JP2002197094A - Server for retrieving data - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain data file information necessary for a user with a small amount of labor while widely extracting data file information in retrieval conditions when a data file is retrieved on a network. SOLUTION: The retrieval conditions are accepted from a retriever's computer, identification information of the data file associated with attribute information to coincide with the accepted retrieval conditions is extracted, at least a part of the retrieval conditions is transmitted to each of the manager's computers of managers of the data files corresponding to the extracted identification information, correspondence information to indicate that the data file to be managed by the manger is corresponding to the retrieval conditions is accepted from the manager's computer and the identification information of the data file managed by the manager of the manager's computer to transmit the correspondence information is transmitted to the retriever's computer by a server for retrieving data to be connected by the manager's computer, the retriever's computer and a network.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a server for searching for a data file published on a network.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the development of the Internet, companies and individuals have widely spread home pages on the Internet. Although useful information can be obtained from these homepages, a great deal of labor is required to find necessary information because a great number of homepages are published. In order to alleviate such a situation, there are many search sites that search a homepage on the Internet using keywords. These search sites use software called a search engine to convert the attribute information of a homepage into a URL (Unifos).
rm Resource Locator), and home page information that matches the search condition specified by the user is extracted from the stored contents.

[0003]

Although such a search engine is very convenient, the amount of published homepages is excessive, so that when searching using keywords as search conditions, hundreds to tens of thousands are required. Often home page information is extracted. In such a case, it takes a lot of labor and time for the user to check the contents of each home page. Although it is possible to reduce the amount of extracted homepage information when the search conditions are strict, it is more likely that useful homepage information will be omitted because it does not match the search conditions.
Further, the same problem is considered to occur in a case where information provided by individual members of a group is searched using groupware. In view of the above, according to the present invention, when searching for a data file represented by a homepage on a network, data file information necessary for a user is obtained with a small amount of labor while extracting data file information widely under search conditions. The task is to make it possible.

[0004]

To solve the above problems, the present invention has the following arrangement. The invention according to claim 1 is a data search server which is connected by a network to a plurality of administrator computers operated by an administrator of each data file and a searcher computer operated by a searcher of the data file. It has such a configuration.
Note that the data file in the present application refers to a group of data combined with one piece of identification information, and includes not only general files and data constituting one screen of a homepage, but also a group of files and homepages in one domain. . The data file manager in the present application is sufficient if it is a person who knows the contents of the data file, and usually a data file provider is assumed, but the present invention is not limited to this.

First, identification information and attribute information of a plurality of data files are stored in association with each other by file information storage means. The attribute information includes the name of the data file,
A summary of the contents, all or a part of the contents, and the like can be given. Then, the search condition receiving means receives the search condition from the searcher computer, and the data extracting means extracts the identification information of the data file associated with the attribute information matching the received search condition from the file information storage means. . Next, the search condition transmitting unit transmits at least a part of the search condition to each of the manager computers of the manager of the data file corresponding to the extracted identification information, and the corresponding information receiving unit transmits the management condition from the manager computer. Pertinent information indicating that the data file managed by the user satisfies the search condition. Then, the identification information of the data file managed by the administrator of the administrator computer which has transmitted the relevant information by the relevant data notification means is transmitted to the searcher computer. By performing such an operation, after narrowing down the data files according to the search conditions presented by the searcher, the administrator who manages these data files further looks at the search conditions and further narrows down. Will be sent to the searcher.

