Information processing systems, information processing methods, and programs

Abstract

This technology provides a way to improve user convenience when performing cross-platform searches. [Solution] According to one aspect of the present invention, an information processing system is provided, comprising at least one processor, the processor configured to perform the following steps by reading a program: in the acquisition step, a search word entered by the user is acquired; in the display control step, a search results screen is displayed based on the search word; the search results screen includes a plurality of first areas that are visible to the user in an overview manner, and each of the plurality of first areas includes search results information showing the results of a search performed based on the search word on each of different first websites.

Description

Technical Field

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[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing system, an information processing method, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for making the search result display using the Internet comfortable for users and easy to compare and consider. In Patent Document 1, there is a system for searching and displaying a plurality of tour contents including departure date and fare information by the departure date and fare information, and on the same screen, the search results are displayed in the order of fare information, and for each departure date near the input departure date, the fare information of at least one tour content satisfying the departure date is displayed.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003] ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

[0007] According to one aspect of the present invention, an information processing system is provided, comprising at least one processor, the processor configured to perform the following steps by reading a program: in the acquisition step, a search word entered by the user is acquired; in the display control step, a search results screen is displayed based on the search word; the search results screen includes a plurality of first areas that are visible to the user in an overview manner, and each of the plurality of first areas includes search results information showing the results of a search performed based on the search word on each of different first websites.

[0008] In this manner, technology is provided that offers further benefits to users of transportation services. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This is a diagram showing the configuration of Information Processing System 1. [Figure 2] This block diagram shows the functions realized by the control unit 23 in the information processing device 2, the control unit 33 in the user terminal 3, etc. [Figure 3] This is a flowchart outlining the information processing in this embodiment. [Figure 4] This is a sequence diagram showing the details of the information processing in this embodiment. [Figure 5] This figure shows an example of a user information data structure. [Figure 6] This is an overview diagram showing an example of the bulk search screen in the bulk search service. [Figure 7] This is an overview diagram showing an example of a search results screen in a batch search service. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The various features shown in the embodiments below can be combined with each other.

[0011] Incidentally, the program for implementing the software appearing in one embodiment may be provided as a non-transitory computer-readable medium, or it may be provided as a downloadable medium from an external server, or it may be provided so that the program is launched on an external computer and its functions are realized on a client terminal (so-called cloud computing).

[0012] Furthermore, in various information processing according to one embodiment, an input and an output corresponding to the input can be realized. Here, as long as an output is obtained as a result of the input, the form of the information referenced in such information processing (hereinafter referred to as "reference information") is not limited. The reference information may be, for example, rule-based information such as a database, a lookup table, or a predetermined function (including a decision formula such as a regression equation constructed by a statistical method), or a pre-trained model that has learned the correlation between input and output in advance, or a large-scale language model that can output a desired result by inputting a prompt.

[0013] Furthermore, in one embodiment, "part" may include, for example, hardware resources implemented by a circuit in a broad sense, and the information processing of software that can be specifically realized by these hardware resources. Also, in one embodiment, various types of information are handled, and this information can be represented, for example, by the physical values ​​of signal values ​​representing voltage and current, the high or low values ​​of signal values ​​as a set of binary bits composed of 0s or 1s, or by quantum superposition (so-called qubits), and communication and calculations can be performed on a circuit in a broad sense.

[0014] Furthermore, a circuit in a broad sense is a circuit realized by combining at least a suitable combination of circuits, circuits, processors, and memory. The processor may be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated circuit. In other words, it includes application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable logic devices (for example, simple programmable logic devices (SPLDs), complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs), and field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs)), etc.

[0015] 1. Hardware Configuration This section describes the hardware configuration of this embodiment.

[0016] <Information Processing System 1> Figure 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of information processing system 1. Information processing system 1 comprises an information processing device 2 and a user terminal 3. Information processing device 2 includes a first information processing device 2A and a second information processing device 2B. In the following, unless otherwise specified, the first information processing device 2A and the second information processing device 2B will be referred to as information processing device 2. Information processing device 2 and user terminal 3 are configured to communicate with each other via a telecommunications line.

[0017] In this embodiment, the first information processing device 2A is a server device that provides a batch search service, and the second information processing device 2B is a server device that provides a search service. The user operates the user terminal 3 to access the batch search service. When the user inputs a predetermined search word in the batch search service, a process for executing a search based on the search word for a plurality of search services is executed. The first information processing device 2A provides a search result screen including search result information indicating the search results in each search service to the user terminal 3.

[0018] In one embodiment, the information processing system 1 consists of one or more devices or components. For example, if it consists only of the information processing device 2, the information processing system 1 can be the information processing device 2. These components will be described below.

[0019] <Information processing device 2> As shown in FIG. 1, the information processing device 2 includes a communication unit 21, a storage unit 22, and a control unit 23, and these components are electrically connected via a communication bus 20 inside the information processing device 2. Each component will be further described.

[0020] <Communication unit 21> The communication unit 21 is a wired communication means such as USB, IEEE1394, Thunderbolt (registered trademark), wired LAN network communication, etc., or a wireless communication means such as wireless LAN network communication, mobile communication such as 3G / LTE / 5G, Bluetooth (registered trademark) communication, etc. It is more preferably configured as a collection of these plurality of communication means. The information processing device 2 transmits and receives various information to and from external devices via the communication unit 21 and the network.

[0021] <Storage unit 22> The memory unit 22 stores various types of information as defined above. The memory unit 22 is, for example, a storage device such as a solid-state drive (SSD), and stores various programs related to the information processing device 2 executed by the control unit 23. Alternatively, the memory unit 22 is, for example, a memory such as a random-access memory (RAM), and stores temporarily necessary information (arguments, arrays, etc.) related to program calculations.

