WO2007139290A1

WO2007139290A1 - Method and apparatus for using tab corresponding to query to provide additional information

Info

Publication number: WO2007139290A1
Application number: PCT/KR2007/002195
Authority: WO
Inventors: Hee-Ho Kim; Sung-Il Yoon; Do-Hwan Kang; So-Youn Kim
Original assignee: Chutnoon Inc.
Priority date: 2006-05-29
Filing date: 2007-05-04
Publication date: 2007-12-06
Also published as: JP2009539171A; JP5451383B2; KR101350525B1; KR20090010182A

Abstract

A method for providing additional information corresponding to a query is provided, including: selecting information sources to search the information; creating tabs corresponding to the information sources outside a content browsing area; activating and displaying a tab selected by a user from among the created tabs; and requesting content corresponding to the selected tab. Accordingly, it is possible to efficiently provide users with additional information with respect to the query by providing tabs corresponding to websites which are expected to provide desired information.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR USING TAB CORRESPONDING TO QUERY TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Technical Field

[1] The present invention relates to information retrieval and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for providing additional information using a web browser to retrieve information. Background Art

[2] In general, users use web search engines to retrieve information over the Internet.

The web search engines allow the users to ask for content meeting specific criteria (typically those containing a given word or phrase) and retrieve a list of items that match those criteria. This list is often sorted with respect to some measure of relevance of the results. The search engines use regularly updated indexes to operate quickly and efficiently. Each individual search engine may provide users with different information according to its ranking algorithm, service policy, available range of data, and the like. Accordingly, most users use a plurality of search engines to fit their personal needs and preferences.

[3] In addition, there is a web browser toolbar which allows users to retrieve information on a web browser which enables the users to display and interact with text, images and other information typically located on web pages. The toolbar is a row, column, or block of onscreen buttons or icons that, when clicked, activate certain functions of the web browser to request a search result corresponding to a query from a search engine.

[4] However, it is inconvenient that the toolbar should be provided from each individual search engine and be installed on the user terminal. Disclosure of Invention

Technical Solution

[5] The present invention provides a method and apparatus for providing a user with additional information by creating tabs outside a content browsing area to access to information sources which provide the additional information, and activating one selected by the user from among the tabs to request content corresponding to the tab.

[6] The present invention further provides a method and apparatus for providing additional information efficiently by creating tabs outside a content browsing area to provide the additional information and activating and displaying one selected from among the tabs as if the selected tab is unified with the content browsing area. [7] Additional features of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

Advantageous Effects

[8] According to the present invention, tabs as a means to access to information sources are provided to allow users to retrieve information. In addition, when a target information source corresponding to a tab is selected, query input information is taken into account to recommend useful websites.

[9] In addition, since the tabs are created from query input information, and search results to the query are provided from websites corresponding to the tabs by clicking on the tabs, users can compare the search results with one another without visiting individual websites and inputting the same query repeatedly.

[10] Furthermore, the selected tab is activated and displayed to be unified with the content browsing area. Brief Description of the Drawings

[11] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention.

[12] Fig. 1 is a flow chart of a method for providing information according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

[13] Fig. 2 illustrates tabs for additional websites created based on a query inputted by a user according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

[14] Fig. 3 illustrates an activated tab and a search result from a website corresponding to the tab according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

[15] Fig. 4 illustrates a collection tab and a content collection corresponding to the collection tab according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

[16] Fig. 5 illustrates an apparatus for providing information according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

[17] Fig. 6 illustrates an apparatus for providing information according to another exemplary embodiment of the invention. Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[18] The present invention discloses a method for providing additional information corresponding to a query, including: selecting information sources to search the information; creating tabs corresponding to the information sources outside a content browsing area; activating and displaying a tab selected by a user from among the created tabs; and requesting content corresponding to the selected tab.

[19] The present invention also discloses an apparatus for providing additional information corresponding to a query, including: an information source selection unit to select information sources to search the information; a tab-creating unit to create tabs corresponding to the information sources outside a content browsing area; an activation display unit to activate and display a tab selected by a user from among the created tabs; and a content request unit to request content corresponding to the selected tab.

