Information processing method, information processing system, and server

• US 9,092,513 B2
• Filed: 09/08/2006
• Issued: 07/28/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/26/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Computer Entertainment Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Chatani, Masayuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Reyes, Mariela
• Assistant Examiner(s): Black, Linh
• Application Number:
  US12/097,618
• Publication Number:
  US 20090234840A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,245 Days
• Field of Search: 707/782, 707/737, 707/784, 725/97, 705/14.66, 715744-745
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/3329 Natural language query formulation or dialogue systems
• 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: G06F 16/337 Profile generation, learning or modification
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9538 Presentation of query results

Abstract

A community establishing site is connected to an information terminal via a network. When the user enters a search keyword into the information terminal, an entered-information acquiring unit acquires the search keyword through a web server, and registers it together with user information in a user information master. A community establishing unit extracts users who have entered the same search keyword, from the plurality of users registered in the user information master, and records them in a community information master, thereby establishing a community. An information extracting unit transmits the user information of other users who belong to the same community to the information terminal through the web server.

Claims

1. An information processing method comprising:

acquiring a plurality of keywords through a network by a server, the keywords having been entered into respective information terminals by, and transmitted over the network via respective searches of, a plurality of users;

storing the keywords;

associating each keyword of the plurality of keywords with respective user identity information of the users who entered each keyword;

establishing a plurality of communities, each community including at least two of the users who have each entered at least a same one of the plurality of keywords in a single search, each respective community being assigned a relevance that varies in accordance with a number of keywords that match in a single search by the users of the respective community;

monitoring a connection status of the users, the connection status indicating webpages being accessed after the searches by the information terminals of the users;

receiving a selection of one of the communities by one of the users of the community;

transmitting the user identity information of other users who belong to the selected community to the one user when the other users are simultaneously browsing a same webpage as the one user, the webpage not providing communication service between users and not being generated by a web site to which the server belongs, and the user identity information including at least data for avatars of the other users; and

transmitting information for displaying a communication service window comprising the user identity information of the other users and for displaying a widow comprising the webpage to the at least one user.

2. The information processing method according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting step transmits the user information that includes information concerning a communicating means to communicate with the other users.

3. An information processing system, comprising:

a server which exchanges information with respective information terminals of a plurality of users through a network, the server including;

a user information storage unit which stores identification information of the users as user information,

a data acquiring unit which acquires a plurality of keywords entered into the information terminals via respective searches of the users, and after the searches monitors connection status which indicates which of the information terminals are connected to the network and the one or more webpages accessed by the information terminals, the webpages not providing communication service between users and not being generated by a site to which the server belongs;

a data storage unit which stores the plurality of keywords acquired by the data acquiring unit so as to associate each of the plurality of keywords with respective user information of the users who entered each keyword;

a community establishing unit which establishes a plurality of communities, each community including at least two of the users who have each entered at least a same one of the plurality of keywords in a single search, each respective community being assigned a relevance that varies in accordance with a number of keywords that match in a single search by the users of the respective community;

a receiving unit which receives a selection of one of the communities by one of the users of the community; and

a transmitting unit which transmits information concerning the selected community established by the community establishing unit to the information terminal of the one user, the transmitting unit transmits the user identity information of other users who belong to the selected community to the information terminal operated by the one user such that the information terminal may display a communication service window comprising the user identity information of the other users who are simultaneously browsing a same webpage as the one user, the user identity information including at least data for avatars of the other users.

4. The information processing system according to claim 3, wherein the keywords in the data storage unit are updated every time one or more of the users enters a new keyword in a new search.

5. The information processing system according to claim 4, wherein the community establishing unit establishes a new community concerning the new keyword every time the keywords stored in the data storage unit are updated, and deletes a user who has entered the new keyword from the one or more communities to which the user belongs before the entering of the new keyword.

6. The information processing system according to claim 4, wherein:

the data storage unit stores the plurality of keywords so as to associate each keyword with a respective entry time at which each keyword is entered, and

when a given keyword stored in the data storage unit is not updated for a predetermined time after the entry time, the community establishing unit deletes a corresponding user of such given keyword from the one or more communities to which the corresponding user previously belongs via such given keyword.

7. The information processing system according to claim 3, wherein the transmitting unit transmits e-mail address of the other user who belong to the community to the information terminal.

8. The information processing system according to claim 3, wherein:

the data acquiring unit further acquires a keyword which is contained in an e-mail with at least a predetermined frequency when the user transmits the e-mail, as the data,

the community establishing unit further establishes the plurality communities for users who have contained at least one same keyword in an e-mail.

9. A server comprising:

a user information storage unit which stores identity information of users as user information, each user operating a respective information terminal connected to the server through a network;

a data acquiring unit which acquires a plurality of keywords entered into the information terminals via respective searches of the users;

a data storage unit which stores the plurality of keywords acquired by the data acquiring unit so as to associate each of the plurality of keywords with the user information of the users who entered each keyword;

a community establishing unit which establishes a plurality of communities, each community including at least two of the users who have each entered at least a same one of the plurality of keywords in a single search, each respective community being assigned a relevance that varies in accordance with a number of keywords that match in a single search by the users of the respective community;

a receiving unit which receives a selection of one of the communities by one of the users of the community; and

a transmitting unit which transmits, to the information terminal operated by the one user, user identity information of other users who participate in the selected community, where the user identity information including at least data for avatars of the other users, wherein;

the data acquiring unit further monitors, after each search, connection status which indicates which webpages each information terminal is accessing, the webpages do not provide communication service between users and are not generated by a site to which the server belongs, and

the transmitting unit transmits, to the information terminal of the one user, user identity information of the other users who are simultaneously browsing a same webpage as that browsed by the one user, for displaying a communication service window presenting the one user with identity information of the other users along with a window including the webpage.