[0022] <Control Unit 23> The control unit 23 is a processor that performs processing and control of the overall operation related to the information processing device 2. The control unit 23 is composed of, for example, a Central Processing Unit (CPU) and a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU). The control unit 23 realizes various functions related to the information processing device 2 by reading predetermined programs stored in the storage unit 22. For example, the control unit 23 reads various information stored in the storage area, which is at least a part of the storage unit 22, and writes the read information to the memory, which is at least a part of the storage unit 22, thereby executing various information processing based on the acquired information. In other words, information processing by software stored in the storage unit 22 can be concretely realized by the control unit 23, which is an example of hardware, and can be executed as each functional unit included in the control unit 23. The control unit 23 is not limited to being a single unit, and may be configured to have multiple control units 23 for each function.

[0023] The information processing device 2 is a computer such as a workstation, and may be in an on-premise or cloud-based configuration. In the case of a cloud-based information processing device 2, for example, the above-mentioned functions and processing may be provided in the form of SaaS (Software as a Service) or cloud computing.

[0024] <User Terminal 3> As shown in Figure 1, the user terminal 3 comprises a communication unit 31, a storage unit 32, a control unit 33, a display unit 34, and an input unit 35, and these components are electrically connected within the user terminal 3 via a communication bus 30. The descriptions of the communication unit 31, storage unit 32, and control unit 33 are the same as the descriptions of each part in the information processing device 2, so redundant explanations will not be repeated.

[0025] <Display section 34> The display unit 34 is configured to display images generated by the control unit 33. The display unit 34 may be included in the housing of the user terminal 3 or may be externally attached, and may be any display device such as a CRT display, liquid crystal display, organic EL display, plasma display, and projector. The communication unit 31 receives image information stored in the storage unit 32 or image information generated externally, such as in the information processing device 2, and generates an image to be displayed on the display unit 34. The image to be displayed on the display unit 34 includes a graphical user interface (GUI) that can be operated by the user.

[0026] The input unit 35 is configured to accept user input. This input is transmitted as a command signal to the communication unit 31 via the communication bus 30, and the communication unit 31 performs predetermined control or calculations. The input unit 35 may be included in the casing of the user terminal 3 or it may be external. For example, the input unit 35 may be integrated with the display unit 34 to form a touch panel, and it accepts operation inputs such as tap operations and swipe operations based on coordinate information where a user has performed a contact operation. The input unit 35 may employ a mouse, QWERTY keyboard, touchpad, switch buttons, game controller, etc.

[0027] Furthermore, the input unit 35 may accept user input by employing a voice recognition device for acquiring voice, a gesture detection device for detecting the posture or movement of an object, a gaze detection device for detecting the direction of the user's gaze, a biosignal detection device for detecting various biosignals of the user, an imaging device for acquiring still images or videos, a location information detection device for acquiring location information such as longitude and latitude information, etc.

[0028] 2. Functional Configuration This section describes the functional configuration of this embodiment.

[0029] Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the functions realized by the control unit 23 in the information processing device 2, the control unit 33 in the user terminal 3, etc. As shown in Figure 2(A), the information processing device 2, which is an example of the information processing system 1, functions as an acquisition unit 231, a determination unit 232, a search execution unit 233, a transmission unit 234, and an artificial intelligence unit 235. Also, as shown in Figure 2(B), the user terminal 3, which is an example of the information processing system 1, functions as a reception unit 331, a display control unit 332, and a identification unit 333.

[0030] The acquisition unit 231 is configured to execute the acquisition step. In the acquisition step, the acquisition unit 231 acquires various information from the outside via the communication unit 21. For example, the acquisition unit 231 in the first information processing device 2A acquires search words entered by the user from the user terminal 3 and acquires search result information from the second information processing device 2B. That is, the acquisition unit 231 in the first information processing device 2A has a function to accept user operation input, similar to the reception unit 331 which will be described later. In addition, the acquisition unit 231 in the second information processing device 2B acquires a search request containing the search words from the first information processing device 2A. Specific processing will be described later.

[0031] The decision unit 232 is configured to execute the decision step. In the decision step, the decision unit 232 performs processing to determine various matters based on the information stored in the storage unit 22 and the information acquired by the acquisition unit 231. For example, the decision unit 232 in the first information processing device 2A determines the search conditions for the search to be performed in each search service based on the search word. The specific processing will be described later.

[0032] The search execution unit 233 is configured to execute the search execution step. In the search execution step, the search execution unit 233 performs various processes to execute a search in the search service. For example, the search execution unit 233 in the first information processing device 2A sends a search request containing the search conditions determined by the determination unit 232 to the second information processing device 2B. The search execution unit 233 in the second information processing device 2B executes a search in the search service based on the acquired search conditions. Specific processes will be described later.

[0033] The transmitting unit 234 is configured to perform the transmission step. In the transmission step, the transmitting unit 234 is configured to transmit various information to the outside via the communication unit 21. For example, the transmitting unit 234 in the first information processing device 2A transmits the search result information obtained from the second information processing device 2B to the user terminal 3. The transmitting unit 234 in the second information processing device 2B transmits the search result information to the first information processing device 2A. The specific processing will be described later.

[0034] The artificial intelligence unit 235 is configured to receive input from each functional unit and return the instructed output. The artificial intelligence unit 235 uses artificial intelligence configured to receive predetermined input and return the instructed output. For example, the artificial intelligence unit 235 takes the acquired search words as input and outputs information to assist the user's search in the batch search service (for example, predetermined search services, types of condition information to further refine the search using the search words, etc.).

