WO2004084059A1

WO2004084059A1 - Method and system for arranging a search result list using internet

Info

Publication number: WO2004084059A1
Application number: PCT/KR2004/000414
Authority: WO
Inventors: Sang Won Yang
Original assignee: Nhn Corporation
Priority date: 2003-03-18
Filing date: 2004-02-27
Publication date: 2004-09-30

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system and method for effectively arranging search categories and their sub categories in response to a search request through a communication network. According to the present invention, there is provided a method for displaying a search result list using the Internet in response to a search request received from a searcher through a communication network, maintaining a database for storing a plurality of search categories therein, the search categories being associated with predetermined search words and with a sub category list including at least one sub category, receiving a search request from a searcher, searching one or more search categories associated with a search word corresponding to the search request, and selecting one or more sub categories from a sub category list associated with the searched search category and arranging the selected sub categories and the searched search categories together. According to the method for displaying a search result list using the Internet, there is an effect that a user can find a desired website from a search result list screen more easily and rapidly.

Description

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ARRANGING A SEARCH RESULT LIST

USING INTERNET

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a system and method for displaying a search result list in response to an Internet search request through a communication network, and more particularly, to a system and method for effectively displaying search categories associated with a search word input by a searcher and their sub categories.

Background Art

Today, with the rapid development of communication networks such as the Internet, information searches through a communication network have become very popular. Fig. 1 shows the configuration of a typical network for providing a search result list screen according to a search request of a searcher.

For information search, a searcher is connected to a search engine server 140 through the Internet 130 using terminals 110 and 120 such as a PC and then inputs a search word to obtain a search result list corresponding to the search word. A network information provider is a company or a person who provides information required by a searcher and is connected to the Internet through network information provider web servers 160 and 170. A search database 150 stores a plurality of search lists for a network information provider therein. Each of the search lists includes a title of a website, a URL as a network address of the website, description on the website, a search word and the like. If a search word for which the searcher requests a search and a search word included in the search lists are identical, the search engine server 140 provides the searcher with corresponding search lists as a search result list. A representative search engine server that is widely used these days is Naver fl ttp ://www.naver . com .

In the search result list provided by the search engine server, a plurality of websites that provide information associated with the search word are listed.

Website information that is provided to the searcher through a large number of web servers is too massive. Determining how to find a website where information truly required by a searcher is stored within a search result list has become a very difficult task.

Accordingly, there have been proposed a number of methods for effectively arranging websites so that a searcher can find desired information quickly and easily. Figs. 2a and 2b show exemplary search result list screens provided by Internet search engine servers in the related art.

As shown in Fig. 2a, if a search word such as "restaurant" is input in a search window, websites associated with restaurants are displayed as a search result list in a variety of display methods. As one of the methods for displaying these websites, a method for classifying and displaying websites by the category has been widely used in several search engine servers including the Naver search engine server. In the "search category" region in Fig. 2a, in displaying a great number of websites associated with a search word, the websites are classified into a plurality of search categories according to the contents of the websites and only a list of search categories is displayed. If a user clicks a desired search category among the list of the search categories by referring to the titles of the categories, a list of detailed sub categories belonging to the search categories is displayed on a next screen. Fig. 2b shows the next screen when the search clicks a search category "business, economy > company > a restaurant" in Fig. 2a. As shown in Figs. 2a and 2b, however, in the prior method for displaying a search result list, in displaying the search result list screen associated with the search word, the selection of a search category and sub categories is divided into two steps or arranged on different screens. Thus, a user feels inconvenience since the user has to click a desired search category among the list of search categories provided on a search result list screen, confirm a list of sub categories on the next screen provided as a search result and then go to a corresponding website.

In the prior art, both a representative category and its sub category are arranged on an initial screen of a search engine such as Yahoo. In an actual search result list screen, however, a search engine for providing a search category and its associated sub categories on the same screen is not provided. Accordingly, there is a need for an Internet search engine that can display both a search category and sub categories associated therewith on a search result list output screen corresponding to a search request of a user.

Furthermore, if a list of sub categories associated with search categories includes a large number of sub categories, there is a problem that it is difficult to find a sub category containing a desired website. In addition, if it is desired to display both a search category and a sub category associated therewith on a search result list screen in response to a search request of a user, there is a problem in that which sub category will be arranged in what order. In other words, since there are usually lots of sub categories included in a single search category, it is important that which sub category will be selected from the sub categories and then displayed together with a search category, and the selected sub categories will be arranged in what order. Depending on whether a specific sub category is included in a sub category list to be displayed together with a search category or how closely the specific sub category is located to the front of the entire sub category list, there is a significant difference in exposure frequency and a click number for users. Accordingly, there is a need for an efficient method for determining how a sub category to be displayed together with a search category will be selected and how the sub categories will be arranged.

