Patent Publication Number: US-2012030190-A1

Title: Method of recording and searching for a web page and method of recording a browsed web page

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a data collecting method for a search engine and a method of recording Web Pages a user has browsed. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic drawing of the operation of a known search engine  86  according to a prior art. The search engine  86  automatically retrieves Web Pages  84  and stores them in a Web Page database  85 . In addition, a user can also actively register the address of a Web Page  83  on the search engine  86  (search Websites such as Google™ and Yahoo™) via a Web browsing device  82  (e.g., a personal computer). Usually the user has to fill in some information to register a Web Page on the search engine  86 . For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,631,496, entitled “System for Personalizing, Organizing and Managing Web Information,” discloses this function. 
     The quality of a search engine depends on the degree of accuracy felt by the user. With the expansion of a commercial scale, a search engine today may have to index the contents of ten million or more Web Pages. The load is beyond the limit of manpower. Thus, many figures and statistical data assist the search engine in ranking and the determination of a query. Website owners tend to hope their websites will be found easily and displayed at the top of a page when a user conducts a search with the search engine, so that the user will be more likely to click on their websites. 
     The search engine brings convenience. However, because of the high number of Web Pages of the internet, the user often spends much time looking for information. When the user has found information he or she wants and may need the information again, the user usually adds those Web Pages into bookmarks. 
     Recording Web Page bookmarks, however, also places a heavy burden on the user. The number of bookmarks keeps growing, so the user has to manage the bookmarks and divide them into categories. The number of the categories then keeps increasing, and the Web addresses in each category also keep increasing. In the end, the user has to deal with the problem of considerable quantities of Web Page bookmarks. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 6,631,496, entitled “System for personalizing, organizing and managing web information”, as mentioned above, allows the user to fill in data to register with a search machine. Also, the search engine automatically hierarchically classifies the bookmarks according to the data filled in by the user and Web Pages contents to solve the problem of classifying the bookmarks. The bookmarks can be shared with different users. U.S. Pat. No. 6,631,496 creates bookmarks with categories and classifies the bookmarks by a unified method. The method of automatic classification, however, does not match all users&#39; habits. The search engine provides a key word search function as well. In addition, the search engine of U.S. Pat. No. 6,631,496 automatically retrieves Web Page contents. This places a heavy burden on the search engine. Also, the search engine of U.S. Pat. No. 6,631,496 stores Web Page contents linked by Web Page contents, like a prior art search engine. 
     In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 6,366,923, entitled “Gathering selected information from the world wide web,” provides a system for conducting a search on the Internet. Also, the user can record the contents of Web Pages and save them in a file in his/her computer. By using this method, however, the user has to record the contents of the Web Pages in his/her computer and can only search his/her record; in addition, the user cannot share the record. 
     A browser provides “my history” for the user to record browsed Web Pages. In addition, Google™ also provides the history. “My history”, however, is not for sharing with others because of privacy issues. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A search engine of the present invention allows a user to find Web Pages that he or she has browsed. Some of the browsed Web Pages are automatically recorded; some of them are manually recorded. The present invention is different from a prior art internet bookmark. When using a prior art internet bookmark, the user has to input key words to look for the browsed Web Pages. In addition, a prior art internet bookmark basically allows the user to record only the Web address of a domain name, not including the contents. The prevent invention, however, allows the user to record Web Page contents that he or she is interested in. 
     A plurality of users can input key words to find Web Pages that they have browsed and recorded via the history of browsed Web Pages. What is different from a prior art search engine server is that the search engine server of the present invention only provides the Web Pages which the plurality of users have browsed and recorded. In addition, in order to reduce the burden of the search engine, it is recommended that the Web Page contents be uploaded from the user&#39;s browser to the search engine server. 
     The feature of the search engine server of the present invention is that the contents of the Web Page database in the search engine server are determined by the user (Web browsing device) and are not automatically selected and stored by the search engine server. The user does not have to register a Web Page on the search engine server through a complicated process. 
