Abstract:
A reading support apparatus is disclosed. The reading support apparatus includes a memory; and a processor coupled to the memory. The processor retains, in the memory, a provider address at which a document is registered. The processor monitors connection from a user with respect to the provider address retained in the memory. The processor acquires a word included in the document, the word reading support method used for a search conducted by the user in a state in which the user browses the document corresponding to the provider address, and outputs the word.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority of the prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2016-110080, filed on Jun. 1, 2016, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
       FIELD 
       [0002]    The embodiments discussed herein are related to a reading support apparatus, a computer-readable storage medium having stored therein a reading support program, and a reading support method. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    On the assumption of carefully reading sentences such as terms of service, a privacy policy, or the like to use an application, a Web service, or the like, users may be liable for users&#39; responsibility if they violate the provisions. However, documents such as the terms of service are long and difficult to understand. The user feels confirmation as a burden and uses service or the like without fully understanding a usage condition. As a result, the user may suffer disadvantage later. 
         [0004]    In a case of the terms of service for a Social Networking Service (SNS), there may be a case of including text to prohibit use of the SNS related to a business aim such that an event opening accompanying some kind of money transfer is disclosed to an unspecified number of people via the SNS. Such action may be intentionally conducted by an ordinary user. In a case in which the user does not carefully read and fully understand the terms of service, disadvantages may occur. In addition, as another example, in a plan selection of voluntary insurance of a car, there may be a case in which as a result of not carefully reading a contract, the user may misunderstand a meaning of interpersonal insurance, and the user may choose a plan that does not provide with a personal injury insurance (compensation for injured fellow passengers). 
         [0005]    If descriptions such as the term and the like are ambiguous ones so that an interpretation thereof differs among people, a sentence creator may have a disadvantage in a case of a dispute about the interpretation. That is a reason why the descriptions are specified. As a result, the sentence becomes longer and difficult. However, for the sentence creator, it is preferable to minimize a cost to respond to a complaint and an inquiry from the user. 
         [0006]    In contrast, technologies, which are not related to the contract, are known to devise a user interface of a screen, direct a user&#39;s attention to an important portion, and urge user&#39;s comprehension of a display content by an emphasis display or the like. 
       PATENT DOCUMENTS 
       [0007]    International Publication Pamphlet No. WO 03/103564 
         [0008]    Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2010-55231 
         [0009]    Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2014-63483 
       SUMMARY 
       [0010]    According to one aspect of the embodiments, a reading support apparatus includes a memory; and a processor coupled to the memory and the processor configured to retain, in the memory, a provider address at which a document is registered; monitor connection from a user with respect to the provider address retained in the memory; acquire a word included in the document, the word being used for a search conducted by the user in a state in which the user browses the document corresponding to the provider address; and output the word. 
         [0011]    The object and advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the claims. 
         [0012]    It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         [0013]      FIG. 1  is a diagram illustrating a system configuration example according to an embodiment; 
           [0014]      FIG. 2  is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of a contract server; 
           [0015]      FIG. 3  is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of an analysis server; 
           [0016]      FIG. 4  is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of terminals; 
           [0017]      FIG. 5  is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example for the contract server, the analysis server, and each of the terminals; 
           [0018]      FIG. 6  is a diagram illustrating a process sequence for explaining a process example of the embodiment; 
           [0019]      FIG. 7  a diagram illustrating a data example of a contract URL list; 
           [0020]      FIG. 8  is a diagram illustrating a data example of a search engine URL list; 
           [0021]      FIG. 9  is a diagram illustrating a data example of a contract word DB; 
           [0022]      FIG. 10  is a diagram illustrating a data example of search logs; 
           [0023]      FIG. 11  is a diagram illustrating a data example of aggregation logs; 
           [0024]      FIG. 12  is a diagram illustrating an example of a portion-to-be-improved aggregation result; and 
           [0025]      FIG. 13  is a diagram illustrating an example of a presentation of a portion to be improved. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
       [0026]    It is difficult to simplify description of a document such as a contract or the like, due to importance of contents and the like. Even for a user who attempts to thoroughly read the contract, it is difficult to comprehend the contents by reading it once. In contrast, a document creator does not have the viewpoint of the user. It is difficult for the document creator to know which portion is difficult for the user to understand. Also, opportunities to modify the contents of the contract to be a more understandable expression are limited for the document creator. 
         [0027]    Accordingly, in one aspect of an embodiment, a scheme for outputting information to inform the document creator of the document about a portion predicted as being difficult to understand is provided below. 