Disclosure of Invention The present invention is conceived to solve the aforementioned problems in tlie prior art. An object of the present invention is to allow a user to find a desired website more easily and rapidly, by displaying both a search category and sub categories associated therewith on a search result list output screen corresponding to a search request of a user. Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for displaying a search result list using the Internet wherein a sub category displayed together with a search category is selected and positioned in an efficient manner.

In order to accomplish the above objects and to solve the aforementioned problems of the prior art, the present invention provides a method and system for displaying a search result list using the Internet, which includes both a category and sub categories in response to a search request through a communication network.

According to aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for displaying a search result list using the Internet in response to a search request received from a searcher through a communication network, comprising the steps of: maintaining a database for storing a plurality of search categories therein, the search categories being associated with predetermined search words and with a sub category list including at least one sub category, receiving a search request from a searcher, searching one or more search categories associated with a search word corresponding to the search request, and selecting one or more sub categories from a sub category list associated with the searched search category and arranging the selected sub categories and the searched search categories together. According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for displaying a search result list using the Internet in response to a search request received from a searcher through a communication network, comprising the steps of: maintaining a database for storing a plurality of search categories therein, the search categories being associated with predetermined search words, receiving a search request from a searcher, searching search categories associated with search words corresponding to the search request, and providing a search result list for the search request, wherein sub categories associated with the searched search categories and the searched search categories are associated and arranged on a single search result list screen.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for displaying a search result list using the Internet in response to a search request received from a searcher through a communication network, comprising: a search request receive unit for receiving a search request from a searcher, a storage unit for storing a sub category list including one or more sub categories and a plurality of search categories associated with the sub category list, a search execution unit for associating the plurality of the stored search categories with predetermined search words, associating the stored sub category list with the search categories and searching search categories associated with a search word corresponding to the search request, and a search result list providing unit for selecting one or more sub categories from the sub category list associated with the searched search categories and arranging the selected sub categories and the searched search categories together. Brief Description of Drawings

Fig. 1 shows the configuration of a typical network for providing a search result list screen according to a search request of a searcher.

Figs. 2a and 2b show exemplary search result list screens provided by Internet search engine servers in the related art.

Fig. 3 shows a search result list screen according to a method for displaying a search result list using the Internet of the present invention.

Fig. 4a shows a hierarchical structure among search categories and a connection structure of sub categories associated with search categories.

Fig. 4 b shows the configuration of an actual database for the connection structure of a search category and sub categories in Fig. 4 a.

Fig. 5a and 5b show another example of a display method.

Fig. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a process of displaying an Internet search result list according to the present invention.

Fig. 7 is a block diagram illustrating the construction of a search result list display system using the Internet according to the present invention.

Fig. 8 is an internal block diagram illustrating the construction of a general- purpose computing device that can be adopted in performing the method for displaying a search result list using the Internet according to the present invention.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

Hereinafter, a method and system for generating a search result list according to preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 3 shows a search result screen using the search word "restaurant". Fig. 3 shows three search categories including "business, economy > company > restaurants", "business, economy > company > restaurant guide", "business, economy > company > franchise, chain store > food, dining businesses". Further, several sub categories are arranged below each search category in a row. The arranged sub categories are determined according to their search category. It can be seen that each search category is different in the type, number and arrangement order of its sub categories.

In addition, according to an embodiment of the present invention, even if a sub category shown in Fig. 3 is clicked, the sub category can be displayed in the similar manner. For example, sub categories included in the category "restaurant" include "Korean food", "Chinese food", "Japanese food" and the like. Sub-sub categories of the sub category "Korean food" include "Korean regular meals", "raw fish restaurants", "royal cuisine", "snacks" and the like. In this case, if "restaurant" is clicked in Fig. 3, sub categories such as "Korean food" and "Chinese food" are displayed. Similarly, in the sub categories, some of sub categories which belong to the relevant sub categories are displayed together with the relevant sub categories. In other words, if "restaurant" is clicked in Fig. 3, sub-sub categories such as "Korean regular meals", "raw fish restaurants", "royal cuisine", "snacks", etc. are displayed below "Korean food", while displaying the sub categories such as "Korean food" and "Chinese food". The same is true of a category in any stage.

