Patent ID: 6253208
Filing Date: 2001-06-26
Classification: G06F,G06Q,Y10S

Abstract:
An information access system comprising:a communications interface;query submission means;a query result analyser;information storage means; andtriggering means;wherein the information access system is arranged, in operation, to respond to an output of the triggering means to do the following:using said communications interface, to establish a network connection to a predetermined network address;using said query submission means, to select a query from a set of one or more predetermined queries and to transmit the selected query, via the communications interface, over said network connection, according to a predetermined communications protocol;using said query result analyser, on receipt of data over said network connection in response to said transmitted query, to extract information of a predetermined type from the received data and to format the extracted information according to a common format; andusing said information storage means to store the formatted information in an index,wherein the information storage means are arranged, on receipt and prior to storage of information extracted by the query result analyser, to compare said extracted information with information already stored in the index and to identify, within the extracted information, information not previously stored in the index.