JP4346276B2 - Information search system, information search device, information search method, and information search program - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an information search system, an information search apparatus, an information search method, and an information search program, and in particular, an information search system, an information search apparatus, an information search method, and an information search system capable of obtaining a search result closer to a result desired by a user, and Information retrieval program.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, with the spread of networks, contents such as moving images, music, images, characters, and information have been enriched on the networks. Several methods for searching content on the network have been proposed.
[0003]
In one method, the content name and the location of the content of the music file are managed by the server. Using this method, the user obtains the location of the content to be obtained by making an inquiry to the server, instead of teaching the content held by the user to the server. Then, the content is directly provided from the content holder.
[0004]
Also, in a certain method, as in a message game, the user is asked whether the desired content is held from terminal to terminal. Then, when a held terminal is found, the content is provided to that terminal.
[0005]
However, the amount of content searched by these methods is enormous, and it is very difficult to search for content that suits one's preference. In addition, recently, searching and acquiring content in this way has become a problem because it is against the copyright of the content.
[0006]
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 4-51336 discloses a method for sharing file contents by level by providing individual level, friend level, sharing level, and access rights divided according to files.
[0007]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-29908 discloses a method for observing the state of web surfing of a user with the same preference, so that when he surfs the web, he can always reach the website where he / she wants. is doing.
[0008]
Furthermore, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-209661 discloses a narrowing-down method when a fuzzy search is performed, and a method for easily performing an effective search operation.
[0009]
Furthermore, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-333411 discloses a method for smoothly switching the content that the user is viewing to the recommended content when the recommended information related to the content is distributed.
[0010]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, when searching for information using the method disclosed in the above-mentioned JP-A-4-51336, or searching for information using the method disclosed in JP-A-2000-29908, the search There is a problem that the level of the user who can perform the search and the target of information to be searched are limited, and a meaningful search result may not be obtained.
[0011]
In addition, even when information is searched using the search method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-209661, there is a problem that a result close to the desired result may not be obtained.
[0012]
In addition, when content is acquired using the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-333411, there is a problem that content information cannot be acquired independently.
[0013]
The present invention has been made in view of these problems, and provides an information search system, an information search apparatus, an information search method, and an information search program capable of obtaining a search result closer to a result desired by a user. With the goal.
[0014]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
  In order to achieve the above object, according to one aspect of the present invention, an information search system includes:Group storage means for storing terminals for communication as a group;Communicate over a communication lineDuplicationOut of the number of terminalsOutput from a specific terminalSearchrequestTheOn other devicesAn information retrieval system for performingThe specific terminal outputs a search request to other terminals belonging to the groupRequest means;Receiving means for receiving a search result transmitted from another terminal, wherein the other terminal includes a search means for searching for information corresponding to a search request output from the specific terminal, and a search meansSearch resultsSpecific terminalSend toSendingA means of communication,Transfer means for transferring the search request output from the specific terminal to another terminal belonging to the group, and the transfer means of the other terminal transfers the search request output from the specific terminal to the other terminal in the group. The transmission means of the other terminal directly transmits the search result searched according to the search request to the specific terminal regardless of the transfer process..
  Further, it is desirable that the group storage means is provided for each terminal belonging to the group.
  Furthermore, the terminal stored in the group storage means is preferably a terminal in the communication history.
[0015]
The information described above preferably includes at least one of information indicating the content content and information indicating the storage location of the content.
[0016]
  The above request means, Search requiredDemandOutputWithRetrieval of search requests in transfer means of other terminalsIn addition, this limit isSearch is required in the transfer means of another terminal.WantedtransferIt is desirable to be updated when it is done.
[0017]
The communication history described above is a communication history of e-mail between terminals, and the group information preferably includes a network address obtained based on the e-mail address.
[0018]
  According to another aspect of the present invention, an information search apparatus includes a communication unit that performs communication via a communication line, and a first storage unit that stores information., ThroughA second storage means for storing information on the group of the recipient device, a request means for requesting information search from a device belonging to the group, and a search for the first storage means when the information search is requested. An information search device comprising search transmission means for transmitting search results and storage means for storing search results received from devices belonging to the group, wherein the request means includes presence of specific information in the devices belonging to the group The first request information for confirming is transmitted, the storage unit stores the search result including the response to the first request information, and the search transmission unit receives the first request information, and then stores the first request unit. The request means transmits a search result to the transmission destination of the first request information, and when the request means receives the first request information, the request means sends a specific result to the device belonging to the group. Confirm the existence of information To send the request information.
[0019]
  Also,The terminal stored in the second storage means is a terminal in the communication historyIt is desirable.
[0022]
Further, the information search device determines a group based on at least one of a transmission address and a reception address included in an email communication history and an address automatically classified based on the email communication history. It is desirable to further include one group determining means.
[0023]
Further, the information search device analyzes the at least one of the information included in the text of the transmitted / received e-mail and the information included in the header of the transmitted / received e-mail to determine a group. It is desirable to provide further.
[0024]
The information search device also includes a display means for displaying the search results stored in the storage means, information about the device that transmitted the search results, the number of specific information included in the search results, and a specification included in the search results. It is desirable to further include display output restriction means for restricting information to be output to the display means based on at least one of the date / time information of the information and the presence / absence information of the specific information included in the search result. .
[0025]
  According to still another aspect of the present invention, an information search method includes:Group storage means for storing terminals for communication as a group;Communicate over a communication lineDuplicationNumber of terminalsTo perform a search request output by a specific terminalAn information retrieval method,Output a search request to other terminals belonging to the group at a specific terminal.A request step;In another terminal, information corresponding to the search request output from the specific terminal is searched in the terminal.Search and search resultsOn a specific deviceSendSendingStepIn the other terminal, a transfer step of transferring the search request output from the specific terminal to the other terminal belonging to the group, and a receiving step of receiving the search result transmitted from the other terminal in the specific terminalWith.
