JP2001344268A - Method and device for information retrieval - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely and easily retrieve numerical information in entire sentence retrieval or table retrieval. SOLUTION: The information retrieval device is provided with a storage means where range designation element phrases for range designation related to numerical information and retrieval operation conditions are stored correspondingly to each other and an analysis means which detects that an element phrase is stored in the storage means as a range designation element phrase. Further, the information retrieval device is provided with a retrieval means which retrieves information on the basis of the element phrase corresponding to numerical information and a retrieval operation condition corresponding to the range designation element phrase.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information retrieval apparatus and an information retrieval method, and more particularly to an information retrieval apparatus and an information retrieval method for surely and easily retrieving numerical information.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, IP represented by the Internet
(Internet Protocol) Communication networks have spread,
Search engines such as ahoo are frequently used.
As a result, a full-text search-type interface as one method of information search, that is, a method of enabling a search by freely listing and inputting words to be searched has become widely known.

[0003] For a user (operator) who is accustomed to such a full-text search type interface, the conventional table search type interface is hardly familiar. The conventional table search type interface is composed of data items of the database to be searched, "match", "over", "less",
This is a technique in which an operator inputs search operation conditions (operators) such as "greater than" and "includes" and a value to be searched (search value).

In a full-text search, an operator freely enumerates and inputs a desired phrase to be searched, and the information search apparatus performs a perfect match search of the search instruction word, and for each element (word or the like) obtained by decomposing the search instruction word. Search, unified search,
The search is performed by appropriately employing a technique such as a thesaurus search and the like.

[0005] Although this full-text search method is easy to use even for beginners, there are elements that are hardly suitable for numerical information search.
That is, for example, when searching for numerical information such as "1995", the operator may specify a range such as "1985 to 2000" to obtain a desired search result with a high hit rate. Many.

However, there are other methods for specifying such a range, such as "from 1985 to 2000" or "1985 to 2000", and the input form depends on the operator. The apparatus needs to cope with the case where the range specification information is input in any form.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an information retrieval apparatus and an information retrieval method which make it possible to reliably and easily retrieve numerical information in full-text retrieval or table retrieval.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a WWW (World Wide
Web) When providing a database table search service on a page or the like, an information search apparatus and an information search method that enable a user (operator) who is accustomed to the full-text search method to search without discomfort Is to provide.

[0009]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a first information retrieval apparatus according to the present invention includes a range specifying element word for specifying a range related to numerical information and a search operation condition. Storage means for storing in association with each other; and analysis means for detecting that an element word is stored in the storage means as the range-designating element word.

[0010] The second information retrieval apparatus of the present invention further comprises retrieval means for retrieving information based on the element words corresponding to the numerical information and the retrieval operation conditions corresponding to the range specifying element words.

[0011] The third information retrieval apparatus of the present invention further comprises a decomposing means for decomposing the input retrieval character string into the element words. A fourth information retrieval apparatus of the present invention is an information retrieval apparatus for retrieving information by allowing a user to input a search character string; decomposition means for decomposing the input search character string into element words; Storage means for associating and storing a range specifying element word for specifying a range related to target information and a search operation condition; detecting that the element word is stored in the storage means as the range specifying element word Analysis means to perform;
A search unit configured to search for information based on the element word corresponding to the numerical information and the search operation condition corresponding to the range specifying element word.

A fifth information retrieval apparatus according to the present invention is an information retrieval apparatus for retrieving information by allowing a user to input a data item and a retrieval value of a database table; Storage means for storing a range specifying element word for specifying a range related to information and a search operation condition in association with each other; determining means for determining whether or not the range specification element word is recognized as the search operation condition A search means for searching the database table based on the search value decomposed into the range designation element word and the element word corresponding to the numerical information when the judgment result of the judgment means takes a positive value. And

A first information retrieval method according to the present invention includes a step of storing a range specifying element word for specifying a range related to numerical information and a search operation condition in association with each other; Detecting that it is stored as an element phrase.

[0014] The second information retrieval method of the present invention further comprises a step of retrieving information based on the element words corresponding to the numerical information and the retrieval operation conditions corresponding to the range specifying element words.

