Information extraction system, information processing apparatus, information collection apparatus, character string extraction method, and storage medium

• US 20050246348A1
• Filed: 07/05/2005
• Published: 11/03/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Aoki, Yoshinori, Hijikata, Yoshinori, Nakajima, Amane
• Granted Patent: US 7,490,090 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9577 Optimising the visualization of content, e.g. distillation of HTML documents

Abstract

The present invention permits users to obtain detailed information concerning those portions of web contents in which they are most interested and provides an information extraction system. In an embodiment, the information extraction system comprises a server and a client, connected via a communication network, wherein the server provides a data file for a client to browse; and wherein the client includes a browser for displaying the contents of the data file that is received from the server via the communication network, an operation event detection analyzer for detecting a predetermined specific operation based on a user'"'"'s operation when the user reads the contents of the data file displayed by the browser, and a text extractor for extracting information that is displayed at a location whereat the specific operation that is detected by the operation event analyzer is performed on a display screen of the browser.

Claims

1-6. -6. (canceled)

7. An information processing apparatus comprising:

browsing means, for displaying document data;

operation detection means, for employing an input operation, performed by a user when said user browses said document data displayed by said browsing means, to detect an operation defined as a specific operation that said user unintentionally performed to obtain interesting information; and

character string extraction means, for extracting a character string that is displayed at a location whereat said specific operation that is detected by said operation detection means is performed on a display screen of said browsing means.

8-10. -10. (canceled)

11. A character string extraction method comprising the steps of:

detecting a predetermined, specific operation based on an input operation performed by a user on a display screen on which document data are displayed; and

extracting, as a unit, a sentence or a line that includes a character string that is displayed at a location whereat said specific operation that is detected has been performed on said display screen.

13. The character string extraction method according to claim 11, wherein, at said step of extracting a character string, a sentence or a line that includes a character string belonging to a document immediately above a character string selected using said pointer is moved to another location on said display screen.

16. An article of manufacture comprising a computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied therein for causing character string extraction, the computer readable program code means in said article of manufacture comprising computer readable program code means for causing a computer to effect the steps of claim 11.

18. A program storage device readable by machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform method steps for character string extraction, said method steps comprising the steps of claim 11.

12. A character string extraction method comprising the steps of:

detecting, based on an input operation performed by a user on a display screen on which document data are displayed, a tracing and reading movement by which the pointer of a pointing device is moved along lines in a document that is displayed; and

extracting, as a unit, a sentence or a line that includes a character string that is displayed at a location whereat said tracing and reading operation has been performed on said display screen.

19. A program storage device readable by machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform method steps for character string extraction, said method steps comprising the steps of claim 12.

21. An article of manufacture comprising a computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied therein for causing character string extraction, the computer readable program code means in said article of manufacture comprising computer readable program code means for causing a computer to effect the steps of claim 12.

14. A character string extraction method comprising the steps of:

employing an input operation performed by a user on a display screen on which document data are displayed to detect a line tracing and reading operation during which lines of a displayed document are pointed at in order, while the pointer of a pointing device is moved in a direction perpendicular to said lines; and

extracting as a unit a sentence or a line that includes a character string that is displayed at a location whereat said line tracing and reading operation has been performed on said display screen.

17. An article of manufacture comprising a computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied therein for causing character string extraction, the computer readable program code means in said article of manufacture comprising computer readable program code means for causing a computer to effect the steps of claim 14.

20. A program storage device readable by machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform method steps for character string extraction, said method steps comprising the steps of claim 14.

15. A storage medium on which the input means of a computer stores a computer-readable program that permits said computer to perform:

a process for displaying the contents of document data;

an process for detecting a predetermined specific operation based on a user'"'"'s operation on a display screen where said document data are displayed; and

a process for extracting a character string that is displayed at a location whereat said specific operation that is detected is performed on said display screen.