Information retrieval system

• US 6,556,997 B1
• Filed: 12/30/1999
• Issued: 04/29/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 10/07/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Mavenir Ltd. (Mavenir Group Holdings Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Comverse Limited (Mavenir Group Holdings Ltd.)
• Inventors: Levy, Meny
• Primary Examiner(s): Metjahic; Safet
• Assistant Examiner(s): Alaubaidi; Haythim J.
• Application Number:
  US09/476,795
• Time in Patent Office: 1,216 Days
• Field of Search: 707/517,102,101,103,104,10
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/93 Document management systems

Abstract

A method and device for easily defining new information services for delivery to customers. The information to be delivered is extracted from information sources such as standard Internet web pages, databases, text files or proprietary data sources. The customer is provided with a list of accessible services, and may choose from among the services and may also specify delivery schedules of the information service. Information may be delivered to a cellular telephone display, or sent to a fax machine, beeper or to an e-mail server. The user may create a rule, composed of condition on the data in the page which has to met—for example a known text that has to be located in a known table cell and an action—for example to search for the next table in the page that meets the specified condition. This rule is maintained as part of the extraction template.

Claims

1. A method of providing an information service to a user, comprising:

selecting a page of information for display to a user;

parsing the selected page of information into a plurality of extractable information elements;

attaching a locator to each extractable information element;

displaying the parsed page of information containing the locators to the user;

selecting, from the displayed parsed page of information, at least one of the extractable information elements for subsequent delivery to the user according to a predetermined scheduled time.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising displaying an output template to the user, said output template containing the locator(s) of the selected at least one extractable information element.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the parsed page of information and the output template are simultaneously displayed.

4. The method according to claim 2, further comprising selecting the page of information in accordance with the predetermined scheduled time, parsing the page of information selected in accordance with the predetermined scheduled time into the plurality of extractable information elements;

and extracting from the parsed page of information, the selected at least one extractable information element in accordance with the locator(s) defined in the output template; and

providing the extracted at least one extractable information element to the user.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the extracted at least one extractable element is provided to the user via at least one of:

Short Messaging Service (SMS), facsimile and e-mail.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined scheduled time is determined by the user.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein each locator is defined by inserting Javascript activation before or after each extractable information element.

8. The method according to claim 2, wherein the output template is stored and then retrieved prior to selecting the page of information in accordance with the predetermined scheduled time.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the page of information is a Web page.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the Web page is an Internet Web page selected by the user while browsing the Internet.

11. A method of providing an information service to a user, comprising:

selecting a Web page by a user;

displaying the selected Web page to the user;

parsing the selected Web page into a plurality of extractable information elements;

attaching a locator to each extractable information element;

displaying the parsed Web page containing the locators to the user;

selecting, from the displayed parsed page, at least one of the extractable information elements;

displaying an output template containing the locator(s) of the selected at least one extractable information element to the user;

automatically selecting said Web page according to a predetermined scheduled time determined by the user;

parsing the Web page selected according to the predetermined scheduled time into the plurality of extractable information elements;

extracting from the parsed Web page the selected at least one extractable information element in accordance with the locator(s) defined in the output template;

providing the extracted at least one extractable information element to the user.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the Web page is an Internet Web page, and the user selects the Internet Web page while browsing the Internet.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein the Web page is an Intranet Web page.

14. The method according to claim 11, wherein the extracted at least one extractable information element is provided for delivery to the user via at least one of:

a short message service center (SMSC), an e-mail and a facsimile.

15. A server for providing an information service to a user, comprising:

a selecting module for selecting a page of information for display to a user;

a parsing module for parsing the selected page of information into a plurality of extractable information elements;

a module for attaching a locator to each extractable information element;

a module for displaying the parsed page of information containing the locators to the user;

a module for selecting, from the displayed parsed page of information, at least one of the extractable information elements for subsequent delivery to the user according to a predetermined scheduled time.

16. The server according to claim 15, further comprising a module for displaying an output template to the user, said output template containing the locator(s) of the selected at least one extractable information element.

17. The server according to claim 15, wherein the parsed page of information and the output template are simultaneously displayed to the user.

18. The server according to claim 15, further comprising a module for parsing the page of information selected in accordance with the predetermined scheduled time into the plurality of extractable information elements;

and extracting from the parsed page of information, the selected at least one extractable information element in accordance with the locator(s) defined in the output template; and

providing the extracted at least one extractable information element to the user.

19. The server according to claim 18, wherein the extracted at least one extractable element is provided to the user via at least one of a a Short Messaging Service Center (SMS), a facsimile server and e-mail server.

20. The server according to claim 15, further comprising a user tool for allowing the user to determine the predetermined scheduled time.

21. The server according to claim 15, further comprising a service definition tool for defining each locator by inserting Javascript activation before or after each extractable information element.

22. The server according to claim 16, further comprising a database for storing the output template, and wherein the output template is retrieved prior to selecting the page of information in accordance with the predetermined scheduled time.

23. The server according to claim 15, wherein the page of information is a Web page.

24. The server according to claim 23, further comprising a Browser, and wherein the Web page is an Internet Web page selected by the user while browsing the Internet with said Browser.