Patent ID: 7818688
Filing Date: 2010-10-19
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. An information browsing apparatus that allows a user to browse for information by sequentially displaying, on a display, information selected from among a plurality of items of information, the plurality of items of information stored in a memory, the information browsing apparatus comprising: an input that receives, from a user, an information selection instruction, a relation criterion selection instruction, and a relevant item selection instruction; a starting specified information processor that selects, from the memory, one of the plurality of items of information as specified information for starting information browsing; a specified information displayer that displays, on the display, the specified information, the specified information defining at least one relation criterion of a plurality of relation criteria, the at least one relation criterion relating to the specified information; an information processor that selects, from the memory and in accordance with the information selection instruction received by the input, another one of the plurality of items of information; a relation criterion processor that selects, in accordance with the relation criterion selection instruction received by the input, a selected relation criterion from among the at least one relation criterion that relates to the specified information; a relevant information displayer that displays, on the display, items of specified relevant information from among the plurality of items of information in response to the relation criterion processor selecting the selected relation criterion, the items of specified relevant information relating to the specified information via the selected relation criterion, at least one of the items of specified relevant information being newly displayed on the display to facilitate further browsing; a specified relevant information processor that selects, in accordance with the relevant item selection instruction received by the input, one of the items of specified relevant information; and a continuation specified information processor that sets the one of the items of specified relevant information selected by the specified relevant information processor as the specified information to be displayed on the display for further browsing, wherein each of the plurality of items of information relate to at least one other of the plurality of items of information via at least one of the plurality of relation criteria, and wherein, when the relation criterion processor selects the selected relation criterion and when the relevant information displayer displays the items of specified relevant information, the specified information remains set as the specified information.