[20] It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed. Mode for the Invention

[21] The invention is described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure is thorough, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. In the drawings, the size and relative sizes of layers and regions may be exaggerated for clarity. Like reference numerals in the drawings denote like elements.

[22] It will be understood that when an element or layer is referred to as being "on" or

"connected to" another element or layer, it can be directly on or directly connected to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being "directly on" or "directly connected to" another element or layer, there are no intervening elements or layers present.

[23] In the present invention, the term 'tab' corresponds to a visible object, such as a window used in Microsoft Windows, which can be modified to fit user's needs and preferences.

[24] Fig. 1 illustrates a flow chart of a method for providing information according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[25] At step Sl 10, a query is collected to select a target information source to create a tab which is used to provide additional information.

[26] The query implies a keyword which is input on a search window of a search website or a toolbar to retrieve information over the Internet. The query may be acquired through a toolbar which is installed in a user terminal. The toolbar may serve a query input function by using a drag-and-drop function of a mouse.

[27] For instance, when a user visits a search website and inputs a query, a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) address of a searched page includes information about an encoded query. The encoding is carried out using EUC-KR, UTF8, UTF 16 or the like. The query is acquired by decoding the URL address of the searched page.

[28] In addition to the keyword which is directly input on the search window by the user, a query may be input by use of a mouse or by operating a keyboard to copy text information. For example, when the user clicks on a link of a web page, the whole or part of an anchor text of the link may be considered a query. When the user uses a keyboard to copy a text, the text is preferably considered a query.

[29] For another example, when Internet Explorer is used as a browser, the user can access to an MSHTML object, which is an OLE component of Internet Explorer, to obtain information.

[30] As described above, the query implies a keyword inputted by the user to retrieve information. More preferably, the query includes, in addition to the keyword, additional information, such as the address of a website on which the keyword is input, and the input time the keyword is input. The additional information is useful in understanding the user's intention.

[31] At step S120, an information source to create a tab is selected. That is, at step S120, address information of a website is selected which is expected to provide additional information.

[32] In general, a user uses a plurality of search websites and compares search results with one another. Accordingly, websites which are frequently visited or previously set by the user are preferably selected as target information sources to create tabs.

[33] The query information may be taken into account to select the information source.

For example, when the name of a well-known book is input as a query, it may be set so that, in addition to general search websites, tabs for web pages relating to the book on an online-shop website can be created. When a digital camera brand is input as a query, additional tabs for websites, which post reviews on or price comparison of digital cameras, are preferably created. For this, it is preferable to store beforehand information about websites corresponding to keywords or categories of the keywords.

[34] However, since it is difficult to fully understand the user's intention only by the query, it is preferable to provide the user with a means to determine rules for websites to create tabs.

[35] Furthermore, the tabs may act as a medium to post keyword advertisements. For example, an advertiser purchases a right to create a tab with respect to a query, and selects a website as an information source to create the tab. Such an advertisement may be performed by a conventional keyword advertisement method. For example, a bidder may be selected based on cost charged when clicking on a tab. In addition, when users click on the tab to access to the advertiser's website, part of sales by the users may be apportioned.

[36] At step S 130, a tab corresponding to the selected information source is created outside a content browsing area. That is, at step S 130, a tab is created which is used as a means to access to the information source that provides additional information.

[37] A typical browser includes a content browsing area and an additional area, which is located above the content browsing area, for address information of a text or for a means to receive instructions related to the operation of the browser. The toolbar, which provides supplemental functions for the browser, is also displayed on the additional area.

[38] A method for providing information according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention may be provided by a toolbar which provides supplemental functions for a browser. In this case, a tab may be created as a sub-object of the toolbar and located within the toolbar.

[39] Alternatively, the tab may be created as a child window of browsing software. In this case, the tab is preferably located outside above the content browsing area. However, the tab may be located at another area.

[40] In addition, at step S 130, an additional collection tab may be created to provide information received from a plurality of information sources corresponding to a plurality of tabs. Content corresponding to the collection tab may include part of content corresponding to the other tabs. The content corresponding to the collection tab and the arrangement of the content will be described with reference to Fig. 4.