[0026]
  According to still another aspect of the present invention, the information search program includes a first storage step for storing information,, ThroughStored in the second storage step for storing information on the group of the recipient device, a request step for requesting information retrieval from devices belonging to the group, and in the first possible step when the information retrieval is requested. A program that causes a computer to execute a search transmission step of searching for information and transmitting a search result and an accumulation step of accumulating a search result received from a device belonging to the group. First request information for confirming the presence of specific information is transmitted, and in the storage step, a search result including a response to the first request information is stored. In the search transmission step, the first request information is received. The information stored in the first storage step is searched for whether or not specific information exists, and the search result is displayed as the first request information. It is sent to the destination, in the request step, when receiving the first request information, the devices belonging to the group to transmit the second request information to confirm the presence of specific information.
[0027]
According to still another aspect of the present invention, the recording medium is a computer-readable recording medium that records the above-described information search program.
[0028]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same parts and components are denoted by the same reference numerals. Their names and functions are also the same. Therefore, detailed description thereof will not be repeated.
[0029]
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the information search system in the present embodiment. Referring to FIG. 1, an information search system according to the present embodiment includes terminals 1a to 1d (terminals 1a to 1d are represented as terminals 1) that communicate in a network such as a personal computer, and the information search system. And a management server 1e for managing the above.
[0030]
Furthermore, the above-described terminals 1a to 1d have some relationship with one terminal 1a (hereinafter referred to as “own terminal 1a” for convenience of explanation) and own terminal 1a, that is, direct communication. And a plurality of terminals 1b. For convenience of explanation, the above-mentioned “some relationship” will be replaced with the word “friend relationship” hereinafter. That is, the above-described terminals 1a to 1d include the own terminal 1a, the plurality of terminals 1b (friend terminal 1b) having a friendship with the own terminal 1a, and the plurality of terminals 1c having a friendship with the friend's terminal 1b. (A friend's friend's terminal 1c) and a plurality of terminals 1d (friend's friend's friend's friend's terminal 1d) having a friend relationship with the friend's friend's terminal 1c.
[0031]
In the information retrieval system, the terminals 1a to 1d communicate with each other via a dedicated line such as a LAN (Local Area Network) or a communication line such as a telephone line. Note that this communication includes not only communication via a communication line but also wireless communication. In addition, communication is performed similarly between the terminal 1a and the management server 1e.
[0032]
Such a connection of the terminal 1 centering on its own terminal 1a is hereinafter simply referred to as a network. In FIG. 1, a solid line indicates connection (direct communication) by such a network, and a broken line indicates the distance from the terminal 1a to the terminals 1b to 1d and the management server 1e. Here, the distance does not mean a physical distance, but indicates how many friend terminals are used to establish a friendship. Hereinafter, this distance is replaced with the word “friend distance” for convenience. For example, the friend distance 1 is a distance between the terminals 1 that perform direct communication, and communication is performed via a larger number of terminals 1 as the friend distance increases.
[0033]
Further, the management server 1e shown in FIG. 1 manages information on the address of the registered terminal 1 on the network. Hereinafter, this network address is referred to as an IP address.
[0034]
In FIG. 1, an information search system including one network centered on its own terminal 1a is shown. However, in this information search system, each terminal 1b to 1d not shown here is the center. It is assumed that a plurality of networks are included.
[0035]
In such an information search system of the present embodiment, a search such as ranking or search is performed as information search, and desired information is acquired. In the following description, it is assumed that the viewing ranking is specifically investigated.
[0036]
Next, the configuration of the terminal 1 included in the information search system will be described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the terminal 1a (own terminal 1a). The configuration of the terminals 1a to 1d is assumed to be the same as that of the terminal 1a shown in FIG.
[0037]
Referring to FIG. 2, the terminal 1a includes a device 2a capable of browsing content on the Internet with a browser or the like. The device 2a includes a media player 2aa that plays media included in music and other content, a browser 2ab that is software for browsing a home page on a WWW (world wide web) server on the Internet, an electronic device And mailer 2ac which is software for sending and receiving mail. Further, each terminal 1 acting as a home server has a media player 2b and a browser 2c for viewing content 2d such as streaming on the Internet and MP3 (MPEG AUDIO Layer-III), and monitoring of access on the Internet. Internet access monitoring unit 2e such as proxy, mail monitoring unit 2f that monitors transmission / reception of electronic mail with the mail server 2u, and viewing history classification that classifies viewing history based on viewing information in the Internet access monitoring unit 2e A system 2g, a survey target classification system 2h that classifies survey targets based on email transmission / reception information, a viewing history 2n that stores classification results in the viewing history classification system 2g, a friend's terminal 1b and server 1e, A connection system 2i serving as an interface for communication, and a connection system 2i A totaling system 2j for totaling the information received via the server, an output HTML 2p for outputting the totaling result created by the totaling system 2j, a distance / display number setting system 2k, and a Web server (CGI: common gateway interface) ) 2l, a saved content 2r that is saved content information, a survey system 2m that conducts a survey based on the viewing history 2n and the saved content 2r, and a survey result that stores the survey results created by the survey system 2m (Content information) 2s, a survey target list (friend list) 2o, a setting 2q that is a setting in the distance / display number setting system 2k, and a mailer 2t.
[0038]
In such a terminal 1a, the Internet access monitoring unit 2e allows the device 2a that can browse the content on the Internet with the media player 2aa, the browser 2ab, etc. to receive the content 2d on the Internet via the Internet access monitoring unit 2e. The viewed information is passed to the viewing history classification system 2g. The viewing history classification system 2g classifies the data and creates a viewing history 2n. Further, the e-mail is transmitted / received to / from the mail server 2u via the mail monitoring unit 2f. In addition, the mail monitoring unit 2f passes e-mail transmission / reception information to the survey target classification system 2h. The survey target classification system 2h is like a message rule for mail classification in the mailer 2t. As a result, the survey target classification system 2h organizes the data and creates the survey target list 2o. In addition, the mail classification folder existing in the Mail Box of the mailer 2t and the information of the electronic mail classified there are passed to the survey target classification system 2h, so that the survey target classification system 2h adapts the above rules. It is also possible to create the survey target list 2o. The terminal 1 registered in the survey target list 2o corresponds to the friend's terminal 1b.