     An embedded search interface has to be embedded in the user&#39;s browsing program. According to the embodiments, the embedded search interface comprises a key word input interface, a search confirmation button, a manual transmission button, and a setting button. The setting button comprises buttons such as the following: automatically add, search individual, set up username, set up blacklist and whitelist, add label, today&#39;s favorites, my history, and login. When the setting of the button automatically add is ON, all Web Pages browsed by the user are automatically uploaded to the search engine server. When it is OFF, the user has to click the manual transmission button to upload a browsed Web Page to the search engine server. 
     The user can add specific domain names into a blacklist to prevent private Web Pages from being uploaded. In addition, after the user clicks my history, he or she can browse recorded Web Pages and click a delete button to delete the history. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic drawing of the operation of a known search engine according to a prior art. 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic drawing of the operation of a search engine server of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a flowchart of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is an embodiment of an embedded search interface of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is the embodiment of the embedded search interface of the present invention showing an unfolded menu. 
         FIG. 6  is the embodiment of the embedded search interface of the present invention showing a function of “set up username”. 
         FIG. 7  is the embodiment of the embedded search interface of the present invention showing a function of “set up blacklist and whitelist”. 
         FIG. 8  is the embodiment of the embedded search interface of the present invention showing a function of “set up add label”. 
         FIG. 9  is a schematic drawing of a Web Page database of the present invention. 
         FIG. 10  is the embodiment of the embedded search interface of the present invention showing a function of “today&#39;s favorites”. 
         FIG. 11  is the embodiment of the embedded search interface of the present invention showing a function of “my history”. 
         FIG. 12  is the embodiment of the embedded search interface of the present invention showing a function of “search”. 
         FIG. 13  is the embodiment of the embedded search interface of the present invention showing a “search” results Web Page. 
         FIG. 14  is the embodiment of the embedded search interface of the present invention showing a “search” results Web Page, but the results are limited within a personal record. 
         FIG. 15  is a flowchart of a second embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The advantages and innovative features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 2 , a schematic drawing of the operation of a search engine server  10  of the present invention, for the following paragraphs. The search engine server  10  comprises a processor  11  and a memory  12 . The memory  12  stores a search engine program. The processor  11  executes the search engine program so as to manage a Web Page database  15  and perform the function of a search engine. The search engine server  10  is usually composed of devices such as many computers and numbers of hard disks.  FIG. 2  is just a schematic drawing. 
     Web browsing devices  31   a ,  31   b ,  31   c  upload Web Pages  91  desired to be recorded to the search engine server  10  via a network  90 . Web browsing devices  32   a ,  32   b  can perform a search also via the network  90 . The contents of the Web Page database  15  are determined by a user (Web browsing device  31   a ,  31   b ,  31   c ) and are not automatically selected and stored by the search engine server  10 . It should be noted that in  FIG. 2 , the Web browsing devices  31   a ,  31   b ,  31   c  can also perform a search; the Web browsing devices  32   a ,  32   b  can also upload Web Pages to the search engine server  10 .  FIG. 2  is just for the illustration of an example. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 3 , a flowchart of the present invention. Please also refer to  FIGS. 4˜14 . The following paragraphs use the Web browsing device  31   a  and the Web browsing device  32   a  for illustration. 
     Step S 1 : 
     A first user (not shown) browses a Web Page  91   a  via a browsing program  95  of the Web browsing device  31   a , as shown in  FIG. 4 . 
     Step S 2 : 
     Please refer to  FIG. 5 . If the first user likes the Web Page  91   a , he or she clicks a manual transmission button  72  to transmit recording information  50  corresponding to the Web Page  91   a  to the search engine server  10 . 
     The manual transmission button  72  is one of the buttons of an embedded search interface  70 . In the present invention, the embedded search interface  70  is embedded in the browsing program  95 , as shown in  FIG. 5 . In this embodiment, the embedded search interface  70  primarily comprises a key word input interface  71 , a search confirmation button  71   a , a manual transmission button  72 , and a setting button  73 . The setting button  73  comprises buttons such as automatically add  731 , search individual  732 , set up username  733 , set up blacklist and whitelist  734 , add label  735 , today&#39;s favorites  736 , my history  737 , and login  738 . 
     In a state shown in  FIG. 5 , the setting of the automatically add  731  is OFF, which means that when the first user browses the Web Page  91   a , the recording information  50  corresponding to the Web Page  91   a  is not automatically transmitted to the search engine server  10 . Conversely, when the setting of the automatically add  731  is ON (not shown in  FIG. 5 ), then when the first user browses the Web Page  91   a , the recording information  50  corresponding to the Web Page  91   a  is automatically transmitted to the search engine server  10 . 