         [0028]    A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is noted that a contract as the sentence to be browsed will be described as an example. The embodiment is also applied to documents other than the contract. 
         [0029]    &lt;Configuration&gt; 
         [0030]      FIG. 1  is a diagram illustrating a system configuration example according to the embodiment. In  FIG. 1 , a system  1000  includes a contract server  1 , an analysis server  2 , and multiple terminals  4 A,  4 B, . . . , which are connected to a network  3  such as the Internet to communicate with each other. The contract server  1  provides information of the contract for a user to browse. The analysis server  2  supports the user to comprehend the contract. Each of the terminals  4 A,  4 B, . . . is used by the user to browse the contract. In addition, a search service (a search engine), which is operated by a portal site or the like, is provided via the network  3  for the terminals  4 A,  4 B, . . . to use. The terminals  4 A,  4 B, . . . may be collectively referred as the terminal  4 . 
         [0031]      FIG. 2  is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of the contract server. In  FIG. 2 , the contract server  1  includes a contract providing part  12  for providing data of terms from contract data  11  in response to a request sent from each of the terminals  4  ( 4 A,  4 B, . . . ). 
         [0032]      FIG. 3  is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of the analysis server. In  FIG. 3 , the analysis server  2  includes a log receiving/aggregating part  21 , a portion-to-be-improved extraction part  23 , and a portion-to-be-improved presenting part  25 . 
         [0033]    The log receiving/aggregating part  21  receives search logs  45  from the multiple terminals  4 , and includes a function for outputting aggregation logs  22 , in which the search logs  45  are aggregated for the multiple users. The portion-to-be-improved extraction part  23  includes a function for extracting portions searched multiple times as portions to be improved by aggregating and analyzing the portions to be improved based on the aggregation logs  22 . The portion-to-be-improved presenting part  25  includes a function for presenting information of the portion to be improved to a contract creator (regarded as the document creator) for each of contracts retained in a portion-to-be-improved aggregation result  24 . 
         [0034]      FIG. 4  is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of the terminals. In  FIG. 4 , each of the terminals  4  ( 4 A,  4 B, . . . ) includes a contract browsing part  40 , a search word extracting part  41 , and a log sending part  46 . 
         [0035]    The contract browsing part  40  includes a function for browsing the contract by accessing the contract server  1 , and corresponds to a general purpose browser or a dedicated application. The search word extracting part  41  includes a function for monitoring a start-up of the contract browsing part  40 , referring to a contract URL (Uniform Resource Locator) list  42 , a search engine URL list  43 , and a contract word Database (DB)  44 . 
         [0036]    (1) One of URLs listed in the contract URL list  42  is accessed by the contract browsing part  40 . Or, a tab displaying a page of the URL is activated in the contract browsing part  40 . 
         [0037]    (2) The URL or the tab, which is activated by a next operation from the above item (1), is included in the search engine URL list  43 . 
         [0038]    (3) A searched word includes a term registered in the contract word DB  44 . The term may be a word being meaningful by itself in the contract in a state of eliminating postpositional particles (“te”, “ni”, “wo”, and “ha” in Japanese), which immediately follow the modified noun, verb, adjective, or sentence. 
         [0039]    The log sending part  46  includes a function for sending contents of the search logs  45  to the analysis server  2  at a predetermined timing. 
         [0040]      FIG. 5  is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example for the contract server, the analysis server, and each of the terminals. In  FIG. 5 , a hardware configuration will be described for the contract server  1 . The hardware configuration of each of the analysis server  2  and the terminals  4  is similar to the hardware configuration of the contract server  1 , and the explanation thereof will be omitted. 
         [0041]    The contract server  1  includes a Central Processing Unit (CPU)  102 , a Read Only Memory (ROM)  103 , a Random Access Memory (RAM)  104 , and a Non-Volatile Random Access Memory (NVRAM)  105 , which are mutually connected via a bus  101 . Also, the contract server  1  includes an InterFace (I/F)  106  connected to the bus  101 , an I/O  107  as an Input/Output device, a Hard Disk Drive/Solid State Drive (HDD/SDD)  108 , and a Network Interface Card (NIC)  109 . Moreover, a monitor  110 , a keyboard  111 , a mouse  112 , and the like are connected to the I/O  107 . Instead of the keyboard  111  and the mouse  112 , a touch panel may be implemented. As a recording medium, a Compact Disk/Digital Versatile Disk (CD/DVD) drive or the like may be connected to the I/O  107 . A recording medium  107   a  may be any type of a recording medium, which is a non-transitory tangible computer-readable medium including a data structure. The recording medium  107   a  may be a non-transitory tangible computer-readable medium including a data structure such as a Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM), a Universal Serial Bus (USB) memory, or the like, or a semiconductor memory such as a flash memory. 
