JP3587703B2 - Information processing apparatus with help function, help information search method, and medium recording help information search program - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is incorporated in a system such as a personal computer, an OA device, and a household electrical appliance, and an information processing apparatus with a help function for more appropriately searching and displaying a function description indicating a function and an operation method of the system as help information, and a help. The present invention relates to an information search method and a medium recording a help information search program.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a user cannot understand a function or an operation method of a home electric appliance such as a word processor, a personal computer, or a VCR, for example, an assist function for displaying an operation description of the function by pressing a help key, or a help function An auxiliary function for user assistance called a function was used. By using this help function and referring to the help information for assisting the user, the user can easily find the explanation of the necessary function or operation when necessary without having to remember the operation method. it can.
[0003]
However, in a system having an enormous number of functions, it is difficult for a user to find a necessary function description only with a help function that displays all function descriptions. Therefore, a help information search device that appropriately grasps the function requested by the user and displays a corresponding operation description is desired.
As a conventional technique for solving this problem, for example, there is a help information search device described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-121563. According to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 7-121563, after a user presses a help key, a keyword is input, and appropriate help information can be searched and displayed by keyword matching.
[0004]
Further, there is an information processing apparatus with a help function described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-243517. According to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-243517, after a user presses a help key, two or more function keys are sequentially pressed, and the most appropriate help information can be displayed by a combination thereof.
[0005]
As a conventional technique for improving document information retrieval in a word processor, a personal computer, or the like, there is a document retrieval apparatus described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H6-195388. According to Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 6-195388, by automatically creating a feature vector of a new word from context information of a document, desired document information can be obtained simply by defining a feature vector of a basic word having a high appearance rate. You can search with high accuracy.
[0006]
Furthermore, as a document search technique using this context vector, "Associative search from a large-scale database" is described in IEICE Technical Report AI92-99 (1993) issued by the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers.
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the help information search device described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 7-121563, a search is performed by keyword matching. For example, when the keyword (centering, centering) is given to the centering function of the word processor and a request sentence "centering" or "centering" is given by the user, centering is performed by matching the keywords. Function is searched.
[0008]
However, in the search by keyword matching, even if a request sentence "center" is input to search for the centering function, the centering function cannot be searched because it does not match the centering keyword (centering, center alignment). .
[0009]
It is practically impossible to register in advance all the keywords that are assumed to be entered by the user. If a beginner does not even know that there is a centering function, it is not possible to enter a request sentence There is a problem that there is.
Thus, there is a limit in searching for help information by keyword matching.
[0010]
In the information processing apparatus with a help function described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-243517, the most appropriate help information is displayed by a combination of function keys input after the help key is pressed, but the function key is pressed. Although the related help information is not displayed, it is impossible to display the related help information, and even if the same function key is pressed many times, only the same function as the function pressed once is handled.
[0011]
For example, it is not possible to display the help information on the movement when the left cursor movement key is pressed once, and to display the help display of the “line start” key when the key is pressed many times. Further, only one function is displayed by the combination, and related functions cannot be displayed in a related order.
[0012]
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has information with a help function that can search help information according to a user's operation status from a function description database and display the help information in the order of operation history of an input unit. Provided are a processing device, a help information search method, and a medium recording a help information search program.
[0013]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention provides a function description database storing a function description of a system as a target of help information, an input unit for inputting various information or operating each function of the system, and a function operated using the input unit. A history information storage unit that stores history information indicating the history of the request, a request sentence storage unit that temporarily stores a search request sentence input using an input unit, and a function corresponding to the search request sentence from the function description database, and Information with a help function, comprising: a search unit for searching for a function description related to history information; and a display unit for displaying the function description searched using the search unit in the order of the operation history of the input unit. Processing device.
[0014]
In the present invention, the function description database may be constituted by a floppy disk, a hard disk, or a CD-ROM.
The input unit may be configured by an input device such as a keyboard, a mouse, and a pointing device.
[0015]
The history information storage unit and the request sentence storage unit may be configured by a RAM, a floppy disk, or an MD.
The search unit may be configured by a computer including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and an I / O port.