[41] At step S 140, a tab selected by a user from among the created tabs is activated and displayed to be distinguished from the other tabs.

[42] When a user clicks on a tab and a selection signal corresponding to the tab is received, the tab is activated and displayed to be distinguished from the other tabs to indicate that information corresponding to the tab is given. At this time, the activated tab is displayed to be unified with the content browsing area and the other tabs are displayed to be isolated from the content browsing area.

[43] Accordingly, the activated tab is preferably displayed in an attribute similar to that of the content browsing area. Thus, a background color of the content and a representation attribute of a portion adjacent to the tab are preferably taken into account. In general, since a web page has a background color of white, the selected tab may also have a color of white.

[44] However, for example, when a tab is created as a sub-object of a toolbar, even though the toolbar is located adjacent to the content browsing area, a boundary consisting of several pixels exists between the toolbar and the content browsing area. In this case, an eraser window may be created as a sub-object of the browser to cover part of the boundary of the tab so that the tab may appear to be continuous with the content browsing area. The eraser window is represented in an attribute of either the activated tab or the content browsing area, or with gradation therebetween.

[45] When the tab is originally created as a sub-object of the browser, the tab is created with a distinct attribute at a position where the tab appears to be continuous with the content browsing area.

[46] At step S 150, the user requests content corresponding to the selected tab from a website having the information source corresponding to the tab.

[47] The user requests additional information, for example, by clicking the created tab, or by transferring address information to the web browser.

[48] While it may be requested to browse the address of the website corresponding to the tab, it is preferable to request the same content as that acquired when the user directly inputs the query on the website.

[49] In general, address information of a web page showing a search result with respect to a query has a query statement format. Therefore, it is preferable to create address information which is a combination of the query information and the search website address information in order to request content, so that the same content as that acquired when the user directly inputs the query can be transferred.

[50] When the content is transferred to the user terminal, the user can view the content with the browser.

[51] When a plurality of tabs is created, an additional collection tab may be created to provide the user with information which repeatedly appears on the content corresponding to several tabs. The content corresponding to the collection tab may be created by analyzing content corresponding to each of the created tabs. The content of the collection tab may be created by integrating content corresponding to each of the tabs into a document. At this time, information appearing on more information sources preferably has a higher priority.

[52] The content corresponding to the collection tab may include advertisements which are determined based on the query inputted by the user or based on content corresponding to the other tabs. The advertisements are provided by the conventional keyword or context advertisement method. For instance, a content-related advertisement is provided by extracting a keyword indicating content by taking into account the frequency and attribute of words appearing on the content which are basic factors in determining the advertisement.

[53] Fig. 2 illustrates tabs for additional information websites created based on a query inputted by a user according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

[54] When a user accesses to a portal website, such as www.dreamwiz.com, content of the website is displayed on a content browsing area 210 of the website. When the user inputs 'choco' as a query on a search window 211 of the website, the website displays a search result to the query on the content browsing area 210.

[55] A toolbar 220 is located above the content browsing area 210, and may have an additional search window 221 therein. When the user inputs a query 'choco' on the search window 221, a tab list 222 is created on the toolbar 220 to provide additional information. For example, a tab list 222 with five tabs are created, each of which has a form similar to a button of the toolbar. However, the number and form of the tabs may be differently set.

[56] While a website corresponding to the tab may be determined by the user regardless of the type of the query, the website corresponding to the tab is preferably determined based on the classification of the query and the website visited by the user.

[57] For instance, since the website shown in Fig. 2 is one of portal websites, the tab related to a portal website or a search website, such as Naver (www.naver.com) and Google (www.google.com), is created.

[58] Fig. 3 illustrates an activated tab and a search result from a website corresponding to the tab according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

[59] When the user needs additional information with respect to the query 'choco' which is input in Fig. 2, the user may click on a tab 'Google' in the tab list 222. Then, a search result from the search website 'Google' with respect to the query 'choco' is additionally displayed on the content browsing area 210.

[60] In this case, it is necessary to display a selected tab to be distinguished from the other tabs. That is, the selected tab is activated and displayed to be distinguished from the other tabs.