[0006] In the second aspect of the present invention, the search condition includes a keyword and a conditional sentence, and the attribute information includes text data. Then, the data extracting unit extracts identification information of a data file associated with the text data including the keyword, and the search condition transmitting unit transmits the conditional statement. By doing so, the data file is extracted based on whether or not the keyword is included, and the judgment of the administrator is performed based on the conditional statement. In the present application, the keyword can be automatically extracted from the conditional sentence, and the conditional sentence and the keyword need not be separated.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the data search server, a deadline receiving unit receives a deadline from the searcher computer, and a deadline transmitting unit transmits the deadline to the management computer. Further, the relevant information receiving means receives the relevant information until the time limit. Such an operation prompts the administrator to respond by a certain time limit, and the searcher can specify a time limit for obtaining a search result. In addition, the period during which the data search server performs processing is limited.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the data search server, message data is received from the administrator computer transmitting the relevant information by a message receiving unit, and is associated with the relevant information by a message transmitting unit. The received message data is transmitted to the searcher computer. With such a configuration, the administrator not only decides not only that the data file managed by himself / herself matches the search condition but also has a specific intention such as in what point the data file matches. It will be transmitted to searchers.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a data search server which is connected to a plurality of administrator computers operated by an administrator of each data file and a searcher computer operated by a searcher of the data file via a network. This is a method of searching for a data file, and the data search server performs the following operation. That is, the identification information and the attribute information of each data file are stored in the file information storing step, the search condition is received from the searcher computer in the search condition receiving step, and the attribute information of the stored data file is stored in the data extracting step. From the data file, the identification information of the data file corresponding to the attribute information is extracted. And
At least a part of the search condition is transmitted to each of the manager computers of the manager of the data file corresponding to the identification information extracted in the search condition transmitting step, and the manager manages the manager from the manager computer in the corresponding information receiving step. Applicable information indicating that the data file to be executed satisfies the transmitted search condition is accepted. Then, the identification information of the data file managed by the administrator of the administrator computer that has transmitted the relevant information in the relevant data notification step is transmitted to the searcher computer. By such an operation, first, the data files are narrowed down from the search conditions presented by the searcher, and the narrowed-down data files are further narrowed down by the administrator who manages these data files, and the result is transmitted to the searcher. Will be.

[0010] In the invention according to claim 6, the search condition includes a keyword and a conditional sentence, and the attribute information includes text data. In the data extracting step, the text data including the keyword is searched, and in the search condition transmitting step, the conditional sentence is transmitted. By such an operation, the first search server narrows down the data by keywords, and furthermore,
The narrowing down of data is performed by the administrator using a conditional statement.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the data search method, the data search server further receives a time limit from the searcher computer in a time limit receiving step, and sends the time limit to the administrator computer in a time limit sending step. Send Then, in the relevant information receiving step, the relevant information is received until the time limit elapses. By performing such an operation, the time limit for transmitting the relevant information is limited, the administrator is urged to respond within the time limit, and the searcher is set a time limit for obtaining the search result. In addition, the time limit during which the search server performs processing is also limited.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the data search method, the data search server further receives a message from the administrator computer transmitting the corresponding information in a message receiving step, and executes a message transmitting step in the message transmitting step. A message received in association with the relevant information is transmitted to the searcher computer.
By performing such an operation, in addition to the intention that the data file managed by the administrator matches the search condition, the intention of the administrator, such as what decision is made, is transmitted to the searcher. Become.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a schematic configuration of the entire homepage search system according to the present invention. As shown in the figure, the homepage search system according to the present embodiment includes a search server A installed in a search service provider and an operator who operates a homepage as a data file, that is, a data file manager. An administrator computer B is used as an administrator computer to be used, and a user computer C is used as a searcher computer used by a user as a searcher who searches a homepage. These computers are connected by the Internet. Each computer is a general-purpose computer that is generally used.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing the hardware configuration of the search server A. The search server A includes a CPU 11 for performing arithmetic processing, a RAM 12 serving as a work area for the CPU 11, and an R for storing basic programs and data.
It includes an OM 13, a clock 14 for setting the operation timing of the CPU 11, a hard disk 15 for storing application software and data, and a network interface 16 including a router for transmitting and receiving information via the Internet. The search server A according to the present embodiment is realized by incorporating a program that causes the hard disk 15 to perform the following operation.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram schematically showing functions of the search server A. As shown in the figure, the search server A functionally includes a data transmission / reception unit 101, an HP data storage unit 102, an HP transmission unit 103, an HP information reception unit 104, a search HP information storage unit 105, an operator master 106, and an operator. HP generation unit 107, authentication code generation unit 108, authentication code reception unit 109, search condition reception unit 110, time limit reception unit 11
1, HP information extraction unit 112, user HP generation unit 113,
It includes an e-mail transmitting unit 114, a corresponding information receiving unit 115, and a message receiving unit 116.