         [0042]    The functions of the contract server  1  and the like described with reference to  FIG. 2  through  FIG. 4  are realized by the CPU  102  executing corresponding programs. The program may be acquired through the recording medium  107   a,  may be acquired via a network, or may be implemented beforehand in the ROM  103 . More specifically, the program for operating the contract providing part  12  of the contract server  1  in  FIG. 2  is stored in the HDD/SDD  108 , is loaded in the RAM  104 , and is executed by the CPU  102 . The contract data  11  are temporarily retained in the RAM  104 , and are permanently stored in the HDD/SDD  108 . 
         [0043]    Programs operating the log receiving/aggregating part  21 , the portion-to-be-improved extraction part  23 , and the portion-to-be-improved presenting part  25  of the analysis server  2  in  FIG. 3  are stored in the HDD/SSD  108 , and are loaded in the RAM  104  and executed by the CPU  102 . The aggregation logs  22  and the portion-to-be-improved aggregation result  24  are temporarily retained in the RAM  104 , and are permanently stored in HDD/SSD  108 . The programs operating the contract browsing part  40 , the search word extracting part  41 , and log sending part  46  of each of the terminals  4  in  FIG. 4  are stored in the HDD/SSD  108 , are loaded in the RAM  104 , and executed by the CPU  102 . The contract URL list  42 , the search engine URL list  43 , the contract word DB  44 , and the search logs  45  are temporarily retained in the RAM  104 , and are permanently stored in the HDD/SSD  108 . 
         [0044]    &lt;Operation&gt; 
         [0045]      FIG. 6  is a diagram illustrating a process sequence for explaining a process example of the embodiment. In  FIG. 6 , when the user of the terminal  4 A conducts an access operation such as an indication of the URL of a contract page, a link selection from another page, or the like with respect to the contract browsing part  40  (step S 101 ), the contract browsing part  40  accesses the contract server  1  (step S 102 ). The contract server  1  replies with page data of the contract (step S 103 ), and the contract page is displayed at the terminal  4 A. 
         [0046]    The user reading the contract may have a question, when the user is not able to determine a meaning or a concrete example of the term in the contract. In such case, the user conducts a search operation in order to search by the search service  5  (step S 104 ). The contract browsing part  40  sends a search request accompanying a search word with respect to the search service  5  (step S 105 ). The search service  5  performs a search process in response to the search request, and sends a search result as a reply (step S 106 ). 
         [0047]    Information indicating such behavior pertinent to the searches of the user is monitored by the search word extracting part  41 , and the search word is acquired and is recorded in the search logs  45  when a predetermined condition is satisfied (step S 107 ). As the predetermined condition, first, before the search, it is determined whether one of URLs in the contract URL list  42  is accessed and whether the tab of the contract browsing part  40  displaying the page of the accessed URL becomes active.  FIG. 7  illustrates a data example of the contract URL list. The contract URL list  42  retains the URL of the contract subject to be maintained. 
         [0048]    As a next condition in a case in which the above described condition is satisfied, by an operation following the above described access, it is determined whether the activated URL or tab is included in the search engine URL list  43 .  FIG. 8  illustrates a data example of the search engine URL list. The search engine URL list  43  retains the URLs of the search engine (the search service) predicted to be used by the user. 
         [0049]    As a further next condition in a case in which the above described condition is satisfied, it is determined whether the search word entered in the search service includes the term being meaningful by itself in the contract in a state of eliminating postpositional particles (“te”, “ni”, “wo”, and “ha” in Japanese), which is registered in the contract word DB  44 .  FIG. 9  is a diagram illustrating a data example of the contract word DB. The contract word DB  44  stores the terms included in the contract as the contract words for each of URL-IDs identifying the contracts. 
         [0050]    When all these conditions are satisfied, the search word extracting part  41  records the search logs  45 .  FIG. 10  is a diagram illustrating a data example of the search logs. For each of the URL-IDs identifying the contracts, the contract word included in the search word is recorded as “portion-to-be-improved data”. Also, words entered together at the search are recorded as a “term searched together”. In a case in which a logical operator is used for the search, the logical operator is also included in the “term searched together”. 
