JP2006285513A - Information processing support system, and information processing support program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem that the editing support system of an ontology which expresses the relation of related items has an insufficient part as a support for information classification, such that the parental relation or similarity degree of constitution elements are not visually expressed and a user cannot perform editing by directly moving the constitution elements on a screen, etc. <P>SOLUTION: Ontology information is automatically updated from an information source 112, and a user 113 is allowed to visually grasp the constitution of the ontology on the screen and to directly edit the constitution by moving an icon, etc. The edited information is registered in an ontology database 103 or reconstituted. The degree of relation between the constitution elements is expressed as a numerical value which is the similarity degree. Consequently, the user can grasp the mutual relation between the constitution elements from the picture without performing designation. Thus, an information classification support system for appropriately supporting the information classification and its program are provided. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a system and program technology for supporting information processing.

In the field of information classification, ontology is a conceptual system that describes the knowledge of how a word is related to other words. Information that is defined by a set of items related to each other Represents a plurality of related items. As a system for supporting information classification for editing the configuration of the ontology that is a component of the related item, there are the following technologies.
In Patent Document 1, “the user inputs evaluation information through the evaluation information input unit while viewing the search result. Based on this evaluation information, the search request correction unit corrects the search request. The relevance of the ontology is corrected using search requests before and after the search request correction based on the user's evaluation information, whereby the user's evaluation information is effectively reflected in subsequent searches. Yes.
JP 2003-108597 A (summary)

  However, in a system that supports the classification of information that represents a relation such as the current related item, the user needs to edit the information by specifying the related concept one by one while looking at the structure of the information classification that changes sequentially. In addition, if the relationship between components is not expressed visually, or if the user cannot edit the component by moving it directly on the screen, the information classification There was insufficient part as support.

Although an example of an issue has been described, it is necessary to further improve workability in information processing, for example, processing related to classification of information. For example, workability is improved by displaying information related to processing more visually. it can.
An object of the present invention is to provide a processing technique with improved workability.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention is configured such that ontology can be reconfigured by a user or administrator selecting and moving feature words, classification items, and documents that are components of the ontology from the screen. . The change of the original information for reconfiguration is detected from the change information of the information source and reflected in the ontology. Further, the parent-child relationship of the constituent elements is calculated by an analog quantity called similarity, thereby expressing the relation attribute of the related line, and the similarity between the constituent elements is visually expressed by a distance distance to be arranged. As a result, even if the user cannot define the relationship strictly, the ambiguous relationship can be expressed and the user can edit it.

  According to the present invention, it becomes easy for a user to perform information processing, for example, processing related to information classification, so that workability of processing supported by the present invention is improved.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail. Here, the ontology means a concept representing the relationship between the components of the information classification including classification items, documents, and feature words.

<< First Embodiment >>
A first embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 shows an overall configuration diagram of an information processing support system (hereinafter abbreviated as “this system”) which is an embodiment of an information processing support system.
There is at least one information source 112 that is the basis of the ontology configuration. The information source 112 here deals with, for example, documents, HTML (HyperText Markup Language), XML (eXtensible Markup Language), drawings, RSS (Rich Site Summary), mail, Web page information, etc. Is a concept that includes them. In addition to the document, the information source 112 also stores classification information on the document. The classification information includes information about the item into which the document is classified, information on the relationship between the document and the classification item, and the like. ing. Details of the classification information will be described in detail with reference to FIG. Each information source 112 is managed by the administrator 111.

  This system includes an information collection module 101, an information classification module 102, an ontology database 103, and an information display and editing module 104.

  The information collection module 101 (hereinafter abbreviated as “this module 101” as appropriate) collects each document and classification information from the information source 112 and stores them in the ontology database 103 constructed on the hard disk. The module 101 can process various types of documents collected from the information source 112, and the collected information is stored in the ontology database 103 in, for example, XML format.

  The information classification module 102 inputs / outputs information stored in the ontology database 103 to the information display / edit module 104 via a network interface card (not shown). Further, the information stored in the ontology database 103 is automatically classified, and the ontology is reconfigured. Further, the information changed by the information display and editing module 104 is automatically classified and the ontology is reconfigured. The ontology information reconstructed here is reflected in the ontology database 103.

  The ontology database 103 stores each document and classification information from the information source 112 collected by the information collection module 101, and each document and classification information input from the information display and editing module 104 by the information classification module 102. A configuration example of stored information will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

  The information display and editing module 104 (hereinafter, abbreviated as “this module 104” as appropriate) displays ontology configuration information to the user 113 and assists the user 113 in editing the ontology. That is, the module 104 has a function of displaying necessary information and a function of an interface for assisting an editing process when the user 113 as an operator performs editing such as information classification. In the first embodiment, the module 104 has a display function and a function as an interface for support, and is therefore referred to as an information display and editing module 104. As will be described below, the module 104 has a function that allows the display format to be changed at the time of selection into, for example, a sort order, a time order, a table format, or the like.