The display unit may be configured by a display device such as a CRT display, a liquid crystal display, a plasma display, and an EL display.
According to the present invention, it is possible to search the function description database for help information according to the operation status of the user and display the help information in the order of the operation history of the input unit.
[0016]
The history information storage unit may be configured to store history information regarding a key operation history when a key operation is performed using an input unit.
According to this configuration, since the help information is searched from the function explanation database using the history information on the key operation history at the time of the key operation, it is possible to estimate what the user is trying to do. In particular, it is effective for a help function of a word processor dedicated machine in which functions are assigned to keys of an input unit or an information processing apparatus for processing a non-window type application.
[0017]
The history information storage unit may be configured to store history information relating to a function selection history when a function of an application is selected using an input unit.
According to this configuration, since the history information on the function selection history of the selected function is used, it is possible to estimate what the user is trying to do. In particular, the present invention is effective for a help function of an information processing apparatus in which a function is selected from a menu by a menu or a window type application is used to select a function from the screen by operating a mouse or the like.
[0018]
The function description database stores relation information indicating a correspondence between each function of an application and the history information, and the search unit corresponds to the search request sentence from the function description database based on the relation information; It may be configured to search for a function description sentence related to the history information.
[0019]
For example, a "space" key and a "tab" key are associated with the "centering" function, and if the "space" key or the "tab" key is in the operation history, the "centering" function is used. Configure to add to search results.
According to this configuration, for example, the function description of the related key can be searched as the help information without operating the function key.
[0020]
A keyword conversion unit configured to convert the history information stored in the history information storage unit into a keyword, the function description database stores a keyword representing a feature of the function description, and the search unit performs the keyword conversion. The function description database is searched for a function description corresponding to the search request sentence and related to the history information from the function description database based on the degree of matching between the keyword converted using the unit and the keyword stored in the function description database. You may comprise.
[0021]
In this configuration, for example, when the operation of pressing the “space” key is converted into the keyword “blank”, when the “space” key is pressed, a search is made for a search that includes the keyword “blank” in the function description. Constitute.
Further, the keyword conversion unit may be constituted by a CPU of a computer and a control program.
According to this configuration, since keywords are used in addition to the history information, more appropriate help information can be searched from the description database according to the operation status of the user.
[0022]
An operation vector dictionary storing an operation vector representing an operation feature, and an operation history vector for generating an operation history vector representing an operation history feature from the history information stored in the history information storage unit with reference to the operation vector dictionary A function explanation database, wherein the function explanation database stores a function explanation sentence vector representing a feature of the function explanation sentence, and the search unit is configured to perform a search based on the degree of coincidence between the operation history vector and the function explanation sentence vector. The function description database may be configured to search for a function description sentence corresponding to the search request sentence and related to the history information.
[0023]
In this configuration, the operation vector dictionary may be composed of a floppy disk, a hard disk, and a CD-ROM. The operation history vector generation unit may be configured with a CPU of a computer and a control program.
According to this configuration, not only the search for the target help information but also the related help information can be simultaneously searched by the semantic search using the vector representing the feature of the operation history and the vector representing the feature of the function description. it can.
[0024]
A word dictionary that stores words in association with word vectors representing the features of the words, a word extraction unit that extracts words included in the search request sentence by referring to the word dictionary, and a word dictionary. A request sentence vector generation unit that generates a search request sentence vector representing the feature of the search request sentence from the word, wherein the function explanation database stores a function explanation sentence vector representing the feature of the function explanation sentence, The search unit is configured to search the function explanation database for a function explanation sentence corresponding to the search request sentence and related to the history information based on the degree of coincidence between the search request sentence vector and the function explanation sentence vector. You may.
[0025]
In this configuration, the word dictionary may be composed of a floppy disk, a hard disk, and a CD-ROM. The request sentence vector generation unit may be configured by a CPU of a computer and a control program.
According to this configuration, not only the search for the target help information but also the related help information can be simultaneously performed by the semantic search using the vector representing the feature of the search request sentence and the vector representing the feature of the function description. Can be.