[0039]
Next, when conducting a survey such as ranking or search, the connection system 2i accepts a request from the user and requests a friend's terminal 1b by peer to peer. Then, the connection system 2i passes the received survey results to the counting system 2j. The tabulation system 2j tabulates the received survey results and creates an output HTML 2p based on user preferences. If the user desires to save the content acquired by the Web server 21 based on the investigation result, the saved content 2r is added to the content information.
[0040]
In addition, when the survey system 2m receives a survey request from the friend's terminal 1b, the survey system 2m creates a survey result based on the viewing history 2n and the stored content 2r. Then, the survey result is transmitted to the client. The distance / display number setting system 2k automatically changes the setting 2q of the friend distance to be investigated and the display number of the survey result based on the user's preference.
[0041]
Furthermore, the hardware configuration of the terminal 1a will be described. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the terminal 1a (own terminal 1a).
[0042]
Referring to FIG. 3, terminal 1a includes a memory 3a composed of RAM (Random Access Memory), a non-volatile memory 3b composed of a hard disk, etc., and an input device 3d composed of a keyboard, a mouse, and the like. A network I / O (Input / Output) serving as an interface between a display device 3e constituted by a display, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 3f for controlling the entire terminal 1a, and a friend's terminal 1b and the management server 1e 3g. These are connected by a bus 3c.
[0043]
The memory 3a includes an area 3h for storing the address on the network of the terminal 1 of the sender of the received survey request, and content information included in the survey results, as a software area used for information retrieval according to the present embodiment. And an area 3j for storing information of content viewed or saved by the user from the investigation result.
[0044]
The address on the network of the terminal 1 of the sender of the survey request stored in the area 3h is information stored so that the same survey request is not transmitted to the same friend's terminal 1b a plurality of times. Further, the information of the content viewed or saved by the user from the survey result stored in the region 3j is information for automatically changing the friend distance and the display number of the survey result based on the user's preference.
[0045]
The nonvolatile memory 3b described above includes the viewing history 2n, the survey target list 2o, the output HTML 2p, the setting 2q, the saved content 2r, and the survey result 2s described above.
[0046]
Since hardware configurations of terminals 1b to 1d other than terminal 1a are similar to the hardware configuration of terminal 1a described above, description thereof will not be repeated here.
[0047]
Further, since the management server 1e is a server constructed by a general computer or the like, detailed description of its configuration will not be given.
[0048]
Next, an information search process in the information search system of the present embodiment including the terminal 1 will be described.
[0049]
In the information retrieval system, a process of recognizing the friend's terminal 1b by the terminal 1a is executed. Further information retrieval is performed. Therefore, first, the process of recognizing the friend's terminal 1b by the terminal 1a will be described.
[0050]
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a process in which the terminal 1a recognizes the friend's terminal 1b. The process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 4 is realized by the CPU 3f of the terminal 1a executing a program stored in the memory 3a or the nonvolatile memory 3b.
[0051]
Referring to FIG. 4, first, survey target classification system 2h applies a rule for classifying transmission / reception information passed from mail monitoring unit 2f every time an electronic mail is transmitted / received to classify the electronic mail ( S1). Then, the mail address indicated by “To” in the header of the classified outgoing mail and the mail address indicated by “From” in the header of the received mail are recognized as the member ID of the friend's terminal 1b and added to the investigation target list 2o. (S2).
[0052]
This is the end of the program.
Note that the rules for classifying e-mails in step S1 described above are applied when classifying e-mails sent and received via the mail monitoring unit 2f. Below, a brief explanation will be given regarding the classification of sent and received e-mails.
[0053]
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of a rule for classifying electronic mail. Referring to FIG. 5, as rules for classifying e-mails, information such as transmission / reception date / time information, signatures, e-mail destination names, e-mail body texts, e-mail addresses, and mailer types are included. Can be used to classify.
[0054]
Then, the email is classified using the rules shown in FIG. Specifically, the above-mentioned information is read from the header of the electronic mail shown in FIG. 6 and classified by applying the rule shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of an e-mail header. In FIG. 6, the information to be read is indicated with an arrow. The e-mails are classified and stored in a designated folder for friend recognition as shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a specific example of a folder for classifying and storing sent and received e-mails.
[0055]
In step S1 described above, a friend's terminal 1b is determined by applying a rule whose specific example is shown in FIG. That is, by designating the above-described folder, the terminal 1 that has transmitted and received the electronic mail stored in the designated folder is determined as the friend's terminal 1b.
[0056]
As described above, the friend terminal 1b is determined by applying the rule shown in the specific example in FIG. 5 to the transmission / reception date / time information included in the header of the e-mail whose specific example is shown in FIG. Only the terminal 1 that is in communication during the period (for example, recently) can be recognized as the friend's terminal 1b, and the information shown below can be searched. Therefore, it is possible to acquire information closer to a tendency such as one's preference.
[0057]
Further, the above rules are applied to the destination name and address included in the header of the email whose specific example is shown in FIG. 6, or the signature of the email text and the beginning (destination) of the email text (not shown). By classifying the terminal 1b, it is possible to acquire information closer to a tendency such as one's own preference.
[0058]
Also, using the information on the type of mailer being used included in the header of the e-mail whose specific example is shown in FIG. 6, that is, using information such as whether or not the mailer is an entertainment mailer. By classifying the friend's terminal 1b, it is possible to acquire information that is closer to the tendency of one's own preference and the like.
[0059]
Note that the relationship referred to as “friend” in the present embodiment is not limited to the actual “friend” relationship, but may be “something”. Accordingly, in the folder shown in FIG. 7, the transmission / reception partner of the e-mail stored in the “friend folder” is not limited to the friend's terminal 1b, but the e-mail stored in an arbitrary folder. Can be a friend's terminal 1b.