Based on FIG. 1, the structure and information flow in this system will be described.
Information input by the administrator 111 and stored in the managed information source 112 is collected by the information collection module 101. The information collected here is a document and classification information as described above. The collected information is stored in the ontology database 103.
The information classification module 102 transmits information stored in the ontology database 103 to the information display and editing module 104 in response to a request from the information display and editing module 104. The information display and editing module 104 displays the transmitted information, and the user 113 edits the configuration of the ontology based on the displayed information.
As a result of editing, if a change or the like occurs, the information classification module 102 automatically classifies the changed information through the information display and editing module 104 to reconfigure the ontology, and the ontology database 103.

FIG. 2 shows document information when a document is stored in the ontology database 103 as an example of information stored in the ontology database 103. The document information shown in FIG. 2 will be described with reference to FIG.
In FIG. 1, the information collection module 101 acquires one document from the information source 112, and stores the acquired document in the ontology database 103 as document information in XML format. The data items of the document information stored here are as follows.
Feature word (word) calculated from body text (body) 201, title 202, author 203, creation date (date) 204, last update date (lmdate) 205, and body text (body) 201 206. Each data is stored in a portion surrounded by <...> of the start tag and </ ...> of the end tag. For example, in FIG. 2, the data of the body text 201 is described in a portion surrounded by <body> and </ body>. That is, each data item is delimited by information that defines a predetermined range.
The body text 201 represents the body of the document. The title 202 represents the title of the document. A creator 203 represents a document creator. The creation date 204 represents the date when the document was created. The last update date 205 represents the date when the document was last updated. The feature word 206 is a word representing the contents of the body text 201 and represents the similarity of the feature word in the document. The similarity is represented by a score value and is stored in the score attribute in the word tag of the feature word 206. In the extraction of feature words, for example, in FIG. 2, a word having a higher score (score) is extracted as it appears more frequently in the body text 201 and less in the entire document group. In FIG. 2, when the feature word is “ubiquitous”, the score is 0.8, when the feature word is “IC tag”, the score is 0.75, and when the feature word is “non-contact”, the score is 0.321.

  In the feature word extraction, a similar information search technique in an existing search system can be used. The similarity information search technique and the similarity score calculation method are disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-215676 (hereinafter abbreviated as “Publication 1”) and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-345829 (hereinafter referred to as “Publication 2”). Or a technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-192355 (hereinafter abbreviated as “Publication 3”) can be used. Each technique will be described below.

In the publication 1, an apparatus for searching for similar information is disclosed in FIG. 1, and the similarity is calculated by the similarity calculation means 104 in FIG. 1 according to the processing procedure in FIG. Moreover, the search process is disclosed in FIG.
The publication 2 describes a similar information search system in FIG. 2, and the similarity calculation process can be performed by the similarity calculation means 204 in FIG. Moreover, the search process is disclosed in FIG.

  In the publications 1 and 2, when calculating the similarity, the contents of the document are represented by a plurality of words (particularly important words), and documents having similar word sets use the property of representing the same contents. . Using this property, the similarity is represented by an inner product of vectors when the importance of the words in each document is a vector element, or a mutual relationship between words such as dependency. Here, the importance of the word is a function of a value obtained by dividing the number of all documents by the number of documents in which the word appears, for example, a function value of log (total number of documents / number of appearing documents of the attention word), and the word is the document. It is a value represented by the product of the number of times it appears within.

  In the publication 3, an information search system is described in FIG. 1, and search processing is performed based on the procedure of FIG. Further, the similarity is obtained in step S603 and steps S605 and S606 in FIG.

As described above, the search technique and the similarity processing technique disclosed in the publication 1, publication 2, or publication 3 can be used for the similarity information search and the similarity score calculation process according to the embodiment of the present invention. .
In addition, by using the above technique, the operability is greatly improved by visualizing the interface even in the search processing of classified information. Furthermore, not only the workability of the process is improved, but also the accuracy is improved.