[0026]
The “operation vector”, “operation history vector”, “search request sentence vector”, and “functional description sentence vector” used here refer to IEICE Technical Report AI92-99 (1993) published by IEICE. "Context vector" proposed in "Associative search from scale database". That is, the “feature vector” in the present invention directly corresponds to the above “context vector”.
[0027]
The feature vector indicates the degree of the relationship between the concept and the context of the word in the sentence, and is a vector representation of the degree of the semantic connection between many feature words. Assuming that the N concept classifications are feature words, the values of each element of the N-dimensional vector correspond to each feature word.
[0028]
The value of each element of the feature vector Xi = (xi1, xi2,..., XiN) of the word i is 0 ≦ xij ≦ Em. Em is a positive constant. If there is no relationship between the word i and the characteristic word j, xij = 0, and if there is a relationship, the value takes a large value according to the degree of the relationship. For example, a feature word with five feature vectors
(Nature, city, noise, animal, green)
If the value of each element is a binary value of 0 or 1, the feature vector of the word “mountain” is
(1,0,0,1,1)
And so on.
[0029]
According to another aspect of the present invention, a function description of a system to be targeted for help information is stored in a function description database, and various types of information are input using the input unit or each function of the system is operated. The history information representing the history of the function operated using the unit is stored in the history information storage unit, the search request sentence input using the input unit is temporarily stored in the request sentence storage unit, A function description sentence corresponding to a search request sentence and related to the history information is searched using a search unit, and the function description sentence searched using the search unit is displayed on the display unit in the order of operation history. A help information search method is provided.
[0030]
Furthermore, according to another aspect of the present invention, the computer stores the function description of the system to be the help information in the function description database, and inputs various information using the input unit or operates each function of the system. Causing the history information storage unit to store history information indicating the history of the function operated using the input unit, temporarily storing the search request sentence input using the input unit in the request sentence storage unit, Help information for causing a database to search for a function description corresponding to the search request sentence and relating to the history information using a search unit, and displaying the function description found using the search unit on a display unit in the order of operation history. A computer-readable recording medium recording a search program is provided.
[0031]
According to this configuration, the help information search function of the present invention can be incorporated into an information processing device such as a word processor or a personal computer by installing the help information search program of the present invention recorded on a recording medium into a computer.
[0032]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on an embodiment shown in the drawings. The present invention is not limited by this. In this embodiment, an information processing apparatus with a help function applied to a word processor that operates on a window type OS will be described as an example.
[0033]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an information processing apparatus with a help function according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the information processing apparatus with a help function according to the present embodiment is a recording medium such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, a CD-ROM, and an MD for storing a function description of a system to which help information is applied. The configured function description database 7, the input unit 1 including a keyboard, a mouse, a pointing device and the like for performing a key input operation, and a search request sentence for searching help information and displaying the searched help information The display unit 2 includes a liquid crystal display, a plasma display, an EL display, and the like, and a computer for controlling each unit of the apparatus, a computer including a ROM, a RAM, and an I / O port, and a recording medium including a floppy disk and a hard disk. And a control unit 3.
[0034]
The control unit 3 includes a history information storage unit 4 for storing history information indicating a history of functions operated using the input unit, a request sentence storage unit 5 for temporarily storing a search request sentence input using the input unit, A search unit 6 for searching the function description database for a function description corresponding to the search request statement and related to the history information is included.
Further, the history information storage unit 4 and the request sentence storage unit 5 are configured by a RAM of a computer. The search unit 6 includes a CPU and a control program.
[0035]
The main unit also includes a recording medium reading unit 14 that reads each program from a recording medium 15 such as a floppy disk or a CD-ROM for recording an application program and a help information search program.
Further, the control unit 3 includes a program storage unit 3a for storing various programs, and installs an application program, a help information search program, and the like read using the recording medium reading unit 14 in the program storage unit 3a. The application program and the help information search program installed in the program storage unit 3a may be configured to be activated and executed.
