JP2004287569A - Internet browsing system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an Internet browsing system for effectively utilizing and displaying the map information of an on-vehicle navigation system or related information, on the Internet. <P>SOLUTION: The Internet browsing system has a database for storing information on a particular category; a dictionary function for creating index information for the information on the particular category; and a browser function for detecting matching between words within a Website displayed and the index information, highlighting the matching words, and linking the words with the information on the particular category corresponding to the index information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an Internet browsing system, and more particularly, to an Internet browsing system that effectively utilizes and displays map information of a vehicle-mounted navigation device and related information on the Internet.
[0002]
[Prior art]
FIG. 1 shows a display example of a homepage on the Internet.
This home page shows "There was an earthquake in Kobe City." Click on the linked "Earthquake Mechanism" to see the explanation. As described above, when the link information displayed on the Internet browser is clicked, interesting information is displayed one after another.
[0003]
If there are "words" to be searched on the homepage, the user can access various search engines on the Internet to obtain information about them. In the case of this example, for example, on the Internet browser, "Kobe City" is entered in the search field of the selected search engine, and the search button is pressed. As a result, a large number of link information about Kobe City registered in the search engine is displayed. By clicking them individually, it is possible to obtain necessary information such as “Map around Kobe City” and “Tourist Information for Kobe City”.
[0004]
In addition, there is an example in which a predetermined search engine is started by clicking an arbitrary word in an HMTL document (for example, see Patent Document 1). In this case, in the above example, the process from inputting "Kobe City" in the search field on the Internet browser to starting the search is automated, but the subsequent operations are the same as in the above example.
[0005]
As described above, generally, there is no link to a normal "word" displayed on the homepage, and when it is desired to obtain information on the word, it is necessary to perform a search using a search engine by itself. Also, as for the search result, it is necessary to select and acquire necessary information from a large number of displayed link information. Furthermore, even when the search processing is automated, it is necessary to finally select and acquire necessary information from a large number of link information as a result.
[0006]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2000-29906 A
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, as described above, it is inconvenient to search for "words" without links and to select the results, and it is necessary to obtain only necessary information by a simple operation without starting a search tool or the like. Is desired. In particular, in a vehicle-mounted navigation device or a portable information terminal (mobile phone, PDA, notebook PC, etc.) capable of Internet communication (hereinafter, these are referred to as "mobile information terminals"), a map of a destination, a photograph of a building, It is desired that only appropriate information such as building contact information can be quickly acquired.
[0008]
In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an Internet browsing system that displays only appropriate information by a simple click operation of a specific “word” displayed on a browser in a mobile information terminal. .
Further, an object of the present invention is to provide a general information terminal (workstation, PC, etc.) with a simple click operation of a specific "word" displayed on an Internet browser, so that only appropriate information within a desired category range is obtained. To provide an Internet browsing system for displaying a web page.
[0009]
According to the present invention, a database for storing information of a specific category, a dictionary function for creating index information of the information of the specific category, a match between words in a displayed homepage and the index information are detected and matched. There is provided an Internet browsing system comprising a browser function of highlighting a word and linking the word to information of a specific category corresponding to the index information.
[0010]
According to the present invention, there is provided the Internet, an information terminal accessing the Internet, and a server on the Internet, wherein the information terminal has a browser function of requesting and displaying a homepage on the Internet, The server stores a database storing information of a specific category, a dictionary function for creating index information of the information of the specific category, and detects a match between a word in a homepage requested by the information terminal and the index information, and detects a match. An Internet browsing system having a function of transmitting the corrected home page to the information terminal in which the corrected word is highlighted and the link information to the database corresponding to the word is included.
[0011]
Furthermore, according to the present invention, the information terminal requests and displays a database storing information of a specific category and a homepage on the Internet, and corresponds to the specific category based on link information to the database included in the homepage. A server function for displaying index information of information of a specific category in the database; and An Internet browsing system having a function of detecting a match, highlighting the matched word, and transmitting a corrected home page including link information to the database corresponding to the word to the information terminal. You.