As shown in Fig. 4a, search categories associated with the search word "restaurant" include restaurants 410, restaurant guides 420, franchises, chain stores 430 and the like. These search categories are connected in a hierarchical structure below the search category of "business, economy" and "company" considering a reciprocal correlation. Furthermore, the search categories such as restaurants 410, restaurant guides 420, franchises and the chain stores 430 are commonly connected to a sub category list 440. The sub category list 440 includes sub categories such as Korean food 441, a Chinese food 442, Western food 443, Japanese food 444, European food 445, family restaurants 446, fast food 447, franchises 448, and the like.

As shown in Fig. 3, in each search category, at least some of the sub categories are selected from a sub category list associated therewith and the selected sub categories are arranged together with the search category. In displaying a search result list in response to a search request of a searcher, a predetermined reference may be applied in selecting sub categories displayed together with a search category.

As an exemple of the predetermined reference, a sub category containing many websites may be selected considering the number of websites associated with the sub category. For example, each of a number of sub categories included in the category "restaurant" further includes sub-sub categories. If a user continues to find a category at a lower stage, the user will finally find web site information included in the category. At this time, the total number of web sites included in the sub category is calculated and a predetermined number of sub categories having many web sites is selected, which is then displayed when the search category is selected. For example, a predetermined number of sub categories including many web sites among sub categories below "restaurant" are selected and then displayed together with "restaurant" in Fig. 3. According to this embodiment, since sub categories are selected in order of the number of web sites, there is an advantage in that the sub categories whose contents are abundant are selected and displayed first.

As another example the predetermined reference, the number of "hits" for a sub category may be considered. In other words, a predetermined number of sub categories may be selected in order of those sub categories that have a high "hit" number. Based on the result of examining the number of "hits" for a predetermined period, it can be said that a category having lots of "hits" by searchers is a category clicked a lot by searchers. Thus, this method has an advantage that searchers need not to additionally click categories since the "hit" number is displayed together with a search category.

As another example of the predetermined reference, a predetermined number of sub categories may be selected in alphabetical order for the title of the sub category. According to this embodiment, this method has an advantage that its implementation is very simple. As a further example of the predetermined reference, the degree of preference of a searcher may be reflected. In other words, evaluation marks for a category, etc. are received from searchers and are graded according to its preference. A category having a high degree of preference may be selected preferentially. According to this embodiment, this method has an advantage that a sub category having a high degree of preference by searchers can be easily found by reflecting the degree of preference of searchers.

According to a further embodiment of the present invention, one or more references for selecting a sub category may be combined. For example, a weight is assigned to two or more references. Sub categories may be selectively arranged in order of a higher calculation value.

Furthermore, the choice reference may be changed as the number of websites associated with a sub category changes as time goes by, the order of "hit" number for a sub category is changed, a user's degree of preference is changed, or the title of a sub category is changed. For this reason, this choice reference may be updated every predetermined time period and the sub categories selected accordingly may also be changed every predetermined time period.

Also, in arranging sub categories, a predetermined reference for an arrangement order can be applied. A predetermined reference for the arrangement order of a sub category may be determined considering at least one of the following criteria in the selection of a sub category: the number of websites included in a sub category, the "hit" number for a sub category, the alphabetical order of a sub category title and the degree of preference for a sub category by searchers. The reference of the arrangement order may be also updated every predetermined time period and the arrangement order may be changed depending on the updated result.

Fig. 4b shows the configuration of an actual database for the connection structure of a search category and sub categories in Fig. 4a.

A search category database 401 includes a search category and a sub category list of a lower stage associated therewith. Though Fig. 4b shows a table type category database, the category database may be constructed in various shapes such as a linked list.

Each search category record within the search category database 401 includes a sub category list associated therewith. The search category record is classified into "a selected sub category" for storing selected sub categories in order to be arranged together with a search category of a sub category list, and "a not-selected sub category" for storing sub categories that are not arranged together with the search category. For example, a search category record of a restaurant guide 420 may store selected sub categories therein, such as Korean food 441, European food 445 and family restaurants 446, and not-selected sub categories such as Chinese food 442 and Western food 443 with them divided, according to a predetermined choice reference. As another example, in storing "Korean food 441", "European food 445" and "family restaurants 446" in a selected sub category, they may be stored after their arrangement orders are decided according to a predetermined reference.

A website database 402 stores therein information on the number of websites included in an actual sub category according to the arrangement of sub categories stored in the search category database 401. Information on the stored websites may include the title of a website, URL, description on the website and the like. For example, as a first website included in the "Korean food" sub category having an identification number of 441, information in which the title of a website is "Naver restaurant", URL of the web site is "http://restraurant.naver.com" and description on the website is "find restaurants, on-line delivery services, reservations, coupons, and recommended taste list" may be included in a column 441a.

