This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 201410179678.0 filed on Apr. 30, 2014, the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein.
The subject matter herein generally relates to communications technology, and particularly to an electronic device and a method for automatically searching information pertaining to a target object.
People usually want to learn more about some objects, such as words, character strings, sentences, or figures, when they read documents, in browsing web or reading articles. At this time, people may select and copy a target object in the document, manually activate a search tool, such as Internet search engine, e.g., Google, Baidu, or Sougou, or local search dictionary, e.g., Kingsoft or YoudaoDict, paste the copied target object into an input field of the search engine, and then press a search button to search more information pertaining to the copied target object.
Implementations of the present disclosure will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the attached figures.
It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, where appropriate, reference numerals have been repeated among the different figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements. In addition, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments described herein. However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments described herein can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, methods, procedures, and components have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the related relevant feature being described. Also, the description is not to be considered as limiting the scope of the embodiments described herein. The drawings are not necessarily to scale and the proportions of certain parts can be exaggerated to better illustrate details and features of the present disclosure.
Several definitions that apply throughout this disclosure will now be presented.
The term “comprising” means “including, but not necessarily limited to”; it specifically indicates open-ended inclusion or membership in a so-described combination, group, series and the like. The term “module” refers to logic embodied in hardware or firmware, or to a collection of software instructions, written in a programming language, such as, Java, C, or assembly. One or more software instructions in the modules can be embedded in firmware, such as in an erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM). The modules described herein can be implemented as either software and/or hardware modules and can be stored in any type of non-transitory computer-readable medium or other storage device. Some non-limiting examples of non-transitory computer-readable media include CDs, DVDs, BLU-RAY, flash memory, and hard disk drives.
In one embodiment, the electronic device 100 can be mobile phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), tablet computer, or any other suitable electronic device. The communication device 30 can link the electronic device 100 to an Internet server (not shown).
The storage device 50 stores information regarding a predetermined user operation. The storage device 50 can be an internal storage device, such as a flash memory, a random access memory (RAM) for temporary storage of information, and/or a read-only memory (ROM) for permanent storage of information. The storage device 50 can also be an external storage device, such as an external hard disk, a storage card, or a data storage medium. The at least one processor 60 can be a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, or other data processor chip that performs functions of the electronic device 100.
In one embodiment, the retrieve system 20 can determine a target object on a displayed document, in response to a user operation applied to the displayed document, and automatically activate and control, without further input from a user, a preset search tool to search and retrieve information pertaining to the target object. In at least one embodiment, the target object can be word, character string, sentence or sentences, or figure or figures.
In at least one embodiment, the retrieve system 20 can include a setting module 21, a detecting module 22, a determination module 23, an obtaining module 24, and a control module 25. Modules 21-25 can comprise computerized instructions in the form of one or more computer-readable programs that can be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium, for example in the storage device 50, and are executed by the at least one processor 60 of the electronic device 100 to provide functions of the present disclosure. A detailed description of the functions of the modules 21-25 is given below in reference to
The setting module 21 presets a search tool and presets an address of an information source for the preset search tool, and stores the address in the storage device. In one embodiment, the preset search tool can be an Internet search engine, e.g., Google, Baidu, or Sougou, and the setting module 21 presets a web site as the address of an information source for the preset search tool. In other embodiments, the preset search tool can be a local search dictionary, e.g., Kingsoft or YoudaoDict, which can be installed in the electronic device 100, and the setting module 21 presets a path of the local search tool as the address of an information resource for the preset search tool.
The detecting module 22 detects a user operation applied to a document which is displayed on the display screen 40, and the obtaining module 24 obtains information regarding the detected user operation.
The determination module 23 determines whether the information regarding the detected user operation matches information regarding a predetermined user operation stored in the storage device 50.
In one embodiment, the type of the predetermined user operation can be selected from a group consisting of a multi-touch operation, a combination of a selection operation and touch gestures, and a combination of a selection operation and mouse click operation.
Upon determining that the information regarding the detected user operation matches the information regarding the predetermined user operation, the obtaining module 24 obtains a target object which corresponds to the user operation, and the control module 25 automatically activates and controls, without further input from a user, the preset search tool to search and retrieve information pertaining to the target object.
For example, if the predetermined user operation is selected to be a multi-touch operation, the obtaining module 24 obtains the content between two end touch points as the target object. If the predetermined user operation is selected to be a combination of a selection operation and touch gestures or mouse click operation, the obtaining module 24 obtains the target object according to the selection operation.
In at least one embodiment, the control module 25 automatically activates the preset search tool by obtaining the address of an information source for the preset search tool from the storage device 50.
In at least one embodiment, the control module 25 further controls the display screen 40 to display a search result interface provided by the preset search tool.
Referring to
At block 201, a setting module presets a search tool and presets an address of an information source for the preset search tool, and stores the address in a storage device of the electronic device.
At block 202, a detecting module detects a user operation applied to a document which is displayed on a display screen of the electronic device, and an obtaining module obtains information regarding the detected user operation.
At block 203, a determination module determines whether the information regarding the detected user operation matches information regarding a predetermined user operation stored in a storage device of the electronic device. If the information regarding the detected user operation matches the information regarding the predetermined user operation, block 204 is implemented. Otherwise, the process remains in block 202.
At block 204, the obtaining module 24 obtains a target object which corresponds to the user operation.
At block 205, a control module automatically activates and controls, without further input from a user, the preset search tool to search and retrieve information pertaining to the target object.
At block 206, the control module controls the display screen to display a search result interface provided by the preset search tool.
The embodiments shown and described above are only examples. Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present technology have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the present disclosure, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes can be made in the detail, including in particular the matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the present disclosure, up to and including the full extent established by the broad general meaning of the terms used in the claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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201410179678.0 | Apr 2014 | CN | national |