[0012]
Further, the database function of the server is distributed on another server on the Internet. Then, the information terminal transmits to the server information for specifying the content of a database in the terminal itself and / or a category requesting a service, and the server transmits a dictionary in the server based on the received information. Update features.
[0013]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
FIG. 2 shows an example of a communication system to which the Internet browsing system according to the present invention is applied.
In FIG. 2, a mobile information terminal 1 includes a radio telephone unit (TEL) 14 for communicating with the radio base station 2, a recording medium 13 for storing map information for navigation, a homepage on the Internet, and navigation map information. And the like, and a processor (CPU) 12 for performing Internet connection control, Internet browser display control / navigation map display control, and the like. The wireless base station 2 is connected to an access point 3 such as an ISP or an ASP, and the mobile information terminal 1 is connected to the Internet via the access point 3.
[0014]
FIG. 3 shows a basic configuration of the Internet browsing system according to the present invention.
The browser function 21 in FIG. 3 is a function for displaying a homepage on the Internet, and is realized by the display 11, the processor unit 12, and the wireless telephone unit 14 in correspondence with FIG. The navigation map database 23 stores map information and the like relating to “words (place names)” of a specific category on the homepage displayed by the browser function 21, and the place name dictionary 22 searches for place names linked to the map information. Keep as a dictionary.
[0015]
Specifically, the navigation map database 23 includes map information stored in a recording medium of the vehicle-mounted navigation device, and the place name dictionary 22 includes index information obtained by performing a full-text search for a text included in the map information. . As will be described later, the navigation map database 23 and the place name dictionary 22 are also realized by a database such as a relay server on the Internet.
[0016]
FIG. 4 shows an example of a basic processing flow of the browser function 21 of FIG. In this example, a dedicated Internet browser having a function of highlighting a specific “word” is used. The dedicated browser incorporates the browser function 21, the place name dictionary 22, and the navigation map database 23 shown in FIG.
[0017]
The browser function 21 first reads an HTML file of a homepage from the Internet (S10). Next, the "words" obtained by the syntax analysis of the contents of the HTML file are collated with the place name dictionary 22 (S11 and S12).
[0018]
The dedicated Internet browser highlights the “word” that matches the place name dictionary 22. In this case, the read HTML file is not modified. Further, the browser function 21 links the matched “word” with the corresponding map information in the navigation map database 23 (S13).
[0019]
Next, when a specific highlighted "word" is clicked, a predetermined driver included in the browser function 21 accesses the navigation map database 23, reads out corresponding map information, and displays it (S14). And 15).
[0020]
FIG. 5 shows another basic processing flow example of the browser function 21 of FIG. In this example, an ordinary Internet browser that is generally widely used is used for browsing.
The browser function 21 first reads an HTML file of a homepage from the Internet (S20). Next, the "words" obtained by the syntax analysis of the contents of the HTML file are collated with the place name dictionary 22 (S21 and S22). Up to this point, it is the same as FIG.
[0021]
In this example, the read HTML file is modified in order to highlight the “word” that matches the place name dictionary 22 on a normal Internet browser. That is, the browser function 21 embeds a tag for highlighting the matching “word” in the HTML file, or adds a frame that displays only the matching “word” (S23). In the latter case, there is an advantage that the content itself of the read HTML file is not changed.
[0022]
As a result of these corrections, the matching specific "word" is highlighted on a normal Internet browser (S24). In this case, the browser function 21 has a simple HTTP server function having a specific IP address (private address, etc.), and reads the corresponding map information in the local navigation map database 23 by using the function. Put in. As a result, when a specific highlighted “word” is clicked, the corresponding map information of the navigation map database 23 is displayed.
[0023]
6 and 7 show one embodiment of FIGS.
In FIG. 6, “Kobe City” that matches the place name dictionary 22 according to the processing flow of FIG. 4 or 5 is highlighted using bold characters and shading. FIG. 7 shows an example of a map near Kobe City displayed when "Kobe City" in FIG. 6 is clicked. FIG. 12, which will be described later, shows an example in which “Kobe City” that matches the place name dictionary 22 is displayed as a frame. In the case of highlight display, if the same place name appears many times, it becomes difficult to see. Therefore, a method of highlighting only one place name on the same screen can be used.