[0060]
Furthermore, although the example which uses the rule applied when classifying the email transmitted / received in order to determine the friend's terminal 1b is given here, the friend's terminal 1b can also be determined by other methods. . Specifically, the friend's terminal 1b can be determined by analyzing the transmission (or incoming) history of the mobile phone. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a specific example of incoming call history information of a mobile phone. In this case, in the above-described step S1, the telephone numbers that have recently made a call are classified based on a predetermined rule. That is, the information of the incoming call history of the mobile phone whose specific example is shown in FIG. 8 can be classified using the transmission / reception date / time information and information such as the group in which friends are registered in the mobile phone. In step S2, the owner of the telephone number can be recognized as a friend, and the friend's information can be added to the survey target list 2o.
[0061]
As another specific example, a friend's terminal 1b can be determined by analyzing a chat history. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of a chat history. In this case, in the above-described step S1, opponents who have recently interacted with (predetermined period) are classified based on predetermined rules. That is, the chat history information whose specific example is shown in FIG. 9 can be classified using information on the date and time when the chat was performed and information such as a group in which a friend is registered in the terminal 1a or the like. it can. In step S2, the owner of an ID such as a nickname on a chat can be recognized as a friend, and information about the friend can be added to the survey target list 2o.
[0062]
In the following description, in order to determine the friend's terminal 1b, the description will be made on the assumption that the rules applied when classifying sent and received e-mails are used. However, the friend's terminal 1b is determined by other methods. The same applies to cases.
[0063]
When the friend's terminal 1b is recognized by the terminal 1a in this way, the IP address of the friend's terminal 1b is acquired from the server 1e.
[0064]
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a process for acquiring the IP address of the friend's terminal 1b. The processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 10 is realized by the CPU 3f of its own terminal 1a and the CPU of the server 1e (not shown) executing a program stored in the storage unit of its own terminal 1a and server 1e. .
[0065]
Referring to FIG. 10, first, the terminal 1a of the user has registered with the management server 1e the member ID that is the ID of the terminal 1a, the IP address of the terminal 1a, and the friend (in the investigation target list 2o). The friend information (member ID of the friend's terminal 1b) is transmitted via the connection system 2i, and a friend registration request is made to the management server 1e (S3).
[0066]
The management server 1e that has received the registration request registers the received information as a friend in the terminal 1a (S5). Then, the management server 1e sends the IP address of the friend's terminal 1b, which is the friend's terminal 1b to which the terminal 1a requests registration to the management server 1e to the terminal 1a, and is currently registered in the management server 1e. Transmit (S6).
[0067]
When its own terminal 1a receives the IP address of the above-mentioned friend's terminal 1b from the management server 1e, it adds the received IP address of the friend's terminal 1b to the investigation target list 2o (S4).
[0068]
This program is completed, and the terminal 1a of the user registers the friend's terminal 1b with the management server 1e as a friend and acquires its IP address.
[0069]
In addition, it shows concretely about the information of the terminal 1 registered into the above-mentioned management server 1e. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of information of the terminal 1 registered in the management server 1e.
[0070]
Referring to FIG. 11, for each terminal 1, the management server 1 e stores a member ID, an IP address, and a member ID of a friend's terminal 1 with which the terminal 1 is registered as a friend.
[0071]
And if the request | requirement of friend registration is received from the terminal 1a at the above-mentioned step S5, the information regarding the above-mentioned friend's terminal 1 will be added to the information of the terminal 1a memorize | stored at step S6.
[0072]
Note that the method by which the terminal 1a acquires the IP address of the friend's terminal 1b is not limited to the method described above. That is, the IP address of the friend's terminal 1b can be acquired without using the management server 1e.
[0073]
FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a second process for acquiring the IP address of the friend's terminal 1b. The processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 12 is realized by the CPU 3f of its own terminal 1a and the CPU of another terminal 1 executing programs stored in the storage units of its own terminal 1a and other terminal 1. The
[0074]
Referring to FIG. 12, first, the terminal 1a of its own broadcasts (or unicasts) a request for confirming the presence of the friend's terminal 1b to the network where the friend's terminal 1b exists (S7). As described above, broadcast transmission to the network where the friend's terminal 1b exists is effective when the IP address of the friend's terminal 1b is not fixed or the number of friend terminals 1b existing on the same network is large. It is. Further, unicast transmission to the friend's terminal 1b is effective when the IP address of the friend's terminal 1b is fixed.
[0075]
The presence confirmation request transmitted in step S7 is received by the terminal 1 on the network (S9).
[0076]
The received terminal 1 exists only in the case where the terminal 1a that transmitted the request for confirmation of existence is a terminal 1 that is in a friendship relationship with the received terminal 1, that is, in the investigation target list 2o of the received terminal 1 Only in the case (YES in S10), a response of presence information is returned (S11).
[0077]
When the terminal 1a receives the response of the presence information transmitted in step S11, the terminal 1a adds the IP address of the terminal 1 to the investigation target list 2o (S8).
[0078]
This is the end of the program.
FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an outline of the second process for acquiring the IP address of the friend's terminal 1b. Referring to FIG. 13, only when the friend terminal 1 b of the terminal 1 a receives the presence confirmation broadcast or unicast transmitted from the terminal 1 a in step S 7 described above, the friend terminal 1 b In S11, a response of presence information is transmitted to the terminal 1a.
[0079]
The terminal 1a can also acquire the IP address of the friend's terminal 1b by executing the above-described program.
[0080]
As described above, since the e-mail address is information unique to the individual user, it is effective to use it for friend recognition. In addition, it is possible to group (classify) the targets (investigation targets) for which information is to be searched using the mail address. Then, the terminals 1 having some relationship can search and provide information and share the information.
[0081]
Next, in the information retrieval system of the present embodiment, the viewing ranking is investigated using the IP address of the friend's terminal 1b acquired by the above-described processing.
