JPH10228477A - Collective retrieval system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To automatically start a browser when a keyword is inputted, to execute retrieval with plural registered retrieval engines and to compile and display a retrieved result. SOLUTION: When a browser terminal equipment 1 is started, a keyword input means 11 processes the input of the keyword and stores it in a keyword storage part 21. A retrieval expression generation means 12 obtains the keyword from the keyword storage part 21, buries it in the plural retrieval expression templates registered in a retrieval expression template storage part 22, generates the plural retrieval expressions and stores them in a retrieval expression storage part 23. A browser starting means 13 transfers the plural retrieval expressions stored in the retrieval expression storage part 23, starts the browser 15, executes retrieval by the plural retrieval engines by the retrieval expression, obtains plural retrieval results and stores them in a retrieval result storage part 25. A result display means 14 edits and displays the plural retrieval results stored in the retrieval result storage part 25.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to WWW (World
The present invention relates to an information search method using a search engine on a Wide Web server, and more particularly to a collective search method that enables a search by a plurality of search engines with one search keyword (hereinafter, simply referred to as a keyword).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When searching for information that the user wants to search from information stored in a WWW server on the Internet, for example, Yahoo !, Infoseek, Magellan
The file on the WWW server is specified using a search engine such as. Specifically, a searcher starts a browser on a browser terminal device, connects to a search page, and executes a search by inputting a keyword of information to be searched on the search page. Some search pages are specific to a particular search engine, while others are registered with multiple search engines and use them sequentially (for example, by Ariadne, Internet, p. 64-67, Chikuma Shobo, published September 20, 1996, etc.).

[0003]

A first problem of the above-mentioned conventional technique is that a keyword cannot be input unless a search page is connected. The reason is that the method of specifying keywords differs for each search engine.

[0004] The second problem is that the display of search results is not easy for a searcher to see. The reason is that the WWW server only transfers the search result to the browser.

An object of the present invention is to automatically start a browser when a keyword is entered in a browser terminal device, execute a search with a plurality of registered search engines, edit a search result, and display the result. It is to provide a search method.

[0006]

According to the present invention, there is provided a batch search system comprising: a keyword input means for processing the input of a keyword (11 in FIG. 1); and a plurality of WWW search engines for converting a keyword acquired by the keyword input means into a plurality of WWW search engines. A search expression generating means (12 in FIG. 1) for generating a plurality of search expressions by embedding the search expression in the search expression template, and launching a browser by passing the plurality of search expressions generated by the search expression generation means, and Browser starting means for executing a search with a plurality of search engines and obtaining a plurality of search results (1 in FIG. 1)
3) and result display means (1 in FIG. 1) for editing and displaying a plurality of search results obtained by the browser activation means.
4).

In addition, the batch search method of the present invention includes a keyword storage unit (21 in FIG. 1) for storing keywords and a search expression template storage unit (22 in FIG. 1) for registering a search expression template for each search engine. , A search expression storage unit (23 in FIG. 1) for storing a plurality of search expressions, a browser storage unit (24 in FIG. 1) for storing a browser, and a search result storage unit (25 in FIG. 1) for storing search results. A keyword input means (11 in FIG. 1) for processing the input of a keyword and storing the keyword in the keyword storage unit; and a plurality of search formulas acquired from the keyword storage unit and registered in the search formula template storage unit A search expression generating means (12 in FIG. 1) for generating a plurality of search expressions embedded in a template and storing the search expressions in the search expression storage unit and a plurality of search expressions stored in the search expression storage unit are passed. A browser starting means (13 in FIG. 1) for executing a search with a plurality of search engines by the search formula to obtain a plurality of search results and storing the results in the search result storage unit; Display means for editing and displaying a plurality of search results stored in the
14).

[0008]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a batch search system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In the batch search method according to the present embodiment, a storage device 2 such as a magnetic disk or a semiconductor memory is connected to a browser terminal device 1 such as a personal computer or a network terminal connected to the Internet via a communication line 3. The main part is constituted.