In Fig. 3, as the method for displaying sub categories, a method for arranging sub categories adjacent to a search category on a single search result list screen is used.

Fig. 5a shows another example of a display method. Sub categories are classified by subject depending on the contents of the sub categories. The sub categories are classified and arranged together with each subject. Fig. 5a illustrates subjects "by menu", "by gathering" and "by region". As shown in Fig. 5a, classifying sub categories according to subject allows a searcher to find a sub category including a desired website more easily.

Fig. 5b shows a further example for displaying sub categories by subject. In Fig. 5b, the subjects of "by menu", "by gathering" and "by region" shown in Fig. 5a are arranged in a pull-down mode. If one of the subjects is selected, sub categories corresponding to the selected subject are also adjacently arranged in the pull-down mode. As shown in Fig. 5b, there is an advantage that much more sub category search result lists can be displayed in a smaller space on a search result list screen.

Fig. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a process of displaying an Internet search result list according to the present invention. Processes performed by respective steps will be described in detail with reference to Fig. 6.

Step S610 is a step for maintaining a database for storing a plurality of search categories therein. This step includes a process of associating search categories with predetermined search words. The search categories wherein websites related to the search words are classified may be associated with the search words while having a hierarchical structure to one another. Furthermore, this step may include a process of associating a search category with a sub category list. The sub category list includes at least one sub category. This sub category list is associated with a search category.

In step S620, a search request including a search word is received from a searcher (or a network user). In step S630, in response to a search request from the searcher, the database is searched for search categories associated with a search word corresponding to the search request. The process of searching the database for the search categories can be easily implemented by a processing between a common computing device and a database.

Step S640 is a step of arranging the searched search categories. According to the present invention, a sub category list associated with the search categories is also arranged. One or more sub categories are selected from the sub category list according to a predetermined reference. An arrangement order of the selected sub categories is determined according to the predetermined reference. The selection and arrangement order of the sub category have been described in detail in the aforementioned embodiments. As such, further description of them will be omitted.

As shown in Fig. 7, the search result list display system 700 includes a search request receive unit 710, a storage unit 720, a search execution unit 730 and a search result list providing unit 740.

The search request receive unit 710 receives a search request from a searcher. The search request receive unit 710 is connected to the searcher's PC through a communication network such as the Internet.

The storage unit 720 stores a plurality of search categories and sub category lists therein. The search categories may be connected in a hierarchical structure one another. Each search category is connected to the sub category list. The sub category list includes at least one sub category. As another embodiment, in order to arrange sub categories by subject, the storage unit may store a plurality of search categories therein with them classified by subject.

The search execution unit 730 associates the plurality of the search categories stored in the storage unit 720 with a predetermined search word and associates the sub category list stored in the storage unit 720 with the search category. Further, the search execution unit 730 searches a search category associated with a search word corresponding to a search request in response to the search request received from the searcher.

The search result list providing unit 740 arranges the search categories searched by the search execution unit 730. That is, the search result list providing unit 740 selects one or more sub categories from the sub category list according to a predetermined reference and arranges the selected sub category in order of arrangement depending on the predetermined reference.

In addition, embodiments of the present invention further relate to computer readable media that include program instructions for performing various computer- implemented operations. The media may also include, alone or in combination with the program instructions, data files, data structures, tables, and the like. The media and program instructions may be those specially designed and constructed for the purposes of the present invention, or they may be of the kind well known and available to those having skill in the computer software arts. Examples of computer-readable media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tape; optical media such as CD-ROM disks; magneto-optical media such as floptical disks; and hardware devices that are specially configured to store and perform program instructions, such as read-only memory devices (ROM) and random access memory (RAM). The media may also be a transmission medium such as optical or metallic lines, wave guides, etc. including a carrier wave transmitting signals specifying the program instructions, data structures, etc. Examples of program instructions include both machine code, such as produced by a compiler, and files containing higher level code that may be executed by the computer using an interpreter.