The data transmission / reception unit 101 transmits / receives data to / from the operator computer B and the user computer C via the Internet. The HP data storage unit 102 stores homepage data published on the Internet. The homepage data stored here includes an initial screen displayed when the server is accessed for the first time, a registration screen of homepage information in which a link is set in the initial screen, and a homepage data generated by an operator HP generation unit 107 described later. An operator screen to be updated and a user screen generated and updated by the user HP generation unit 113.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the initial screen 400. The initial screen 400 includes a search condition input area 401 for inputting search conditions and a search deadline, and a password input area 40 for accessing an operator screen or a user screen.
2. A registration button 40 with a link to a registration screen for newly registering a homepage operated by the operator
3 inclusive. In the search condition input area 401, a keyword input box 401a for inputting a keyword for searching, a conditional sentence input box 401b for inputting a conditional sentence, a deadline selection area 401c for selecting a deadline by a radio button, A search execution button 40 for confirming the input condition and transmitting the search condition to the search server A
1d. In a password input area 402, a password input box 402 for inputting a password previously assigned to the operator screen and the user screen.
a, a transmission button 402b for fixing the input password and transmitting it to the search server A;

FIG. 5 shows an example of a registration screen 500 in which a link is set to the registration button 403. The registration screen 500 is a screen for a new homepage operator to register homepage information. In the registration screen 500, a URL input box 501 for inputting a URL of a homepage operated by the operator, a title input box 502 for inputting a title of the homepage, an operator name input box 503 for inputting an operator name, and an electronic A mail address input box 504 for inputting a mail address, a transmission button 50 for confirming the input data and transmitting the data to the search server A
5 is included.

The HP transmitting unit 103 receives URL data transmitted from the operator computer B and the user computer C, and sends home page data corresponding thereto to the HP data.
The URL data is extracted from the data storage unit 102 and transmitted to the computer that transmitted the URL data. When the authentication code receiving unit 109 converts the password into URL data, as described later, the HP transmitting unit 103 transmits the homepage data to the computer that transmitted the password. The HP information receiving unit 104 receives, from the operator computer, the URL, title, operator name, and e-mail address of the homepage operated by the operator transmitted from the registration screen 500 shown in FIG. Also,
The HP information receiving unit 104 accesses the transmitted URL to obtain homepage data operated by the operator,
Extract at least a part of the text data in the homepage data.

The search HP information storage unit 105 stores home page information received by the HP information reception unit 104 as file information storage means. FIG. 6A shows a search HP.
4 schematically shows the data structure of the information storage unit 105. As shown in the figure, the search HP information storage unit 105 stores a title and extracted text data using a URL as a primary key. The search HP information storage unit 105 also stores a password of an operator HP to be described later. Here, the URL is used as the identification information of the home page as it is, but an identification code may be individually set and used as the primary key. The operator master 106 is
The operator information received by the information receiving unit 104 is stored.
FIG. 6B schematically shows the data structure of the operator master 106. As shown in the figure, the operator master 106 stores a URL of a homepage to be operated, an operator name, and an e-mail address, using an operator ID set for each operator as a primary key.

The operator HP generation unit 107 generates a new operator screen every time new home page information is registered.
Each time the information is extracted by the P information extraction unit 112, the operator screen is updated. FIG. 7 shows an example of the operator screen 700.
Shown here is an example of an operator screen 700 generated first. This screen shows a password 701 and a homepage title 702 of this screen.
This first operator screen 700 is created as soon as H is generated.
It is transmitted to the operator via the P transmission unit 103. Note that the password 701 is automatically generated by the authentication code generation unit 108.

The password generated by the authentication code generation unit 108 is a seven-digit alphanumeric character, and this password becomes the file name of the operator screen 700 as it is. It is stored in 102. The authentication code receiving unit 109 receives a password input to and transmitted from the password input area on the above-described initial screen, and transmits the received password to the search server A.
URL data for specifying an operator screen or a user screen is added to the end of the address. Based on the URL data, the HP transmitting unit 103
2, a corresponding operator screen or user screen is extracted and sent to the computer that sent the password. The search condition receiving unit 110 sets the initial screen 4
A keyword and a conditional sentence as a search condition that are input and transmitted to the search condition input area 401 of 00 are received. The time limit receiving unit 111 also receives a time limit input and transmitted to the search condition input area 401 of the initial screen 400. In addition, the time limit receiving unit 111 receives the number of days, and calculates date data to be a time limit based on the current date.

The HP information extraction unit 112 extracts, from the search HP information storage unit 105, home page information including the keyword in text data based on the keyword received by the search condition reception unit 110 as data extraction means. When the homepage information is extracted from the HP information extraction unit 112, the operator HP generation unit 107 updates the operator screen of the operator who operates the extracted homepage to a screen to which a keyword, a conditional statement, a time limit, and the like are added. . Specifically, when the HP information extraction unit 112 extracts the URL of the homepage from the search HP information storage unit 105, the operator HP generation unit 107 displays the corresponding operator screen from the operator master 106 based on the URL. The password is extracted to specify the file name of the operator screen, and the specified operator screen is called from the HP data storage unit 102 and updated.

