the tool bar display part 202 of the web page which the user is browsing.
For this reason, compared with the case where the category selection unit 321 or the like is provided in another window, for example, the operability of the user is better, and the system can be constructed with a simple configuration using the program of the existing toolbar display unit 202. Easy to do.

In addition, the history information processing unit 163 stores the operation content of the user's category selection unit 321 as frequency information in the history information database 153A, and the category selection unit 321 can be displayed according to the usage status of the user.
For this reason, when reflecting according to the operation content for each user, the preference for each user can be reflected, and when responding to the operation content for the entire user, the preference of the entire user can be grasped. Can be improved.

[Modification of Embodiment]
It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it goes without saying that modifications and improvements within the scope of achieving the objects and effects of the present invention are included in the contents of the present invention. Nor. Further, the specific structure, shape, etc. in carrying out the present invention are not problematic as other structures, shapes, etc., within the scope of achieving the objects and effects of the present invention.

For example, when browsing a web page, a configuration in which the category selection unit 321 is automatically displayed or a manual configuration in which the user appropriately sets and inputs the state in which the category selection unit 321 is displayed can be set as appropriate.
The configuration in which the toolbar processing unit 123 that is software transmitted from the server 130 is provided as the user terminal 120 by the display control unit 164 of the server 130 has been described. Can be constructed.

In the embodiment described above, the feature word is extracted on the server 130 side. However, this processing may be performed on the client (user terminal 120) side. That is, the feature word is extracted from the web page by the toolbar processing unit 123 of the client (user terminal 120) and transmitted to the server 130 in the same manner as described above. The server 130 determines the category of the web page based on the feature word.
In addition, the client (user terminal 120) includes a category database 151 and a lower category database 152. On the client (user terminal 120) side, acquisition of page information of a web page displayed by a user on a web browser, determination of a category, The category selection unit 321 may be displayed on the toolbar display unit 202. In this case, the related information providing apparatus of the present invention can be realized by a client (user terminal 120) alone.
Thus, the system configuration for realizing the related information providing apparatus of the present invention can be changed as appropriate.

In addition, when the category selection unit 321 is selected by the user and the connection information corresponding to the category is accessed, command information for displaying the category selection unit 321 for searching for information using the characteristic words of the displayed web page is displayed. It may be included in the instruction command and transmitted to the client. That is, an instruction command (for example, a script) using a characteristic word (for example, a word having high importance by tf / idf) acquired from a web page as a search keyword is included in the instruction command for display of the category selection unit 321, The server 130 transmits.
When the category selection unit 321 is selected and operated by the client (user terminal 120), connection information corresponding to the category selection unit 321 using the feature word as a search keyword based on the command information included in the category selection unit 321 To access. Thereby, the information searched by the characteristic word of the web page being browsed among the web pages in the category related to the web page being browsed by the user can be obtained.
The feature word extraction and the process of generating command information for searching for information by the feature word are, of course, performed by the toolbar processing unit of the client (user terminal 120), and the feature is selected when the user selects the category selection unit 321. A word may be used as a search query.

In addition, as a method of determining the content of information that the user is browsing, various methods such as searching for related keywords in display information, matching words and phrases extracted by morphological analysis, synonym / synonym search, etc. Can be applied. Furthermore, the configuration is not limited to the configuration in which the content is determined based on the display screen displayed on the user terminal 120, but the URL of the web page requested to be browsed and the information described in the toolbar display unit 202 or the related information toolbar display unit 212. Based on the above, information on a web page requested to be browsed by the user may be acquired from the information providing server 110 to determine the content.
For example, when the page information of the web page displayed on the user terminal 120 is acquired, the web page specified based on the page information is acquired, and the morphological analysis is performed from the character string posted in the web page. The phrase is extracted by the above and stored in the storage unit 150. In addition, when the server 130 acquires the web page data itself displayed on the screen from the user terminal 120 as page information, similarly, a word / phrase is extracted from the character string of the information by morphological analysis or the like, and stored in the storage unit 150. Remember.
Furthermore, although the lower category database 152 regarding the lower category in the category has been provided and described, a configuration in which it is linked to the category information 151A of the category database 151 may be employed. Further, the lower category database 152 may be further finely classified to have a multi-stage database structure.