[0024]
According to the Internet browsing system of the present invention, there is an advantage that the link destination of a home page on the Internet is not limited to the content on the Internet. For example, in FIGS. 6 and 7, both the place name dictionary 22 and the navigation map database 23 use the navigation map data stored in the recording medium in the mobile information terminal. Therefore, information related to "words (for example," place names ") on the browser is also limited to information necessary for movement, such as map data, photographs of buildings, and contact information to buildings.
[0025]
Therefore, in the present invention, "words" which are originally related to movement are sorted into a predetermined category and are highlighted, so that information displayed corresponding to the words does not need to be sorted. Therefore, information necessary for movement can be obtained immediately by a simple click operation without using a search tool such as a search engine.
[0026]
FIG. 8 shows a modification of the basic configuration of FIG.
8, a tourist spot photograph database 24 is newly added to the basic configuration of FIG. Since a recording medium (eg, CD, DVD, HD, etc.) containing map information for navigation has a large capacity, it stores a lot of information other than a map. In this example, in addition to link information between a place name and a map, Furthermore, if there is a photograph related to the place name, it is configured as a tourist place photograph database 24, and the place name dictionary 22 manages link information to the photograph data.
[0027]
FIG. 9 shows an embodiment of FIG.
In FIG. 8, a plurality of data (maps and photos) are linked to one “place name (Kobe City)”. Therefore, for example, when "Kobe City" is clicked, the browser function 21 first displays a dialog for selecting any one. Thereby, more necessary information at the present time can be immediately acquired by a simple click operation.
[0028]
The color of the highlight may be changed for the “place name” having both the map information and the photograph information so that it can be visually distinguished from other “place names”. In addition, for example, only “photographs” may be selected and displayed by initial setting.
[0029]
FIG. 10 shows another modification of the basic configuration of FIG.
10, a telephone directory database 25 and a public facility dictionary 26 are newly added to the basic configuration of FIG. In this example as well, the recording medium containing the map information for navigation has a large capacity and contains a lot of information other than the map.In this case, in addition to the link information between the place name and the map, the public facilities and the related A public facility dictionary 26 and a telephone directory database 25 are provided for telephone numbers as contacts. The public facility dictionary 26 manages link information with the telephone directory database 25.
[0030]
11 and 12 show one embodiment of FIG.
In FIG. 11, “Kobe City Office” that matches the public facility dictionary 26 is highlighted. When the user clicks on it or puts the mouse pointer in the display area, the telephone number of Kobe City Hall is read out from the telephone directory database 25 and displayed. In this case, automatic dialing is possible if the system is connected to a mobile phone.
[0031]
In FIG. 12, instead of highlighting the individual “words” on the homepage as described above, a frame format that collectively displays only the “words” that match the place name dictionary and the public facility dictionary 26 is adopted. An example is shown. In this case, the matched words and phrases are easy to understand, and there is no need to correct the original content of the homepage.
[0032]
As is clear from the examples so far, a plurality of dictionaries and databases can be provided for each category. Also, by distinguishing the matched “words” by color for each category, the category can be easily identified. Further, the dictionary and the database may be configured separately from each other, or may be configured as a single database.
[0033]
13 to 17 show several embodiments in which the Internet browsing system according to the present invention includes a server on the Internet.
Up to now, the Internet browsing system according to the present invention has been all processed on the mobile information terminal side. However, if all databases and dictionaries are provided on the mobile information terminal side, the load on the terminal side becomes excessive. For this reason, in the following embodiments, a part or all of the components of the database and the dictionary are provided in the server on the Internet side to achieve load distribution and reduce the load on the mobile information terminal side.
[0034]
In the example of FIG. 13, the Internet-side relay server 3 'has a dictionary function 22' and a database function 22 'according to the present invention. Here, the browser function 21 of the mobile information terminal 1 is constituted only by a normal Internet browser. When the mobile information terminal 1 requests a homepage on the Internet, the data of the requested homepage passes through a dedicated relay server 3 ′ installed at the access point 3.