[0036]
The control unit 3 reads the help information search program recorded on the recording medium 15 by using the recording medium reading unit 14 and activates the help information search program. Then, the computer causes the computer to store the function description of the system as the target of the help information in the function description database 7, input various information using the input unit 1, or operate each function of the system, and use the input unit 1. The history information indicating the history of the operated function is stored in the history information storage unit 4, the search request sentence input using the input unit is temporarily stored in the request sentence storage unit 5, and the search request sent from the function explanation database is read out. A function description sentence corresponding to the sentence and related to the history information can be searched using the search unit 6, and the function description sentence searched using the search unit 5 can be displayed on the display unit 2 in the order of the operation history.
According to this configuration, the help information search function of the present invention can be incorporated into an information processing device such as a word processor or a personal computer.
[0037]
The history information stored in the history information storage unit 4 may be a key operation history of the keyboard input from the input unit 1. In the case of a window-type application, a function selection history when selecting a function of the application with a menu, an icon, a mouse, or the like on the window may be used.
Here, the case where the history information regarding the mouse operation is stored in the history information storage unit 4 will be described later.
[0038]
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a text creation screen according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, each function can be selected by a menu arranged above the text creation screen. Further, square frames described by “A”, “B”, “C”, and “D” on the right side of the screen indicate icons, and functions can be executed by clicking the icons with a mouse. .
[0039]
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the correspondence between operation codes stored in the history information storage unit and actual operations according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the history information storage unit 4 stores a table indicating a correspondence between an operation code and an actual operation, and stores an operation code when a mouse is clicked based on this table.
[0040]
For example, when the user first clicks the “File” menu and then clicks the “Open” function on the text creation screen in FIG.
"05", "07"
Is stored as history information. Thus, the key operation is converted into the operation code and stored.
The number of operation codes to be stored may be limited, and the old operation codes may be deleted each time a new operation code is added.
The control unit 3 inputs a search request sentence for searching the function explanation database 7 using the input unit 1 such as a keyboard, and stores the search request sentence in the request sentence storage unit 5.
[0041]
FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a help information search process of the information processing apparatus with a help function according to the present embodiment. In FIG.
Step S1: A help information search program is started by the control unit 3 by calling a help function from the “help” key or the “help” menu of the text creation screen.
Step S2: Using a search request sentence input screen as shown in FIG. 5, the user interactively inputs a search request sentence for searching the function explanation sentence, which is help information, from the function explanation database 7.
[0042]
Here, FIG. 5 is a view showing an example of the search request sentence input screen according to the present embodiment. The request sentence input using the search request sentence input screen is stored in the request sentence storage. Then, when the search is started without inputting the search request sentence, the search for the help information based on only the history information is performed.
[0043]
Step S3: The control section 3 reads history information from the history information storage section 4.
Step S4: The search unit 6 searches the function description database 7 for a function description (search candidate) based on the input search request statement and the read history information.
Step S5: The control unit 3 displays the search candidates on the display unit 2.
Step S6: The user selects a desired function description (help information) from the search candidates using the input unit 1.
Step S7: Display a desired function description on the display unit 2.
[0044]
The search of the function database 7 by the search unit 6 is performed based on the history information stored in the history information storage unit 4 and the search request sentence input from the request sentence storage unit 5.
Here, as an example of a search method, a search result based on history information stored in the history information storage unit 4 and a search result based on a search request sentence input from the request sentence storage unit 5 are respectively described. A case in which calculation is performed independently and search results are integrated after that will be described.
Each function (i) stored in the function description database 7 is scored based on the history information and the search request sentence.
[0045]
The score calculated based on the history information for the function (i) is expressed as Sh (i), and the score calculated based on the search request sentence for the function (i) is expressed as Sq (i), and these search results are integrated. When the integrated score calculated by the formula is expressed by S (i) as a mathematical expression,
S (i) = f (Sh (i), Sq (i)) (1)
And Here, as an example of the function f,
S (i) = Sh (i) + Sq (i) (2)
Is calculated.
In this way, the score for each function in the function description database 7 is calculated, and the search result is displayed on the display unit 2 as a search candidate for displaying the function description from the one with the highest score.