FIG. 8 shows an example of the updated operator screen 700. As shown in the figure, the operator screen 700 has a response information input area 703 and a send button 704 added to the initial password 701 and homepage title 702. In the response information input area 703, a keyword display area 703a for displaying the keyword and the conditional sentence received by the search condition receiving unit 110, a conditional sentence display area 703b, and a deadline display for displaying date data of the deadline obtained by the deadline receiving unit 111 An area 703c, a corresponding information check box 703d in which a check mark can be entered by selecting with a pointing device when this condition statement corresponds to a homepage operated by the operator, a message input area for inputting a message for this condition 703e. A transmission button 704 is a button for confirming the input data by selecting with the pointing device and transmitting the data to the search computer A. The corresponding information check box 703d
Is associated with the password of the user screen of the user who entered the search conditions, the password of the operator screen, and the expiration date information. When the check box is checked, the password of the user screen and the password of the operation screen The term information is transmitted as the corresponding information. The updated operator screen 700 is transmitted to the H by the operator transmitting a password from the initial screen and making a transmission request.
It is transmitted via P transmission section 103. That is, the HP transmission unit 103 configures a search condition transmission unit that transmits at least a part of the search condition, and also configures a period transmission unit that transmits period data.

The user HP generation unit 113 generates a user screen for notifying search results. FIG. 9 shows an example of the user screen 900. The user screen 900 includes a password 901 of the user screen, a condition display area 902 displaying the input condition statement and the term, and the homepage number information 9 extracted by the HP information extraction unit 112.
03. The number-of-responses information 904 that has received a response from the operator based on the conditional statement is displayed. Since the figure shows the state immediately after the user screen is generated, the number-of-responses information is zero. The generated user screen 900 is immediately transmitted to the user computer B that has transmitted the search condition and the time limit via the HP transmission unit 103, and
It is stored in the P data storage unit 102. Also, the password 901 is stored in the authentication code generation unit 1 as in the case of the operator screen 700.
08 is generated as seven-digit alphanumeric characters, and becomes a file name when the user screen 900 is stored in the HP data storage unit 102.

The e-mail transmission section 114 is used for the operator screen 7
When 00 is updated, the corresponding operator is notified by e-mail that the operator screen 700 has been updated.
Specifically, based on the URL in the homepage information extracted by the HP information extraction unit 112, the e-mail address of the operator is extracted from the operator master 106, and "the user has extracted your homepage by searching. Is sent. The corresponding information receiving unit 115 is configured as shown in FIG.
The password of the corresponding user screen, the password of the operation screen, and the term information are received as the corresponding information transmitted from the updated operator screen 700 as shown in FIG.
When the time limit information of the information received by the relevant information receiving unit 115 exceeds the current date and time, the relevant information receiving unit 115 deletes such information as it is. The message accepting unit 116 also updates the operator screen 700
Accepts message data sent from

When the corresponding information receiving unit 115 and the message receiving unit 116 receive data within the time limit, the user H
The P generation unit 113 extracts the user homepage for which the relevant information is obtained from the HP data storage unit 102 based on the received user screen password and updates the content. Specifically, necessary information is obtained from the search HP information based on the password of the operator screen, and the contents of the extracted user screen are rewritten. FIG. 10 shows an example of the updated user screen 900. In the updated user screen, a response homepage display area 905 is added in addition to the password 901, the condition display area 902, the number information 903, and the number of response information 904. The response homepage display area 905 includes a homepage title 905a in which a link is set to a homepage operated by the operator who has responded, and a message display area 905b in which a message received by the message reception unit is displayed. This user screen is transmitted to the user computer via the HP transmission unit 103 in response to a request from the user. That is, the HP transmitting unit 103 constitutes a corresponding data notifying unit that transmits a URL as identification information of a homepage operated by an operator that has transmitted the corresponding information,
This constitutes a message transmitting means for transmitting a message.