[0035] The artificial intelligence used by each functional unit of the information processing device 2 may be common to all units, or it may be prepared individually for each functional unit. Furthermore, the artificial intelligence used by the artificial intelligence unit 235 may be stored in an external information processing device different from the information processing device 2, and the artificial intelligence unit 235 may have the function of generating and transmitting information to be input to the artificial intelligence and acquiring information output by the artificial intelligence.

[0036] The artificial intelligence used by the Artificial Intelligence Unit 235 is an AI (Artificial Intelligence) equipped with learning models such as transformers including GPT (Generative Pretrained Transformer), BERT (Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers), and language models such as recurrent neural networks (RNNs), and may also include generative AI.

[0037] A language model is an example of a learning model using a machine learning algorithm. Specific machine learning algorithms include nearest neighbors, naive Bayes, decision trees, support vector machines, and deep learning using neural networks. The artificial intelligence unit 235 can apply the above algorithms as appropriate. Furthermore, the language model may not only be one trained for a specific task, but also a general-purpose model that can be used universally for a wide range of tasks (for example, a large language model (LLM) trained on a vast amount of data).

[0038] The artificial intelligence used by the Artificial Intelligence Unit 235 may have a trained model constructed by a learning method such as supervised learning, unsupervised learning, or self-supervised learning. In supervised learning, machine learning is performed using training data. Training data consists of pairs of input data and output data (correct answer data) for training.

[0039] The reception unit 331 is configured to execute the reception step. In the reception step, the reception unit 331 receives various operation inputs from the user. Operation inputs include, for example, the input of search words and condition information in the batch search service. The specific processing will be described later.

[0040] The display control unit 332 is configured to execute the display control step. In the display control step, the display control unit 332 controls the display unit 34 to display various screens. For example, the display control unit 332 draws a screen to be displayed on the display unit 34 based on display information that defines images and various visual information to be displayed on the screen stored in the storage unit 32. The specific processing will be described later.

[0041] The display control unit 332 may receive display information generated in the information processing device 2 and control the display unit 34 to display various screens based on said display information. The term "display" does not specifically refer to whether the display medium to be displayed is in the local environment or whether processing for display is performed via a network. For example, the control unit 23 may draw various screens to be displayed on the display unit 34 and send them to the user terminal 3, or it may send display information including images, icons, messages, and other visual information, including still images or videos, to the user terminal 3 to draw the various screens. The control unit 23 may also generate only rendering information for displaying the visual information on the user terminal 3. In other words, the function of displaying various screens on the display unit 34 provided by the display control unit 332 may be executed by the control unit 23.

[0042] The identification unit 333 is configured to execute a specific step. In the specific step, the identification unit 333 performs processing to identify various types of information. For example, by identifying the relationships between search result information obtained from multiple search services, the identification unit 333 causes the display control unit 332 to display information suggesting those relationships on the search results screen. The function of identifying various types of information provided by the identification unit 333 may also be executed in the control unit 23. For example, the control unit 23 may identify the relationships between search result information obtained from multiple search services and generate display information to display a search results screen containing information suggesting those relationships on the user terminal 3. Specific processing will be described later.

[0043] 3. Information Processing This section describes each step of the information processing method executed by the aforementioned information processing system 1.

[0044] 3.1 Overview of Information Processing Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating the information processing overview of this embodiment. As shown in Figure 3, the reception unit receives the user's input of search terms (step S1). The display control unit displays a search results screen based on the search terms (step S2). The search results screen includes a plurality of first areas that the user can view at a glance. Each of the plurality of first areas contains search results information that shows the results of searches performed based on the search terms on each of the different first websites.

[0045] This configuration improves user convenience when performing cross-searches. In particular, users can efficiently gather information by viewing and comparing search results from different search services using a given search term.

[0046] 3.2 Details of Information Processing Figure 4 is a sequence diagram showing the details of the information processing in this embodiment. Figure 5 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of user information that is referenced as appropriate in the information processing of this embodiment.

[0047] In the following description, a website that includes a search service provided by the second information processing device 2B may be referred to as the first website. The first website is a website on which searches can be performed, such as a search engine, a social networking service (SNS), an e-commerce site, a flea market site, a product price comparison site, a job posting site, or an AI system for inputting prompts to a generating AI. Furthermore, a website extracted as a result of a search performed on the first website may be referred to as the second website. The second website is, for example, a product introduction page where a specific product can be purchased, or a job posting page where job details are listed.

[0048] As shown in Figure 4, in the user terminal 3, the reception unit 331 receives instructions from the user to access the bulk search site that provides the bulk search service and log in (step S101). The reception unit 331 receives input from the user for information necessary to log in to the bulk search site, such as the URL of the bulk search site, user ID, and password.

[0049] In the first information processing device 2A, when the acquisition unit 231 receives a request from the user terminal 3 to access the unified search site, the first information processing device 2A identifies the user information of the user on the user terminal 3 (step S201). The user information includes the user's past search history. For example, the search history includes information that identifies the first website where the user has previously performed searches, bookmarks of the first website (described later), and the display order of the search results.