     The recording information  50  comprises at least a Web address  55  and preferably Web Page contents  53  as well. The Web browsing device  31   a  transmits the Web Page contents  53  (codes for describing a Web Page, such as text contents, HTML, XHTMAL, JavaScript, and CSS) to the search engine server  10 . This reduces the burden of the search engine server  10  and is different from the prior art operation of a search engine. The recording information  50  can also comprise the setting that a Web Page transmitted to the search engine server  10  is manually transmitted or automatically transmitted (according to the setting of the automatically add  731 ). For example, “M” stands for “manually transmitted”. “A” stands for “automatically transmitted”. Thus the search engine server  10  can determine the importance of Web Pages according to the information. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 6 . A user can click the set up username  733  to set up a username (such as an ID and a member code). If a username  51  is set up, the recording information  50  can comprise the username  51  so that the search engine server  10  can record who uploads the Web Pages (please refer to the illustration of  FIG. 10  in step  5  for the advantage of recording a username). After the username is set up, the user can click the login  738 . 
     Sometimes the user does not want to upload a Web Page with some specific domain name because of privacy issues. Whether the setting of the automatically add  731  is ON or OFF, the user can click the set up blacklist and whitelist  734 , as shown in  FIG. 7 . The user can then input a specific domain name and set a blacklist to prevent the Web Page contents from being uploaded. Of course, the user can also change a blacklist into a whitelist. 
     The user can further set a label for the Web Page  91   a , which is desired to be recorded. Please refer to  FIG. 8 . The user can click add label  735  and then click the manual transmission button  72 . For example, the user inputs “Green Life” into a label  54 . The recording information  50  can further comprise the label  54  so that the search engine server  10  can record the label  54  corresponding to the Web Page  91   a . The user can simply input “Green Life” to look for the recorded Web Page  91   a  later. 
     Step S 3 : 
     The search engine server  10  receives the recording information  50 . As described in step  2 , the recording information  50  may comprise at least the Web address  55  and may further comprise the Web Page contents  53 , the label  54 , the username  51 , and the record that a Web Page is manually transmitted or automatically transmitted (such as “M” or “A”). 
     Step S 4 : 
     Indexing the Web Page contents  53  to generate information for searching  40 . The search engine server  10  can obtain corresponding Web Page contents  53  according to the Web address  55 . The Web Page contents  53  can also be obtained from the recording information  50  transmitted by the Web browsing device  31   a . Indexing the Web Page contents  53  is a well known technique. It primarily deletes unnecessary contents of the Web Page contents  53  and repeated text. The unnecessary contents are primarily codes. 
     The search engine server  10  can also have the setting of a blacklist. If an uploaded Web address is related to privacy, the search engine server  10  will not record the Web address uploaded by the user and Web Page contents. 
     Step S 5 : 
     Building a corresponding relation between the Web address  55  and the information for searching  40 . Please refer to  FIG. 9 . The Web Page database  15  of the search engine server  10  comprises a plurality of index contents  16  and corresponding Web Page contents  17 . The Web Page contents  17  are generally saved as a database. It can be a backup of Web Pages or a backup when there is a problem in the index contents  16 . 
     Index contents  16  can be seen as pages of data. Each of the index contents  16  corresponds to a Web address  55 . The index contents  16  mainly comprise a Web address field  16   a , an index field  16   b , a source field  16   c , and an other field  16   d . All columns of the index contents  16  have corresponding relations. 
     The Web address field  16   a  records the Web address  55  of the recording information  50 , such as www.savetheearthsite.org. 
     The index field  16   b  records the information for searching  40  generated in step S 4 . 
     The source field  16   c  records the username  51 , the label  54 , and the setting that an uploaded Web Page is manually transmitted or automatically transmitted (for example, represented by “M” or “A”, please refer to step S 2 ). If ten users who have set up usernames upload the same Web address, the usernames of the ten users will be recorded in the source field  16   c . In addition, if the user has set a label for the Web address, it is recommended that the label together with the username be saved in the source field  16   c . For example, Mark 01  (Green Life, M) means that user Mark 01  uploaded the Web Page manually and added the label Green Life. Linda (Earth, A) means that the Web Page was automatically uploaded when the user Linda browsed the Web Page, and that there is no label (Null) for the Web Page. 