Next, the data flow of the homepage search system centered on the search server A having the above configuration will be specifically described. FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a data flow of the entire system. This figure shows the flow of data when the homepage operator registers the homepage in the search server A, and the homepage is searched and a message is finally sent to the user. First, the homepage operator transmits homepage information to be registered to the search server A through a registration screen linked from the initial screen (S51). The search server A accesses the registered homepage based on the URL in the homepage information and collects at least a part of the text data therefrom (S52, S5).
3). The collected data is stored in the search HP information storage unit 105 together with the homepage information. At this time,
The operator information is stored in the operator master 106. Further, the search server A generates an operator screen, displays a password there, and transmits it to the operator computer B (S54). This completes the homepage registration work.

Next, the flow of information when a user searches a homepage will be described. First, the user who wants to search the home page requests the initial screen by transmitting the URL data of the initial screen through the user computer C (S55). In response, the search server A transmits an initial screen as shown in FIG. 4 to the user computer C (S56). The user inputs a keyword and a conditional sentence in the condition input area on the initial screen, selects a term, and transmits these data to the search server A (S5).
7). Receiving this, the search server A searches the homepage information from the search HP information storage unit 105 based on the keyword, receives the result, generates a user screen, and transmits it to the user computer B (S58). ). At the same time, the search server A updates the operator screen of the operator who operates the extracted homepage. In addition, the search server A notifies the operator computer of the operator who operates the homepage extracted by the search through the e-mail that the search has been performed by the user (S59).

The operator who has received the e-mail calls the initial screen from the operator computer B, inputs a password, and requests an operator screen (S60). The search server A transmits the operator screen in response to this (S6).
1). The operator's screen displays the keyword, condition sentence, and time limit entered by the user. If the operator reads the condition sentence and determines that the homepage to operate matches the condition sentence, the corresponding information check box is displayed. Check the box, enter a message and select the send button. As a result, the password of the user screen, the password of the operator screen, the date data of the term, and the message information as the corresponding information are transmitted to the search server A (S62). Here, only one homepage operator is used. However, since a plurality of homepages are actually extracted by search, the relevant information and messages are transmitted from the plurality of homepage operators until a deadline. The search server updates the user screen C each time the relevant information and message are received by the deadline. Then, the user requests the user screen from the user computer C when the time limit has passed (S63).
As a result, the homepage information and the message to which the operator has responded to the request are transmitted to the user computer C via the user screen (S64). By the above operation, the user can obtain, from the vast amount of homepage information, what the operator has determined to correspond.

Next, the operation of the search server A will be described. Note that the registration operation of the homepage is a known operation, and a description thereof will be omitted. First, an operation from when the search server A receives a search condition from a user to when the operator screen is updated will be described. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing this operation. Note that the search H
Necessary information is recorded in the P information storage unit 105 and the operator master 106, and an operator screen is also stored in the HP data storage unit 102 for each operator. First, since the user transmits the URL data of the initial screen, the URL data is accepted by the HP transmission unit 103 (s102),
Initial screen 4 as shown in FIG. 4 from P data storage unit 102
00 is extracted and the initial screen is transmitted to the user computer C (s103). The user can use this initial screen 40
From 0, a keyword and a conditional sentence are input in the search condition input area 401, and a term is selected and transmitted. In the search server A, the search condition receiving unit 110 receives a keyword and a conditional sentence, and the time limit receiving unit 111 receives a time limit (s104). Based on the received keyword, the HP information extraction unit 112 searches the HP information storage unit 1 for search.
From 05, home page information including this keyword is searched and extracted (s105).

Then, a user screen 90 including the display of the number of the extracted homepage information as shown in FIG.
0 is generated (s106). The generated user screen 900 is transmitted to the user computer B, and the
The data is stored in the data storage unit 102 (s107). Also,
At the same time, a response information input area 703 is added to the operator screen 700 of the operator of the home page extracted by the search based on the search condition and the term information input by the user as shown in FIG. Is added (s108). When the operator screen 700 is updated, an e-mail notifying that the homepage operated by the operator has been extracted by the e-mail transmitting unit 114 is transmitted to the operator computer B as an e-mail (s109). Thus, the operation from receiving the search condition of the user to updating the operator screen is completed.

Next, a description will be given of the operation until the operator responds to the user's condition statement and the user screen is updated. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing this operation. As described above, since the operator is notified by email that the operator screen has been updated, the operator first transmits the URL data of the initial screen to the search server A. The search server A receives the URL data (s201), and transmits the initial screen 400 to the operator computer B (s202). The operator inputs the password from the initial screen 400 to the password input area 402 and selects the send button 402b to transmit the password to the search server A. In the search server, the password is accepted by the authentication code accepting unit 109 (s203), and after being converted into URL data, an operator screen 700 having the password as a file name is extracted from the HP data storage unit 102 and transmitted. Is performed (s204).