[61] The selected tab is preferably displayed to be unified with content which is displayed on the content browsing area 210.

[62] For instance, a tab 310 is distinguished from the other tabs by activating the tab 310 in the same background color as that of the content browsing area 210.

[63] However, it is more preferable to display the activated tab as if the activated tab is unified with the content browsing area. Accordingly, as shown in a tab 320, the tab is activated and displayed in the same background color as that of the content, and a boundary between the tab and the content browsing area 210 is removed.

[64] Fig. 4 illustrates a collection tab and a content collection corresponding to the collection tab according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

[65] The user inputs a query 'democracy' on an input window 410 of the toolbar installed on the browser. In response to the query, a tab list 411 is created to provide additional information. Each of tabs in the tab list 411 provides a means to access to a search result of a website with respect to the query 'democracy'.

[66] When the user clicks on a tab 'collection', the tab is activated so that the tab can be distinguished from the other tabs. A content browsing area 420 has a background color of white, and the activated tab also has a background color of white.

[67] A white erasure window is created under the activated tab to cover several pixels of a boundary between the content browsing area and the toolbar. Accordingly, the activated tab can be recognized as if the activate tab is extended from the content browsing area 420. This may be achieved by creating a tab which is extended to the boundary.

[68] When the user clicks on the tab 'collection', a collection of content corresponding to the other tabs is provided. The content collection is created by collecting information which is transferred upon clicking on the other tabs. The content collection may include a news collection 421 and a blog collection 422 based on classified information. In addition, the priority of information may be based on the frequency of information appearing on information sources corresponding to the tabs.

[69] For example, information with the highest priority among the news collection 421 appears repeatedly on four information sources corresponding to the four tabs, while information with a lower priority appears less frequently.

[70] Fig. 5 illustrates an information providing apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

[71] The information providing apparatus 510 is provided in a server which is separated from a user terminal and receives an information request from the user terminal. That is, when a browser 520 of the user terminal accesses to a server serving the information and requests additional information from the server, the information providing apparatus 510 provided in the server receives the request and provides additional information to the browser 520.

[72] An information source selection unit 511 selects a target information source to create a tab accessing to the target information source which is expected to provide additional information.

[73] The target information source may include websites which are previously selected and frequently visited by the user.

[74] In addition, the target information source may be selected based on query input information. That is, in addition to the query itself, the time at which the query is input, and information about the information source on which the query is input may be taken into account. The query input information may be acquired by analyzing input signals from the user terminal 520 or referring to sub-objects of the browser used by the user.

[75] Furthermore, the target information source may include an information source related to an advertiser who purchases a right for a tab corresponding to a query. Such a sale process can be carried out according to the conventional method for the keyword advertisement.

[76] A tab-creating unit 512 creates a tab for the information source selected by the in- formation source selection unit 511.

[77] The tab is a tool provided on a screen to receive a user's request for access to the selected information source. The tab may be provided on a browser screen as a sub- object of the browser of the user terminal. In case of a plurality of tabs, it is preferable to further include a collection tab-creating unit to create a collection tab which provides a content collection corresponding to the tabs. That is, the collection tab- creating unit creates a collection tab to provide information received from a plurality of information sources, and content corresponding to the collection tab includes part of content corresponding to the other tabs. The content provided through the collection tab is described with reference to Fig. 4.

[78] An activation display unit 513 activates a selected one of tabs created by the tab- creating unit 512 so that the selected tab can be distinguished from the other tabs.

[79] The browser 520 displays information from the information source 530 corresponding to the tab. The activated tab is preferably displayed to be unified with the content browsing area on which the content corresponding to the activated tab is displayed.

[80] Therefore, the activated tab preferably has the same background color as the content browsing area. Alternatively, no boundary is preferably displayed between the tab and the content browsing area.

[81] In this case, an erasure window may be used so that the user cannot recognize the boundary between the tab and the content browsing area, or a new tab may be created to be extended to the content browsing area.

[82] A content request unit 514 requests content from the information source 530 corresponding to the tab. The content may be indirectly requested through the browser 520.

