Information searching apparatus and method

• US 20010037377A1
• Filed: 02/21/2001
• Published: 11/01/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 04/27/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Sato, Toshikazu, Kamakura, Akira, Nakano, Yumiko
• Granted Patent: US 6,925,456 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/219
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0239 Online discounts or incentives
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0242 Determining effectiveness of advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0276 Advertisement creation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/53 using third party service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99932 Access augmentation or optimizing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface

Abstract

Location information of content information (whose location is unpublished on a network) transmitted by a location unpublished information transmitting unit is stored to a database. A web page (containing a search keyword input field) transmitted by a search keyword input page transmitting unit is browsed by a web page browsing unit. A keyword that is input to the search keyword input field is transmitted to an information searching apparatus. A searching unit searches a database for content information corresponding to the keyword. When the keyword correlates with information transmitted by the location unpublished information transmitting unit, the user can find content information of which the location is unpublished with a user'"'"'s terminal apparatus.

Claims

1. An information searching apparatus for searching location information that represents the location of content information which is concerned with a keyword transmitted from a user'"'"'s terminal apparatus, comprising:

a creating unit creating a database for storing location information of predetermined content information of which the location on the network is unpublished; and

a searching unit for searching the database for a keyword that is input to a search keyword input field of a predetermined web page browsed with the user'"'"'s terminal apparatus.

2. The information searching apparatus as set forth in

claim 1

,

wherein the content information whose location information is unpublished is award entry information.

3. The information searching apparatus as set forth in

claim 2

,

wherein the web page contains a keyword with which the location information of the award entry information is obtained as a search result of said searching unit.

4. The information searching apparatus as set forth in

claim 3

,

wherein when a plurality of records of the location information are obtained as the search result corresponding to the keyword, said searching unit outputs rankings corresponding to the correlation of content information represented by the location information and the keyword, and

wherein the award entry information is highly correlated with the keyword contained in the web page.

5. The information searching apparatus as set forth in

claim 4

,

wherein the award entry information contains an input field in which the keyword is input and is described in HTML (HyperText Markup Language), and

wherein the award entry information is highly correlated with the keyword contained in the web page in such a manner that the keyword is contained in a portion defined in a META tag described in HTML.

6. The information searching apparatus as set forth in

claim 2

,

wherein the web page contains an award entry keyword,

wherein the award entry information is a web page containing an award keyword input field in which the entry keyword is input, and

wherein the apparatus further comprises

determining unit determining whether or not the award entry has been performed by inputting the entry keyword in the entry keyword input field.

7. The information searching apparatus as set forth in

claim 3

, further comprising

a search entry summing unit summing the number of entries for each keyword that have been input in the search keyword input field and searched by said searching unit.

8. An information server, connected to a network, for transmitting stored information to the network, comprising:

a search keyword input page transmitting unit transmitting a web page to a user'"'"'s terminal apparatus, the web page containing a search keyword input field in which a keyword is input, the keyword causing an information searching apparatus to search location information representing the location of content information on the network; and

a location unpublished information transmitting unit transmitting content information, of which the location on the network is unpublished, to the user'"'"'s terminal apparatus corresponding to a request issued by the user'"'"'s terminal apparatus, when a keyword is input to the search keyword input field of the web page browsed on the user'"'"'s terminal apparatus, the keyword causing the information searching apparatus to search the location information of the content information of which the location on the network is unpublished.

9. The information server as set forth in

claim 8

,

wherein the content information whose location is unpublished is award entry information,

wherein an award entry keyword appears on the web page,

wherein the content information transmitted from said location unpublished information transmitting unit contains a web page containing an entry keyword input field in which the entry keyword is input, and

wherein the information server further comprises

an accepting unit determining whether or not an award entry keyword that has been input in the entry keyword input field is the same as a search keyword that has appeared on a web page containing a search keyword input field and accepting an award entry when they are the same when the award entry is transmitted from the user'"'"'s terminal apparatus through the network.

10. The information server as set forth in

claim 9

,

wherein said keyword input page transmitting unit changes the entry keyword whenever said keyword input page transmitting unit transmits a web page containing the search keyword input field.

11. A user'"'"'s terminal apparatus, connected to a network, comprising:

a web page browsing unit browsing a web page containing a search keyword input field in which a keyword is input, the keyword causing an information searching apparatus to search location information representing the location of content information of which the location on the network is unpublished; and

a search keyword transmitting unit transmitting the keyword that has been input in the search keyword input field to the information searching apparatus.

12. The user'"'"'s terminal apparatus as set forth in

claim 11

,

wherein the content information whose location is unpublished is award entry information,

wherein an award entry keyword appears on the web page, and

wherein the user'"'"'s terminal apparatus further comprises:

an entry keyword transmitting unit transmitting the keyword that has been input in the entry keyword input field to the network.

13. An information searching apparatus for searching location information that represents the location of content information which is concerned with a keyword transmitted from a user'"'"'s terminal apparatus, comprising:

creating means for creating a database for storing location information of predetermined content information of which the location on the network is unpublished; and

searching means for searching the database for a keyword that is input to a search keyword input field of a predetermined web page browsed with the user'"'"'s terminal apparatus.

14. An information server, connected to a network, for transmitting stored information to the network, comprising:

search keyword input page transmitting means for transmitting a web page to a user'"'"'s terminal apparatus, the web page containing a search keyword input field in which a keyword is input, the keyword causing an information searching apparatus to search location information representing the location of content information on the network; and

location unpublished information transmitting means for transmitting content information, of which the location on the network is unpublished, to the user'"'"'s terminal apparatus corresponding to a request issued by the user'"'"'s terminal apparatus, when a keyword is input to the search keyword input field of the web page browsed on the user'"'"'s terminal apparatus, the keyword causing the information searching apparatus to search the location information of the content information of which the location on the network is unpublished.

15. A user'"'"'s terminal apparatus, connected to a network, comprising:

web page browsing means for browsing a web page containing a search keyword input field in which a keyword is input, the keyword causing an information searching apparatus to search location information representing the location of content information of which the location on the network is unpublished; and

search keyword transmitting means for transmitting the keyword that has been input in the search keyword input field to the information searching apparatus.

16. An information searching method for searching location information that represents the location of content information which is concerned with a keyword transmitted from a user'"'"'s terminal apparatus, comprising:

creating a database for storing location information of predetermined content information of which the location on the network is unpublished; and

searching the database for a keyword that is input to a search keyword input field of a predetermined web page browsed with the user'"'"'s terminal apparatus.

17. A computer readable storing medium for storing an information searching program that causes a computer to perform a control operation for searching location information that represents the location of content information which is concerned with a keyword transmitted from a user'"'"'s terminal apparatus, the information searching program comprising:

directing the computer to create a database for storing location information of predetermined content information of which the location on the network is unpublished; and

directing the computer to search the database for a keyword that is input to a search keyword input field of a predetermined web page browsed with the user'"'"'s terminal apparatus.

18. A computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave and representing an information searching program that causes a computer to perform a controlling operation for searching location information that represents the location of content information which is concerned with a keyword transmitted from a user'"'"'s terminal apparatus, the information searching program comprising:

directing the computer to create a database for storing location information of predetermined content information of which the location on the network is unpublished; and

directing the computer to search the database for a keyword that is input to a search keyword input field of a predetermined web page browsed with the user'"'"'s terminal apparatus.