The computer system 700 includes any number of processors 702 (also referred to as central processing units, or CPUs) that are coupled to storage devices including primary storage 706 (typically a random access memory, or "RAM"), primary storage 704 (typically a read only memory, or "ROM"). As is well known in the art, primary storage 704 acts to transfer data and instructions uni-directionally to the CPU and primary storage 706 is used typically to transfer data and instructions in a bi-directional manner. Both of these primary storage devices may include any suitable type of the computer-readable media described above. A mass storage device 708 is also coupled bi-directionally to CPU 702 and provides additional data storage capacity and may include any of the computer-readable media described above. The mass storage device 708 may be used to store programs, data and the like and is typically a secondary storage medium such as a hard disk that is slower than primary storage. A specific mass storage device such as a CD-ROM 714 may also pass data uni-directionally to the CPU. Processor 702 is also coupled to an interface 710 that includes one or more input/output devices such as such as video monitors, track balls, mice, keyboards, microphones, touch-sensitive displays, transducer card readers, magnetic or paper tape readers, tablets, styluses, voice or handwriting recognizers, or other well-known input devices such as, of course, other computers. Finally, processor 702 optionally may be coupled to a computer or telecommunications network using a network connection as shown generally at 712. With such a network connection, it is contemplated that the CPU might receive information from the network, or might output information to the network in the course of performing the above-described method steps. The above-described devices and materials will be familiar to those of skill in the computer hardware and software arts. The hardware elements described above may be configured (usually temporarily) to act as one or more software modules for performing the operations of this invention. The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto and their equivalents.

Industrial Applicability

According to the present invention described above, a searcher can find a desired website with a fewer clicks more quickly and easily than in the prior art.

According to the present invention, by determining the selection and an arrangement order of sub categories according to a variety of references, it is possible to increase accessibility from a searcher thereto.

According to the present invention, it is possible to display many categories and sub category search result lists on a search result list screen.

Although the present invention has been described in connection with the embodiment of the present invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings, it is not limited thereto since it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various substitutions, modifications and changes may be made thereto without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.

Claims

1. A method for displaying a search result list using the Internet in response to a search request received from a searcher through a communication network, comprising the steps of: maintaining a database for storing a plurality of search categories therein, the search categories being associated with predetermined search words and with a sub category list including at least one sub category; receiving a search request from a searcher; searching one or more search categories associated with a search word corresponding to the search request; and selecting one or more sub categories from a sub category list associated with the searched search category and arranging the selected sub categories and the searched search categories together.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of selecting one or more sub categories from the sub category list associated with the searched search category comprises the step of selecting the sub category according to a predetermined reference considering at least one of: the number of websites included in the sub category; the number of "hits" for the sub category; the alphabetical order of the sub category title; and the degree of preference for the sub category.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of arranging the selected sub categories and the searched search categories together comprises the step of arranging the selected sub category according to a predetermined reference considering at least one of: the number of websites included in the sub category; the number of "hits" for the sub category; the alphabetical order of the sub category title; and the degree of preference for the sub category.

4. The method as claimed in claim 2 or 3, wherein the degree of preference is calculated using evaluation marks for sub categories received from searchers.

5. The method as claimed in claim 2 or 3, wherein the predetermined reference is updated every predetermined time period.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the selected sub categories and the searched search categories are arranged adjacent to a single search result list screen.

7. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sub categories within the sub category list are classified according to a plurality of subjects and the sub categories are classified according to said subjects and then arranged.

8. The method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the plurality of the subjects are arranged in a pull-down mode, and if one of the plurality of the subjects is selected, sub categories corresponding to the selected subject are arranged in a pull-down mode adjacent to the selected subject.

9. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of maintaining the database for storing the plurality of the search categories therein further comprises the step of associating the sub category with sub-sub categories, and the step of arranging the selected sub category comprises the step of arranging sub-sub categories associated with the selected sub category together therewith.

10. A method for displaying a search result list using the Internet in response to a search request received from a searcher through a communication network, comprising the steps of: maintaining a database for storing a plurality of search categories therein, the search categories being associated with predetermined search words; receiving a search request from a searcher; searching search categories associated with search words corresponding to the search request; and providing a search result list for the search request, wherein sub categories associated with the searched search categories and the searched search categories are associated and arranged on a single search result list screen.

11. A computer-readable recording medium in which a program for implementing a method according to any one of claims 1 to 3 or 6 to 10 is recorded.

12. A system for displaying a search result list using the Internet in response to a search request received from a searcher through a communication network, comprising: a search request receive unit for receiving a search request from a searcher; a storage unit for storing a sub category list including one or more sub categories and a plurality of search categories associated with the sub category list; a search execution unit for associating the plurality of the stored search categories with predetermined search words, associating the stored sub category list with the search categories, and searching search categories associated with a search word corresponding to the search request; and a search result list providing unit for selecting one or more sub categories from the sub category list associated with the searched search categories and arranging the selected sub categories and the searched search categories together.

13. The system as claimed in claim 12, wherein the storage unit stores a plurality of search categories therein by subject.