FIG. 3 shows a case where classification information is stored in the ontology database 103 as an example of classification information stored in the ontology database 103. 3 will be described with reference to FIG.
In FIG. 1, the information collection module 101 acquires classification information from the information source 112 and stores the classification information in the ontology database 103 in XML format. The data items of the classification information stored here are composed of a classification item (node) 301 and a document item (document) 302. As in FIG. 2, each data is an end tag <... It is stored in the part enclosed by </ ...> of the tag.
The classification item 301 represents each folder name in the folder hierarchy in the information source 112, a classification name given to each document, and a classification name stored in the database for classifying the document. The node id which is the first attribute of the node tag of the classification item 301 is set to a unique number in the classification item 301 by the information classification module 102 in order to uniquely identify the classification item. The second attribute parent_id represents the node id of the upper level classification item to which the classification item belongs, that is, the parent attribute for the child attribute to which the classification item belongs. The score is the similarity between the classification item and the parent attribute that is parent_id, and indicates that the higher numerical value is more similar. The initial state of the score value is 1, and is changed to a numerical value other than 1 depending on the ontology editing result by the user 113. As described in FIG. 2, the existing technique can be used for this score calculation method.
The document item 302 is information indicating which parent classification item or document each document has. The second attribute represents the parent node_id or document_id to which each document belongs. For example, in the document item 302 in FIG. 3, the item “security technology trend” with document id = 1 is the second attribute node_id = 2, so the item “security” with node id = 2 of the classification item 301 is the parent. I understand. In addition, since the document id = 0 item “Ubiquitous Society Symposium Participation Report” has the second attribute document_id = 3, the document item 302 document id = 3 item “communication technology trend” is the parent.
Note that the node id and node_id, document id and document_id in FIG. 3 have the same contents, but their descriptions change according to the XML syntax rules.
Since the other attributes of the document item 302 are the same as those of the classification item 301, description thereof is omitted.
Further, the relationship between the attributes of the parent and the child is not necessarily one-to-one, and a case of one-to-many or many-to-one occurs.

FIG. 4 shows a configuration example of information stored in the ontology database 103.
The system stores classification information 401 for each information source, and further stores document information 403 for each document. Also, the ontology editing result by the user edited by the information display and editing module 104 is stored as the classification information 402 for each user.

FIG. 5 is an overall configuration diagram in the case where the file system 501 of the personal computer 500 corresponds to the information source as an example in which the information source 112 is included in the present system in the first embodiment. In addition to the file system 501, the personal computer 500 has a database and processing functions related to the information collection module 101, the information classification module 102, the ontology database 103, and the information display and editing module 104. The personal computer 500 holds a processing program in advance and executes it, so that these functions are provided. Data that is a necessary information source can also be obtained via a communication line, for example.
As the information flow, information of the file system 501 in the personal computer 500 that is an information source input and managed by the user 502 is collected by the information collection module 101 and stored in the ontology database 103. Further, the information in the ontology database 103 is classified by the information classification module 102 in response to a request from the information display / edit module 104, displayed by the information display / edit module 104, and provided to the user 502. In this case, the user 502 can also play the role of an administrator.

(Sort order display)
FIG. 6 is an example of display of the information display and editing module 104 when the information source is the file system 501 of the personal computer 500 in FIG. 5, and relates to the first embodiment stored in the personal computer 500. When the information processing support program is executed, the screen of FIG. 6 is displayed.
In FIG. 6, a hierarchy is displayed in the first display area 0610, and items lower than the selected item are displayed in the second display area 620 by selection of this hierarchy. Moreover, since the information is displayed based on the degree of similarity, the configuration can be visually determined when the user 502 performs classification.
The first display area 0610 displays the hierarchy of classification information. In FIG. 6, an example displayed in a tree format is shown as an example of the list format. The second display area 0620 displays objects that are constituent elements such as classification items, documents, and feature words that are lower than the classification item selected by the user 502 in the classification information in the first display area 0610. The second display area 0620 is an example in the case where “classification order” is selected on the tab 0681, and the relationship between the constituent elements is displayed as a map. The functions of other tabs will be described with reference to FIGS.
In FIG. 6, “Technology Trend” is selected in the first display area 0610, and “Communication Technology Trend” “ “Wireless communication”, “Radio law”, “Mobile”, “Mobile phone”, etc. are displayed as characteristic words such as “security technology trends”.