[0046]
Here, three types of methods for calculating the score Sh (i) for the function (i) based on the history information stored in the history information storage unit 4 will be described.
First, as a first search method, a score Sh1 (i) for each function (i) in the case where each function (i) in the function description database 7 has a correspondence with each operation is obtained.
[0047]
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the correspondence between the function description sentence stored in the function description database and the actual operation according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, the function description database 7 stores a table indicating the correspondence between the function description and the actual operation, and stores the operation codes corresponding to the functions based on this table.
Assuming that the number of recently performed operations n and its operation code are used for the search among the history information stored in the history information storage unit 4, the score Sh1 of the function (i) based on the history information in this method. (I)
Sh1 (i) = (the number of histories with matching correspondence) × 100 / n (3)
Calculate with
[0048]
As an example, assuming that three pieces of history information are used, n = 3, and the operation codes of the three most recent operations are:
03 "C", 05 "File", 07 "Open"
Then, the score Sh1 (i) of each function (i) is
Sh1 (open file) = 2 × 100/3 = 67; (the number of matching histories is 2)
Sh1 (file storage) = 1 × 100/3 = 33; (the number of matching histories is 1)
Sh1 (end) = 0 × 100/3 = 0; (the number of matching histories is 0)
Is calculated. However, this score is rounded off to the nearest whole number.
[0049]
Therefore, compared to simply entering the help function key or searching for help information by entering a search request statement, not only the search request statement but also the operation history up to that point is used at the same time. Since the search is performed, the help information requested by the user can be more appropriately searched and displayed.
[0050]
FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an information processing apparatus with a help function according to the second embodiment of the present invention. 7, the same components as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals.
Next, as a second search method, the history information stored in the history information storage unit 4 is converted into a keyword using the keyword conversion unit 8 shown in FIG. A method for searching from will be described.
[0051]
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the correspondence between operation codes and keywords stored in the keyword conversion unit according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 8, the keyword conversion unit 8 stores a table indicating the correspondence between the operation codes and the keywords, and performs conversion based on the table of the correspondence.
Then, a search is performed based on whether or not the keyword thus converted is included in the function name or the function description stored in the function description database 7.
[0052]
Assuming that the number of recent operations n and its operation code among the history information stored in the history information storage unit 4 are used for the search, the score Sh2 of the function (i) based on the history information in this method. (I)
Sh2 (i) = (number of histories in which keyword is included in function name and function description) × 100 / n (4)
Calculate with
[0053]
As an example, assuming that three pieces of history information are used, n = 3, and the operation codes of the three most recent operations are:
03 "left alignment", 05 "file", 07 "open"
Then, based on the table shown in FIG.
"Left Align", "File", "Open"
Will be converted to the keyword
[0054]
When the table shown in FIG. 6 is used as the function description database 7, when the function name is “open file”, the function name and the function description include the two keywords “file” and “open”. So, n = 3
Sh2 (open file) = 2 × 100/3 = 67; (number of histories included 2)
It becomes. Calculating the same for the other two functions,
Sh2 (file storage) = 1 × 100/3 = 33; (number of histories included 1)
Sh2 (end) = 0 × 100/3 = 0; (the number of histories included is 0)
It becomes. However, this score is rounded off to the nearest whole number.
[0055]
According to this configuration, since keywords are used in addition to the history information, more appropriate help information can be searched from the function description database according to the operation status of the user.
[0056]
FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an information processing apparatus with a help function according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. 9, the same components as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals.
Next, as a third search method, the history information stored in the history information storage unit 4 is converted into an operation history vector using the operation vector dictionary 9 and the operation history vector generation unit 10, and then the target help information is converted. A method for searching will be described.
[0057]
FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the operation vector dictionary according to the present embodiment. It is stored as a set of an operation code and an operation vector. In this embodiment, a ten-dimensional vector is used. With reference to the operation vector dictionary 9, the operation history vector generation unit 10 generates an operation history vector. Here, as an example of a method of generating the operation history vector, a method of normalizing the sum of the operation vectors is used.
[0058]
As an example, assuming that three pieces of history information are used, the operation codes of the three most recent operations are “03”, “05”, “07”.