The browser terminal device 1 includes a keyword input means 11 for processing the input of a search keyword, and a plurality of keywords obtained by embedding the keyword acquired by the keyword input means 11 in a plurality of WWW search engine search engine templates. Expression generating means 12 for generating a search expression
A browser activation unit 13 that passes a plurality of search expressions generated by the search expression generation unit 12, starts the browser 15, executes a search with a plurality of search engines based on the search expressions, and obtains a plurality of search results, A result display unit 14 for editing and displaying the plurality of search results acquired by the activation unit 13 so that the searcher can easily view the search results, and Netscape
Navigator, Microsoft Inter
and a browser 15 such as net Explorer.

The storage device 2 stores a keyword storage unit 21 for storing inputted keywords, a search expression template storage unit 22 for registering a search expression template for each search engine, and a plurality of generated search expressions. A search formula storage unit 23, a browser storage unit 24 for storing the browser 15 connected to the WWW server, and a search result storage unit 25 for storing searched results are provided.

The search formula template storage unit 22 has prepared therein search formula templates for a plurality of registered search engines. The search expression template includes a search engine address (URL: Uniform Resou).
Locator) and a keyword designation format are set.

Referring to FIG. 2, the processing of the collective search method according to the first embodiment includes a keyword input step S1.
01, search expression generation step S102, browser activation step S103, search expression presence / absence determination step S104
, Search step S105, and search result storage step S
106, a search expression presence / absence determination step S107, and a search result display step S108.

Referring to FIG. 3, keyword input means 1
In the keyword input window displayed on the screen by 1, a field for inputting a keyword is provided, and buttons for starting, registering, ending, and canceling a search are provided.

FIG. 4 is a diagram exemplifying a process of generating a search formula by the search formula generating means 12.

Referring to FIG. 5, in the search result window displayed on the screen by the result display means 14, the search engine name, the number of titles, and the titles in the alphabetical order are edited in the order of the search engines with the largest number of cases. Is displayed.

Next, the operation of the batch search method according to the first embodiment configured as described above will be described.

When the searcher activates the collective search method according to the present embodiment in the browser terminal device 1, the keyword input means 11 displays a keyword input window shown in FIG. 3 on the screen. Is entered, and a search start button is clicked (step S101). Then, the keyword is stored in the keyword storage unit 21 and the search formula generation unit 12 is activated.

The search formula generating means 12 obtains a keyword from the keyword storage unit 21, obtains a search formula template for each registered search engine from the search formula template storage unit 22, and stores the keyword in a plurality of search formula templates. Then, a search expression for each search engine is generated by embedding the search expression into the search expression storage unit 23 (step S102). Thereafter, the browser activation unit 13 is activated.

For example, as shown in FIG. 4, if the keyword stored in the keyword storage unit 21 by the keyword input means 11 is “database”, the search engine stored in the search expression template storage unit 22 stores this keyword. # 1 template "search engine #
Address of 1 keyword = ”, search engine #
2 template "address of search engine # 2 ke
y1 = & key2 = ”,..., etc., and are stored in the search expression storage unit 23. The search expression for search engine # 1“ address of search engine # 1 ”keyword = d
database ", search formula for search engine # 2" address of search engine # 2 key1 = database
& Key2 = default ",... Are stored.

The browser activation means 13 loads the browser 15 stored in the browser storage unit 24 into the browser terminal device 1 and activates the browser, and sequentially requests a plurality of generated search expressions to request a search (step S103). ).

The browser 15 determines whether or not there is a search expression (step S104), and if not, ends the processing. If there is a search formula, the browser 15 connects to the search engine corresponding to the given search formula, sends the search formula to the WWW server, executes the search, and returns the search result to the browser activation unit 13 ( Step S105).

Each time the browser 15 returns a search result, the browser activation unit 13 stores the search result in the search result storage unit 25 (step S106), and determines whether there is a next search expression (step S107). ). If there is the next search expression, the browser activation unit 13 proceeds to step S
The control is returned to 105, and the next search formula is given to the browser 15 to request a search.

When the plurality of search expressions generated in this way have been searched by the corresponding search engines and there are no more search expressions in step S107, the browser activation means 13 activates the result display means 14. .