In the second display area 0620 of FIG. 6, the higher the score value between the components, the closer the position is displayed. In addition, the higher ones in the hierarchy are displayed on the left. It is also possible to display a relation line between classification items having a parent-child relationship by score, between documents, or between a classification item and documents, and to change the display format of the relation line in order to identify the parent and child. For example, in FIG. 6, the relational line close to the element corresponding to the parent is displayed as being thicker and narrower as it approaches the element corresponding to the child. Note that the score is a numerical value representing the similarity between components, and the higher the numerical value, the more similar each other is. The score calculation method is as described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, and an algorithm for the calculation method may use an existing technique. The feature words are connected by related lines or arranged in the vicinity. In FIG. 6, it is an example arrange | positioned in the vicinity.
Ontology components (objects) such as classification items, documents, and feature words displayed on the screen can be moved by the operation of the user 502. As a result, the elements whose distances are closer than before the movement have higher score values. The system detects this movement and automatically determines a score value based on the movement state. At that time, if necessary, the score value may be displayed so that the user 502 can check or reset the value.
Further, by moving the icon 0691 created and obtained by the user 502 to the second display area 0620, the file is added to the ontology database 103 as in “Application of IC tag to logistics” 0692. It is also possible.
For example, the user 502 deletes the display of the classification item, document, relation line, etc. on the ontology map displayed in the second display area 0620 in FIG. Even in the case of placement, the system can detect this placement and automatically determine the score value of each component based on the status such as the position and connection of related lines. In addition, when the user 502 creates a new ontology map, when the classification item, document, related line, and the like are arranged, the system detects this arrangement, and based on the state such as the connection of the position and the related line. Thus, the score value can be automatically calculated and set and reflected in the ontology database 103.

  For example, when the document “ubiquitous social symposium ...” 0601 is selected in the second display area 0620, an overview of the file is displayed in the third display area 0621. The summary is displayed by the document information of the document based on the document information format shown in FIG. 2 stored in advance.

  In this system, words displayed as feature words can be newly added as classification items. When the user 502 selects a feature word displayed in the second display area 0620 with a right mouse button, for example, the information display and editing module 104 selects the feature word. Displays the operation items for. In FIG. 6, for example, when “convert to folder” 0695 is selected from the operation list displayed by right-clicking on the characteristic word “wireless communication” 0630 with the mouse, it corresponds to the parent to which “wireless communication” in the example belongs. The parent is searched from the classification information until the classification item to be detected is detected. Specifically, the document “wireless communication technology survey” corresponding to the parent of the feature word “wireless communication” 0630 is detected, the document “communication technology trend” corresponding to the parent is detected, and the classification corresponding to the parent is further detected. The item “communication technology” is detected. Here, a new category item whose name is the feature word “wireless communication” is added under the category item “communication technology” (not shown). When a new category item is added, a document having a high score for the original feature word is recalculated by the information category module 102 so as to belong to the newly added category item, and the ontology database 103 is re-calculated. Reflect in the score. This enables reclassification by adding a new classification item “wireless communication” to the document group that has not been classified in the classification item “communication technology” in the example. Although it was necessary to consider the classification items by looking at the document, the function can be classified using automatically extracted feature words.

In FIG. 6, an enlargement / reduction button 0682 provided on the screen displayed by the information editing / display module 104 enlarges the display area of the second display area 0620 when the user 502 presses each button. Or it can be reduced. By enlarging, you can display classification items, documents, feature words, etc. that were not displayed before the enlargement, and by zooming out, you can see the overall structure of the hierarchy of classification items, documents, feature words, etc. it can.
In the title bar 0683, the name of the folder currently selected in the first display area 0610 is displayed.

(Displayed in order of time)
FIG. 7 is a display example when “Time order” is selected in the tab 0681. The time axis 0710 is displayed in the second display area 0620, and the document is displayed at the corresponding position on the time axis according to the last update date of the document information of each document. In the second display area 0620 in FIG. 7, the one close to the current time of creation or editing (year / month / day / hour) is displayed at the left position. Therefore, unlike FIG. 6, an element such as a classification item or a document corresponding to the parent may be arranged on the right side of the element corresponding to the child, but the relation line close to the parent is more than the relation line close to the child. By becoming thicker, parent-child relationships can be expressed. In other words, the parent-child relationship of the elements can be grasped by the display format of the relation line regardless of the arrangement position. Other processes and operations are as described above.
When the time axis 710 is selected, although not shown, the type of the time axis appears on the screen in the form of a pull-down, and the user 502 can select the year unit, the five year unit, etc. in addition to the monthly unit.
By being able to display on the time axis, it is possible to arrange objects such as classification items, documents, feature words, etc. by time factors, and the user 502 can grasp the relationship between new components. Further, by selecting the time order display and the classification order display, these can be displayed visually and the workability can be improved dramatically. Furthermore, the user 502 can grasp the viewpoint of a new analysis by visually displaying these in contrast.

(Tabular display)
FIG. 8 is a display example when “tabular format” is selected in the tab 0681. In the second display area 0620, items belonging to each document such as a document title, a feature word, and a score are displayed side by side, and information on each item is displayed in a column direction. Other processes and operations are as described above. This makes it possible to check the titles and feature words of each document, as well as the score value indicating the degree of similarity, and based on this table, the user 502 knows whether or not this value is appropriate. Editing can be performed as necessary, improving workability.