[0050] In the first information processing device 2A, the transmission unit 234 transmits display information to the user terminal 3 for displaying the batch search screen of the batch search site on the display unit 34 of the user terminal 3 (step S202). In the user terminal 3, the display control unit 332 generates the batch search screen based on the received display information and displays it on the display unit 34 (step S102). The processing by the transmission unit 234 and the display control unit 332 may be an example of a display control step. The batch search screen includes a search word input area and a search service input area. The aforementioned display information is generated based on identified user information. For example, the search service input area is configured to include the first website where the most recent search was performed and bookmarks of the first website, based on the user's past search history. Alternatively, the system may be configured to display search result information on the first website identified based on at least some of the past search words, or it may display information that has been updated from the search result information previously displayed on the user terminal 3. In this case, search result information that does not match the conditions of some of the search words may be displayed. For example, regarding products identified by past search terms, even if a product does not fall within a specified price range, newly listed products may be displayed. Alternatively, information (products, etc.) that does not match the search terms but is recommended by the operator of the search aggregation site may also be displayed.

[0051] In the user terminal 3, the reception unit 331 receives the user's input of a search term (step S103). The user enters the search term into the search term input area of ​​the unified search site. In the first information processing device 2A, when the acquisition unit 231 acquires the search term entered by the user, the determination unit 232 determines the search target (step S203). For example, the determination unit 232 performs natural language processing on the search term entered by the user and evaluates the importance of the acquired words to identify the search target that the user is presumed to want to search. The determination unit 232 may also identify the search target by inputting the search term to the artificial intelligence unit 235 and having it output a word indicating the search target.

[0052] In parallel with this, when the reception unit 331 receives a request from the user at the user terminal 3 to specify a first website for which a batch search should be performed, information identifying the specified first website is transmitted to the first information processing device 2A (step S104).

[0053] In the first information processing device 2A, the determination unit 232 determines the first website on which to perform a batch search (step S204). The determination unit 232 determines the first website on which to perform a batch search based on the first website specified by the user. Alternatively, the determination unit 232 may determine the first website on which to perform a batch search based on search words. The determination unit 232 may also determine the first website by inputting search words or specified search targets to the artificial intelligence unit 235 and outputting information that identifies the first website. According to this configuration, a batch search that is convenient for individual users is performed.

[0054] Next, in the first information processing device 2A, the determination unit 232 determines the type of condition information to accept input from the user based on the search word. Condition information is information used to further refine the search based on the search word, and the appropriate type of condition information is determined according to the search target. For example, if the search target is an item, the condition information may be "model number," "price," "release date," etc., and if it is job information, it may be "industry," "annual salary," "work location," etc. The determination unit 232 determines the type of search condition as the type of condition information, which is not identifiable from the search word but is of high importance in narrowing down the search results. The determination unit 232 may also determine the type of condition information by inputting the search word or identified search target to the artificial intelligence unit 235 and outputting information indicating the type of condition information. The transmission unit 234 transmits the information indicating the determined type of condition information to the user terminal 3 (step S205).

[0055] In the user terminal 3, the display control unit 332 updates the batch search screen based on information indicating the type of condition information received, so that it can accept input of that type of condition information (step S105). The reception unit 331 receives input of condition information different from the search word from the user. When the reception unit 331 receives input of condition information from the user, it transmits information indicating the input condition information to the first information processing device 2A (step S106). That is, the acquisition unit 231 acquires further condition information different from the search word entered by the user.

[0056] In the first information processing device 2A, the determination unit 232 determines the search content based on the search words acquired by the acquisition unit 231, the search target determined by the determination unit 232 as described above, and the received condition information (step S206). The search execution unit 233 generates a search request to execute a search based on the search content on the determined first website. The transmission unit 234 transmits the generated search request to the second information processing device 2B (step S207). If the search service is a site that prompts the user to input a prompt to the generating AI, the search request may be a prompt generated to include the search content.

[0057] The second information processing device 2B performs a search on the first website managed by the second information processing device 2B based on the received search request (step S301). The second information processing device 2B transmits search result information indicating the result of the search on the first website to the first information processing device 2A (step S302). The search result information includes information to identify web pages that match the search content, such as the URL and title of the web page, and information to identify content corresponding to the search target and condition information, such as the product name and price.

[0058] The second information processing device 2B performs a search on the first website based on the search content specified in the search request. The search is performed using any method, such as a full-text search or an index search of the first website. For example, the second information processing device 2B creates an index of web pages included in the first website and stores it in the storage unit 22, and extracts web pages that match the search content by performing a search on the index based on the received search content. The second information processing device 2B then ranks the extracted web pages based on predetermined conditions such as the degree of relevance to the search content, and identifies the web pages to be included in the information showing the search results by determining a predetermined number of web pages that are ranked highly.

[0059] Alternatively, the first information processing device 2A may create and store an index of web pages included in the first website, allowing the search execution unit 233 of the first information processing device 2A to perform a search on the first website. In this case, the search execution unit 233 may, in advance, perform crawling on each first website at any time to create and store an index of web pages included in the first website, and then perform a search using the search content determined by the determination unit 232. For each first website, the conditions (programs) for obtaining the information to be extracted are individually set for each first website. Therefore, the search execution unit 233 may, for example, accept the specification of crawling conditions for a predetermined first website from the user terminal 3 and perform crawling based on the conditions specified by the user. This reduces the effort required for the operator of the centralized search site to execute the crawling conditions and improves user convenience. The artificial intelligence unit 235 may be configured to output crawling conditions when the first website and the information to be extracted are input.

[0060] In the first information processing device 2A, the search execution unit 233 generates display information for displaying the search results screen on the display unit 34 of the user terminal 3 based on the received search results information. The transmission unit 234 transmits the generated display information to the user terminal 3 (step S208).

[0061] The search execution unit 233 may assign a ranking to the extracted web pages in the information indicating the search results to be included in the displayed information, based on information that predefines the display order stored in the storage unit 32. The information that predefines the display order may, for example, be information that identifies the display order of past (previous) search results in user information, or information that defines the priority of web pages. The priority of web pages may be determined based on a priority independently decided by a company operating the batch search service executed by the first information processing device 2A, or based on advertising fees paid to that company, etc.