The result display means 14 includes a search result storage 25
Get search results from multiple search engines from, edit according to the set display format and display on the screen. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, in the search result window, the search engine name, the number of titles, and the titles of the number of titles arranged in alphabetical order are edited and displayed in the order of the number of search engines with the largest number of titles.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

Referring to FIG. 6, the collective search method according to the second embodiment of the present invention is different from the collective search method according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. The only difference is that the recording medium 4 in which a search program (which may further include a browser 15) for functioning as the search expression generating means 12, the browser starting means 13, and the result displaying means 14 is provided. The recording medium 4 may be a magnetic disk, a semiconductor memory, or another recording medium. Therefore, corresponding parts and means are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The search program is read from the recording medium 4 into the browser terminal device 1 and controls the operation of the browser terminal device 1. The processing executed by the browser terminal device 1 under the control of the search program is the same as that of the collective search method according to the first embodiment, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0029]

As described above, the first effect of the present invention is that if a keyword is input with a browser terminal device without being aware of the input format of a keyword for each search engine, a plurality of search engines can be used. Performing a search and returning search results. The reason is that a search expression template for each search engine is prepared, and when a keyword is input, a search expression for each search engine is generated on the browser terminal device side.

The second effect is that the search results can be displayed so that the searcher can easily see them. The reason is that the search result can be edited and displayed on the browser terminal device side.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a batch search method according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing processing of a batch search method according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a view showing an example of a keyword input window displayed on the screen by a keyword input unit in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a diagram exemplifying a process of generating a search formula by a search formula generating unit in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a search result window displayed on the screen by the result display means in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a batch search method according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 browser terminal device 2 storage device 3 communication line 4 recording medium 11 keyword input means 12 search formula generation means 13 browser activation means 14 result display means 15 browser 21 keyword storage unit 22 search formula template storage unit 23 search formula storage unit 24 browser storage Part 25 Search result storage part

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. Keyword input means for processing input of a keyword, and search expression generation means for generating a plurality of search expressions by embedding a keyword acquired by the keyword input means in a search expression template of a plurality of WWW search engines. Browser launch means for passing a plurality of search expressions generated by the search expression generation means, starting a browser, executing a search with a plurality of search engines based on the search expressions, and obtaining a plurality of search results, A result display unit for editing and displaying a plurality of search results obtained by the activation unit. 2. A keyword storage unit for storing a keyword, a search expression template storage unit for registering a search expression template for each search engine, a search expression storage unit for storing a plurality of search expressions, and a browser storage for storing a browser. Unit, a search result storage unit that stores search results, a keyword input unit that processes input of a keyword and stores the keyword in the keyword storage unit, acquires a keyword from the keyword storage unit, and registers the keyword in the search expression template storage unit Search expression generating means for generating a plurality of search expressions embedded in the plurality of search expression templates obtained and storing the plurality of search expressions in the search expression storage unit, and starting the browser by passing the plurality of search expressions stored in the search expression storage unit And executing a search with a plurality of search engines according to the search formula to obtain a plurality of search results and storing the plurality of search results in the search result storage unit. And Uzzah activation means, global search scheme characterized by having a result display means for displaying by editing the plurality of search results stored in the search result storage unit. 3. A computer comprising: a keyword input unit for processing input of a keyword; and a search expression for generating a plurality of search expressions by embedding a keyword acquired by the keyword input unit in a search expression template of a plurality of WWW search engines. Generating means, browser starting means for passing a plurality of search expressions generated by the search expression generating means, starting a browser, executing a search with a plurality of search engines by the search expressions, and obtaining a plurality of search results, and A machine-readable recording medium that records a program for functioning as a result display unit that edits and displays a plurality of search results obtained by a browser activation unit. 4. A computer which processes a keyword input and stores the keyword in a keyword storage unit. The computer acquires a keyword from the keyword storage unit, and stores the keyword in a plurality of search expression templates registered in the search expression template storage unit. Search expression generating means for generating a plurality of embedded search expressions and storing the search expressions in the search expression storage unit, passing a plurality of search expressions stored in the search expression storage unit, starting a browser, and executing a plurality of search engines based on the search expressions Functioning as a browser starting means for executing a search to obtain a plurality of search results and storing the results in the search result storage unit, and a result display means for editing and displaying the plurality of search results stored in the search result storage unit A machine-readable recording medium that stores a program for causing