  6 to 8, in the first display area 0610, the classification items of the information source 112 are shown in a tree structure as an example of a list format, and the classification items selected in the first display area 0610 (here, Ontology information regarding “technological trends”) can be displayed in the second display area 0620.

(Information collection module processing flow)
FIG. 9 is an example of a processing flow for collecting information from an information source in the information collection module of the present system. A description will be given along FIG. 9 with reference to FIG. Here, information such as a node tag, a document tag, and a word tag in the classification information of FIG. 3 is described as a node.
First, the information collection module 101 is activated by the execution of the information processing support program according to the first embodiment of the personal computer 500 (S901), and this module 101 stores node information not acquired in the ontology database 103 in the information source 501. It is determined whether or not there is classification information having (S902). When there is unacquired classification information (S902 → Y), the module 101 acquires the classification information from the information source 501. Of the classification information acquired here, node information that has not been acquired in the ontology database 103 is defined as (node 1) (S903).
Subsequently, the module 101 determines whether or not the information worthy of the parent of the node 1 exists in the ontology database 103 (S904). If the information is present (S904 → Y), the module 101 stores the information from the ontology database 103 into the node. Node information corresponding to the parent of node 1 (node 2) is acquired, and a score value (score 1) for node 2 of node 1 is calculated (S905). The score value calculation method here is as described above. After the calculation, this module 101 stores score 1 in the score attribute of node 1 (S906), returns to the processing of step S904, and performs processing until the score values for all parents of node 1 are stored.
On the other hand, when there is no parent node information or when score values are stored for all the parents of node 1 (S904 → N), the process returns to step S902.

On the other hand, when there is no unacquired classification information in the information source 501 (S902 → N), the module 101 determines whether there is a document not acquired in the ontology database 103 in the information source 501 ( S907). When an unacquired document exists (S907 → Y), the module 101 acquires the document from the information source 501. Here, the acquired document information of the document is document 1 (S908). The module 101 extracts the body text and the feature word from the document 1, calculates the score of the feature word, and stores it as a score value in each word tag of the document information of the document 1 (S909).
Subsequently, the module 101 determines whether or not the node information worthy of the parent of the document 1 exists in the ontology database 103 (S910). If it exists (S910 → Y), the module 101 reads from the ontology database 103. Node information (node 3) corresponding to the parent of document 1 is acquired, and a score value (score 2) for node 3 of document 1 is calculated (S911). The calculation method here is also as described above. After the calculation, this module 101 stores score 2 in the score attribute of the classification information of document 1 (S912), returns to the process of step S910, and stores score values for all parents of document 1 until stored. Process.
On the other hand, when there is no parent node information or when score values are stored for all parents (S910 → N), the module 101 returns to the process of step S907.

On the other hand, when there is no unacquired document in the information source 501 (S907 → N), the module 101 determines whether there is node information or document information not stored in the ontology database 103 (S913). (S913 → Y), the module 101 stores node information or document information in the ontology database 103 (S914), and returns to the process of step S913.
On the other hand, when there is no unstored node information or document, or when there is no unstored node information or document (S913 → N), the module 101 ends the information collection module 101 (S915).

(Information display and edit module processing flow)
FIG. 10 shows an example of a processing flow for displaying and editing information in the information display and editing module of this system. Based on the execution of the information processing support program according to the first embodiment of the personal computer 500, information on the ontology database 103 is displayed, and information classification processing associated with editing by the user 502 is executed. A description will be given along FIG. 10 with reference to FIG. Here, the concept including classification items, documents, and feature words is described as an object, and individual information such as a node tag and a document tag in the classification information of FIG. 3 is described as a node.
First, the information display and editing module 104 is activated (S1001), and the module 104 determines whether there is node information that has not been acquired from the ontology database 103 in the module 104 (S1002). If it exists (S1002 → Y), the module 104 acquires the node information from the ontology database 103 via the information classification module 102 and displays it on the screen (S1003). The node information acquired here is referred to as a node 4.
Subsequently, the module 104 determines whether the object displayed in the second display area 0620 is an object for which score information has not been acquired by the node 4 (S1004). When the object is an unacquired object (S1004 → Y), the module 104 acquires the node information of the object (node 5), and the score value for the node 5 of the node 4 is obtained from the ontology database 103 via the information classification module 102. (S1005). Here, the acquired score value is set to score 3. In the score 3, the module 104 moves the object of the node 4 toward the object of the node 5 as the value is higher (S1006). If no score is set between the node 4 and the node 5 (when there is no parent-child relationship), the score is 0 and the object of the node 3 does not move. Subsequently, returning to the process of step S1004, the module 104 repeats the processes of S1004 to S1006 for the object displayed on the screen.
If there is no object on which score information has not been acquired (S1004 → N), the module 104 returns to the process of step S1002.

