Abstract:
A first, second, and third field are positioned so that each field is separate and distinct from one another. The first field is linked to a protocol list that may be opened and scrolled down to find a suitable protocol. Similarly, the third field is linked to a top domain list so that the user may scroll down the list and select a top domain. A first address or name is entered into the second field to connect to a first web site. By entering a second address or name to the second field, a second web site may be connected to without having to change any of the other fields. A variety of activation buttons may be used to retrieve the information in the second field and add search commands to reach and search data bases on a variety of web sites.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to a method for quickly connecting to and finding addresses and other information on the internet. In addition, present invention relates a convenient method of multiple task searching. 
     BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The internet is now becoming established in the industrialized world. However, some of the internet address are both long a complicated. Most of the addresses are also difficult to remember and cumbersome to work with when searching on the internet. This is a particular problem when multi-tasks must be performed such as searching in different data bases for the same domain name. 
     The various domains and pages on an internet address are typically separated by period and/or slashes according to the uniform resource locator (URL). To change one or many of the components of the address it is necessary to precisely position the cursor on the relevant portion of the address and carefully remove/add certain segments without inadvertently changing other segments of the address. 
     If it is necessary to search several data bases for the same domain name, a user must either type in very long and complicated addresses for each search. In the alternative, the user must find each web site and conduct a separate search at each web site for the same domain name. This is both cumbersome and time consuming to do. 
     There is a need for a more simple way of connecting to and searching a variety of internet addresses. There is also a need for an easier way to conduct multiple task searching on the internet. Particularly, there is a need for an improved method for conducting multiple tasks, such as searching, electronic mailing, facsimile and telephone transmission that are related to the same specific domain name. 
     The present invention is a method of accessing and searching web sites on the internet. The program has first, second and third fields wherein the fields are separate and distinct from one another. The first field is linked to a protocol list that may be opened and scrolled down to find a suitable protocol. Similarly, the third field is linked to a top domain list so that the user may scroll down the list and select a top domain. A first address or name is entered into the second field. It is now possible to connect to a first web site. By entering a second address or name to the second field, a second web site may be connected to without having to change any of the other fields. The invention also includes a variety of activation buttons that retrieve the information in the second field and add search commands to reach and search data bases on a variety of web sites. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a typical internet address; 
     FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the scroll down features of each field; 
     FIG. 3 is a schematic view of protocols in the first field; FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a set of activation buttons of the present invention; 
     FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a search command positioned before the domain name; 
     FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a search command positioned both before and after the domain name; 
     FIG. 7 is a schematic view of a flow diagram of an activation button; 
     FIG. 8 is a schematic view of a flow diagram of an activation button; and 
     FIG. 9 is a schematic view of a flow diagram of an activation button. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     With reference to FIGS. 1-9, the present invention is an effective way of accessing, using and searching on an electronic communication systems such as the internet. As best shown in FIG. 1, a typical internet address has several components according to the uniform resource locator (URL). example, an internet address  10 , such as a home page address  11 , typically has a prefix  12  that may include a protocol  14  and a sub-domain  16 . The address  10  also includes a second level domain  18  and a top domain  20 . The second level domain  18  may include several sub-pages  22 . 
     An important feature of the present invention is that the prefix  12 , second level domain  18 , top domain  20  and sub-page  22  are disposed in separate fields. This makes it easier to make changes in each field  12 ,  18 ,  20  and  22  without inadvertently changing the adjacent fields. However, by leaving the fields,  12 ,  20  and  22  blank, the field  18  may be used as a conventional search field and can accept a full address to, for example, a web site. 
     The prefix or field  12  may include a wide variety of protocols and/or sub-domains stored in a prefix table  24  such as http://www  26 , http://  28 , ftp:  30 , mailto:  32 , phone:  34 , fax:  36 , search  38 . It should be understood that the prefix table  24  may include many more protocols and sub-domains, as desired. The user may open the table  24  in a pulldown menu and scroll down to the desired protocol without having to type relatively complicated protocols. If the required protocol is not listed in the table  24 , then the user may manually enter the protocol into the field  12 . 