[0015] The third information retrieval method of the present invention further comprises a step of decomposing the input retrieval character string into the element words. A fourth information search method of the present invention is an information search method for searching for information by allowing a user to input a search character string; decomposing the input search character string into element phrases; Storing a range specifying element word for specifying a range related to information and a search operation condition in association with each other; detecting that the element word is stored as the range specifying element word; Searching for information based on the element word corresponding to the target information and the search operation condition corresponding to the range specifying element word.

A fifth information retrieval method according to the present invention is an information retrieval method in which a user inputs data items and retrieval values of a database table to retrieve information; Storing a range specifying element word for specifying a range related to information and a search operation condition in association with each other; and determining whether or not the range specifying element word is recognized as the search operation condition; A step of searching the database table based on the search value decomposed into the range designation element word and the element word corresponding to the numerical information when the determination result is a positive value.

[0017]

[First Embodiment]

[Configuration of Information Retrieval Apparatus] Referring to FIG. 1, an information retrieval apparatus 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention includes a retrieval control unit 2 and a database 3. The search control unit 2 includes an element / phrase decomposition unit 21, a search operation condition analysis unit 22, and a search execution unit 23. The database 3 includes an operation character string table 31 and a search target data storage unit 32.

The information search device 1 receives a search character string input by a user (operator) from a search terminal device (not shown) through an IP communication network (not shown) represented by, for example, the Internet, and performs information search. Is carried out.

In the case of employing such a system configuration for information retrieval, the information retrieval device 1 is a server computer, has a retrieval control unit 2 as a WWW server, and has an interface unit such as a CGI (Common Gateway Interface) (not shown). (Omitted) between the search control unit 2 and the database 3. Also, the search terminal device as a Web client can be realized by a personal computer equipped with a Web browser.

More specifically, the information search device 1 is an information search device that allows an operator to input a search character string to search for information. The information search device 1 splits the input search character string 41 into element words and phrases. An operation character string table 31 for storing a range specification element word (decomposed character string) for specifying a range related to numerical information and a search operation condition in association with each other;
A search operation condition analysis unit 22 for detecting that an element word (decomposed character string) is stored in the operation string table 31 as a range specifying element word; and an element word corresponding to numerical information and a range specifying element word And a search execution unit 23 that searches for information based on a search operation condition corresponding to.

[Operation of Information Retrieval Apparatus] (First Information Retrieval Processing) Next, the first information retrieval processing in the information retrieval apparatus 1 having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4. Will be described with reference to FIG.

When the operator inputs “XX technology 1985 or later” as a search character string on the search terminal device using the full-text search type interface, the search character string is transmitted in a predetermined protocol such as HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol). Is transmitted to the information search device 1 through the IP communication network.

In the search control unit 2 of the information search device 1,
The element phrase decomposition unit 21 analyzes the input search character string 41 and decomposes it into element phrases. In this example, “XX technology 1985 or later” as the input search character string 41 is “XX technology”,
Decomposed into "1985" and "after". The element phrase decomposing unit 21 edits and outputs these element phrases to a decomposed character string list 42 shown in detail in FIG.

The element / phrase decomposing unit 21 receives the input search character string 41
When analyzing and decomposing into element words, it is possible to adopt a method based on character types (kana, kanji, numbers, symbols, etc.), a method using a dictionary, and the like.

The search operation condition analysis unit 22 calculates an operation character string table of the database 3 for each of the character strings "OO technology", "1985", and "after" based on the decomposition character string list 42. Search for 31.

As shown in detail in FIG. 3, this operation character string table 31 includes a decomposition character string (element phrase) corresponding to range designation information such as "after" and a search operation such as "≥ immediately preceding phrase". Conditions are stored in association with each other. In other words, "XX technology" and "1985"
Are not stored in the operation character string table 31.

The search operation condition analysis unit 22 determines whether each of the decomposed character strings “XX technology”, “1985”, and “after” exists in the operation character string table 31 by searching the operation character string table 31. Determine whether or not.

The search operation condition analysis unit 22 determines the result of the
When the decomposed character string does not exist in the operation character string table 31, the character string and the perfect match search operation condition “=” are added (written) to the search condition list 43 shown in FIG.
In this example, a perfect match search operation condition “=” is added to the search condition list 43 in correspondence with the character strings “XX technology” and “1985”, respectively.

The search operation condition analysis unit 22 determines the result of the
When a decomposed character string exists in the operation character string table 31,
The search condition list 43 is updated (rewritten) according to the search operation condition corresponding to the character string. In this example, since the decomposed character string “after” exists in the operation character string table 31, the search operation condition analysis unit 22 searches the search condition list 43 according to the search operation condition “≧ last word” corresponding to the character string. Is rewritten from “=” to “≧” in the search operation condition corresponding to the character string “1985”.

That is, when the search operation condition analysis unit 22 processes the character string “after” in the decomposed character string list 42,
For the numerical information “1985” processed immediately before, “≧” is set in the search operation condition of the search condition list 43.

The search execution unit 23 performs a full-text search on the search target data storage unit 32 of the database 3 based on the contents of the search condition list 43, and searches the hit document information for the search result 44.
Output as The search result 44 is transmitted from the search control unit 2 of the information search device 1 to the search terminal device via the IP communication network, and is visually displayed to the operator.

More specifically, in the case of a full-text search, if the search operation condition of the search condition list 43 is “=”, the search execution unit 23 determines that the character string “XX technology” exists (strictly speaking, the character The presence of document information including the column “XX technology” is checked by accessing the search target data storage unit 32. The search execution unit 23 sets the search operation condition of the search condition list 43 to “=”.
In this example, if “≧” in this example, the portion expressed as a numerical value in the search target data storage unit 32 is detected based on a character code determination method or the like, and is compared with the condition “≧ 1985”.

As described above, by providing the calculated character string table 31 storing the decomposed character strings corresponding to various range designation information and the search calculation conditions in association with each other, the operator can execute the above-mentioned "1985 and later". When a search character string is input in a form such as “from 1985” or “from 1985”, “≧” is set as a search operation condition in the search condition list 43, so that the same accuracy Enable search by. In this case, the search condition list 43
Is further set as a search operation condition, but since there is no immediately following search character string, the search execution unit 23 ignores this search operation condition.

(Second Information Retrieval Processing) Next, the second information retrieval processing in the information retrieval apparatus 1 having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 5. .

When the operator inputs "XX technology 1985-1995" as a search character string through the full-text search type interface in the search terminal device, the search character string is searched for information through the IP communication network according to a predetermined protocol. It is transmitted to the device 1.

In the search control unit 2 of the information search device 1,
The element phrase decomposition unit 21 analyzes the input search character string 41 and decomposes it into element phrases. In this example, “XX technology 1985 to 1995” as the input search character string 41 is decomposed into “XX technology”, “1985”, “to”, and “1995”.

The element / phrase decomposition section 21 edits and outputs these element / phrases to a decomposition character string list 42 shown in detail in FIG. When analyzing the input search character string 41 and decomposing it into element phrases, the element phrase decomposing unit 21 can adopt a method based on a character type, a method using a dictionary, or the like.

The search operation condition analysis unit 22 calculates an operation of the database 3 for each of the decomposed character strings “XX technology”, “1985”, “「 ”, and“ 1995 ”based on the decomposed character string list 42. The character string table 31 is searched.

As shown in detail in FIG. 3, the operation character string table 31 includes a decomposed character string (element phrase) corresponding to range designation information such as "~" and a "≥ immediately preceding phrase and ≤ immediately following phrase. And the like are stored in association with each other. In other words, "XX technology" in the above decomposed character string,
“1985” and “1995” are not stored in the operation character string table 31.

The search operation condition analysis unit 22 searches the operation character string table 31 and finds that each of the decomposed character strings “XX technology”, “1985”, “〜”, and “1995” is stored in the operation character string table 31. Determine if it exists.

The search operation condition analyzer 22 determines the result of the
When the decomposed character string does not exist in the operation character string table 31, the character string and the exact match search operation condition “=” are added (written) to the search condition list 43 shown in detail in FIG. In this example, the character strings “XX technology” and “198
In response to "5", a perfect match search operation condition "=" is added to the search condition list 43 (see FIG. 5A).

The search operation condition analysis unit 22 determines that
When a decomposed character string exists in the operation character string table 31,
The search condition list 43 is updated (rewritten) according to the search operation condition corresponding to the character string. In this example, since the decomposed character string “分解” exists in the operation character string table 31, the search operation condition analysis unit 22 determines in accordance with the search operation condition “≧ the immediately preceding phrase and ≦ the immediately following phrase” corresponding to the character string. , The character string “198” at the last position of the search condition list 43
The search operation condition corresponding to “5” is rewritten from “=” to “≧”, and “≦” is set as the search operation condition corresponding to the character string at the last position + 1 (see FIG. 5B).

The search operation condition analysis unit 22 determines that the search condition list 43 does not include the decomposition character string "1995" because the operation character string table 31 does not include the decomposition character string "1995".
Since the search operation condition “=” and the search operation condition “≦” are already set, only the disassembled character string “1995” is set at the corresponding position (see FIG. 5C).

The search execution unit 23 performs a full-text search in the search target data storage unit 32 of the database 3 based on the contents of the search condition list 43, and searches the hit document information for the search result 44.
Output as The search result 44 is transmitted from the search control unit 2 of the information search device 1 to the search terminal device via the IP communication network, and is visually displayed to the operator.

More specifically, in the case of a full-text search, if the search operation condition of the search condition list 43 is “=”, the search execution unit 23 determines that the character string “XX technology” exists in the search target data storage unit. Access 32 and check. If the search operation condition of the search condition list 43 is other than “=”, and in this example, “≧” and “≦”, the search execution unit 23 converts the part represented by the numerical expression in the search target data storage unit 32 into a character. Detection is performed based on a code determination method or the like, and “≧ 1985
And ≦ 1995 ”.

As described above, by providing the operation character string table 31 in which the decomposed character strings corresponding to various range designation information and the search operation conditions are stored in association with each other, the operator can use the above-mentioned “1985-1995”. In the case where a search character string is input in a form such as “from 1985 to 1995” or “from 1985 to 1995”, “≧” and “≦” are set in the search condition list 43 as search operation conditions. Therefore, it is possible to search with the same accuracy.

[Second Embodiment] [Configuration of Information Retrieval Apparatus] Referring to FIG. 1, an information retrieval apparatus 1 according to a second embodiment of the present invention includes a retrieval control unit 2 and a database 3. . The search control unit 2 includes an element / phrase decomposition unit 21, a search operation condition analysis unit 22, and a search execution unit 23. The database 3 includes an operation character string table 31 and a search target data storage unit 32.

More specifically, this information search device 1
An information retrieval device that allows a user (operator) to input data items and search values of a database table to search for information. For each data item of a table, a range specification for specifying a range related to numerical information Element phrase (decomposition character string)
And an operation character string table 31 that stores search operation conditions in association with each other; a search operation condition analysis unit 22 that determines whether or not a range designation element word is recognized as a search operation condition;
When the determination result of the search operation condition analysis unit 22 takes a positive value, the database table is searched based on the search value decomposed into the range specification element word and the element word (decomposition character string) corresponding to the numerical information. And a search execution unit 23.

The other structure of the information search apparatus 1 is basically the same as that of the information search apparatus of the first embodiment. [Operation of Information Retrieval Apparatus] (Third Information Retrieval Processing) Next, information retrieval processing (third information retrieval processing) in the information retrieval apparatus 1 having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. This will be described with reference to FIG.

In the search terminal device, the operator uses the table search type interface to search the data items of the table of the database to be searched and the value to be searched (search value).
Enter For example, when the operator searches for used vehicle information, on the search screen of the search terminal device, “manufacturer name”, “model name”, “year”,
And a desired item among data items such as "displacement amount" is selected, and a search value corresponding to each data item is input by mouse click or keyboard operation.

Here, the operator selects the data items of “manufacturer name”, “model name”, “year model”, and “displacement amount”, and “T company” as a search value corresponding to each data item.
"ABC", "since 1995", and "2000CC"
The following is assumed to be entered.

These search values input by the operator are stored in a search string “T Company ABC 1995 or later”.
It is transmitted to the information retrieval device 1 through the IP communication network according to a predetermined protocol such as HTTP as "00 CC or less".

In the search control unit 2 of the information search device 1,
The element phrase decomposition unit 21 analyzes the input search character string 41 and decomposes it into element phrases. In this example, as the input search character string 41, “T company ABC 1995 or later 2000CC
The following is decomposed into “Company T”, “ABC”, “1995”, “After”, “2000CC”, and “Below”.

The element / phrase decomposition section 21 edits and outputs these element / phrases to a decomposition character string list 42 shown in detail in FIG. When analyzing the input search character string 41 and decomposing it into element phrases, the element phrase decomposing unit 21 can adopt a method based on a character type, a method using a dictionary, or the like. The search operation condition analysis unit 22 searches the operation character string table 31 of the database 3 based on the decomposed character string list 42, as described later in detail.

As shown in detail in FIG. 7, the operation character string table 31 includes a decomposed character string (element word) corresponding to range designation information such as “after” and “below” and “≧ the immediately preceding word”. , And search operation conditions such as “≦ last word” are stored in association with each other for each database table name (DB name) to be searched and the item name (data item) in the table.

That is, "T"
Corporation "," ABC "," 1995 ", and" 2000C "
"C" is not stored in the operation character string table 31. In the calculation character string table 31, the DB name “A” corresponds to the “vehicle database table”, and the item names “ITEM01” and “ITEM05” correspond to “year” and “displacement”, respectively. As described above, by specifying and storing the divided character strings for each of the item names “year” and “displacement amount”, the accuracy of the search can be improved.

That is, character strings “over” and “under” as range designation information are inappropriate for the item name “year”, and the item name “displacement” is not suitable for the range designation information. Since the character strings “after” and “before” are inappropriate, no storage data (record) is set for each.

The search operation condition analysis unit 22 has a function of searching the operation character string table 31 by DB name + item name and determining whether or not a specific character string is recognized as a search operation condition based on the presence or absence of the record. Have. When a positive result is not obtained by this determination, the search operation condition analysis unit 22 performs a procedure of stopping the subsequent search processing. It is also possible to notify the operator of an improper character string and urge the operator to re-input.

When a positive result is obtained by the above determination, the search operation condition analysis unit 22 determines whether the operation character string table 3
The search string "T company", "AB
C "," 1995 "," After "," 2000CC ",
Then, it is determined whether or not each of “and” below exists in the operation character string table 31.

The search operation condition analysis unit 22 determines that
When the decomposed character string does not exist in the operation character string table 31, the character string and the exact match search operation condition “=” are added (written) to the search condition list 43 shown in FIG.
In this example, the character strings “T company”, “ABC”, “1995”
The perfect match search operation condition “=” is added to the search condition list 43 corresponding to “year” and “2000CC”, respectively.

The search operation condition analysis unit 22 determines that
When a decomposed character string exists in the operation character string table 31,
The search condition list 43 is updated (rewritten) according to the search operation condition corresponding to the character string.

In this example, the search operation condition analysis unit 22
Since the decomposed character string “after” exists in correspondence with the DB name “A” and the item name “ITEM01 (year)” of the operation character string table 31, according to the search operation condition “≧ last word” corresponding to the character string. , The character string “19” in the search condition list 43
The search operation condition corresponding to “95” is rewritten from “=” to “≧”.

The search operation condition analysis unit 22 determines that the decomposed character string “below” is the DB name “A” of the operation character string table 31.
And the item name “ITEM05 (displacement amount)”, the character string “2000” in the search condition list 43 is searched according to the search operation condition “≦ last word” corresponding to the character string.
The search operation condition corresponding to “CC” is rewritten from “=” to “≦”.

That is, when the search operation condition analysis unit 22 processes the character string “after” or “below” in the disassembled character string list 42, the numerical information “1995”
Or, for "2000CC", search condition list 4
“≧” or “≦” is set as the search operation condition of No. 3.

The search execution section 23 performs a table search in the search target data storage section 32 of the database 3 based on the contents of the search condition list 43, and outputs hit document information as a search result 44. The search result 44 is transmitted from the search control unit 2 of the information search device 1 to the search terminal device via the IP communication network, and is visually displayed to the operator.

Note that, in the case of a database table search, the search execution unit 23 separates the input search character string according to the attribute of the data item (such as the data type such as integer type or date type or the number of digits). Has a function of appropriately converting numerical values into a form capable of comparing magnitudes and comparing them with the values of table items in the search target data storage unit 32.

[Modification] In the first embodiment described above, the search is performed by the full-text search type interface. However, the decomposed character string of the operation character string table 31 and the search operation conditions are stored in the database table. May be stored for each data item, and a search may be performed using a table search type interface.

[0068]

As described above, according to the present invention,
In full-text search or table search, numerical information can be reliably and easily searched.

Further, according to the present invention, when a database table search service is provided on a WWW page or the like, even a user (operator) who is accustomed to the full-text search method can perform a search without feeling uncomfortable. it can.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an information search device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a disassembled character string list according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a view showing an operation character string table according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a search condition list according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a search condition list according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a disassembled character string list according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an operation character string table according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a search condition list according to the second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 information search device 2 search control unit 3 database 21 element phrase decomposition unit 22 search operation condition analysis unit 23 search execution unit 31 operation character string table 32 search target data storage unit 41 input search character string 42 decomposition character string list 43 search condition list 44 search results

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A storage unit for storing a range specifying element word for specifying a range related to numerical information and a search operation condition in association with each other; an element word is stored in the storage unit as the range specifying element word Analysis means for detecting that the information is being searched for. 2. The information search apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a search unit configured to search for information based on the element word corresponding to the numerical information and the search operation condition corresponding to the range specifying element word. 3. The information retrieval apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a decomposing unit that decomposes the input search character string into the element phrases. 4. The information search device according to claim 3, wherein the search character string is transmitted from a search terminal device accommodated in an IP communication network. 5. The information search apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit stores the range-designating element phrase related to the numerical information and the search operation condition in association with each data item of a table. 6. An information retrieval apparatus for retrieving information by allowing a user to input a search character string; decomposing means for decomposing the input search character string into element words; and a range related to numerical information. Storage means for storing a range designation element word for designation and search operation conditions in association with each other; analysis means for detecting that the element word is stored in the storage means as the range designation element word; An information search device comprising: a search unit configured to search for information based on the element word corresponding to numerical information and the search operation condition corresponding to the range specifying element word. 7. An information retrieval apparatus for retrieving information by allowing a user to input a data item and a retrieval value of a database table; and for specifying a range related to numerical information for each data item of the table. Storage means for storing a range-designating element word and a search operation condition in association with each other; determining means for determining whether or not the range-designating element word is recognized as the search operation condition; A search unit that searches the database table based on the search value decomposed into the range designation element word and the element word corresponding to the numerical information when a positive value is obtained. 8. A step of storing a range specifying element word for specifying a range related to numerical information and a search operation condition in association with each other; and that the element word is stored as the range specifying element word. Detecting the information. 9. The information search method according to claim 8, further comprising a step of searching for information based on said element words corresponding to said numerical information and said search operation conditions corresponding to said range-designating element words. 10. The information search method according to claim 9, further comprising a step of decomposing the input search character string into the element phrases. 11. An information search method for allowing a user to input a search character string to search for information; a step of decomposing the input search character string into element words; and specifying a range related to numerical information. Storing a range designation element word and search operation conditions in association with each other; detecting that the element word is stored as the range designation element word; and the element corresponding to the numerical information. A step of searching for information based on a word and the search operation condition corresponding to the range specifying element word. 12. An information retrieval method for retrieving information by allowing a user to input a data item and a retrieval value of a database table; and for specifying a range related to numerical information for each data item of the table. A step of storing a range designating element term and a search operation condition in association with each other; a step of determining whether or not the range designating element term is recognized as the search operation condition; Searching the database table based on the search value decomposed into the range designation element word and the element word corresponding to the numerical information.