[0035]
In this example, the search / page display unit 31 in the relay server 3 'temporarily stores the requested homepage data. Then, a matching “word” is searched using the dictionary function 22 ′ and the database function 22 ′, a correction for highlighting the matching “word” is added to the homepage, and then sent to the mobile information terminal 1. Therefore, the search / page display unit 31 of the present example executes the same processing flow as in FIG.
[0036]
In this case, the IP address of the relay server and its directory information are used as the link information (URL) of the "word" highlighted on the corrected homepage. In this example, since the dictionary function 22 'and the database function 22' can be shared for a plurality of mobile information terminals, the navigation map data can be effectively used. Further, the mobile information terminal 1 merely uses a normal Internet browser, and no special processing according to the present invention occurs. Therefore, a general information terminal that does not have map data or the like can use the present invention.
[0037]
In the example of FIG. 14, the search / page display unit 31 and the dictionary function 22 'are provided in the relay server 3' on the Internet side. The search / page display unit 31 of this example adds link information to the map database 23 in the mobile information terminal 1 to the corrected homepage. The browser function 21 of the mobile information terminal 1 accesses the map database 23 in its own terminal using the link information.
[0038]
Therefore, the browser function 21 of this example executes the latter part (S13 to S15) of the processing flow of FIG. As a result, communication of map information having a large data amount is reduced, and the speed of map display is increased. Since the database is generally huge, the relay server 3 'on the Internet side may have the database function 23' and the mobile terminal 1 may have only the dictionary function 22.
[0039]
In the example of FIG. 15, both the relay server 3 'on the Internet side and the mobile information terminal 1 have a database function. In this configuration, the mobile information terminal 1 uses its own map database 23 in principle, and acquires only map information that does not exist therefrom from the database function 23 'of the relay server 3'. As a result, the amount of communication with the network is reduced, and it is also possible to display the latest map information held only by the relay server 3 '.
[0040]
In the example of FIG. 16, the relay server 3 'on the Internet side has only the dictionary function 22'. The search / page display unit 31 of this example searches a database function 23 ″ provided in another server on the Internet using a search robot or the like, and registers the result in its dictionary function 22 ′. As a result, a detailed map of a region, a photograph of a building, and the like, which are not included in general map data, can also be obtained from the corresponding homepage, so that wider information of the same category can be used.
[0041]
The example of FIG. 17 corresponds to a modification of the example of FIG. 14 described above. In this example, a plurality of relay servers 3 'exist on the Internet, and each relay server 3' has a dictionary function 22 'having a different database version from each other. In the figure, a relay server having a dictionary (Vol. 1) whose database version is "1" and a relay server having a dictionary (Vol. 2) having a version number of "2" are shown.
[0042]
The mobile information terminal 1 first notifies the access point 3 of the version number (in this example, “2”) of its own database. In response, the relay server 3 'having the database version 2 dictionary (Vol. 2) is selected, and the reception of the data whose version numbers match can be performed. Subsequent processing is the same as in the example of FIG.
[0043]
In the above example, first, the access point 3 is accessed, and the corresponding relay server 3 'is selected. However, in addition, the default relay server 3' is notified first, and the corresponding relay server 3 'is selected. Or may be instructed.
[0044]
In this example, the version number of the database is notified. In addition, various parameters such as a category type, a subdivided data type, a data amount, a transfer speed, and the like are notified, and the optimum relay server 3 ′ is notified. You may make it selectable. Further, such a parameter may be periodically notified from the mobile information terminal 1 to the relay server 3 'so that the information on each mobile information terminal held in the relay server 3' can be updated at any time. With such a configuration, it is possible to provide appropriate information for each mobile information terminal.
[0045]
Although the present invention has been described above with respect to categories such as “place names” related to the mobile information terminal, various categories as exemplified in FIG. 18 can be realized with the same configuration. In this case, information sources for each category are stored in advance in a general information terminal such as a CD / DVD or a hard disk, or in a relay server on the Internet.