     More particularly, when http://www  26  protocol is selected for the field  12 , a signal  180  may be sent to the fields  18 ,  20 ,  22  to retrieve the information contained in the fields. The retrieved information is then sent via a signal  181  to a web browser program  44 , such as the Internet Explorer or Netscape, to activate the web browser program to find the desired web site on the world wide web. 
     The http://  28  protocol is, for example, used by search engines, such as Yahoo and Altavista, and company home pages. A signal  182  is sent to retrieve information from the fields  18 ,  20  and a signal  184  is then sent to reach the desired search engine or address  185 . The ftp:  30  protocol relates to a file transmission protocol that is used when retrieving files from a web server. When the ftp:  30  mode is used, a signal  186  is sent to the fields  18 ,  20  to retrieve the information contained in the-fields and the retrieved information is sent via a signal  188  to a program data base  189 . 
     The mail to:  32  protocol may send a signal  190  to the fields  18 ,  20  to retrieve the information therefrom and sends a signal  192  to activate and enter the information from the fields  18 ,  20  into an e-mail program. The user may then send a message to the e-mail address based on the retrieved information from the fields  18 ,  20 . 
     The phone:  34  protocol may be used to telephone a telephone number entered in the field  18 . A signal  196  is sent to the field  18  to retrieve the information in the field  18  and a signal  196  is sent to activate a phone program  200 . In the alternative, a second level domain may be enter into the field  18  and the information may be used to search an address list stored on the host computer, such as an e-mail address book, the desired telephone number may be found by searching the address book without requiring the user to enter the telephone number in the field  18 . 
     Similarly, the fax:  36  protocol may be used to fax a fax number or company name entered in the field  18 . A signal  202  may be sent to the field  18  to retrieve the information in the field  18  and a signal  204  is sent to activate a fax program  206 . 
     The search:  38  protocol may be used to search for information about the address entered in the field  18 . A signal  208  is sent to retrieve the address from the field  18 . A signal  210  is sent to add a search command to a search engine to perform a search on the address retrieved from the field  18 . 
     The second level domain or field  18  may represent the registered domain name or address in the respective top domain  20 . For illustration purposes, the second level domain name “volvo,” top domain “se” and sub-page “S 80 ” may been used. “S 80 ” is a car model of Volvo. In the United States, the top domains com, org, gov etc. represent the type of organization of the second level domain  18 . In countries outside the United States, the top domain  20  often represent the country of the second level domain  38 . In this way, volvo.se means that volvo is a registered domain name in Sweden. For example, the registration of all Swedish domain names may be found in a database  40  such as a domain name server (DNS) web-site database for Sweden. Similarly, the registration of all US domain names may be found in a data base controlled by the Internic. 
     The top domains  20  may be stored in a top domain table  42  and each top domain in the table  42  may be accessed through a convenient pull down menu. The sub-pages  22  may be linked to the second level domain  18  via a signaling link  25  so that the sub-pages  22  depend upon what address is entered in the second level domain  18 . By typing the desired sub-page in the sub-page  22 , the user may go directly into the sub-page of the particular domain name that has been entered in second level domain  18 . For example, by typing “S 80 ” in the sub-page  22  of the above illustrative example, the user may access Volvo&#39;s intra-net system and read about the S 80  car at Volvo&#39;s Swedish home page. The various sub-pages  22  may be stored in a sub-page database  45  at the web-site of the domain name in the second level domain  18 . The sub-page  22  may be changed without changing the other fields,  12 ,  18 ,  20  so that different sub-pages under the second level domain  18  may be accessed. In certain cases, the sub-page  22  may be fixed and only the second level domain  18  and/or the top domain  20  are changed. 