[0082]
FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a process for investigating viewing rankings as information retrieval. The process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 14 is realized by the CPU 3f of the terminal 1 executing a program stored in the memory 3a or the nonvolatile memory 3b. The survey shown in FIG. 14 is for searching information (content viewing information) through the friend's terminal 1 up to the terminal 1 of the friend distance N that is the target of the survey set (2q) in the survey. Is executed as The friend distance N that is the subject of this survey is an arbitrary value, and the scale of the survey is determined by setting this value N. Further, the value N can be automatically changed. The method will be described later.
[0083]
With reference to FIG. 14, first, the terminal 1a which is the terminal of the survey requester transmits the survey request to the friend's terminal 1b via the connection system 2i (S12).
[0084]
The terminal 1 that has received the survey request transmitted in step S12 via the connection system 2i (S18) searches whether the source terminal 1 exists in the survey target list 2o of the terminal 1 concerned. Thus, it is checked whether or not the transmission source of the survey request is the terminal 1 with the friend distance 1 (S19).
[0085]
When the transmission source of the survey request is the terminal 1 of the friend distance 1 (YES in S19), the terminal 1 and the terminal are further determined from the friend distance N that is the target of the survey set (2q) in the survey request. Check that the friend distance i with 1a is smaller. That is, it is checked whether or not the current friend distance i with the client's terminal 1a is within the friend distance N that is the subject of the survey set in the survey request. A method of comparing the survey friend distance N and the current friend distance i will be described later.
[0086]
And when the transmission source of the survey request is the terminal 1 with the friend distance 1, and the terminal 1 is within the friend distance N that is the subject of the survey included in the setting 2q of the survey request (YES in S19) First, the survey request is transferred to the friend's terminal 1 of the terminal 1 via the connection system 2i (S21). The transfer partner terminal 1 in step S21 is not limited to one terminal, and may be a plurality of terminals. Further, in order to prevent receiving this survey request again when transferring, information related to this survey, such as the IP address of the requester's terminal 1a, is stored in the area 3h included in the memory 3a of the terminal 1. To do. Alternatively, information such as the IP address of the terminal 1 and information such as the IP address of the terminal 1 that transmitted the investigation request may be stored in the area 3h included in the memory 3a of the transmission source terminal 1. In addition, when the transfer is performed, the friend's terminal 1 that is the transfer partner may not be able to communicate due to power interruption or the like. In that case, the survey request may be automatically transferred to another terminal 1.
[0087]
Further, based on the survey request, the viewing history 2n and the stored content 2r of the terminal 1 are surveyed, and the content information 3i relating to the viewed content is created as the survey result (S22). Then, by sending the survey result created in step S22 to the requester's terminal 1a (S23), the survey requester is provided with information related to the viewed content.
[0088]
When the received survey request is not sent from the terminal 1 whose friend distance from the terminal 1 is 1 (NO in S19), the processing shown in steps S20 to S23 is executed. This program is terminated without doing so. If the terminal 1 is not within the friend distance N set in the survey request setting 2q, that is, if the terminal 1 does not need to transmit the survey request to the friend's terminal 1 (NO in S20). ), The survey request shown in step S21 is not transferred, and only the survey results shown in steps S22 and S23 are transmitted.
[0089]
The terminal 1a that requested the survey receives the survey results created in this manner on the friend terminal 1b, the friend friend terminal 1c, the friend friend friend terminal 1d, etc. via the connection system 2i ( S13), information on the viewed content is acquired. In step S13, a process may be executed in which a survey result that has not been received within a predetermined time is regarded as an invalid survey result. The investigation result received in step S13 is passed to the counting system 2j.
[0090]
In the totaling system 2j, the same contents included in the survey results are grouped together, and totaling is performed by arranging the obtained contents in descending order of the number included (S14). Furthermore, output HTML2p, which is an output screen for displaying the same number of survey results as set in setting 2q, is created according to the user's preference (S15).
[0091]
This output HTML 2p is HTML for outputting information such as the storage location of the content obtained from the terminal 1 and the URL of the home page. The user can view or save the content based on the output information. The output HTML 2p will be described later with a specific example.
[0092]
The user's preference includes a friend distance from his / her terminal 1a to the terminal 1 from which the user has acquired content information so far. In step S15 described above, the tabulation system 2j can determine which content is to be displayed based on such user preferences, and can change the output HTML 2p. Note that the display can be determined by restricting display based on the content date / time information of the survey result and determining the display of new content. In addition, it is possible to determine display of popular content by performing display restriction based on information on whether or not the content of the survey result is stored. The processing for determining the number of displays and the display screen will be described in detail later with reference to flowcharts and specific examples.
[0093]
Further, as described above, the user can view or save the content using the Web server 21 based on the display of the output HTML 2p. When the user views the content, the content information is further added to the viewing history 2n.
[0094]
Further, it is selected whether or not to save the content displayed in the output HTML 2p (S16). When the content is stored (YES in S16), the content information is added to the stored content 2r (S17).
[0095]
This is the end of the program.
FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an outline of information search processing in the above-described information search system. Referring to FIG. 15, when performing a survey, which is an information search, the user transmits a survey request from his / her terminal 1 a to a friend's terminal 1 b in step S <b> 12 described above. The terminal 1b that has received the survey request transmits the survey result to the terminal 1a in step S23, and further transfers the received survey request to the friend's terminal 1c whose friend distance to the terminal 1b is 1 in step S21. To do. This transfer of the survey request is repeated until the friend distance N that is the target of the survey set in the survey request setting 2q is reached. Then, the survey result is transmitted from each received terminal 1 to the terminal 1a that requested the survey.
[0096]
Further, FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a specific example of the investigation target list (friend list) 2o of the terminal 1a. Referring to FIG. 16, in the survey target list 2 o, the IP address of the terminal 1 a as the member ID of the terminal 1 a (own member ID) and the member ID of the friend terminal 1 b registered as a friend ( The friend's member ID) describes the IP address of the friend's terminal 1b. The above-described investigation object list 2o is stored in the nonvolatile memory 3b shown in FIG.