[0062] On the user terminal 3, the display control unit 332 displays a search results screen based on the search term (step S107). That is, the display control unit 332 generates a search results screen based on the received display information and controls the display unit 34 to display it. The search results screen includes search results information that shows the results of a search performed based on the search term. For example, on the search results screen, web pages extracted based on the search term are displayed according to the display order defined in the search results information. Details of the search results screen will be described later.

[0063] When the reception unit 331 receives input from the user to change the display order on the search results screen, the display control unit 332 updates the search results screen based on the changed display order and controls the display unit 34 to display it (step S108). The user terminal 3 transmits information about the changed display order to the first information processing device 2A (step S109). In the first information processing device 2A, the acquisition unit 231 receives the information about the changed display order and stores it in the storage unit 22, thereby updating the user information of the user (step S209).

[0064] 3.3 Specific Examples of Information Processing This section further explains the details of the processes performed in Information Processing System 1. Details of each process will be explained by referring to the sequence shown in Figure 4 as appropriate. In other words, specific examples of each process may be included within the scope defined in the overview and details of the information processing described above.

[0065] Figure 5 shows an example of a user information data structure. In the user management table T1, the user's usage history on the bulk search site is managed in association with a predetermined user ID. In the bookmark management table T2, information on the first website used by the user on the bulk search site is managed. Various information and data may be stored in the storage units of various devices such as the storage unit 22 of the information processing device 2 and the storage unit 32 of the user terminal 3, or they may be stored in a predetermined storage area including an external storage device.

[0066] In the user management table T1, attribute information, bookmarks, the display order of the first website, and the display order of the second website are stored in association with the user ID. Attribute information includes username, gender, age, address, etc., and is managed as needed to identify the user in the bulk search service or in the real world. The user may be a natural person, a legal entity, or a group of people. Bookmarks are information (strings such as IDs) that identify one or more bookmarks associated with the user. Bookmarks are information for pre-storing one or more first websites.

[0067] The display order of the first and second websites is information that specifies the order in which the first and second websites are displayed on the search results screen when a batch search is performed. The display order of the first and second websites may be set to a default order based on a predetermined rule, or the display order applied during the previous search may be remembered. In addition, a display order may be set for each bookmark.

[0068] In the bookmark management table T2, the classification, user ID, first website name, type, URL, public access status, number of uses, creation date, and update date are stored in association with information that identifies the bookmark.

[0069] Classification is information used to manage bookmarks so that they are distinguished according to their purpose of use. One or more classifications are assigned automatically or by user selection. Classifications are assigned to correspond to the search target or the purpose of the search, such as "Home Appliances," "Computers," "Daily Necessities," and "Job Postings."

[0070] The User ID is information that uniquely identifies the user who created the bookmark. The First Website Name is information that uniquely identifies one or more First Websites.

[0071] The type is information used to distinguish each primary website, and one or more types are assigned automatically or by user selection from a range of types. The types are assigned in a way that distinguishes commonalities such as the users, purpose of use, and characteristics of the web pages of the primary websites, such as "search engine," "SNS," "e-commerce site," "flea market site," "product price comparison site," and "job posting site."

[0072] The URL is information used to identify the destination of each individual website. The "Public" setting indicates whether or not users other than the user who created the bookmark are allowed to use that bookmark to perform a batch search, and this setting is determined by the user who created the bookmark.

[0073] The usage count indicates the number of times the bookmark has been used by the user who created it or by other users in a bulk search. If the bookmark is "public," the usage count serves as an indicator of its popularity or usefulness.

[0074] The creation date is the date the bookmark was created. The update date indicates the date on which any of the information in the bookmark management table T2 was updated by the user who created it. For example, it shows the date when the first website was added or deleted.

[0075] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a batch search screen in a batch search service. In Figure 6, the batch search screen 600 includes a search word input area 610, a condition information input area 620, and a search service input area 630. In the following description, the vertical direction in the various screens displayed on the display unit 34 may be referred to as the y-direction or first direction, and the horizontal direction as the x-direction or second direction. The first and second directions are configured to intersect with each other to define a predetermined coordinate system, which is typically a Cartesian coordinate system in which the first and second directions are orthogonal. User specifications for various screens are accepted as information specifying predetermined coordinates within that coordinate system.

[0076] The search term input area 610 is an area that accepts search terms from the user. The search term input area 610 displays the search terms received by the input unit 35, and the search terms may be entered not only as text, but also as audio or images. In this embodiment, for example, suppose "personal computer released in 2023" is entered as the search term. In this case, "personal computer" is specified as the search target, and the release date may be specified as "2023" as one of the condition information.

[0077] The condition information input area 620 is an area that accepts additional condition information input from the user. The condition information input area 620 includes type specification areas 621 and 623 for specifying the type of condition information, and condition information input areas 622 and 624 for accepting input of the content of the condition information according to the type of condition information. The type specification areas 621 and 623 are pre-set with the type of condition information corresponding to the search word determined by the determination unit 232, but may also be configured to allow users to change from among multiple items according to their input. The condition information input area 622 is configured to allow input of a price range corresponding to "price" in the type specification area 621. The condition information input area 624 is configured to allow selection of one or more operating systems corresponding to "OS" in the type specification area 623.

[0078] The search service input area 630 is an area that accepts user specifications for the search service to be executed as a batch search. The search service input area 630 includes the search service specification area 640 and the bookmark specification areas 650 and 660. The search service specification area 640 and the bookmark specification areas 650 and 660 are arranged along the y-direction, and each contains multiple icons for specifying a first website, arranged along the x-direction. The multiple icons arranged along the x-direction can be scrolled and selected by operating the scroll bars 641, 651, and 661.

