Information provision system, information provision method, and information provision program

• US 9,396,003 B2
• Filed: 12/21/2012
• Issued: 07/19/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/30/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rakuten Group, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Rakuten, Inc. (Rakuten Group, Inc.)
• Inventors: Tanimoto, Hisako, Tanjo, Hiroyuki, Mitsui, Eiko, Shibata, Mitsuru
• Primary Examiner(s): LONG, ANDREA NATAE
• Application Number:
  US14/364,383
• Publication Number:
  US 20140351701A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,306 Days
• Field of Search: 715/708, 715/711, 715/221
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04895 Guidance during keyboard input operation, e.g. prompting
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/453 Help systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

An information providing system according to an embodiment includes an acquisition unit and a display control unit. The acquisition unit acquires a plurality of help topics corresponding to a plurality of entry fields to be displayed on a screen from a field/topic storage unit that stores help topics corresponding to entry fields. The display control unit displays the plurality of entry fields in an entry area in the screen displayed on a user terminal and displays the plurality of help topics acquired by the acquisition unit in a help area in the screen. When a field/topic displayed in one of the entry area and the help area is specified, the display control unit makes a display mode of a field/topic in the other area corresponding to the specified field/topic different from a display mode of the other fields/topics in the other area.

Claims

1. An information providing system comprising:

at least one memory operable to store program code;

at least one processor operable to read the program code and operate as instructed by the program code, the program code including;

acquisition code configured to cause the at least one processor to acquire a plurality of help topics corresponding to a plurality of entry fields to be displayed on a screen from a field/topic storage that stores help topics and corresponding entry fields in association with one another; and

display control code configured to cause the at least one processor to display the plurality of entry fields in an entry area in the screen displayed on a user terminal and concurrently display the plurality of help topics acquired by the acquisition code in a help area in the screen, wherein

when a help topic in the help area is specified, the display control code causes the at least one processor to control a display mode of an entry field in the entry area, which is determined to correspond to the specified help topic by referring to the field/topic storage, to be different from a display mode of other entry fields, and

when there is an entry field that is not entered and detailed information of a help topic in the help area corresponding to the entry field is hidden by a user operation, the display control code causes the at least one processor to specify a first field not entered among fields not entered that come before the entry field and display detailed information of a help topic in the help area corresponding to the first field not entered.

2. An information providing system comprising:

at least one memory operable to store program code;

at least one processor operable to read the program code and operate as instructed by the program code, the program code including;

acquisition code configured to cause the at least one processor to acquire a plurality of help topics corresponding to a plurality of entry fields to be displayed on a screen from a field/topic storage that stores help topics corresponding to entry fields; and

display control code configured to cause the at least one processor to display the plurality of entry fields in an entry area in the screen displayed on a user terminal and concurrently display the plurality of help topics acquired by the acquisition code in a help area in the screen, wherein

when an entry field in the entry area is specified in a state in which a help topic corresponding to the specified entry field and other help topics are concurrently displayed in the help area, the display control code causes the at least one processor to control the help topic in the help area corresponding to the specified entry field to be different from a display mode of the other help topics in the help area, with the plurality of help topics remaining displayed to be able to be specified, and

when there is an entry field that is not entered and detailed information of a help topic in the help area corresponding to the entry field is hidden by a user operation, the display control code causes the at least one processor to specify a first field not entered among fields not entered that come before the entry field and display detailed information of a help topic in the help area corresponding to the first field not entered.

3. The information providing system according to claim 2, wherein

in response to completion of entry in one entry field, the display control code causes the at least one processor to display the next entry field in the entry area and specify the next entry field, and control a display mode of a help topic in the help area corresponding to the next entry field to be different from a display mode of the other help topics.

4. The information providing system according to claim 2, wherein

when there is a field not entered among the plurality of entry fields, the display control code causes the at least one processor to specify the field not entered and control a display mode of a help topic in the help area corresponding to the field not entered to be different from a display mode of other help topics.

5. The information providing system according to claim 2, wherein

the display control code causes the at least one processor to display detailed information for the help topic in the help area corresponding to the specified entry field and display topic identification information without displaying detailed information for the other help topics.

6. The information providing system according to claim 5, wherein

the help topics stored in the field/topic storage include a plurality of help information in accordance with an entered value in a previous entry field, and

the display control code causes the at least one processor to display help information corresponding to an entered value in a previous entry field of the specified entry field.

7. The information providing system according to claim 5, wherein

the acquisition code causes the at least one processor to refer to an answer storage that stores entered values by a plurality of users in the plurality of entry fields and count the entered values by the plurality of users for each of the entry fields, and set a counting result as at least part of the help topics, and

the display control code causes the at least one processor to display the counting result corresponding to the specified entry field as the detailed information.

8. The information providing system according to claim 2, wherein

when a help topic in the help area is specified, the display control code causes the at least one processor to control a display mode of an entry field in the entry area corresponding to the help topic to be different from a display mode of other entry fields.

9. An information providing method executed by an information providing system, including at least one processor, comprising:

acquiring, using at least one of said at least one processor, a plurality of help topics corresponding to a plurality of entry fields to be displayed on a screen from a field/topic storage that stores help topics and corresponding entry fields in association with one another; and

displaying, using at least one of said at least one processor, the plurality of entry fields in an entry area in the screen displayed on a user terminal and concurrently displaying the plurality of acquired help topics in a help area in the screen, wherein

when a help topic in the help area is specified, the display control step controls a display mode of an entry field in the entry area, which is determined to correspond to the specified help topic by referring to the field/topic storage, to be different from a display mode of other entry fields, and

when there is an entry field that is not entered and detailed information of a help topic in the help area corresponding to the entry field is hidden by a user operation, the display control code causes the at least one processor to specify a first field not entered among fields not entered that come before the entry field and display detailed information of a help topic in the help area corresponding to the first field not entered.

10. An information providing method executed by an information providing system, including at least one processor, comprising:

acquiring, using at least one of said at least one processor, a plurality of help topics corresponding to a plurality of entry fields to be displayed on a screen from a field/topic storage that stores help topics corresponding to entry fields; and

displaying, using at least one of said at least one processor, the plurality of entry fields in an entry area in the screen displayed on a user terminal and concurrently displaying the plurality of acquired help topics in a help area in the screen, wherein

when an entry field in the entry area is specified in a state in which a help topic corresponding to the specified entry field and other help topics are concurrently displayed in the help area, the display control step controls a display mode of the help topic in the help area corresponding to the specified entry field to be different from a display mode of the other help topics in the help area, with the plurality of help topics remaining displayed to be able to be specified, and

when there is an entry field that is not entered and detailed information of a help topic in the help area corresponding to the entry field is hidden by a user operation, the display control code causes the at least one processor to specify a first field not entered among fields not entered that come before the entry field and display detailed information of a help topic in the help area corresponding to the first field not entered.