[0097]
FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of the survey request setting 2q. Referring to FIG. 17, the survey request setting 2q includes a friend distance N to be surveyed, a display number L for displaying the survey result, and a folder (friend recognition) used to determine the friend's terminal 1b. Specified folder). Such a setting 2q shown in FIG. 17 is stored in the non-volatile memory 3b of the terminal 1a that makes the survey request, and the setting 2q is set when the survey request is transmitted.
[0098]
FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a specific example of a survey request. The survey request shown in FIG. 18 is transmitted from its own terminal 1a in step S12 described above. In step S21, the data is transferred from the received terminal 1 to the terminal located at the friend distance 1.
[0099]
Referring to FIG. 18, the survey request includes a friend distance N that is the subject of the survey according to setting 2q whose concrete example is shown in FIG. 17, a friend distance i from the current survey requester's terminal 1a, and a survey. It includes the address (return address) of the terminal 1a, which is the transmission destination of the result, and the investigation contents. In the above-described step S19, the friend distance N is compared with the friend distance i from the current terminal 1a based on the received survey request. As a comparison method, when the terminal 1 that has received the survey request transfers the survey request to the friend's terminal 1, the process of i = i + 1 is performed on the information of i included in the survey request, There is a method for examining the magnitude relationship between N and i. Further, when the terminal 1 that has received the survey request transfers the survey request to the friend's terminal 1, the process of N = N−1 is executed on the N information set (2q) in the survey request. , A method of examining the magnitude relationship between N and i may be used. By performing such a comparison, it is possible to determine whether or not the terminal 1 that has received the survey request is within the friend distance N that is the subject of the survey set (2q) in the survey request.
[0100]
Moreover, FIG. 19 is a figure which shows the specific example of an investigation result. The survey result shown in FIG. 19 is transmitted from the terminal 1 that has received the survey request to the terminal 1a that has requested the survey in step S23 described above.
[0101]
Referring to FIG. 19, the survey result includes the current friend distance i from the terminal 1 a, the survey content, and the content information that is the survey result. The content information includes information on the location where the content is stored, and information such as the URL of a home page that introduces or sells the content. Further, since the content information is displayed in accordance with the predetermined display restriction in step S15 of FIG. 14, date information and information indicating the presence / absence of storage are also included in accordance with the predetermined display restriction.
[0102]
The tabulation system 2j of the terminal 1a that requested the survey in step S14 described above tabulates the content information included in the survey results received from each terminal 1 and shown in FIG. In step S15 described above, the output HTML 2p is created and the survey result is displayed.
[0103]
FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen that displays a viewing ranking survey result.
[0104]
The user can browse the display screen shown in FIG. 20 using the browsers 2c and 2ab, and obtain viewing ranking information. Furthermore, the user can view or save the content from the display screen shown in FIG. Specifically, information on the storage location of the content may be displayed by clicking the title of the content listed in the viewing ranking. Moreover, you may link to the homepage etc. which introduce the said content. Note that the content information viewed using the display screen shown in FIG. 20 is added to the viewing history 2n because it is viewed via the Internet access monitoring unit 2e as described above. Also, the content information saved using the display screen shown in FIG. 20 is added to the saved content 2r using the Web server 21 as described above.
[0105]
As described above, the information search system of the present embodiment obtains a search result closer to the result desired by the user by performing an information search such as a viewing ranking survey through the terminal 1 registered in advance as a friend. be able to. That is, since the terminal 1 having some relationship is registered as a friend, the owner of the terminal 1 registered as a friend is likely to have a common tendency or the like according to the certain relationship. Therefore, a search result closer to the result desired by the user can be obtained. In addition, information can be shared with the owner of the terminal 1 registered as a friend. Also, information leakage can be prevented for other terminals that are not registered as friends.
[0106]
Further, since the information as shown in FIG. 19 can be acquired via the terminal 1 that is registered as a friend using the information search system of the present embodiment, the information is supplied from other terminals. The copyright of information can be protected effectively.
[0107]
Furthermore, the search result closer to the user's desired result can be obtained by automatically changing the survey range, that is, the friend distance N. In other words, when the above-mentioned viewing ranking survey is repeated, a more meaningful result can be obtained by conducting a survey while automatically expanding the range rather than conducting a survey in the same range (friend distance) each time. is there.
[0108]
FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing a process for automatically changing the friend distance N to be investigated. The processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 21 is executed by the distance / display number setting system 2k. The updated setting is stored in the setting 2q.
[0109]
Referring to FIG. 21, first, the distribution of the number of people according to the friend distance of the content stored in the previous survey is examined from area 3j of memory 3a shown in FIG. 3 (S24). And let the maximum friend distance be the distance which added the predetermined number i set beforehand to the maximum value of the friend distance of the distribution (S25). In the flowchart shown in FIG. 21, 2 is given as a specific example of the predetermined number i.
[0110]
Above, the process which changes the friend distance N which is the object of investigation is complete | finished.
By executing the processing shown in FIG. 21 described above, a wider (narrower) range can be automatically investigated. In this way, by changing the range of the survey target, naturally, a result different from the result of the previous survey is obtained. That is, the display screen for displaying the viewing ranking survey results shown in FIG. 20 is changed. Here, a specific example is given about the changed display screen. FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating a first specific example of a display screen that displays the survey result of the changed viewing ranking. Referring to FIG. 22, by performing the process shown in FIG. 21 described above, the survey in the same range as the previous survey is a survey in which the friend distance is 3, but the next survey Then, the survey range is automatically changed, and the friend distance is 5. That is, in FIG. 20, the survey results up to the range where the friend distance is 3 are displayed, but in FIG. 22, the survey results up to the range where the friend distance is 5 are displayed.
[0111]
In the information search system according to the present embodiment, the search range (search range) change process described above is executed, so that when the user repeatedly performs a search without performing any special change process, it is automatically performed. The search range can be made wider (narrower) than the previous search range. Therefore, a meaningful search result closer to the result desired by the user can be obtained.