[0079] The search service designation area 640 is an area where users individually specify a predetermined first website. In the search service designation area 640, the determination unit 232 has pre-configured first websites determined according to the search words or search target (services A and B). The system is configured to allow the addition or deletion of first websites such as service C in response to user input.

[0080] The bookmark designation area 650 is an area that accepts the designation of a first website included in a bookmark by receiving the designation of a bookmark associated with that user from the user. The display control unit 332 identifies a bookmark containing information that designates one or more first websites associated with the user ID of the user by referring to the bookmark management table T2 stored in the storage unit 32. In the bookmark designation area 650, bookmarks assigned a classification determined by the determination unit 232 to correspond to the search target (a "PC" bookmark assigned a classification corresponding to the search target "personal computer") are pre-set and displayed. In addition, the system is configured to allow the addition and deletion of bookmarks such as "for home appliances" in response to user input.

[0081] The bookmark designation area 660 is an area that accepts the designation of a first website by accepting the designation of bookmarks associated with other users from the user. The display control unit 332 refers to the bookmark management table T2 stored in the storage unit 32 to identify bookmarks that are not associated with the user ID of the user in question and that are set to be publicly available. In the bookmark designation area 650, particularly recommended bookmarks are pre-set and displayed (e.g., "Bookmarks for Y's PC" with a classification corresponding to the search target "PC"). In addition, the system is configured to allow the addition or deletion of search services such as "for home appliances" in response to user input. The particularly recommended bookmarks may be configured to select bookmarks that are used by many users in searches for the same search target, based on factors such as the degree to which the classification matches the search target, as well as the number of uses, creation date, and update date.

[0082] As described above, in this embodiment, at least one of the first website and the type of conditional information that accepts input from the user is determined based on the search words entered by the user.

[0083] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a search results screen in a batch search service. In Figure 7, the batch search screen 700 includes a search word input area 710, a condition information input area 720, a search results screen area 730, a display order setting area 760, and a scroll bar 770. The configuration of the search word input area 710 and the condition information input area 720 is the same as the configuration of the search word input area 610 and the condition information input area 620 in Figure 6, so redundant explanations will not be repeated.

[0084] The search results screen area 730 includes multiple first areas 740 and 750. Each of the multiple first areas 740 and 750 contains search results information. The search results information shows the results of searches performed on each of the specified different first websites based on the search words entered in the search word input area 710. The search results information may also show the results of searches performed on each of the first websites based on the search words and condition information. If the first website is specified by selecting a bookmark, the search results information includes the results of searches performed on each of the multiple first websites specified based on the identified bookmark based on the search words.

[0085] In the search results screen area 730, the first areas 740 and 750 are associated with service specification areas 741 and 751, respectively, indicating that the first area 740 contains search result information from service A, and the first area 750 contains search result information from service B. By selecting a service specification area 741 or 751, the user can change the search service associated with the first areas 740 or 750 and perform a new search.

[0086] The search results information displayed in each first area includes multiple second websites identified by performing a search based on the search terms on the first website. Each of the identified second websites is associated with and displayed within the first area.

[0087] In Figure 7, the first area 740 includes the second area 742, associated with webpage X1 related to product 1; the second area 743, associated with webpage X2 related to product 2; and the second area 744, associated with webpage Y3 related to product 3, as second websites. Webpages X1 and X2 are different webpages on a website of the same domain (X). The first area 750 includes the second area 752, associated with webpage Y3 related to product 3; the second area 753, associated with webpage Z4 related to product 4; and the second area 754, associated with webpage Z5 related to product 5, as second websites. Webpages Z4 and Z5 are different webpages on a website of the same domain (Z). In each of the first areas 740 and 750, other second areas that could not be displayed can be shown by operating the scroll bars 745 and 755.

[0088] In the search results screen area 730, multiple first areas, including the first areas 740 and 750, are arranged along a first direction, and by operating the scroll bar 770, it is possible to display first areas that could not be fully displayed on the display unit 34. In addition, multiple second areas 742-744 and 752-754 contained within each first area 740 and 750 are arranged along a second direction that intersects with the first direction. As a result, in the search results screen area 730, many first and second areas are displayed on one screen, and the user can view them all at a glance.

[0089] In the user terminal 3, the identification unit 333 may be configured to identify the relationship between a second website included in a predetermined first area 740 and a second website included in a different first area 750 from the predetermined first area 740. The display control unit 332 then displays information suggesting the identified relationship in the search results screen area 730 (batch search screen 700).

[0090] For example, the identification unit 333 identifies second areas associated with the same or related items or services as having a relationship with the second website. For example, second area 744 included in first area 740 and second area 752 included in first area 750 are associated with web pages of the same domain (Y). Therefore, the display control unit 332 controls the second areas to have the same color to suggest that second area 744 and second area 752 are related. The display control unit 332 only needs to make the relationship between related second areas recognizable, and may emphasize the display of related second areas, or not emphasize the display of other second areas, or change the arrangement position or display order so that related second areas move closer to each other in a first or second direction within the first area. Furthermore, if multiple different relationships are identified, information suggesting each relationship may be displayed in the search results screen area 730 in a manner that is distinguishable from each other. Furthermore, information suggesting the relationship identified in multiple second websites relating to second areas contained within the same first area may be displayed in the search results screen area 730. Note that the processing by the identification unit 333 and the display control unit 332 may be performed by the control unit 23 instead of the control unit 33.