As shown in the figure, the operator screen 700 displays a keyword, a conditional statement, and a time limit input by the user in the response information input area, so that the operator can read and operate the conditional statement. If it is determined that the homepage that corresponds to this condition statement, the corresponding information check box 703
Select d. On the other hand, if it does not correspond to the conditional statement, there is no need to do anything. When a message is transmitted in response to the conditional statement, the message is input to the message input area 703e. After that, by selecting the send button 704, if the relevant information check box 703d is checked, the password of the user screen, the password of the operator screen, and the time limit are sent to the search server A as the relevant information. If the date data representing the message has been transmitted and a message has been input, the message data will also be transmitted. In the search server A, the relevant information is received by the relevant information receiving unit, and the message is received by the message receiving unit 116 (s20).
5).

When these pieces of information are received, date data representing the time limit of the information is compared with the current date (s
206), if the date represented by the date data does not exceed the current date, homepage information is extracted based on the received information, and the user HP generation unit 113 updates the user screen 900 (s207). On the other hand, if the time limit has passed, nothing is done. User screen 900
Is updated, the response number information 904 is displayed as shown in FIG.
Is added, one response homepage display area 905 is added, and a message is displayed in a homepage title 905a in which a link to a homepage operated by the operator who has responded is set and in a message display area 905b. As described above, the operation from when the operator responds to when the user screen is updated is temporarily ended. Actually, the above operation is performed every time many operators access the operator screen.

As described above, in the homepage search system according to the present embodiment, the searcher does not narrow down the homepage from a huge amount of search results, but the search results are further narrowed down by the operator of each homepage. Therefore, the searcher's labor is shared. In addition, even if the number of homepages extracted from keywords is huge, there are as many operators as they are, and since the operators are familiar with the contents of the homepage, searchers will check the contents of the homepage As a result, the total amount of labor as a whole will be reduced.

In the above embodiment, transmission of search conditions and the like from the user computer to the search server, transmission of search conditions and the like from the search server to the operator computer, transmission of applicable information and the like from the operator computer, All of the transmission of search results from the search server to the user computer is performed via the homepage, but this may be transmitted by push-type transmission means such as an e-mail. In this case, the transmission of the search result from the search computer to the user computer is performed after the lapse.

In the above embodiment, the user inputs the conditional sentence and the keyword separately. However, the user inputs only the conditional sentence, and the keyword is extracted from the conditional sentence by cutting out the word from the search server. You may do so. Then, it goes without saying that the keyword search can use a complicated conditional expression such as an AND search or an OR search. Furthermore, in the above embodiment, when the search condition is input and transmitted, the content is fixed, but the search condition may be redone. For example, a button to indicate the intention to finalize the search condition is provided so that the user can re-enter the search condition after checking the number of homepages extracted in the search condition, and until this button is selected It is possible to adopt a method of allowing the user to input a search condition any number of times.

Then, in the above-described embodiment, the user screen is deleted under a certain condition such as deletion after a lapse of a certain period after the expiration of the time limit, or deletion after the user browses the user screen after the expiration of the time limit. Can also. The operator screen may also be deleted according to certain conditions such as deleting a conditional sentence or the like whose response time limit has expired. Although the above embodiment is directed to a search system for a home page on the Internet, a system in which a computer of a person who knows the contents of a data file well and a computer of a person who searches for a data file is connected to a server. Anything can be applied. For example, in a groupware used in a company, when a necessary data file is searched, a condition sentence is sent to the computer of the employee who provided the data file for each data file obtained from the search result, and the corresponding information is transmitted. Applications such as narrowing down data files are possible by receiving the data.

[0040]

As described above, the present invention has the following effects. According to the first and fifth aspects of the present invention, after narrowing down data files based on search conditions presented by a searcher, an administrator who manages these data files further narrows down by looking at the search conditions. Since the results are sent to the searcher, the administrator of each data file will share the labor of searching for the necessary ones from the data files narrowed down by the search conditions, greatly reducing the labor of the searcher. Can be. According to the second and sixth aspects of the present invention, the extraction of the data file is performed based on whether or not the keyword is included, and the first extraction of the data file includes the keyword because the judgment of the administrator is performed based on the conditional statement. It can be easily performed depending on whether or not, and the administrator can specifically determine complicated contents based on the conditional statement.