     The other field  16   d  records, for example, the time when the index contents  16  are generated, how many users upload Web Pages, how many times the Web Page has been browsed, the time when the Web Page is browsed, and its importance. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 10 . After the user clicks, for example, the today&#39;s favorites  736 , Web Page  91   b  can display the Web Pages of today&#39;s favorites because how many times a Web Page has been browsed and the time when the Web Page is browsed can be recorded in the other field  16   d  of the index contents  16 . 
     Please refer to  FIG. 11 . The username  51  can be recorded in the source field  16   c  of the index contents  16 . Thus, after the user clicks my history  737 , Web addresses recorded by the user “Mark 01 ” can be displayed like a Web Page  91   c . The user can browse recorded Web Pages and click a delete button  737   a  to delete the history. After the user deletes the history, he or she has to transmit the deletion. 
     In addition, the user can also determine whether or not to share the recorded Web Pages with others. It is predetermined whether recorded Web Pages will be shared with others (or will not be shared with others) after the recording information  50  is transmitted to the search engine server  10  (step S 2 ). For example, after the user clicks my history  737 , he or she can change the state of sharing into “shared” or “not shared” via a share button  737   b . As shown in  FIG. 11 , for example, the share button  737   b  being a black square means “shared”. The share button  737   b  being a hollow square means “not shared”. 
     Of course, after the delete button  737   a  or the share button  737   b  is clicked, the Web browsing device  31   a  transmits a message of change to the search engine server  10  to change the Web Page database  15 . 
     Step S 6 : 
     Please refer to  FIG. 12 . A second user (not shown) searches for a Web Page via a browsing program  95   d  of the Web browsing device  32   a . He or she inputs at least one key word  61  (e.g., “save earth”) and presses the search confirmation button  71   a.    
     If the setting of the search individual  732  of the setting button  73  is “Off” when the second user searches for Web Pages, it means that the second user wants to search all the Web addresses comprising the key word  61  in the information for searching  40 . 
     Step S 7 : 
     The Web browsing device  32   a  transmits the search information  60  to the search engine server  10 . The search information  60  comprises the key word  61  and can further comprise other information such as a username of the second user (especially when the setting of the search individual  732  is “On” in step S 6 ). 
     Step S 8 : 
     The search engine server  10  receives the search information  60 . 
     Step S 9 : 
     The search engine server  10  matches the key word  61  in the information for searching  40 . This technique about a search engine is well known to any person familiar in the field, and so requires no further description. 
     Step S 10 : 
     The search engine server  10  transmits Web addresses  55  which meet the search condition and extracted information (usually a part of the Web Page contents which comprise key words) to the Web browsing device  32   a.    
     Step S 11 : 
     The Web browsing device  32   a  receives the Web addresses  55  and the extracted information and displays them on a Web Page  91   d , as shown in  FIG. 13 . 
     It should be noted that if the setting of the search individual  732  is “On” in step S 6 , the search information  60  comprises not only the key word  61  but also the username of the second user. Thus, in step S 9 , the search engine server  10  not only matches the key word  61  in the information for searching  40  but also checks if the record is the second user&#39;s. For example, as shown in  FIG. 14 , a Web Page  91   e  only displays the Web addresses which meet the key word  61  and which are recorded by the second user. 
     In addition, it should be noted that the present invention is for multiple users. Each user can record the Web addresses and can also conduct the Web addresses recorded by him/her or other users. In order to facilitate the illustration of the primary issue of the present invention, the flowchart of  FIG. 3  uses the first and second users as an example.  FIG. 15  is a flowchart illustrating how a single user records and searches for a Web Page. The flowchart of  FIG. 15  is very similar to that of  FIG. 3 . All steps in  FIG. 15  are the same as those in  FIG. 3 , but steps  6   a ,  7   a , and  11   a  are performed by the Web browsing device  31   a.    
     It is noted that the above-mentioned embodiments are only for illustration. It is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they fall within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents. Therefore, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention.