JP2001034616A - Information intermediation and integration device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain an information intermediation/integration device which has high adaptability and flexibility to a question even when the question is comparatively complex and includes a large number of items such as a condition setting item. SOLUTION: A question schema collection part 26 collects question schema answerable by a DB agent and produces a question schema table. A question that is inputted by a user is received via a question input part 21 and the question schema is analyzed by a question schema analysis part 22. A question decomposition part 23 decomposes the question into the question parts schema units, and this decomposition logic is stored. A question part transmitting part 24 transmits each question part to the DB agent which receives the schema of the question part according to the information on the question schema table. The DB agent replies its retrieved answer parts to the part 24, and an answer generation part 25 composes and integrates the answer parts by means of the composition logic that is corresponding to the decomposition logic.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention resides between a user terminal connected to a computer network for accepting a question and a plurality of database agents as information sources. The present invention relates to a device that mediates the exchange of questions and answers.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the development of network systems represented by the spread of the Internet in recent years, an environment in which services on distributed computers can be accessed has been established. When using a database service, a user usually selects a database serving as an information source that matches his / her own purpose and accesses the database individually. However, in an environment with many types and many databases,
It is difficult for the user to select an appropriate database. In addition, accessing the selected databases sequentially requires time and effort when the number of databases is large. Furthermore, since the access method is generally different for each database, it is necessary for the user to master access procedures for various databases, which increases the burden on the user.

As a solution to such a problem, an information source is agentized as a database agent,
There is a method of placing an intermediary device between a user agent and a user agent used by a user. The mediation device is a facilitato
r), and in the following description, the mediation device is referred to as a facilitator. When a database agent starts up, it sends a message to the facilitator, telling it what information it has and how to access it. The facilitator accepts question messages from other agents, and the facilitator selects database agents that can provide an answer to the message based on the information in the promotional message, acts on behalf of those database agents, and It serves to respond to the user terminal collectively with the obtained results. As described above, there are a plurality of types of operations of the facilitator.
This is called g), which transfers the request from the user terminal to the selected database agent, receives the answers from the database agent, and collectively replies to the user terminal.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the concept of a conventional distributed facilitator. As shown in FIG. 10, the facilitator 500 operates autonomously and mediates between the user terminal 520 and the database agent 540.

[0005] The user terminal 520 has a function of receiving a request (question) from the user. The facilitator 500 selects an appropriate database agent 540 according to the content of the question from the user terminal 520 and transfers the question. The facilitator 500 and the database agent 540 are composed of a plurality as necessary,
They are distributed on the network and operate in parallel.

According to the distributed facilitator using a plurality of cells, the user only needs to know the facilitator 500, such as the specific address of the database agent 540 and the type of data possessed by the database agent 540. You do not need to know the information.

With the above-described facilitator,
The user terminal only needs to know the address of the facilitator, and does not need to know where multiple database agents are. In addition, since the access itself for each database agent is performed by the facilitator, the difference in the access method is absorbed by the facilitator, and the user terminal does not need to be conscious.

In the prior art, the facilitator has a function of not only selecting a transfer destination of a question and acting as a proxy (Brokering) but also having a function of receiving an answer to a question and presenting it to a user.

[0009]

However, the conventional facilitator has the following problems.

The first problem is that the system is less adaptable to complex questions. If the question is relatively complex and has many items such as condition settings, the number of database agents that can accept the question is limited, and therefore the amount of data that can be used for search is also limited. Also, there may be a case where there is no database agent that can accept a question. In this case, the system cannot adapt to the question, and many questions that result in a search failure occur. Even when a complete answer to a question cannot be obtained, there is no flexible response to collecting information as much as possible and answering any useful information.

The second problem is that the utilization efficiency of the database agent is low. If the question is relatively simple and easy, there are many database agents available, but if the question is relatively complicated and there are many items such as condition settings, the database agents that can accept the question are limited. I will. However, when there are many database agents that cannot accept a question because the question format does not match, they retain useful information for the user even if they cannot give a complete answer to the question. There is. The inability to use these valuable information due to inconsistencies in the question formats does not mean that the database is used efficiently.

In view of the above problems, the present invention converts a question into a form acceptable to each database agent and executes a search even when the question is relatively complicated and has many items such as condition settings. It is an object of the present invention to provide a flexible information intermediary / integration device that enhances adaptability to a question, collects information as much as possible, and answers useful information.

[0013]

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information intermediary / integration device between a database agent connected to a computer network and a user terminal. An information intermediary / integration device that is composed of cell devices that process a distributed process and that mediates so that the existence of the other is concealed between user terminals, and is a question that can be answered by other agents distributed on the network. A question schema collection unit that collects and organizes schemas in a format, a question input unit that receives input of a question, a question schema analysis unit that analyzes the schema of the input question, and the input based on the analysis result. A query decomposition unit for decomposing a question into question parts, and another query having a question schema including the schema of the question part. Characterized by comprising a question portion transmission unit that transmits to the stringent.

With the above configuration, even if the question is relatively complicated and there are many items such as condition settings, the question is decomposed into question parts that can be used by other agents based on the schema of the question, and the agent can be adapted to the agent. It is possible to transmit and execute a search, to make effective use of data on the network, and to answer some useful information partially even for complicated questions.

Here, if the question schema collection unit has means for managing an essential part of the question schema for the agent answering the question, the essential part is missing in the obtained question part. It is possible to determine that the question portion is not transmitted to the agent, and it is possible to omit a search in which a useful answer cannot be obtained. Also, in the question decomposition by the question decomposition unit, if the question is decomposed in a long schema unit with priority among the question schema units registered in the question schema collection unit, the question part is unnecessarily decomposed into small parts. Can be prevented, and the search processing time can be reduced and the search efficiency can be improved.

Further, the information mediation / integration device of the present invention further comprises a decomposition logic storage unit for storing a logic for decomposing the question, and an answer part obtained from the agent which transmitted the question part, in accordance with the stored decomposition logic. It is preferable to provide an answer generation unit that collects and combines and integrates as an answer to the question. In the synthesis / integration process of the answer part of the answer generation part, the answer part is not obtained from the answer, and the missing part is attached with an identifier indicating an indefinite answer, and the answer is generated. It is preferable to have a function of performing a logical operation on the plurality of answer parts obtained.

According to the above configuration, a plurality of answer parts obtained as a result of a search divided into question parts are synthesized and integrated, and
A useful answer to the original question can be output.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an information mediating / integrating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following, what is described as a cell is a process realized on a computer, is processed on a computer device (cell device), and realizes a plurality of cells using one computer device as a plurality of virtual cell devices. You may.

(Embodiment 1) An information intermediary / integration apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention decomposes a question into a question portion that can be used by another agent based on a schema of the question, and transmits it to an applicable agent. It performs a search, makes effective use of a database distributed on a network, and partially answers some useful information to a complicated question.

First, the outline of the configuration of the entire information retrieval system centered on the information mediation / integration device of the first embodiment and the overall image of the processing flow by this device will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the information intermediation and operation according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an entire information search system centering on an integrated device. As shown in FIG. 1, the information retrieval system is roughly composed of a user terminal 10, an information mediation / integration device 20, a database agent 40, and a database 50. Although a plurality of elements in the figure are given alphabetical arguments, the functions are the same. In the example of FIG. 1, the user terminal 1
0a to 10b, database agents 40a to 40
c, databases 50a to 50c. It is also possible to configure the information mediation / integration device in multiple stages and connect it to the database agent. In this example, the connection to the database agent 40c is performed by the information mediation / integration device.
The integrated devices 20 and 20a have a multi-stage configuration.

The symbols attached to the respective elements in FIG. 1 are symbols for simply showing the function of each element. Q indicates a question, and q1 to q3 indicate question parts generated by decomposition from the question Q. A, A indicates an answer to the question Q, and a1 to a3 indicate answer parts to the respective question parts q1 to q3. Arrows connecting the elements in FIG. 1 indicate the communication partner and the communication direction between the elements.

Before describing the configuration and processing of the information mediation / integration apparatus 20 of the present invention shown in FIG. 1, first, the function of each element shown in FIG. 1 and the entire processing of the information retrieval system will be described. Then, a detailed description of the information mediation / integration device 20 will be described.

The function of each element of the information retrieval system of the present invention and the outline of the overall processing will be described with reference to the system configuration of FIG. 1 and the flowchart of FIG.

First, as a pre-process, the information mediation / integration device 20 collects and organizes question schemes that can be accepted by the database agents 40 (40a to 40c in this example) available on the network (step S1). S201). There are various types of database agents distributed on a network, and the interfaces used are also various. Therefore, each database agent has a predetermined query scheme that can be accepted. In order to use each database agent effectively, it is sufficient to know which database agent corresponds to which question scheme, and to transform the input question so as to match the question scheme. FIG. 3 shows an example of a question scheme table in which question schemes are collected and arranged. As shown in FIG. 3, for example, the database agent 40a is (product master? X) as a question scheme, and is a unary relation sentence relating to the product. The database agent 40b
A unary relation sentence relating to the product (product master? X) and (category? X? Category) and a binary relation sentence relating to the category are provided. In addition, the database agent 40c transmits (product master?
X) and (item code? X? Item code) are a unary relation sentence relating to the product and a binary relation sentence relating to the item code. Each database agent can receive the above-mentioned question sentence and a question sentence of their logical product. The information mediation / integration device 20 holds a question scheme table arranged for each database agent as shown in FIG.

Next, the user inputs a question to the user terminal 10 (step S202). The user terminal 10 is a device such as a personal computer used by the user. The user terminal 10 includes a keyboard, a pointing device, a voice input device, and the like as the input interface 11, and a monitor, a speaker, a printer, and the like as the output interface 12. In addition, a communication interface 13 is provided to perform data communication with an information mediation / integration device. The user inputs a question Q via the input interface 11. The question Q is transmitted to the information mediation / integration device 20 via the communication interface 13.

Next, the information mediation / integration device 20 receives the question Q transmitted from the user terminal 10, and analyzes the question scheme of the question Q (step S203). By analyzing the question scheme, it is possible to examine in which scheme units the question can be decomposed. FIG. 4A shows an example of the question scheme of the question Q. In this example, a scheme called & (logical product) of three relation statements is used.

The information mediation / integration device 20 decomposes the question Q into appropriate question parts q (q1 to q5 in this example) (step S204). Here, the decomposition of the question Q can be decomposed into decomposable units, and it can be decomposed into the size of the question scheme that can be accepted by each database agent in the question scheme table shown in FIG. It is also possible. In this example, the latter method is adopted.
As shown in FIG. 4 (b), it is divided into question parts q1 to q4 along the size of the acceptable question scheme of 0a to 0c. In this example, each question portion is composed of a question sentence and its aspect.

Here, the information mediation / integration device 20 needs to store and hold the logic obtained by decomposing the question Q.
This is because a reply to the question Q is generated by combining and integrating the reply portions returned from the database agent later.

Next, the information mediation / integration device 20 transmits the disassembled question portions to the corresponding database agents (step S205). The question part q1 corresponds to the database agent 40a, and the question part q2
Corresponds to the database agent 40b, and the question part q3 corresponds to the database agent 40c, and is transmitted to the target database agents 40a to 40c, respectively. In some cases, there is a case where there is no acceptable database agent in the question part, but in this case, it is not transmitted. In this example, the question part q4 is not transmitted.

Each of the database agents 40a-c having received the transmission of the question portion accesses the controlled / managed databases 50a-c, executes a search for the question portion, and obtains an answer portion (step S206). FIG. 5 shows a list of answer parts obtained for each question part.

The database agents 40a-c return the obtained answer parts a1-a3 to the information mediation / integration device 20 (step S207).

The information mediation / integration device 20 synthesizes and integrates the obtained answer parts a1 to a3, and
Is generated and answered to the user (step S208). Here, the combining and integrating of the answer parts are performed by combining and integrating the answer parts a1 to a3 according to the question logic stored and held in step S204. For example, if the answer logic is (A = a1 &
The answer A is synthesized and integrated as a3 + a2 & a3). In the process of combining and integrating the answer parts, if the answer part is missing, such as the question part that was not sent or the sent part but the answer part was not obtained, the answer is undefined. Responses are synthesized and integrated with an identifier “*” (wild card) indicating “.”

The above is the description of the information mediation / integration device 20 of the present invention.
It is an outline of the operation of each element of the information retrieval system centering on and a flow of the entire processing of the system.

Next, the configuration of the information mediation / integration device 20 will be described in detail. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the information mediation / integration device 20 according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, the information mediation / integration device 20 includes a question input unit 21, a question schema analysis unit 22, a question decomposition unit 23, a question part transmission unit 24, an answer generation unit 25, and a question schema collection unit 26. I have.
Note that a control unit and a memory required for control are not shown for convenience of description.

The question schema collection section 26 is a section for collecting and organizing a schema in a question format which can be answered by other agents distributed on the network. As shown in FIG. A question schema table holding unit 261 for holding a question schema table in which schemas are arranged is provided.

The question input section 21 is a section for receiving an input of a question from the user terminal 10. It should be noted that a communication interface for controlling communication with the user terminal 10 and the like are not shown for convenience of description.

The question schema analysis section 22 is a section for analyzing the schema of the input question. The question schema as described in FIG. 4A is extracted.

The question decomposing unit 23 decomposes the input question into question parts based on the analysis result of the question schema and the contents of the question schema table stored and held by the question schema table holding unit 261 of the question schema collection unit 26. I do. The question part as described in FIG. 4B is obtained.

In the first embodiment, the query decomposing unit 23 includes a decomposition unit designating unit 231. The decomposing unit designating unit 231 divides a query into smaller units that can be decomposed in the query decomposing process by the question decomposing unit 23, or preferentially selects a longer schema unit among the question schema units registered in the Is a part that specifies whether the question should be broken down. If the former is selected, it is broken down into small query parts, which can be accepted by more database agents, but the processing unit becomes smaller, so that a load is required for the post-processing synthesis / integration processing of the answer parts. If the latter is selected, the number of databases that can be used is reduced because it is broken down into as long a question portion as possible within the acceptable range, but the load on the synthesis / integration process of the answer portion is small, and the processing speeds up.

The question decomposing unit 23 has a decomposition logic storage unit 232 for storing logic obtained by decomposing a question. This is because it is necessary to store the decomposed logic in order to combine and integrate the answer parts as described above.

The question part transmitting section 24 is a part for transmitting to another agent having a question schema including the schema of the question part. In the transmission processing of the question part transmitting unit 24, if there is a question part that does not correspond to the question schema unit registered in the question schema collection unit 26, the transmission processing of the question part is not performed, and the corresponding part is not transmitted. Only the question part will be sent.

After transmitting the question part, the answer generation part 25 combines the answer parts obtained from the respective database agents, and
This is the part to be integrated. In the synthesis / integration processing of the answer parts, the answer parts are combined according to the decomposition logic stored in the decomposition logic storage unit 232, and are synthesized and integrated as answers to the questions. In other words, AND, OR,
It has a function of performing a logical operation such as NOT.

In the combining / integrating process of the answer parts by the answer generating unit 25, the answer parts are missing, such as the question part which was not transmitted or the sent part where the answer part was not obtained. An answer is generated for the portion by attaching an identifier indicating an undefined answer such as a wild card “*”.

As described above, according to the information intermediary / integration apparatus of the first embodiment, even if the question is relatively complicated and there are many items such as condition settings, the other agent can use the question based on the question schema. Can be broken down into possible question parts and sent to adaptable agents to perform searches,
It is possible to make effective use of data on the network, and to answer some useful information partially even for complicated questions.

(Embodiment 2) Information mediation of Embodiment 2
The integrated device has a function of accepting the input of a question and a designation of an essential part of a question item, and a function of avoiding use of a database that can accept only a question part in which the essential item is missing. is there.

Normally, when a user inputs a question, various condition items and keywords are attached, and among them, particularly the main item and the essential item may be clear. For example, in a product search, if a user wants to search for a product that absolutely satisfies only the upper limit of the price, the database agent that cannot accept questions including the price item cannot expect a valid answer part, but rather narrows down In some cases, information that becomes noise is often obtained. Therefore, a function is required to avoid the use of a database that can accept only the question portion in which the required item is missing.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the information mediation / integration device 20a according to the second embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 7, the information mediation / integration device 2
0a is a question input unit 21a, a question schema analysis unit 22,
It includes a question decomposition section 23a, a question portion transmission section 24a, an answer generation section 25, and a question schema collection section 26a. Since each element is the same as that described in the first embodiment with the same number, detailed description thereof will be omitted as appropriate. Elements to which alphabetic arguments are added have functions not described in the first embodiment, as described below.

The question input unit 21a includes a required item specification unit 211 for receiving a specification of a required part by a user among question items, keywords, conditions, and the like input by the user. An identifier indicating the essential part is attached to the essential part input and designated by the essential item designation part 211.

There are a plurality of methods for realizing a function for avoiding the use of a database which can only accept a question portion in which essential items are missing. First, as a first method,
This is a method of decomposing into a question part including essential items in the question decomposing process in the question decomposing unit 23a.
For example, the question scheme is a logical AND of three items S1 & S2
& S3, and if S2 is an essential item, the question part is q1 = S1 & S2, q
2 = S2 & S3 only, and q3 = S1 & S3 is not generated. According to this processing, the obtained answer part always satisfies the essential item S2. In the second method, the question schema collecting unit 26a sorts and lists only database agents capable of accepting a question portion including a required item among the database agents using a question scheme table, or This is a method of masking a part that cannot accept a question part including a. According to this method, the question part including the essential item S2 that cannot be accepted is excluded, and the question part transmission unit 24a transmits the question part only to the accepted ones. According to this processing,
The obtained answer part always satisfies the essential item S2.

Processing for generating an answer by synthesizing and integrating the answer parts obtained by the answer generating section 25 may be the same as that in the first embodiment.

As described above, according to the information mediation / integration apparatus of the second embodiment, the function of accepting the input of a question and the designation of an essential part of the question item is provided. It has a function to avoid the use of a database that can only be accepted, and it is possible to obtain an answer that always satisfies the essential items specified by the user.

(Embodiment 3) Information mediation of Embodiment 3
The integrated device has a function of designating a database agent to be used for search and defining a search domain in advance, and transmitting a query portion only to the database agent included in the search domain.

There are various types of database services distributed on the network, such as a pay database and a database including special contents. In some cases, the user may want to limit the databases that the user can access. Thus, the third embodiment has a function of specifying a database agent to be used for search and defining a search domain.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the information mediation / integration device 20b of the third embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 8, the information mediation / integration device 2
0b is a question input unit 21, a question schema analysis unit 22, a question decomposition unit 23, a question part transmission unit 24b, an answer generation unit 2
5. In addition to the question schema collection unit 26b, a search domain designation unit 27 is provided. Since each element is the same as that described in the first embodiment with the same number, detailed description thereof will be omitted as appropriate. Elements to which alphabetic arguments are added have functions not described in the first embodiment, as described below.

The search domain designating section 27 is a section for designating a database used by a user for a search. The database to be used may be directly designated and input, or the condition may be designated such as "exclude pay database service" or "restrict access points to those in the city". The search domain designation unit 27 manages only a search database that meets the designated condition as a search domain.

There may be a plurality of types of processing in the question schema collection unit 26b. In the first processing example, a question schema is collected and a question schema table is prepared only for the database agents included in the search domain after the search domain is defined. In the second processing example, a question schema table is created in advance, and after a search domain is defined in accordance with the question, the question schema for the database agent included in the search domain is sorted to create a subset of question schema tables. It is generated dynamically. With the latter method, a search domain and a question schema table can be dynamically prepared according to the content of the question or the user.

As described above, according to the information intermediation / integration apparatus of the third embodiment, a search agent domain is defined in advance by specifying a database agent to be used for search, and a query portion is set only to the database agent included in the search domain. , And a search can be executed.

(Embodiment 4) Information mediation of Embodiment 4
The integrated device has a failure handling function that detects that a database agent has failed and dynamically removes the failed database agent from the search and use domain. It passes and combines and integrates the next best answer.

It can be sufficiently assumed that the database distributed on the network may be temporarily inaccessible due to the state of the network, failure of the database itself, maintenance work, and the like. Normally, the facilitator collectively replies to the requester when all the messages issued by the facilitator are completed. However, if a failure has occurred, the user must wait for an answer part that never returns. If the information mediation / integration device of the fourth embodiment detects that a failure has occurred, it dynamically removes the relevant portion from the search domain, and passes the query portion to the alternative database agent to send the Combine answers
Integrate.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the information mediation / integration device 20c of the fourth embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 9, the information mediation / integration device 2
0c denotes a question input unit 21, a question schema analysis unit 22, a question decomposition unit 23c, a question part transmission unit 24c, and an answer generation unit 2.
5c, a question schema collection unit 26c, a search domain designation unit 27c, and a failure detection unit 28. Since each element is the same as that described in the first embodiment with the same number, detailed description thereof will be omitted as appropriate. Elements to which alphabetic arguments are added have functions not described in the first to third embodiments as described below.

The failure detecting section 28 is a part for detecting a failure that has occurred on the network, and usually reports a failure that has occurred on the network from a network management terminal or the like. The failure detection unit 28 detects the failure report.

The search domain designation unit 27c receives a notification of a failure portion on the network from the failure detection unit 28.
If a failure has occurred in a database included in the defined search domain, the database is excluded from the search domain.

In the process in the question schema collection unit 26c, when the change of the contents of the search domain is notified by the search domain designating unit 27c, the items of the database agent excluded from the search domain are excluded from the question schema table. Update dynamically.

The question portion transmitting section 24c is provided with a fault detecting section 28.
If the failure report from before is the transmission of the question part, the question schema collection unit 26c selects and transmits the database agent that transmits the question based on the updated question schema table.

If the failure report from the failure detection unit 28 is before the transmission of the question part, the response generation part 25c returns the response part to the question part transmitted by the question part transmission part 24c. The same processing is performed. If the failure report from the failure detection unit 28 is after the transmission of the question part,
The answer part is regarded as not being replied and is ignored, and the answer is combined and integrated with the remaining answer part. If alternative information is not obtained in the remaining answer parts, it is necessary to send the question part sent to the failed database agent again to another alternative database agent to obtain an answer part. This is communicated to the question part transmitting unit 24c, and based on the question schema table, another alternative database agent is requested to resend the question part, or is requested to the question decomposing unit 23c to divide the question part more finely. Then, a process of finding an alternative database agent is executed.

According to the information intermediary / integration device of the fourth embodiment, it is detected that a failure has occurred in the database agent, and the failed database agent is dynamically removed from the search and use domain. A question part can be passed to a database agent to synthesize and integrate suboptimal answers.

[0071]

According to the information mediation / integration device of the present invention,
Even if the question is relatively complicated and there are many items such as condition settings, break down the question into question parts that can be used by other agents based on the question schema and send it to an applicable agent to perform a search This makes it possible to effectively use data on the network, and to answer some useful information partially even for complicated questions. It is possible to provide a flexible and flexible information intermediary / integration device for questions. Further, it is possible to increase the efficiency of using data on the network.

Further, according to the information mediation / integration device of the present invention, there is provided a function of accepting the input of a question and the designation of an essential part of the question item, and accepting only the question part where the essential item is missing. It has a function to avoid the use of a database that cannot be used, and can obtain an answer that always satisfies the required items specified by the user.