     The present invention includes a plurality of activation buttons  60 - 78  that are associated with the address or name that has been entered into the second level domain  18 . As best shown in FIG. 5, the activation buttons  60 - 78  may add a long and complicated string  61  before a name  63  retrieved from the field. As shown in FIG. 6, the activation buttons  60 - 78  may add complicated and long strings  65 ,  67  both before and after the name  63 . In this way, the user does not have to remember or add the required strings before and after name  63  to be searched. 
     As best shown in FIG. 4, the search button  60  may send a signal  80  to retrieve the information contained in the field  18  and the retrieved information may be sent via a signal  81  to an addition device  83  that adds a web site address and search commands to reach the desired search engine. In this way, the addition device  83  sends a signal  85  to the desired web site and the search results are displayed in a display unit  87 . 
     The e-mail button  62  may send a signal  82  to the second level domain or field  18  to retrieve the address in the field  18  and the retrieved information is sent in a signal  84  to an addition device  86  adds, for example, “info@” before the address retrieved from the field  18  and a suitable suffix such as “.se”. A signal  88  is sent to an e-mail program  90  in the host computer to activate and display the pre-addressed e-mail, such as info@volvo.se. The user may then enter a message to the pre-addressed e-mail and send the message to the e-mail addressee as specified by the field  18 . 
     By activating the domain owner button  64 , a signal  92  may be sent to the field  18  to retrieve the address or company name entered in the field  18 . The retrieved information is sent in a signal  94  to an addition device  96  that adds a search command before the address and sends a signal  98  to access and search a web site that includes all registered domain names for a variety of top domains. The search command may typically include the address to and search command for a pre-selected data base of a web server. The search results for the address in the field  18  is displayed in a display unit  100 . The search result may indicate in which top domains the address or name has been registered. 
     By activating the stock price button  66 , a signal  102  may be sent to the field  18  to retrieve the domain name (company name) and the retrieved company name is sent via a signal  104  to an addition device  106  that adds a search command to a data base on a web site that contains all the stock prices. The search result is sent via a signal  108  to a display unit  110  to the result of the search for the company name in the field  18  in the stock price data base. The display unit  110  may display the current stock price for the company name in a variety of countries. 
     The address button  68  sends a signal  112  to retrieve information from the fields  12 ,  18 ,  20  and  22 , the retrieved information is send via a signal  114  to an addition device  116  that adds a search command to search for the information in At Once&#39;s database on a web server. If the information in the signal  114  is found, then the user is connected via a signal  118  to a web address  120  that corresponds to the information in the signal  114 . If the information is not found then a not found message is displayed. 
     The telephone number button  70  sends a signal  122  to retrieve the information in the field  18 . The retrieve information is send in a signal  124  to an addition device  126  that adds a search command to access and search a web site of a search engine such as Yahoo.se or the yellow pages. If the information in field  18  is found, a signal  128  in sent to a display unit  130  to display all the telephone numbers to the company name shown in the field  18 . 
     Similarly, the book button  72  sends a signal  132  to is retrieve the information from the field  18 , the retrieved information is sent in a signal  134  to an addition device  136  that adds a search command for a book data base on a web server and if books about the name retrieved from the field  18  are found, then a signal  138  is sent to a display unit  140  to display the search results. 
     The news button  74  sends a signal  142  to retrieve the information from the field  18 , the retrieved information is sent in a signal  144  to an addition device  146  that adds a search command for a news data base on a web server, such as Yahoo.se, and if news about the information in the field  18  is found, then a signal  148  is sent to a display unit  150  that displays the search results. 
     By activating the program search button  76 , a signal  152  may be sent to retrieve the information from the field  18 . For example, the information in the field  18  could be “zip.” The retrieved information is sent in a signal  154  to an addition device  156  that adds a search command for a program data base on a web server and sends a signal  158  to the web site. If programs that end with “zip” are found, then all such programs are displayed in a display unit  160  and can be downloaded. 