As a configuration in which the pull-down menu 322 of the category selection unit 321 is displayed in multiple stages, a user terminal displays a web page on which information about recommended products recommended by the user from the web page being browsed by the user is posted. It may be displayed at 120 so that information on recommended products can be directly provided.
A category selection unit 321 is provided so that products related to information viewed by the user can be introduced as recommended products, and the URL of the web page on which the recommended product information is posted is associated with the category selection unit 321 from the information providing server 110 to the web page. However, for example, a web page may be stored in the storage unit 150 of the server 130 and browsed from the server 130.

As the history information database 153A, the category is associated with the URL, and the category selection unit 321 is provided with reference to the browsing frequency of the recommended product in the category. For example, the category selection unit 321 may be provided as appropriate.
As the category judgment of the browsing category judgment unit 162, for example, the higher the number of appearances in the information extracted from the phrase extracted by morphological analysis, the higher the score value of the matching related keyword is set, and the score value of the matching related keyword is totaled. Alternatively, a category with a high score value may be selected.

When information on the web page itself or information on the URL of the web page relating to the recommended product is acquired from the information providing server 110, information relating to a predetermined settlement or information relating to a settlement request is transmitted from the server 130, or category selection is performed by the user terminal 120 When the web page of the provider who provides the recommended product is displayed from the unit 321, payment processing may be performed or information related to the payment request may be transmitted.
Although the user information is transmitted when the browsing content information is transmitted to the server 130 at the user terminal 120, the user information is not transmitted when the related information is notified without considering the user's preference. Good. Further, for example, user information is transmitted in advance during login processing using this system, or user information is acquired by the server 130 when recognizing a setting input of the user terminal 120 in consideration of the user information. For example, the user information transmission / reception timing can be set as appropriate.

  The configuration example in which the web page on which the related information is posted is immediately displayed by selecting and executing the category selection unit 321 is illustrated. For example, the web page on which the related information is posted is browsed. The URL information to be displayed may be notified and a web page on which related information is posted may be displayed by inputting or selecting and executing the URL information.

  In addition, the specific configuration and form in the implementation of the present invention may be other structures as long as the object of the present invention can be achieved.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ......... Information display system 120 ......... User terminal which is a terminal device 123 ......... Tool bar processing means 123A ... Browsing information transmission means 123B ... Selection part display means 123C ... Server connection means 130 ......... Information display Server 140 as a device ...... Internet as a network 151 .... Category database 151A ... Category information 151A1 ... Category specific phrase information 151A2 ... Related keyword information 151A3, 152A3 ... Connection information 152 ......... Lower category database 152A ... Lower category information 152A1 ... Lower category specific phrase information as service group phrases 152A2 ... Keyword information as group phrases 153 ... ... Recommended information database 153A ... Specific information 153A5 ... Contact URL information 160 as a follow-up information 160... Calculating means 161... Browsing content information obtaining means 162 as browsing information receiving means 162... Browsing category judgment means 163... History information processing means 164. 165... Information provision processing means 200, 210, 220, 230 ... Browser display screen 201, 231 ... Web page display area in which a web page is displayed 202 ... Toolbar display part 321 as a toolbar 321 ... Category selection part 322 ... Pull-down menu

Claims (7)