[0091] Under the control of the display control unit 332, the first area is configured to be arranged along a first direction based on a preset first display order. The rule defining the first display order is, for example, the type of first website. Also under the control of the display control unit 332, the second area is configured to be arranged along a second direction based on a preset second display order. Subsequently, at least one of the first and second display orders may be configured to be set (changed) based on user selection. The rule defining the second display order is, for example, the ranking of web pages assigned by the search execution unit 233.

[0092] At least one of the first display order and the second display order may be configured to be updated in response to a user selection of at least one of a plurality of second areas. The display control unit 332 displays the search results screen area 730 based on at least one of the updated first display order and the second display order. In Figure 7, the display order setting area 760 may be configured to display a screen for receiving input to change the display order when selected by the user. On this screen, the reception unit 331 may be configured to receive the user's selection of the first or second area whose display order they wish to change, and to receive the specification of a predetermined rule for setting the display order.

[0093] Specifically, a plurality of second regions included in a predetermined first region and a plurality of second regions included in a first region different from the predetermined first region are arranged based on a different second display order. Then, the display control unit 332 displays the search results screen area 730 in such a way that, when at least one of the plurality of second regions included in the predetermined first region is selected, the plurality of second regions included in the other first region are arranged based on a second display order updated based on the selected second region.

[0094] For example, in Figure 7, if the second area 742 is selected, the display order of the second areas included in the first area 750 may be configured to change based on the content of the second website corresponding to the second area 742. Specifically, the second areas corresponding to products with a high degree of similarity to products identical or related to product 1 on the second website corresponding to the second area 742 may be placed higher (to the left). Similarity is determined based on product information such as the company providing the product, brand, model, price, and release date. Depending on whether the user selects a second area corresponding to a PC with a predetermined "OS", PCs with the same OS or a different version of that OS may be placed higher. Alternatively, the second areas corresponding to web pages identical or similar to web page X1 may be placed higher. The similarity of web pages is determined based on commonality of website domains or URLs, for example.

[0095] Furthermore, the determination unit 232 may determine the multiple first websites associated with the multiple first regions based on the type of first website. Specifically, the number of first websites associated with the first region is controlled so as not to exceed an upper limit or fall below a lower limit for each type of first website.

[0096] For example, upper and / or lower limits may be set in advance for the number of first websites that can be associated with the first domain, depending on the type of first website, such as two or fewer "search engines," one to three product price comparison sites, and three or fewer social networking services (SNS). For example, if an upper limit is set for the total number of first websites associated with the first domain, then when the number of first websites of a particular type associated with the first domain exceeds the upper limit (or approaches the upper limit), it may be prohibited (or the probability of further association of that type of first website with the first domain) may be reduced. On the other hand, if the number falls below the lower limit, the probability of further association of that type of first website with the first domain may be increased.

[0097] Furthermore, the number of first websites of each type associated with the first domain may be determined based on the search term or the search target. For example, if "personal computer" is specified as the search target, it may be possible to associate many "product price comparison sites" and "social networking services" with the first domain, while preventing "job search sites" from being associated with the first domain, thereby improving user convenience.

[0098] 4. Variations Although embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited thereto and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the technical spirit of the invention.

[0099] In this embodiment, the first direction of the various screens displayed on the display unit 34 may be the horizontal direction (x direction) and the second direction may be the vertical direction (y direction). That is, the first area may be arranged along the horizontal direction and the second area along the vertical direction. For example, if the display unit 34 is a horizontally oriented device, the second direction may be the horizontal direction, and if it is a vertically oriented device, the second direction may be the vertical direction. That is, by arranging the second area along the longitudinal direction of the display unit 34, the visibility of the second area is improved even if the number of second areas is greater than the number of first areas. Furthermore, the first and second directions may be set according to the type of user terminal 3, such as a personal computer or a smartphone. For example, in the case of a smartphone, by setting the second direction to the vertical direction, it becomes possible to view the second area by scrolling vertically, providing the user with intuitive operability.

[0100] Furthermore, it is not necessary for all second regions corresponding to the first regions to be displayed in the search results screen region 730. For example, the search results screen region 730 may be configured so that all first regions are displayed on one screen, while multiple second regions corresponding to the selected first region are displayed. This allows the user to select a predetermined first region by scrolling the search results screen region 730 along the first (or second) direction, and then scroll the corresponding multiple second regions along the second (or first) direction, thereby enabling the user to view them all at a glance.

[0101] In this embodiment, a configuration has been described in which the user specifies a first website and bookmarks after receiving the input of search terms, but the system is not limited to this configuration. The system may also be configured to accept the input of search terms after receiving the specifications of the first website and bookmarks. This reduces the need to determine the first website based on the search terms, thereby reducing the processing load on the first information processing device 2A. In this case as well, the system may be configured to present the user with the first website and condition information based on the user's search terms after receiving the input of search terms.

[0102] 5. Others In the above embodiment, the information processing device 2 or the user terminal 3 performed various storage and control functions, but multiple external devices may be used instead of the information processing device 2 or the user terminal 3. That is, various information and programs may be stored in a distributed manner across multiple external devices using blockchain technology or the like. Furthermore, at least one of the devices included in the information processing system 1 may be located outside the country in which the functions of the information processing system 1 are performed.

[0103] Furthermore, they may be provided in the following embodiments.

[0104] (1) An information processing system comprising at least one processor, the processor configured to perform the following steps by reading a program, the acquisition step of acquiring a search word entered by a user, and the display control step of displaying a search results screen based on the search word, wherein the search results screen includes a plurality of first areas that are visible to the user in an overview manner, and each of the plurality of first areas includes search results information showing the results of a search performed on each of different first websites based on the search word.