     The link button  78  sends a signal  162  to retrieve the information from the field  18 , the retrieved information is sent in a signal  164  to an addition device  166  that adds a search command for a link data base on a web server and if links related to the information in the field  18  are found, then a signal  168  is sent to a display unit  170  to display the search results. 
     An important feature of the buttons  60 - 78  is that the buttons may be set to only retrieve information from the field  18  so that the searches may be conducted independent of what information have been entered in the fields  12 ,  20  and  22 . In other words, it is possible to have http://www  26  entered in the field  12  and by pressing, for example, the domain name button  64 , a search is conducted using the http://  28  protocol or any other suitable protocol. 
     Similarly when not using the activation buttons  60 - 78 , a variety of fields may be used during the search. As shown in FIG. 7, in a task  200 , a signal  206  may be sent only to the fields  18 ,  20  to retrieve information therefrom. The retrieved information may be sent via a signal  208  to an activation device  210  that activates a command, such as activating a program, and a signal  212  is sent to a display unit  214  that displays the result. The display unit  214  may, for example, be a pop-up window. 
     FIG. 8 shows a search  202  that may be used to find and access an internet address. The search  202  may send a signal  216  to retrieve information from the fields  12 ,  18  and  20 . The retrieved information is then sent via a signal  218  to a detection unit  220  that determines if the address was found. If the address was found then a signal  222  may be sent to a display  224  to display the result, such as displaying the home page of the address represented by the fields  12 ,  18  and  20 . If the address was not found, a signal  226  may be sent to a search engine  228  that adds a search command and a signal  230  may be sent to a display  232  that displays the search result. 
     FIG. 9 shows a search  204  that is similar to the search  202 . The search is particularly useful when it is desirable to directly access a sub-page of a home page. A signal  234  may be sent to the fields  12 ,  18 ,  20  and  22  to retrieve the information from all four fields. The retrieved information may then sent via a signal  236  to a detection unit  238  that determines if the address was found. If the address was found then a signal  240  may be sent to a display  242  to display the result, such as displaying the sub-page represented by the fields  12 ,  18 ,  20  and  22 . If the sub-page was not found, a signal  244  may be sent to a search engine  246  that adds a search command and a signal  248  may be sent to a display  250  that displays the search result. 
     When conducting a search, it is only necessary to type in the registered domain name, such as volvo, in the second level domain  18  to reach the Swedish home page of Volvo on the internet because the prefix  12  is, preferably, pre-set to http://www  26  and the top domain  20  is pre-set to se. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the second level domain  18  and the sub-page  22  are not pre-set. However, it may also be possible to preset the second level domain  18  and the sub-page  22 . 
     The method of the present invention permits multiple tasks to be conducted for the same address or name entered in the field  16 . For example, if the user would like to send an e-mail to the domain name owner of the second level domain  18 , the user may activate the button  62  that pre-addresses and activates the e-mail program  90 . There is no need to change any of the other address parameters in the fields  12 ,  20  and  22 . In the above example, a message will be sent to Volvo&#39;s general e-mail address at info@volvo.se. By changing the top domain  20  to “com” a message will be sent to volvo&#39;s general e-mail address in the United States at info@volvo.com. The user may then conveniently search for “Volvo” by activating the button  60  that in turn activates a search engine program, as described above. 
     In this way, there is no need to manually start an e-mail program and later find the home page of the search engine program and conduct a separate search for volvo on the home page of the search engine program. Similarly, home pages in a variety of countries may be accessed by simply changing the top domain that may be selected from the table  42 . The activation buttons provide the same versatility. By simply changing the name entered in the field  18  to, for example, saab, a user may conveniently obtain the same information is about saab, such stock price, news, e-mail, telephone number etc. 
     It should be understood, that the buttons  60 - 78  may include other functions than the functions described above. The buttons may be customized to the specific needs of the user. Also, more than four fields may be used to more specific sub-pages may be accessed on the internet. 
     While the present invention has been described in accordance with preferred compositions and embodiments, it is to be understood that certain substitutions and alterations may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the following claims.