         [0051]    Referring to  FIG. 6 , after the above process, at the predetermined timing, the log sending part  46  sends a content of the search log  45  with a user ID to the analysis server  2  (step S 111 ). The predetermined timing may be every time data are output to the search log  45 , an end of a process of the contract browsing part  40 , a predetermined interval, or the like. 
         [0052]    When the log receiving/aggregating part  21  of the analysis server  2  receives a log, multiple logs are aggregated, and are output to the aggregation logs  22  (step S 112 ).  FIG. 11  is a diagram illustrating a data example of the aggregation logs. The user ID is additionally provided to a content being similar to the search log  45  illustrated in  FIG. 10 , and the content is stored as the aggregation logs  22 . 
         [0053]    Referring to  FIG. 6 , the portion-to-be-improved extraction part  23  of the analysis server  2  extracts a portion, which is searched the most, by aggregating and analyzing the portion to be improved based on the aggregation logs  22  at the predetermined timing (step S 121 ). That is, based on multiple sets of information of the portions to be improved for a plurality of users, the portion-to-be-improved extraction part  23  merges the information for each of the portions to be improved.  FIG. 12  is a diagram illustrating an example of the portion-to-be-improved aggregation result. For each of the URL-IDs identifying the contracts, a “portion-to-be-improved data”, a “term searched together”, and a “search rate (%)” are recorded. The contract word included in the search word is recorded in the “portion-to-be-improved data”. In the “term searched together”, data are formed by merging words being searched together with the contract word recorded in the “portion-to-be-improved data”. The “search rate (%)” indicates a proportion of a count of the users conducting the search including that contract word for each of contract IDs with respect to a total count of the users conducting the search. 
         [0054]    Back to  FIG. 6 , after the above described process, when the contract creator (regarded as the document creator) conducts a presentation request of the portion to be improved by indicating the contract (step S 131 ), the portion-to-be-improved presenting part  25  acquires and presents information of the contract (the contract ID) from the portion-to-be-improved aggregation result  24  (step S 132 ).  FIG. 13  is a diagram illustrating an example of a presentation of the portion to be improved. This example corresponds to the portion-to-be-improved aggregation result  24  illustrated in  FIG. 12 . That is, in  FIG. 13 , with respect to a letter string portion  201  of “distributors”, the letter string portion  201  may be emphasized by color such as red, and a comment may be displayed in a popup  202  such that “There are 30% of peoples searching for ‘What is a distributor . . . ?’”. Also, with respect to a letter string portion  203  of “reasons attributable to his/her own liability”, similarly, the letter string portion  203  may be emphasized by color such as red, and a comment may be displayed in a popup  204  such that “There are 20% of peoples searching for ‘reasons attributable to his/her own liability, detail example . . . ’”. 
         [0055]    It is noted that a highly important letter string portion, which is displayed in red in order to attract attention, may correspond to a portion where the search rate is greater than or equal to a predetermined value (preferably, 20%) in the portion-to-be-improved aggregation result  24  ( FIG. 12 ). Other letter string portions may be displayed in a yellow popup. In  FIG. 13 , with respect to a letter string portion  205  of “must always be the latest one”, the letter string portion  205  may be emphasized by yellow, and a comment may be displayed in a popup  206  such that “There are 20% of peoples searching for ‘reasons attributable to his/her own liability, detail example . . . ’”. 
         [0056]    The contract creator browses the presentation of the portion to be improved to concretely comprehend which portion is difficult to understand. Based on this comprehension, it is possible for the contract creator to modify the contract later. 
         [0057]    &lt;General Overview&gt; 
         [0058]    As described above, according to the embodiment, based on the search conducted by the user in the course of reading the document such as the contract or the like, the information pertinent to a difficult word in the document is provided to the document creator, and gives a chance of modifying the document to the document creator. Accordingly, it is possible to output information to inform the document creator of the portion predicted as being difficult to understand in the document. 
         [0059]    The contract URL list  42  is an example of “retaining an address”. The search word extracting part  41  is an example of “acquiring a word”. The portion-to-be-improved presenting part  25  is an example of “outputting the word”. 
         [0060]    All examples and conditional language recited herein are intended for pedagogical purposes to aid the reader in understanding the invention and the concepts contributed by the inventor to furthering the art, and are to be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions, nor does the organization of such examples in the specification relate to a showing of the superiority and inferiority of the invention. Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail, it should be understood that the various changes, substitutions, and alterations could be made hereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.