, The sum of these operation vectors is
(1,1,0,2,1,0,1,0,0,0)
It becomes. The operation history vector Vh is obtained by normalizing this. Here, when the operation history vector Vh is normalized to have a size of 10,
Vh (3.5, 3.5, 0, 7.1, 3.5, 0, 3.5, 0, 0, 0). However, each element of Vh is rounded off at the second decimal place.
[0059]
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a function description sentence vector stored in the function description database according to the present embodiment. Further, it is assumed that each function of the function explanation database 7 stores a function explanation sentence vector as shown in FIG. The point Sh3 (i) of each function (i) when performing a search by this method is:
Sh3 (i) = Vh · Vf (i) (5)
Calculate with
[0060]
Here, the operator “•” represents the inner product of the vectors, and Vf (i) represents the function description vector of the function (i). If the magnitude of Vf (i) is also normalized to a value of 10, the value of Sh3 (i) takes a value between 0 and 100, and takes a larger value as the distance between the vectors is shorter. If the function explanation database is as shown in FIG.
Sh3 (Open file) = 63.3
Sh3 (file save) = 35.4
Sh3 (end) = 0
Is calculated.
[0061]
According to this configuration, not only the search for the target help information but also the related help information can be simultaneously searched by the semantic search using the vector representing the feature of the operation history and the vector representing the feature of the function description. it can.
[0062]
FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an information processing apparatus with a help function according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. 12, the same components as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals. Here, as a method of calculating the score Sq (i) based on the search request sentence stored in the request sentence storage unit 5, calculation is performed using a word vector stored in the word dictionary 11 here.
First, words included in the search request sentence stored in the request sentence storage unit 5 are extracted using the word dictionary 11 and the word extraction unit 12.
[0063]
FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of the word dictionary according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 13, the word dictionary 11 stores words and word vectors in pairs.
Here, as an example of a search request statement,
"Open File"
Is entered. In this case, the word extraction unit 12 refers to the word dictionary 11 as a word included in the search request sentence,
"File", "Open"
Will be extracted.
[0064]
Next, the request sentence vector generation unit 13 generates a search request sentence vector by referring to the word dictionary 11 based on the words extracted by the word extraction unit 12. Here, the search request sentence vector is generated by normalizing the sum of the word vectors of the extracted words.
When the search request sentence is "open file", since "file" and "open" are extracted, the sum of these two vectors is
(0,0,0,2,1,0,1,0,0,0)
It becomes.
[0065]
Here, the size of the search request sentence vector is normalized so as to be 10. Then, the normalized search request sentence vector Vq is
Vq = (0,0,0,8.2,4.1,0,4.1,0,0,0)
It becomes. However, each element of Vq is rounded off at the second decimal place. Further, it is assumed that each function of the function explanation database 7 stores a function explanation sentence vector as shown in FIG.
[0066]
And the score Sq (i) by the search request sentence is
Sq (i) = Vq · Vf (i)
Calculate with
Here, the operator “•” represents the inner product of the vectors, and Vf (i) represents the function description vector of the function (i).
[0067]
If the magnitude of Vf (i) is also normalized to 10, the value of Sq (i) takes a value between 0 and 100, and takes a larger value as the vector distance is shorter. If the function explanation database is as shown in FIG.
Sq (open file) = 73.8
Sq (Save File) = 41
Sq (end) = 0
Is calculated.
[0068]
According to this configuration, not only the search for the target help information but also the related help information can be simultaneously performed by the semantic search using the vector representing the feature of the search request sentence and the vector representing the feature of the function description. Can be.
[0069]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, it is possible to search the function description database for help information according to the operation status of the user and display the help information in the order of the operation history of the input unit.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an information processing apparatus with a help function according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a text creation screen according to the embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a correspondence relationship between an operation code stored in a history information storage unit and an actual operation according to the embodiment;
FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a help information search process of the information processing apparatus with a help function according to the embodiment;
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a search request sentence input screen according to the embodiment.
