Related information search method, related information search system, and computer-readable medium having stored therein a program

• US 6,247,010 B1
• Filed: 08/31/1998
• Issued: 06/12/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Tamura, Shinko, Doi, Shinichi, Kamei, Shinichiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Vu, Kim
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ly, Anh
• Application Number:
  US09/144,529
• Time in Patent Office: 1,016 Days
• Field of Search: 707/2, 707/3, 707/4, 707/5, 707/6, 707/10, 707/102, 707/203, 707/531, 709/9, 709/10, 709/6, 709/203, 395/145, 395/600, 345/349, 704/1, 704/9, 705/1, 705/8
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/335 Filtering based on additional data, e.g. user or group profiles filtering in web context G06F16/9535, G06F16/9536
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability

Abstract

A system according to the present invention searches for information related to entered text and presents searched information to a user with a minimum interruption to user'"'"'s document formulating work. An input analyzing module 11 analyzes text entered by the user and extracts a search key. A related information searching module 12 searches a related information storage device 3 for information on the search key. A storage module 16 stores therein the search results collected for a plurality of past search keys including the latest search key and the positional information on each search key within a document. A controlling module 13 searches the storage module 16 for the search key corresponding to the position of a cursor. The controlling module issues an instruction to change a search button to a first display format if there is no related information, or an instruction to change the search button to a second display format if there is related information. In response to the instruction, a search instruction accepting module 14 changes the format of the search button on a display device 22. When the user backspaces the cursor to a previously-extracted search key, the system searches the storage module 16 again for information on the previously-extracted search key and changes the format of the search button according to the search result.

Claims

1. A related information search method, comprising:

entering text by a user, the text corresponding to at least a portion of the document under formulation;

searching for and displaying information related to the document under formulation to help formulate the document;

analyzing the text entered by the user;

searching for information related to a search key extracted based on the text that was analyzed;

storing a predetermined amount of the related information;

indicating the presence or absence of the related information by a display format of an interaction element which accepts a search instruction from the user; and

displaying a search result corresponding to a current cursor position in response to a user'"'"'s operation on the interaction element,

wherein the presence or absence of the related information and not the search result is provided on the display format prior to the user'"'"'s operation, and

wherein the search result is displayed after the user'"'"'s operation.

2. A related information search method for searching for and displaying information related to a document under formulation to help formulate the document, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) analyzing text entered by a user and extracting a search key;

(b) searching for related information by the extracted search key;

(c) storing search results collected by a plurality of immediately preceding search keys;

(d) selecting a display format of an interaction element from two display formats, a first display format and a second display format, based on the search results collected by said plurality of stored search keys and on a current cursor position, the interaction element accepting a search instruction from the user, the first display format being displayed when there is no related information, the second display format being displayed when there is related information;

(e) changing the display format of the interaction element on a screen to the selected format; and

(f) displaying the search result in response to the search instruction entered by the user operating on the interaction element, based on the search results collected by said plurality of stored search keys and on the current cursor position.

3. A related information search method as defined by claim 2, wherein said display format selection step (d) comprises the steps of:

finding the search key corresponding to the current cursor position from the plurality of stored search keys;

when the search key is found, selecting the second display format if there is the related information corresponding to the search key or the first display format if there is no related information, and

when the search key is not found, selecting the first display format; and

wherein said search result display step (f) comprises the steps of;

finding the search key corresponding to the current cursor position from said plurality of stored search keys; and

when the search key is found, displaying the search result corresponding to the search key.

4. A related information search method as defined by claim 2 wherein said first display format indicates explicitly to the user that the user cannot operate on the interaction element and the interaction element is made to be functionally inoperable.

5. A related information search method as defined by claim 3 wherein said first display format indicates explicitly to the user that the user cannot operate on the interaction element and the interaction element is made to be functionally inoperable.

6. A related information search method as defined by claim 2, wherein said second display format displays the number of related information items that have been searched for.

7. A related information search method as defined by claim 3, wherein said second display format displays the number of related information items that have been searched for.

8. A related information search method as defined by claim 4, wherein said second display format displays the number of related information items that have been searched for.

9. A related information search method as defined by claim 2, wherein said second display format displays a search method used during the search.

10. A related information search method as defined by claim 3, wherein said second display format displays a search method used during the search.

11. A related information search method as defined by claim 4, wherein said second display format displays a search method used during the search.

12. A related information search method as defined by claim 2, wherein said second display format displays the type of a database from which information was successfully searched.

13. A related information search method as defined by claim 3, wherein said second display format displays the type of a database from which information was successfully searched.

14. A related information search method as defined by claim 4, wherein said second display format displays the type of a database from which information was successfully searched.

15. A related information search system which searches for and displays information related to a document under formulation to help formulate the document, the system comprising:

(a) an input analyzing module analyzing text entered by a user and extracting a search key;

(b) a related information searching module searching for related information by the extracted search key;

(c) a related information temporary storage module storing search results collected by a plurality of last search keys;

(d) a search instruction acceptance display controlling module selecting a display format of an interaction element from two display formats, a first display format and a second display format, based on the search results collected by said plurality of stored search keys and on a current cursor position, the interaction element accepting a search instruction from the user, the first display format being displayed when there is no related information, the second display format being displayed when there is related information;

(e) a search instruction accepting module changing the display format of the interaction element on a screen to the selected format and for accepting the search instruction which is activated by the user operating on the interaction element; and

(f) a search result displaying module displaying the search result in response to the search instruction entered by the user operating on the interaction element, based on the search results collected by said plurality of stored search keys and on the current cursor position.

16. A computer-readable medium having stored therein a program which causes a computer system to perform a program comprising the steps of:

(a) analyzing text entered by a user and extracting a search key;

(b) searching for related information by the extracted search key;

(c) storing search results collected by a plurality of last search keys;

(d) selecting a display format of an interaction element from two display formats, a first display format and a second display format, based on the search results collected by said plurality of stored search keys and on a current cursor position, the interaction element accepting a search instruction from the user, the first display format being displayed when there is no related information, the second display format being displayed when there is related information;

(e) changing the display format of the interaction element on a screen to the selected format; and

(f) displaying the search result in response to the search instruction entered by the user operating on the interaction element, based on the search results collected by said plurality of stored search keys and on the current cursor position.