According to the third and seventh aspects of the present invention, the administrator is urged to respond by a certain time limit, and the searcher can specify the time limit for obtaining the search result.
It can be expected that search results responded by most administrators will be obtained within a certain period. In addition, since the period during which processing is performed in the data search server is limited, the load on the data search server can be reduced. According to the fourth and eighth aspects of the present invention, the specific intention of the administrator, such as at what point the data file searched by the message data matches, is transmitted to the searcher. Convenience when the searcher finally finds the necessary data file is improved, and the burden on the searcher can be further reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a homepage search system according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an outline of a hardware configuration of a search server.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram schematically showing functions of a search server.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an initial screen.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a registration screen.

FIG. 6A is a diagram schematically illustrating a data structure of a search HP information storage unit, and FIG. 6B is a diagram schematically illustrating a data structure of an operator master.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a first operator screen.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of an updated operator screen.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a first user screen.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of an updated user screen.

FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing a data flow of the entire system.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an operation from when a search server receives a search condition to when an operator screen is updated.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an operation until the operator responds to the user's conditional statement and updates the user screen.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A search server B operator computer C user computer 103 HP transmission unit 105 search HP information storage unit 110 search condition reception unit 111 time limit reception unit 112 HP information extraction unit 115 applicable information reception unit 116 message reception unit

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A data search server connected by a network to a plurality of administrator computers operated by an administrator of an individual data file and a searcher computer operated by a searcher of a data file, wherein the data search server comprises: File information storage means for storing file identification information and attribute information in association with each other; search condition receiving means for receiving search conditions from the searcher computer; and attributes matching the search conditions received from the file information storage means. Data extraction means for extracting identification information of a data file associated with information, and a search for transmitting at least a part of the search condition to each of the manager computers of managers of the data file corresponding to the extracted identification information Condition transmitting means, and the management of the administrator from the administrator computer Applicable information receiving means for receiving applicable information indicating that the data file corresponding to the search condition is satisfied, and transmitting identification information of the data file managed by the administrator of the administrator computer having transmitted the applicable information to the searcher computer A data search server that includes a corresponding data notification unit. 2. The search condition includes a keyword and a conditional sentence, the attribute information includes text data, and the data extracting unit extracts identification information of a data file associated with the text data including the keyword. 2. The search condition transmitting unit transmits the conditional sentence.
The data search server described in. 3. The data search server, further comprising: a time limit receiving unit that receives a time limit from the searcher computer; and a time limit transmitting unit that transmits the time limit to the administrator computer. The data search server according to claim 1, wherein the server receives the applicable information until the time limit. 4. The data search server, further comprising: a message accepting unit for accepting message data from the administrator computer transmitting the relevant information; and a message data received in association with the relevant information. The data search server according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: a message transmission unit that transmits the data to the server. 5. A method of searching for a data file by a plurality of administrator computers operated by an administrator of an individual data file and a search server operated by a data file searcher and a data search server connected by a network. A data information storage step in which the data search server stores identification information and attribute information of each data file; a search condition receiving step of receiving a search condition from the searcher computer; and the stored data file. A data extraction step of searching the attribute information of the data file for a match with the search condition and extracting identification information of the data file relating to the attribute information; and a manager computer of a manager of the data file corresponding to the extracted identification information. To send at least part of the search conditions to A condition transmitting step, a pertinent information receiving step of receiving pertinent information from the manager computer indicating that the data file managed by the manager corresponds to the search condition, and a manager of the manager computer that has transmitted the corresponding information, A corresponding data notification step of transmitting identification information of a data file to be managed to the searcher computer. 6. The search condition includes a keyword and a conditional sentence, the attribute information includes text data, the data extraction step searches for the text data including the keyword, and the search condition transmission step includes: The data search method according to claim 5, wherein the conditional statement is transmitted. 7. The data search method, wherein the data search server further performs a time limit receiving step of receiving a time limit from the searcher computer, and a time limit transmitting step of transmitting the time limit to the administrator computer. The data search method according to claim 5, wherein, in the corresponding information receiving step, the relevant information is received until the time limit has passed. 8. The data search method, wherein the data search server further comprises: a message receiving step of receiving message data from the administrator computer transmitting the relevant information; and a message received in association with the relevant information. 8. A data search method according to claim 5, further comprising a message transmitting step of transmitting data to the searcher computer.