On the other hand, when there is no unacquired node information in the ontology database 103 (S1002 → N), the module 104 subsequently determines whether the user 502 has performed an end operation of the module 104 (S1007). ). If not (S1007 → N), the module 104 determines whether there is an object that the user 502 has moved with a mouse or the like (S1008). If it exists (S1008 → Y), the module 104 acquires node information of the object (node 6) (S1009). Subsequently, with respect to the object displayed on the screen, this module 104 determines whether or not the score information is not acquired by the node 6 (S1010). If the object is an unacquired object (S1010 → Y), this module 104 The module 104 acquires node information of the object (node 7), and changes the score value for the node 7 of the node 6 according to the distance arranged on the screen of the object of the node 6 and the object of the node 7. At this time, the score value is increased as the distance is shorter, and the score value is decreased as the distance is longer (S1011). Subsequently, returning to the processing of step S1010, the module 104 repeats the processing of S1010 to S1011 for the object displayed on the screen.
When there is no score information acquired on the screen (S1010 → N), the module 104 returns to the processing of S1007.
On the other hand, if there is no object that the user 502 has moved with the mouse or the like in step S1008 (S1008 → N), the module 104 returns to the processing of S1007.
On the other hand, when the user 502 performs an end operation of the module 104 in step S1007 (S1007 → Y), is there an unstored object on the ontology database 103 among the objects displayed on the screen? It is determined whether or not (S1012). If it exists (S1012 → Y), the module 104 acquires the node information of the object and its score value (score 4) (S1013). Subsequently, the module 104 stores the acquired score 4 in the ontology database 103 via the information classification module 102 (S1014), and returns to the process of step S1012. The module 104 repeats the processing of S1012 to S1014 until there is no unstored object.
When an object having unstored node information does not exist on the screen (S1012 → N), the module 104 ends the processing of the module 104 (S1015).

  In this system, the information source 112 (501), the information display and editing module 104, the ontology database 103, the information collection module 101, and the information classification module 102 are a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a hard disk drive, and a computer including an input / output device such as a keyboard and a mouse. As shown in the example of the embodiment, for example, they are constructed as one device, or one device has all or a part of their functions. Changes can be made.

By using this system, the following effects can be obtained.
The user or administrator can visually determine the configuration of the ontology by looking at the ontology configuration map shown in FIGS. 6 to 7, and can edit the ontology configuration map as it is. The ontology configuration result can be stored in the ontology database for each user, and thus the document information can be organized and referred to by the optimum classification for each user.
In addition, by reflecting a part or all of the configuration result of the ontology for each user in the ontology for each site, the configuration of the ontology performed by a certain user can be reused by other users. This enables each user to improve the efficiency associated with information sharing in the group or organization to which the user belongs without having to edit the configuration of the ontology.
Furthermore, in order to express the parent-child relationship and similarity between the constituent elements of the ontology with the arrangement position of the displayed constituent elements and the display attribute of the relation line, the arrangement position and the display attribute can be changed on the ontology map. The ontology can be reconfigured considering the parent-child relationship and the similarity. Furthermore, it is possible to support management and editing of the ontology configuration by detecting a change in the information source of the ontology configuration and automatically reflecting the change in the ontology.

<< Second Embodiment >>
A second embodiment will be described. FIG. 11 shows an example of the configuration when the information source is groupware in the second embodiment. Compared to FIG. 5, the information source is groupware 1102, which is managed by the administrator 1101. The information collection module 101, the information classification module 102, and the ontology database 103 are provided as functions and databases of the ontology construction server 1100. The information display and editing module 104 is provided as a function of the ontology construction management client 1104, and the user 1103 handles the client.
The information collection module 101 in the ontology construction server 1100 collects classification information and document information stored in one or more groupwares 1102 by the administrator 1101 and stores them in the ontology database 103. Then, the information display and editing module 104 provided in the ontology construction client 1104 makes a request to the information classification module 102 to display and provide the ontology configuration to the user 1103. Other configurations and processes are as described above.