According to the information mediation / integration device of the present invention, a search domain is defined in advance by specifying a database agent to be used for search, and a query portion is transmitted only to the database agent included in the search domain. To perform a search.

Further, according to the information mediation / integration apparatus of the present invention, it is detected that a failure has occurred in the database agent, and the failed database agent is dynamically removed from the search and use domain. A question part can be passed to a database agent to synthesize and integrate suboptimal answers.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an entire information retrieval system centered on an information mediation / integration device according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an outline of the overall processing of the information search system of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a question scheme table according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example (a) of a question scheme of a question Q and an example (b) of a decomposed question part according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of an answer A synthesized and integrated with a list of answer parts obtained for each question part according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an information mediation / integration device 2 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
Diagram showing a configuration example of 0

FIG. 7 is an information mediation / integration device 2 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
Diagram showing a configuration example of 0a

FIG. 8 is an information mediation / integration device 2 according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
Diagram showing a configuration example of 0b

FIG. 9 is an information mediation / integration device 2 according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
Diagram showing a configuration example of 0c

FIG. 10 illustrates the concept of a conventional distributed configuration facilitator.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 User terminal 11 Input interface 12 Output interface 13 Communication interface 20, 20a, 20b, 20c Information mediation / integration device 21, 21a Question input unit 211 Required item designation unit 22 Question schema analysis unit 23, 23a, 23c Question decomposition unit 231 Decomposition unit designation unit 232 Decomposition logic storage unit 24, 24a, 24b, 24c Question part transmission unit 25, 25c Answer generation unit 26, 26a, 26b, 26c Question schema collection unit 261 Schema table storage unit 27, 27c Search domain designation unit 28 failure detection unit 40 database agent 50 database 60 user terminal

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G06F 15/40 310C F-term (Reference) 5B045 DD16 GG01 GG09 KK06 5B049 AA01 DD01 DD03 EE04 EE05 FF02 FF03 FF04 FF06 GG04 GG07 GG09 5B075 KK03 KK07 KK13 KK33 KK37 ND03 ND20 ND23 NK10 NK54 NR05 NR15 NS01 PP02 PP03 PP07 PP28 PQ02 PQ03 PQ04 QP10 QS05 UU40

Claims (7)

[Claims] An information intermediary / integration device for mediating between agents connected to another computer network, and collects and organizes a question format schema that can be answered by other agents distributed on the network. A question schema collection unit, a question input unit for receiving a question input, a question schema analysis unit for analyzing the schema of the input question, and decomposing the input question into question parts based on the analysis result. An information intermediary / integration device, comprising: a query decomposing unit; and a question portion transmitting unit that transmits the query portion to another agent having a question schema including the schema of the question portion. 2. In the transmitting process of the question part transmitting unit, when there is a question part that does not correspond to the question schema unit registered in the question schema collecting unit,
2. The information mediation / integration device according to claim 1, wherein the process of transmitting the question portion is not performed, and the process is performed by transmitting only a question portion having a corresponding one. 3. The question schema collection unit has means for managing a part of the question schema that is essential for an agent answering the question, and the question part obtained in the transmission processing of the question part transmission unit. The information mediation / integration device according to claim 1, wherein the inquiry part is not transmitted to the agent in which the essential part is missing. 4. The information intermediation system according to claim 1, wherein, in the question decomposition by the question decomposition unit, the question is decomposed by a long schema unit preferentially among the question schema units registered in the question schema collection unit. Integrated device. 5. A disassembly logic storage unit for storing logic obtained by disassembling the question, and an answer part obtained from an agent that has transmitted the question part, in accordance with the disassembly logic stored in the disassembly logic storage unit. 2. The information mediation / integration apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an answer generation unit that synthesizes and integrates as an answer to the question. 6. In the answer combining / integrating process of the answer generating unit, an answer is generated by attaching an identifier indicating an indeterminate answer to a missing part of the answer, wherein the answer is not obtained. The information intermediation / integration device according to claim 5. 7. The information intermediation / integration apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a function of performing a logical operation on the answer part in the synthesis / integration processing of the answer part of the answer generation unit.