10. A computer readable recording medium which stores a computer program product, comprising:

a module which stores identity information concerning users as user information, each user operating a respective information terminal connected to the server through a network;

a module which acquires a plurality of keywords entered into the information terminals via respective searches of the users;

a module which stores the plurality of keywords so as to associate each of the plurality of keywords with the user information of the users who entered each keyword;

a module which establishes a plurality of communities, each community including at least two of the users who have each entered at least a same one of the plurality of keywords in a single search, each respective community being assigned a relevance that varies in accordance with a number of keywords that match in a single search by the users of the respective community;

a module which receives a selection of one of the communities by one of the users of the community; and

a module which transmits, to the information terminal operated by the one user, user identity information of other users who participate in the selected community, where the user identity information including at least data for avatars of the other users, wherein;

the module which acquires the data further monitors, after each search, connection status which indicates which webpages each information terminal is accessing, the webpages do not provide communication service between users and are not generated by a site to which the server belongs, and

the module which transmits the user information transmits, to the information terminal of the one user, the user information of the other users who are simultaneously browsing a same webpage as that browsed by the one user, for displaying a communication service window presenting the user information of the other users and the webpage at the information terminal of the one user.

11. An information processing method comprising:

acquiring user-entered data indicating a keyword through a network from a plurality of users;

associating each keyword with respective user information of the user who has entered the user-entered data indicating the same keyword;

establishing a plurality of communities of users from among the plurality of users based on the association, each community including at least two of the users who have each entered at least a same one of the plurality of keywords in a single search, each respective community being assigned a relevance that varies in accordance with a number of keywords that match in a single search by the users of the respective community;

transmitting user information including names, avatars or jobs of users who belong to a given one of the communities, for simultaneous displaying on a screen of an information terminal of one of the users of the given community;

(i) the keyword associated with the community, (ii) a community member information field in which the transmitted user information is displayed, and (iii) a number of members in the given community,

wherein the respective community member information is dynamically established according to further user-entered data.

12. The information processing method according to claim 11, wherein the acquiring step includes acquiring, together with the user-entered data, an input for confirming the one user'"'"'s intent to use the given community, and for user information entered on an entry screen.

13. The information processing method according to claim 11, wherein one other user can be selected from the community member information field on the screen by the one user, and a message creation screen separately appears, upon selection of a message creation button, to create and send an message to the selected one other user.

14. The information processing method according to claim 11, wherein the establishing step includes establishing a community for only users over a predetermined age restriction.

15. The information processing method according to claim 11, wherein the establishing step comprises translating keywords entered by users using different languages so as to establish a community based on the same keyword even in different languages.

16. A server comprising:

a data acquiring unit for acquiring user-entered data indicating a keyword through a network from a plurality of users;

a data storage unit which stores keywords each of which is associated with respective user information of the users who have entered the user-entered data indicating the keywords;

a community establishing unit which establishes a plurality of communities of users from among the plurality of users by associating users who have entered data indicating the same keywords, each community including at least two of the users who have each entered at least a same one of the plurality of keywords in a single search, each respective community being assigned a relevance that varies in accordance with a number of keywords that match in a single search by the users of the respective community;

a transmitting unit for transmitting user information including names, avatars or jobs of users who belong to a given one of the communities, for simultaneous displaying on a screen of an information terminal of one of the users of the given community;

(i) the keyword associated with the community, (ii) a community member information field in which the transmitted user information is displayed, and (iii) a number of members in the given community,

wherein the respective community member information is dynamically established according to further user-entered data.

17. The server according to claim 16, wherein the data acquiring unit acquires, together with the user-entered data, an input for confirming the one user'"'"'s intent to use the community, and for user information entered on an entry screen.

18. The server according to claim 16, wherein one other user can be selected from the community member information field on the screen by the one user, and a message creation screen separately appears, upon selection of a message creation button, to create and send an message to the selected one other user.

19. The server according to claim 16, wherein the community establishing unit establishes a community for only users over a predetermined age restriction.

20. The server according to claim 16, wherein the community establishing unit translates keywords entered by users using different languages so as to establish a community based on the same keyword even in different languages.

21. An information terminal comprising:

a communication unit which transmits user-entered data from one user, among a plurality of users, indicating a keyword to a server through a network and obtains, from the server, user information including names, avatars or jobs of users who belong to a given community which is established by the server through associating users who have entered data indicating a same keyword;

a display unit which simultaneously displays on a screen;

(i) the keyword associated with the community, (ii) a community member information field in which the user information is displayed, and (iii) a number of members in the established community, each community including at least two of the users who have each entered at least a same one of the plurality of keywords in a single search, each respective community being assigned a relevance that varies in accordance with a number of keywords that match in a single search by the users of the respective community,

wherein the community member information is dynamically established according to further user-entered data from among the plurality of users.

22. The information terminal according to claim 21, wherein the communication unit transmits, together with the user-entered data, an input for confirming the one user'"'"'s intent to use the community, and for user information entered on an entry screen.

23. The information terminal according to claim 21, wherein the display unit displays the community member information field so that one other user can be selected from the community member information field by the one user, and a message creation screen separately appears, upon selection of a message creation button, to create and send an message to the selected one other user.

24. The information terminal according to claim 21, wherein only users over a predetermined age restriction belong to the community established by the server.

25. The information terminal according to claim 21, wherein the community established by the server is based on the same keyword even in different languages.