A related information providing device that provides information related to a web page displayed by a web browser of a terminal device,
A category database for storing a category for classifying information provided by various information providing servers and a plurality of related keywords respectively associated with each category;
Browsing information receiving means for receiving page information of a web page displayed by the web browser from the terminal device via a network;
Category judging means for judging the category to which the web page belongs based on the relation between the web page corresponding to the page information received by the browsing information receiving means and the related keyword stored in the category database;
Connection information for connecting the terminal device to the information providing server that provides the web page so that the web page corresponding to the category determined by the category determining means can be displayed on the terminal device is selected by the terminal device A category selection unit control means for transmitting an instruction command for displaying on the terminal device a category selection unit for each category that can be set;
The related information provision apparatus characterized by comprising. The related information providing apparatus according to claim 1,
A plurality of lower category databases that are associated with each category and store a plurality of lower-level categories in the category and a plurality of keywords related to the lower-level categories in association with each other;
Based on the relationship between the related keyword associated with the lower category corresponding to the category determined by the category determining means and the web page corresponding to the page information received by the browsing information receiving means, the web page A lower category judging means for judging a lower category to which
The category selection unit control means includes:
Connection information for connecting the terminal device to the information providing server that provides the web page so that a web page corresponding to the lower category determined by the lower category determining means can be displayed on the terminal device; A related information providing apparatus, further comprising: an instruction command for causing the terminal device to display a category selection unit for each lower category that can be selected and set by the device, to the terminal device. The related information providing apparatus according to claim 2,
The category selection control means includes:
By displaying a list of the lower categories determined by the lower category determination unit together with the upper categories, an instruction command for displaying the category selection unit that can alternatively select the category is further transmitted. Related information providing apparatus characterized by that. The related information providing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Further comprising feature word extraction means for extracting a feature word from a web page corresponding to the page information received by the browsing information receiving means;
The category selection unit control means includes:
When the category selection unit is selected and set on the terminal device, the information providing server corresponding to the category of the selected category selection unit causes the feature word extracted by the feature word extraction unit to be searched as a search keyword The related information providing apparatus characterized in that the command information included in the category selection unit is transmitted. Related information provision in which a terminal device for displaying a web page by a web browser and a related information providing device for notifying the terminal device of related information about the web page displayed on the terminal device are connected via a network. A system,
The related information providing device includes:
A category database for storing a category of information provided by various information providing servers and a plurality of related keywords associated with each category in association with each other;
Browsing information receiving means for receiving page information of a web page displayed by the web browser from the terminal device via the network;
Category judging means for judging the category to which the web page belongs based on the relation between the web page corresponding to the page information received by the browsing information receiving means and the related keyword stored in the category database;
Connection information for connecting the terminal device to the information providing server that provides the web page so that the web page corresponding to the category determined by the category determining means can be displayed on the terminal device is selected by the terminal device Category selection instruction control means for transmitting to the terminal device an instruction command for causing the terminal device to display a category selection section for each category that can be set; and
The terminal device
Display means for displaying a web page in the web browser;
Browsing information transmitting means for transmitting page information of the displayed web page to the related information providing device;
When receiving an instruction command for displaying the category selection unit transmitted from the related information providing device, a selection unit display unit that displays the category selection unit on the display unit so that the category selection unit can be selected and set;
And a server connection means for transmitting a connection request to the information providing server corresponding to the connection information of the category selection section when the displayed category selection section is selected and operated. Information provision system. A related information providing program for causing a calculation means to function as the related information providing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4. A related information providing method for providing information related to a web page displayed on a web browser of a terminal device by a computing means,
The computing means is
Using a category database that stores a category that classifies information provided by various information providing servers and a plurality of related keywords that are related to each category in association with each other.
A browsing information receiving step of receiving page information of the web page displayed by the web browser from the terminal device via a network;
A category determination step for determining a category to which the web page belongs based on the relationship between the web page corresponding to the page information received in the browsing information reception step and the related keyword stored in the category database;
Connection information for connecting the terminal device to the information providing server providing the web page so that the web page corresponding to the category determined by the category determining step can be displayed on the terminal device is selected by the terminal device And a category selection unit control means for transmitting to the terminal device an instruction command for displaying a settable category selection unit for each category on the terminal device.

Images