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a correspondence relationship between a function description sentence stored in a function description database and an actual operation according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an information processing apparatus with a help function according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a correspondence relationship between operation codes and keywords stored in the keyword conversion unit according to the embodiment.
FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an information processing apparatus with a help function according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an operation vector dictionary according to the embodiment.
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a function description sentence vector stored in a function description database according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an information processing apparatus with a help function according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a word dictionary according to the embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Input section
2 Output section
3 control part
3a Program storage
4 History information storage
5 Request sentence storage
6 Search section
7 Function explanation database
8 Keyword converter
9 operation vector dictionary
10 Operation history vector generation unit
11 Word dictionary
12 Word extractor
13 Request sentence vector generator
14 Recording medium reading unit
15 Recording media

Claims (9)

A function description database that stores the function description of the system that is the target of the help information, an input section for inputting various information or operating each function of the system, and a history of functions operated using the input section. A history information storage unit for storing history information; a request sentence storage unit for temporarily storing a search request sentence input using the input unit; and a function corresponding to the search request sentence from the function description database and related to the history information. An information processing apparatus with a help function, comprising: a search unit for searching for a function description sentence, and a display unit for displaying the function description searched for by the search unit in the order of the operation history of the input unit. The information processing apparatus with a help function according to claim 1, wherein the history information storage unit stores history information regarding a key operation history when a key operation is performed using an input unit. The information processing apparatus with a help function according to claim 1, wherein the history information storage unit stores history information relating to a function selection history when a function of an application is selected using an input unit. The function description database stores relation information indicating a correspondence between each function of an application and the history information, and the search unit corresponds to the search request sentence from the function description database based on the relation information; The information processing apparatus with a help function according to claim 1, wherein a function description sentence related to the history information is searched. A keyword conversion unit configured to convert the history information stored in the history information storage unit into a keyword, the function description database stores a keyword representing a feature of the function description, and the search unit performs the keyword conversion. Searching for a function description corresponding to the search request sentence from the function description database and related to the history information based on the degree of coincidence between the keyword converted by the unit and the keyword stored in the function description database. The information processing apparatus with a help function according to claim 1, wherein: An operation vector dictionary storing an operation vector representing an operation feature, and an operation history vector for generating an operation history vector representing an operation history feature from the history information stored in the history information storage unit with reference to the operation vector dictionary A function explanation database, wherein the function explanation database stores a function explanation sentence vector representing a feature of the function explanation sentence, and the search unit is configured to perform a search based on the degree of coincidence between the operation history vector and the function explanation sentence vector. 2. The information processing apparatus with a help function according to claim 1, wherein a function description corresponding to the search request statement and related to the history information is searched from the function description database. A word dictionary storing words and word vectors representing the characteristics of the words in association with each other; a word extracting unit for extracting words included in the search request sentence by referring to the word dictionary; and a word dictionary. A request sentence vector generation unit that generates a search request sentence vector representing the feature of the search request sentence from the word, wherein the function explanation database stores a function explanation sentence vector representing the feature of the function explanation sentence, The search unit searches the function explanation database for a function explanation sentence corresponding to the search request sentence and related to the history information based on the degree of coincidence between the search request sentence vector and the function explanation sentence vector. The information processing apparatus with a help function according to claim 1. Function description of the system for which help information is to be stored is stored in the function description database, various information is input using the input unit, or each function of the system is operated, and the history of the functions operated using the input unit is displayed. The history information is stored in the history information storage unit, the search request sentence input using the input unit is temporarily stored in the request sentence storage unit, and the function description database corresponds to the search request sentence and relates to the history information. A help information search method characterized by searching for a function description sentence using a search unit and displaying the function description sentence searched using the search unit on a display unit in the order of operation history. Causes the computer to store the function description of the system to be the target of the help information in the function description database, input various information using the input unit or operate each function of the system, and execute the functions operated using the input unit. History information representing a history is stored in a history information storage unit, and a search request sentence input using an input unit is temporarily stored in a request sentence storage unit. A computer-readable recording medium storing a help information search program that causes a search unit to search for a function description related to information using a search unit, and displays the function description searched using the search unit on a display unit in the order of operation history. .

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