[0105] (2) An information processing system as described in (1) above, wherein the search result information includes a plurality of second websites identified by performing a search on the first website based on the search word, the first area includes a plurality of second areas corresponding to each of the identified plurality of second websites, and the search result screen is configured such that the plurality of first areas are arranged along a first direction, and the plurality of second areas included in the first area are arranged along a second direction intersecting the first direction.

[0106] (3) An information processing system as described in (2) above, wherein the first area is configured to be arranged along the first direction based on a preset first display order, and the second area is configured to be arranged along the second direction based on a preset second display order, and at least one of the first display order and the second display order is set based on selection by the user.

[0107] (4) An information processing system as described in (3) above, wherein at least one of the first display order and the second display order is updated in response to receiving a selection by the user for at least one of the plurality of second areas, and in the display control step, the search results screen is displayed based on at least one of the updated first display order and the second display order.

[0108] (5) An information processing system according to any one of (2) to (4) above, wherein in a specific step, the relationship between a second website included in a predetermined first area and a second website included in another first area different from the predetermined first area is identified, and in the display control step, information suggesting the identified relationship is displayed on the search results screen.

[0109] (6) An information processing system according to any one of (1) to (5) above, wherein the acquisition step further acquires condition information different from the search word entered by the user, and each of the plurality of first areas contains the search result information indicating the result of a search performed on each of the first websites based on the search word and the condition information.

[0110] (7) An information processing system as described in (6) above, wherein in the decision step, the system determines at least one of the first website and the type of conditional information that accepts input from the user, based on the search word.

[0111] (8) An information processing system according to any one of (1) to (7) above, wherein the display control step identifies a bookmark containing information specifying a plurality of first websites, and each of the plurality of first areas contains the search result information indicating the result of a search performed on each of the plurality of first websites specified based on the identified bookmark.

[0112] (9) An information processing system according to any one of (1) to (8) above, wherein in the decision step, a plurality of first websites associated with a plurality of first areas are determined based on the type of first website, and the number of first websites associated with a first area is controlled so as not to exceed an upper limit or fall below a lower limit for each type of first website.

[0113] (10) An information processing method comprising each step of the information processing system described in any one of (1) to (9) above.

[0114] (11) A program that causes a computer to perform each step of the information processing system described in any one of (1) to (9) above. Of course, this is not always the case.

[0115] Finally, various embodiments of the present invention have been described, but these are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in a variety of other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their variations are included in the scope and spirit of the invention, as well as in the claims and their equivalents. [Explanation of symbols]

[0116] 1: Information Processing System 2: Information Processing Device 2A: First Information Processing Device (Batch Search Service) 2B: Second Information Processing Device (Search Service) 3: User terminal 600: Batch search screen 610: Search word input area 620: Condition information input area 630: Search service input area 640: Search service designated area 650: Bookmark designated area 660: Bookmark designated area 700: Batch search screen 710: Search word input area 720: Condition information input area 730: Search results screen area

Claims

1. An information processing system, The system comprises at least one processor, the processor configured to perform the following steps by reading a program: In the acquisition step, the search words entered by the user are retrieved. In the display control step, the search results screen is displayed based on the search word, and here The aforementioned search results screen includes a plurality of first areas that the user can view in an overview manner, An information processing system in which each of the multiple first regions contains search result information indicating the results of a search performed on each of the different first websites based on the search word.

2. In the information processing system described in claim 1, The search results information includes a plurality of second websites identified by performing a search on the first website based on the search words, The first region includes a plurality of second regions corresponding to each of the plurality of specified second websites, The search results screen is an information processing system configured such that a plurality of first regions are arranged along a first direction, and a plurality of second regions included in the first region are arranged along a second direction that intersects the first direction.

3. In the information processing system described in claim 2, The first region is configured to be arranged along the first direction based on a predetermined first display order, The second region is configured to be arranged along the second direction based on a predetermined second display order, An information processing system in which at least one of the first display order and the second display order is set based on a user's selection.

4. In the information processing system described in claim 3, At least one of the first display order and the second display order is updated in response to the user's selection of at least one of the plurality of second areas. The information processing system, in the display control step, displays the search results screen based on at least one of the updated first display order and the second display order.

5. In the information processing system described in claim 2, In a specific step, the relationship between a second website included in a predetermined first area and a second website included in another first area different from the predetermined first area is identified. The information processing system, in the display control step, causes the identified information suggesting the relationship to be displayed on the search results screen.

6. In the information processing system described in claim 1, In the acquisition step described above, further condition information different from the search word entered by the user is acquired, An information processing system in which each of the multiple first regions includes search result information that shows the results of a search performed on each of the first websites based on the search words and the condition information.

7. In the information processing system described in claim 6, In the decision step, an information processing system determines, based on the search words, at least one of the first website and the type of conditional information that accepts input from the user.

8. In the information processing system described in claim 1, In the display control step, a bookmark containing information specifying a plurality of the first websites is identified, An information processing system in which each of the plurality of first regions includes search result information indicating the results of a search performed based on the search word in each of the plurality of first websites specified based on the identified bookmark.

9. In the information processing system described in claim 1, In the decision step, a plurality of first websites associated with a plurality of first regions are determined based on the type of the first website, and here, An information processing system in which the first websites associated with the first domain are controlled so as not to exceed an upper limit or fall below a lower limit for each type of first website.

10. Information processing method, A method comprising each step of the information processing system described in any one of claims 1 to 9.

11. It is a program, A program that causes a computer to perform each step of the information processing system described in any one of claims 1 to 9.

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