[0112]
Further, as described above, not only the search range is changed, but also the number of displays (range) is automatically changed to obtain a more meaningful search result.
[0113]
FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing a process for automatically changing the number of displays. The processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 23 is executed by the distance / display number setting system 2k. The updated setting is stored in the setting 2q.
[0114]
Referring to FIG. 23, first, the display order of contents stored in the previous investigation is examined from area 3j of memory 3a shown in FIG. 3 (S26). Then, the maximum display rank is set to a rank obtained by adding a predetermined number i set in advance to the maximum display rank of the stored content (S27). In the flowchart shown in FIG. 23, 5 is given as a specific example of the predetermined number i.
[0115]
This completes the process of automatically changing the display number.
By executing the processing shown in FIG. 23 described above, it is possible to obtain a display screen on which information (content information) of a larger number of displays is automatically displayed. In this way, by expanding the display range, naturally, a display of a result different from the result of the previous survey can be obtained. That is, the display screen for displaying the viewing ranking survey results shown in FIG. 20 is changed. Here, a specific example is given about the changed display screen. FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating a second specific example of the display screen that displays the survey result of the changed viewing ranking. Referring to FIG. 24, the processing shown in FIG. 23 described above is executed, so that in FIG. 20, the investigation result up to the 10th highest display order is displayed, but in FIG. The survey results up to the 15th display rank are displayed.
[0116]
In the information search system according to the present embodiment, when the search range is changed, the display range of the search result (search result) is executed, so that the user can perform the search repeatedly without performing any special change process. The display range of search results can be automatically made wider (narrower) than the previous display range. Therefore, a meaningful search result closer to the result desired by the user can be obtained.
[0117]
In the above-described embodiment, as a specific example of information search, a case where a viewing ranking survey is performed has been described. You may search for. For example, it is possible to search for the presence or absence of content. FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of a search result display screen.
[0118]
And according to the information to search, the user can also change the group which a friend recognizes, and can set or change the range to search (friend distance) and the range to display (display number).
[0119]
In the above description, the case where the communication history of the e-mail is used when the information search system recognizes the friend has been described. However, the method of recognizing the friend is limited to the method using the communication history of the e-mail. Information that is needed as a group of terminals that communicate on the network, such as chat participants and viewers of specific homepages, that is, terminals that are close to the terminal 1a in distance from each other Can be searched.
[0120]
Furthermore, a friend recognition method, an information provision method, and an information acquisition method in the above-described information search system can be provided as a program. Such a program can be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a flexible disk, a CD-ROM, a ROM, a RAM, and a memory card attached to the computer and provided as a program product. Alternatively, the program can be provided by being recorded on a recording medium such as a hard disk built in the computer. A program can also be provided by downloading via a network.
[0121]
The provided program product is installed in a program storage unit such as a hard disk and executed.
[0122]
The program product includes the program itself and a recording medium on which the program is recorded.
[0123]
The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of an information search system in the present embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a terminal 1a (own terminal 1a).
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a terminal 1a (own terminal 1a).
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a process in which one's own terminal 1a recognizes a friend's terminal 1b.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of a rule for classifying electronic mail.
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of an e-mail header.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a specific example of a folder for classifying and storing sent and received e-mails.
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a specific example of incoming call history information of a mobile phone.
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of a chat history.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing processing for acquiring an IP address of a friend's terminal 1b.
FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a specific example of information of the terminal 1 registered in the management server 1e.
FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a second process of acquiring the IP address of the friend's terminal 1b.
FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an outline of a second process for acquiring an IP address of a friend's terminal 1b.
FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a process for investigating a viewing ranking as an information search.
FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an outline of information search processing in the information search system described above.
FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a specific example of a survey target list (friend list) 2o of the terminal 1a.
FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of setting 2q for a survey request.
FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a specific example of a survey request.
FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a specific example of a survey result.
FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen that displays a viewing ranking survey result;
FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing a process for automatically changing a friend distance N to be investigated.
FIG. 22 is a diagram showing a first specific example of a display screen that displays a survey result of a changed viewing ranking.
FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing a process of automatically changing the display number.
FIG. 24 is a diagram showing a second specific example of a display screen that displays the changed viewing ranking survey results.
FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of a search result display screen.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 terminal, 1a own terminal, 1b friend's terminal, 1c friend's friend's terminal, 1d friend's friend's friend terminal, 1e management server, 2a equipment that can browse contents on the Internet, 2aa, 2b media Player, 2ab, 2c browser, 2ac, 2t mailer, 2d content, 2e Internet access monitoring unit, 2f mail monitoring unit, 2g viewing history classification system, 2h survey target classification system, 2i connection system, 2j aggregation system, 2k distance / display Number setting system, 2l web server, 2m survey system, 2n viewing history, 2o survey target list, 2p output HTML, 2q setting, 2r saved content, 2s survey result, 2u mail server, 3a memory, 3b non-volatile memory, 3c bus 3d input device 3e Display device, 3f CPU, 3g network I / O, 3h, 3i, 3j area.