[83] When the content is requested, a representative document of a corresponding information source may be displayed. However, when query information is acquired, it is preferable to request content related to the query in the information source. When the information source is a search website, address information indicating a search result may be a combination of address information of the information source and the query information which are encoded.

[84] Furthermore, in order to provide a collection of information with respect to a plurality of tabs, a information collection-creating unit is further included which creates a document from content corresponding to the tabs. When the information collection is provided to the user, the frequency of appearance of the information may be taken into account.

[85] Fig. 6 illustrates an information providing apparatus according to another exemplary embodiment of the invention. [86] The information providing apparatus 510 is provided in the user terminal and receives an information request from the browser 520. Even though the information providing apparatus 510 is provided in the user terminal, the other units shown in Fig. 6 are the same as those shown in Fig. 5 and are operated in the same manner as those shown in Fig. 5.

[87] The above-mentioned method for providing information according to the exemplary embodiment of the invention may be stored in any form of recording media, such as CD-ROM, RAM, ROM, floppy disk, hard disk, or magneto-optical disk, or in any computer-readable form, such as computer code organized into executable programs. A description of a method of storing the exemplary embodiment of the invention is well known in the art and will be omitted.

[88] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variation can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents. Industrial Applicability

[89] The present invention can efficiently be applied to the information retrieval industry related to a method and apparatus for providing additional information using a web browser to retrieve information.

Claims

[I] A method for providing additional information corresponding to a query, comprising: selecting information sources to search the information; creating tabs corresponding to the information sources outside a content browsing area; activating and displaying a tab selected by a user from among the created tabs; and requesting content corresponding to the selected tab. [2] The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving the content and displaying the content on the activated tab to transfer the content to the user. [3] The method of claim 1, wherein selecting information sources comprises selecting the information sources based on the query. [4] The method of claim 3, wherein selecting information sources comprises selecting the information sources including an information source related to an advertiser who purchases a right for the query. [5] The method of claim 1, wherein activating and displaying a tab comprises activating and displaying the selected tab by taking into account a representation attribute of the content corresponding to the selected tab. [6] The method of claim 1, wherein activating and displaying a tab comprises activating and displaying the selected tab such that no boundary is displayed between the selected tab and the content browsing area. [7] The method of claim 1, wherein activating and displaying a tab comprises activating and displaying the selected tab by using a child window of a browser to cover a boundary between the selected tab and the content browsing area. [8] The method of claim 1, wherein activating and displaying a tab comprises activating and displaying the selected tab by creating a new tab having an activation representation attribute as a child window of a browser at a position of the selected tab. [9] The method of claim 1, further comprising creating an additional collection tab to provide information from a plurality of information sources, wherein content corresponding to the collection tab comprises part of content corresponding to the other tabs. [10] The method of claim 9, wherein the content corresponding to the collection tab is arranged by taking into account the frequency of appearance of information on other information sources.

[I I] A computer-readable medium to record a program for executing on a computer the method of any one of claims 1 to 10. [12] An apparatus for providing additional information corresponding to a query, comprising: an information source selection unit to select information sources to search the information; a tab-creating unit to create tabs corresponding to the information sources outside a content browsing area; an activation display unit to activate and display a tab selected by a user from among the created tabs; and a content request unit to request content corresponding to the selected tab. [13] The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the content request unit receives the requested content and displays the content on the activated tab to transfer the content to the user. [14] The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the information source selection unit selects the information sources based on the query. [15] The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the information source selection unit selects the information sources including an information source related to an advertiser who purchases a right for the query. [16] The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the activation display unit activates and displays the selected tab by taking into account a representation attribute of the content corresponding to the selected tab. [17] The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the activation display unit activates and displays the selected tab such that no boundary is displayed between the selected tab and the content browsing area. [18] The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the activation display unit activates and displays the selected tab by using a child window of a browser to cover a boundary between the selected tab and the content browsing area. [19] The apparatus of claim 12, further comprising a collection tab-creating unit to create a collection tab to provide information from a plurality of information sources, wherein content corresponding to the collection tab comprises part of content corresponding to the other tabs. [20] The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the content corresponding to the collection tab is arranged by taking into account the frequency of appearance of information on other information sources.