FIG. 12 is a display example of the ontology construction client 1104 displayed by the information display and editing module 104 when the information source is the groupware 1102 in FIG. In the first display area 1001, “XX group” is selected, and in the second display area 1002, an ontology map of components lower than “XX group” is displayed. FIG. 12 shows a state in which “classification order” is selected on the tab 0681. As described with reference to FIG. 6, the ontology configuration can be directly edited by the user 1103 on the screen. In addition, in FIG. 6, the relationship between the parent and child of the constituent elements is represented by the thickness of the relation line, whereas in FIG. 12, the relation line close to the element corresponding to the parent is dark and close to the element corresponding to the child. It is displayed so as to become thinner. Further, when “time order” or “table format” is selected on the tab 0681, it is as described with reference to FIGS.
In the case of FIG. 12, the creator of the selected document can be displayed in the feature word, and “* da * ko” 1201 is an example. Thereby, it is possible to efficiently know who in which department is engaged in what kind of work.
Other processes and operations are as described above, and this embodiment has the effects described in FIGS. 6 to 8 in addition to the effects described here.

<< Third Embodiment >>
A third embodiment will be described. FIG. 13 shows an example of the configuration when the information source is a website in the third embodiment. Compared to FIG. 11, the information source is changed from groupware to the website 1302. The information collection module 101 in the ontology construction server 1100 collects classification information and document information stored in each website for one or more websites 1302 existing on a network such as an intranet or the Internet by the administrator 1101, and the ontology is collected. Store in the database 103. Here, the information collection module 101, the information classification module 102, and the ontology database 103 are provided as the functions and database of the ontology construction server 1100. The information display and editing module 104 provided in the ontology construction client 1104 is an information classification module. By making a request to 102, the ontology configuration can be displayed and provided to the user 1103. Other configurations and processes are as described above.

FIG. 14 is a display example of the ontology construction client 1104 displayed by the information display and editing module 104 when the information source is the website 1302 in FIG. Here, the document corresponds to each page of the website. When each page has an image, in the second display area 1002, instead of displaying the document icon, the image is displayed in a reduced size (not shown) so that the user 1103 can grasp the contents of the Web page without opening the document. Becomes easier. This function will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
In the first display area 1001, “network solution” is selected from the information tree of the information source 1302, and an ontology map lower than “network solution” is displayed in the second display area 1002. FIG. 14 shows a state in which “classification order” is selected on the tab 0681. As described with reference to FIG. 6, the user 1103 can directly edit the ontology configuration on the screen. When “in order of time” or “table format” is selected on the tab 0681, it is as described with reference to FIGS.
The relation line in FIG. 14 is the case where both examples described in FIG. 6 and FIG. 12 are implemented, and the relation line close to the element corresponding to the parent is represented by a thick and thick line and is close to the element corresponding to the child. The color is thin and the lines are thinned accordingly.
In the title bar 1410, the classification item selected in the first display area 1002 and the name of the Web site are displayed.
Other processes and operations are as described above. In this embodiment, in addition to the effects described here, there are the effects described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 15 is a display example of the ontology construction client 1104 displayed by the information display and editing module 104 when the information source is the news information website 1302 in FIG. As in FIG. 14, the document corresponds to each page of the Web site, and the image of each page can be reduced and displayed instead of the icon. For example, a Web document with links to “XX area” 1501 and “evacuees are XX people” 1502 displayed in the second display area 1002, “Website that requires quick evacuation ...” 1503 is the last Web document “Appealing establishment of evacuation system ...” 1504 is a web image at the end. Here, although the related line is illustrated as a straight line, the display format of the related line can be changed as described with reference to FIG.
In the third display area 1505, an outline of the currently selected document is displayed. In FIG. 15, “Appeals for Establishing Evacuation System ...” 1504 is selected in the second display area 1002, and for example, a reduced image can be displayed in the third display area 1505 together with summary information. It is.
The title bar 1510 displays the name of one information source (XX newspaper news). Other processes and operations are as described above. In this embodiment, in addition to the effects described here, there are the effects described in FIGS.

FIG. 16 is a display example of the ontology construction client 1104 displayed by the information display and editing module 104 when the information of the plurality of sites is collectively displayed when there are a plurality of information source websites in FIG. . In this example, the information of each site of XX newspaper, XX newspaper, and △△ newspaper is collectively displayed.
For example, in a website having links to “tsunami” 1601 and “warning system” 1602 displayed in the second display area 1002 of FIG. 16, “by tsunami sensor ...” 1603 is a terminal web document, “Installation of Tsunami Warning System” ... 1604 is a web image at the end. In this example, the user 1103 can collectively acquire information on the tsunami without looking at each separate site. As a result, by placing classification items, documents, and feature words acquired from multiple information sources on the ontology map, information necessary for users can be referred to in a batch, reducing the cost of information collection. be able to.
In the title bar 1610, only the name of one information source is displayed in FIG. 15, whereas in FIG. 16, names of a plurality of information sources (XX newspaper, XX newspaper, △△ newspaper) are displayed. Yes. Thereby, it can be understood from what information source the currently displayed information is acquired.
In FIG. 16, the related line is illustrated by a straight line, but the display format of the related line can be changed as in FIG. 15.
Other processes and operations are as described above. In this embodiment, in addition to the effects described here, the effects described in FIGS. 6 to 8, 14 and 15 are obtained.