Claims (10)

Group storage means for storing a terminal that performs communication as a hierarchized group having the specific terminal as a vertex, and a search request output by the specific terminal among a plurality of terminals that perform communication via a communication line An information retrieval system for performing on a terminal,
The specific terminal is
The group storage means for storing the other terminal that has performed communication as the other terminal belonging to the group in the hierarchy adjacent to the specific terminal, together with the communication date and time,
A designation means for designating the number of group hierarchies from the specific terminal as the search range;
Among the other terminals, among other terminals belonging to the group of the hierarchy closest to the specific terminal, a search request for setting the search range within the specified number of hierarchies to other terminals that have performed communication within a certain period of time. Request means for outputting,
Receiving means for receiving a search result transmitted from the other terminal,
Among the other terminals, the other terminal that has received the search request is:
The group storage means for storing a terminal that has performed communication as a terminal belonging to a group in a hierarchy adjacent to the other terminal, together with a communication date and time,
Search means for searching for information corresponding to the search request in the terminal when the terminal that is the transmission source of the search request is a terminal that belongs to a group adjacent to a group to which another terminal that has received the search request belongs,
Transmitting means for transmitting a search result in the search means to the specific terminal;
When the number of hierarchies from the specific terminal of the group to which the other terminal that has received the search request belongs is equal to or less than the number of hierarchies specified by the specifying means, the search request is sent to the search request among the other terminals. An information search system comprising: a transfer unit configured to transfer to another terminal that has performed communication within the certain period, among other terminals belonging to a group in a lower hierarchy adjacent to the group to which the other terminal belongs. The communications are communications of e-mail between the terminals,
The information search system according to claim 1, wherein the group information stored in the group storage unit includes a network address of a terminal included in an e-mail.   The information search system according to claim 1, wherein the information includes at least one of information indicating a content content and information indicating a content storage location. A communication means for performing communication via a communication line;
First storage means for storing information;
A second storage unit that stores information on a group of communication destination devices of the hierarchized group having the information search device as a vertex together with a communication date and time with the device;
A designation means for designating the number of hierarchies of the group as a range for searching for information;
Requesting means for requesting retrieval of the information to a device that communicated within a certain period of devices belonging to the group;
When a search for the information is requested, search transmission means for searching the first storage means and transmitting a search result;
An information search device comprising storage means for storing the search results received from devices belonging to the group,
The requesting unit is a device belonging to a group in a hierarchy closest to the information search device in the hierarchized group, and specifies a search range to a device that has performed communication within the certain period of time. The first request information for confirming the presence of the specific information within the number of hierarchies is transmitted,
The storage means stores the search result including a response to the first request information,
The search transmission means receives the first request information, and when the information search device that is the transmission source of the first request belongs to a group of the hierarchy closest to the information search device, Searching for whether the specific information exists in the means and transmitting the search result to the transmission source of the first request information;
When the request means receives the first request information, the number of hierarchies from the information search terminal that designates the number of hierarchies as the search range of the group to which the information search device belongs is specified as the search range. The second request information for confirming the presence of the specific information is the number of information search devices belonging to a group of lower layers adjacent to the group to which the information search device belongs. An information retrieval apparatus that transmits to an apparatus that has performed communication within the predetermined period. Based on the at least one of a transmission address and the receiving address, and automatically classified address based on the communication history of email included in the communication history of the e-mail, determining a first group for determining the group The information search device according to claim 4, further comprising means.   The system further comprises second group determination means for analyzing at least one of information included in a body of transmitted / received electronic mail and information included in a header of transmitted / received electronic mail to determine the group. 4. The information search device according to 4. Display means for displaying the search results stored in the storage means;
Information on the device that transmitted the search result, the number of the specific information included in the search result, date information of the specific information included in the search result, and the specific information included in the search result The information search apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising: a display output restriction unit that restricts information output to the display unit based on at least one of presence / absence information. In the plurality of terminals each having group storage means for storing the terminals that perform communication as a hierarchical group having the specific terminal as a vertex, the specific of the plurality of terminals that perform communication via a communication line An information search method for performing a search request output by a terminal on another terminal,
The group storage means stores a terminal that has communicated with the terminal as a terminal belonging to a group in a hierarchy adjacent to the terminal, together with a communication date and time,
In the specific terminal, as a range for performing the search, a specifying step of specifying the number of group hierarchies from the specific terminal;
In the specific terminal, out of the other terminals, among the other terminals belonging to the group of the hierarchy closest to the specific terminal, the search range is set to the specified number of hierarchies for other terminals that have performed communication within a certain period of time. A request step for outputting a search request to be within, and
Information corresponding to the search request when the terminal that is the transmission source of the search request is a terminal that belongs to a group adjacent to the group to which the other terminal that has received the search request belongs in the other terminal that has received the search request. the searches in the terminal, a transmission step of transmitting the search result to the specific terminal,
In the other terminal that has received the search request, when the number of hierarchies from the specific terminal of the group to which the other terminal that has received the search request belongs is equal to or less than the number of hierarchies specified by the specifying means, the search request is Transfer that is forwarded to the other terminal that communicated within the certain period of time among the other terminals belonging to the group in the lower hierarchy adjacent to the group to which the other terminal that received the search request belongs among the other terminals Steps,
An information search method comprising: a receiving step of receiving the search result transmitted from the other terminal at the specific terminal. A computer connected to a first storage device for storing information and a second storage device for storing information of a group of communication destination devices among the hierarchized group having the computer as a vertex;
A designation step for designating the number of hierarchies of the group as a range for searching information;
A requesting step for requesting the device belonging to the group to retrieve the information;
When a search for the information is requested, a search transmission step of searching for information stored in the first storage device and transmitting a search result;
A storage step for storing the search results received from the devices belonging to the group,
The second storage device stores the device that communicated with the computer as a device belonging to a group in a hierarchy adjacent to the computer, together with a communication date and time,
In the requesting step, a device that belongs to a group in the hierarchy closest to the computer among the hierarchized group and that has communicated within a certain period of time is designated the search range as the specified hierarchy. First request information that confirms the presence of specific information within the number is transmitted,
In the accumulation step, the search result including a response to the first request information is accumulated,
In the search and transmission step, when the first request information is received, the device that is the transmission source of the first request is stored in the first storage device when it belongs to a group in the hierarchy closest to the computer. Search for whether or not the specific information exists in the received information, and send the search result to the transmission destination of the first request information,
In the requesting step, when the first request information is received, the number of hierarchies in which the number of hierarchies from a device that designates the number of hierarchies as the search range of the group to which the computer belongs is the specified search range An information search program for causing the second request information for confirming the existence of the specific information to be transmitted to a device that has performed communication within the certain period among devices belonging to the group in the following cases.   A computer-readable recording medium on which the information search program according to claim 9 is recorded.

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