[0046]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an Internet browsing system that displays only appropriate information by a simple click operation of a specific “word” displayed on a browser in a mobile information terminal. Also, in a general information terminal, it is possible to display only appropriate information within a desired category range by a simple click operation of a specific “word” displayed on an Internet browser.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a display example of a home page.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a communication system to which the Internet browsing system according to the present invention is applied.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a basic configuration of an Internet browsing system according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a basic processing flow of a browser function.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing another basic processing flow example of the browser function.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a display example (1) of a homepage according to the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a display example (2) of a homepage according to the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing another configuration example (1) of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a display example (3) of a homepage according to the present invention.
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another configuration example (2) of the present invention.
FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a display example (4) of a homepage according to the present invention.
FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a display example (5) of a homepage according to the present invention.
FIG. 13 is a diagram showing another configuration example (3) of the present invention.
FIG. 14 is a diagram showing another configuration example (4) of the present invention.
FIG. 15 is a diagram showing another configuration example (5) of the present invention.
FIG. 16 is a diagram showing another configuration example (6) of the present invention.
FIG. 17 is a diagram showing another configuration example (7) of the present invention.
FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of a category to which the present invention is applied.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Mobile information terminal 2 ... Wireless base station 3 ... Access point 3 '... Relay server 11 ... Display unit 12 ... Processor unit 13 ... Recording medium 14 ... Wireless telephone unit 21 ... Browser functions 22, 22', 26 ... Dictionary 23, 23 ', 24 ... database 31 ... search / page display section

Claims (14)

A database for storing information of a specific category;
A dictionary function for creating index information of the information of the specific category;
A browser function of detecting a match between a word in the homepage to be displayed and the index information, highlighting the matched word, and linking the word to information of a specific category corresponding to the index information. Internet browsing system characterized by. The system according to claim 1, wherein the database and the dictionary function are provided for each of the specific categories. The system of claim 1, wherein the specific category includes “place names” and the database includes “map information”. The system according to claim 1, wherein the browser function highlights only one word when there is a plurality of the same matched words. 2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the browser function provides any one of selection means when there is a plurality of pieces of information of a specific category corresponding to the matched word. The system of claim 1, wherein the browser function displays the matched words in frames instead of highlighting the matched words. The system according to claim 1, wherein, when there is a plurality of pieces of information of the specific category corresponding to the index information, the dictionary function creates one piece of index information based on a predetermined condition. Internet and
An information terminal that accesses the Internet,
And a server on the Internet,
The information terminal,
Has a browser function that requests and displays a home page on the Internet,
The server comprises:
A database for storing information of a specific category;
A dictionary function for creating index information of the information of the specific category;
A match between the word in the homepage requested by the information terminal and the index information is detected, the matched word is highlighted, and the corrected homepage containing link information to the database corresponding to the word is displayed. Having a function of transmitting to an information terminal,
An Internet browsing system, characterized in that: 9. The system according to claim 8, wherein the database function is distributed on another server on the Internet. Internet and
An information terminal that accesses the Internet,
And a server on the Internet,
The information terminal,
A database for storing information of a specific category;
Requesting and displaying a homepage on the Internet, and a browser function of displaying information of a specific category corresponding to the database based on link information with the database included in the homepage,
The server comprises:
A dictionary function for creating index information of information of a specific category in the database;
A match between the word in the homepage requested by the information terminal and the index information is detected, the matched word is highlighted, and the corrected homepage containing link information to the database corresponding to the word is displayed. An Internet browsing system having a function of transmitting information to an information terminal. The server further has a database for storing information of a specific category,
The system according to claim 10, wherein the browser function of the information terminal preferentially displays information in a database in the information terminal. The system of claim 11, wherein the server's database functionality is distributed on other servers on the Internet. The information terminal transmits, to the server, information for specifying a category requesting the content and / or service of a database in the terminal,
The system according to any one of claims 8 to 12, wherein the server updates a dictionary function in the server based on the received information. 14. The system according to claim 13, wherein the information for specifying the contents of the database is a version number of the database.

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