It is a figure which shows the structural example of the system of 1st Embodiment in this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the document information stored in the database of 1st Embodiment in this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the classification information stored in the database of 1st Embodiment in this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the information stored in the database of 1st Embodiment in this invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example in case the information source of 1st Embodiment in this invention is a file system. It is a figure which shows the example of an operation screen (classification order display) of 1st Embodiment in this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of an operation screen (time order display) of 1st Embodiment in this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of an operation screen (table format display) of 1st Embodiment in this invention. It is a flow which shows the process of the information collection module of 1st Embodiment in this invention. It is a flow which shows the process of the information classification module of 1st Embodiment in this invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the system of 2nd Embodiment in this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of an operation screen of 2nd Embodiment in this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of 3rd Embodiment in this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of an operation screen (company Web site) of 3rd Embodiment in this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of an operation screen (news Web site) of 3rd Embodiment in this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of an operation screen (multiple Web site) of 3rd Embodiment in this invention.

Explanation of symbols

101 Information Collection Module 102 Information Classification Module 103 Ontology Database 104 Information Display and Editing Module 111 Administrator 112 Information Source 113 User 0610 First Display Area 0620 Second Display Area 0681 Tab 0682 Expand / Shrink Button 0710 Time Axis

Claims (11)

An information processing support system that classifies information by using a computer that manages and edits a plurality of related items including information defined by a set of items that are related to each other.
The system comprises means for collecting information from an information source provided by a user or administrator;
A database of related items for storing the related items, which includes classification items, documents, and feature words, created with information obtained from the information source;
Means for updating the configuration of the related items stored in the database of the related items;
Means for displaying information obtained from the information source on a display unit;
Means for updating the similarity between the related items when the classification item, the document, and the feature word that are constituent elements of the related item are moved on the display screen;
An information processing support system comprising: means for adding a document to the related item database when a document obtainable from the information classification support system is moved onto the screen of the display unit. Means for displaying information obtained from the information source in a list form in a first display area of the display unit of the computer, and creating and displaying a map representing a configuration based on the information source in the second display area; The information processing support system according to claim 1, further comprising: Elements displayed on the computer are:
Classification items, documents and feature words obtained from the information source;
A relation line connecting the classification item and the document with the feature word;
A relation line connecting the classification item and the documents;
The information processing support system according to claim 2, comprising an association line connecting the feature words. 4. The display device according to claim 3, further comprising means for changing a display format of the relation line according to a parent-child relationship between the category item and the document, between the feature words, between the category item and the document and the feature word. The information processing support system described. The classification item, the document, and the feature word are:
Arranged on the map based on the information source and its similarity, the classification item with high similarity, the document, and the feature word are close to each other, and the low classification item, document, and the feature word are distant from each other. The information processing support system according to claim 3, further comprising means for arranging. Means for updating the similarity and reconstructing and displaying the map when arranged by changing the position on the screen of the classification item, the document and the feature word which are constituent elements of the map The information processing support system according to claim 5. Means for converting the feature word into a classification item, and when the converted classification item is arranged on the map, the similarity is updated from the feature word and the arrangement position, and the map is reconstructed and displayed. The information processing support system according to claim 6. The information processing support system according to claim 2, further comprising: means for displaying the constituent elements in order of classification. The information processing support system according to claim 2, further comprising: means for displaying the components in time order. Means for enlarging the display area of the second display area by pressing an enlarge button displayed on the display unit, and reducing the display area of the second display area by pressing a reduce button; The information processing support system according to claim 2. An information processing support program that classifies information using a computer that manages and edits a plurality of related items including information defined by a set of items that are related to each other, the program including the computer,
The ability to collect information from information sources provided by users or administrators;
A function for storing a database of related items, storing the related items including classification items, documents, and feature words created by information obtained from the information source;
A function of updating the configuration of the related item stored in the database of the related item;
A function of displaying information obtained from the information source on a display unit;
A function of updating the similarity between related items when a classification item, a document, and a feature word that are constituent elements of the related item are moved on the display screen;
An information processing support program that operates as a function of adding a document to the database of the related items when a document that can be acquired from the information classification support system is moved onto the screen of the display unit.

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