JP2002108862A - System and apparatus for retrieving information and their control method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To share common retrieval object data by pluralities of retrieving systems and also to keep individuality of each retrieving system. SOLUTION: The retrieving system A between the retrieving systems A and B which are constituted by client/server to respectively perform an independent retrieval processing is provided with a storing device A 102 for storing data which is common to the both retrieving systems. The server part B1 of the system B performs the retrieval processing in accordance with a retrieval request from a client B2, obtains a publication number which coincides with a retrieval condition, generates a data obtaining request and transmits it to a management server A102'. The management server A102' reads corresponding data from the storing device A102 in accordance with the obtaining request and transmits it to the server part B1. The server part B1 transmits received data to the client B2 as the retrieval result.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information retrieval system and apparatus suitable for retrieving desired information from a large amount of information and a control method thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Many so-called search systems have been provided which utilize digitized information in response to a demand for active use and utilization of various types of information. Furthermore, with the spread of communication networks and the low price of high-performance computers, a server that centralizes data processing such as data storage and retrieval,
A wide variety of so-called server-client type search systems including personal computers on the user side (client) requesting processing such as search, display, and printing are provided.

For example, there are the following methods for a research institution such as an individual or a university or a company to search, obtain, and utilize the information of the full text of a Japanese patent gazette.

[0004] (1) A database provided free of charge (for free, a service on the homepage (http://www.jpo-miti.go.jp) provided by the JPO) Is one of the patent electronic libraries (IPDL), and there are several paid ones. For example, PAL and OLI in the services provided by Japan Patent Information Agency
S system distributed processing system).

(2) CD-RO issued by the Japan Patent Office
M publication (hereinafter referred to as CD-ROM publication) or
A method in which the processed data is obtained as electronic information from the invention association or a private patent information-related service provider via a medium such as a CD-ROM or a communication network, and is used in a commercially available patent information search system. .

There are advantages and disadvantages in both of the above methods (1) and (2), and the criteria for their suitability or importance depend on the purpose of use and environment of the user who intends to use the method. different.

[0007] By the way, the policy of emphasizing patents that began in the United States has become a global trend, and even now in Japan, attractive business can no longer be considered without the active use of intellectual property information such as patents. There is a certain situation. Under these circumstances, when considering which type of system (1) or (2) to select, the user needs to carefully consider the purpose of introducing the system other than the cost.

In other words, in the above-mentioned method (1), in the service of each system provided, each service provider competes with each other to give characteristics to its data and functions. Although there are different parts in this system, only the users who have contracted the same service have the same information source / function for all users. In order to obtain the necessary information from competing institutions and companies from the same information source and function, it is necessary to refine the search technology on the user's side, or to search the opposite end for a large amount of information. Either one of the methods of manual processing is selected.

Furthermore, the information source / function is dedicated to the service, and it is not possible to add user-specific information / function to the service or to process the information. Also,
In order to achieve this, the user needs to create a separate usage system.

On the other hand, in the above method (2), the information source
Features are user specific. The addition of unique functions may have some restrictions in relation to the origin of the system, but it is possible at the discretion of the user, such as in-house classifications, classifications in each industry, and comments from the research department and intellectual property department. It is quite free to add unique information. By adding the information and functions of this monologue, the wisdom and know-how in the user are shared by the system, and the more advanced or efficient information acquisition and utilization is achieved by the above method (2). The idea is to use it proactively.

A major problem for a user who intends to construct a system for realizing the method (2) by a server / client type is the capacity of search data and official full text data. The search data also includes data unique to the user, and is directly connected to the wisdom and know-how of the user. Therefore, even if it is treated separately, the volume of the full-text publication data is becoming enormous.

For example, based on a CD-ROM publication,
Approximately 70 MBs of about 500 MB are issued annually, and approximately 55 MB of 300 MB are issued annually based on the CD-ROM registration publication. Total CD for publication and registration (public announcement)
The number of ROM publications is expected to exceed 1,000 in 2000. Also, the trend of the pro-patent is expected to increase the number of patent applications in the future and increase the number of pages (capacity) of one specification itself, so the capacity is expected to decrease for the time being. Hateful. .

[0013] Further, the opportunity for amendment to the applicant, the substantial limitation of the amendment content, and the shortening of the examination request period also result in an increase in the capacity of the gazette and the number of issued gazettes. It is thought to bring about an increase.

[0014] Of these huge publications, the proportion of publications actually used for printing or file output is limited to only specific fields or applicants for many users. Operation is inefficient. This means that although the unit price per information of the storage medium is decreasing year by year, the operation cost of the system is increased in terms of the purchase cost of the data storage device, the maintenance cost, the occupied space, etc., and the original information is increased. -Shaking the benefits of the system of wisdom sharing.

[0015]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Under the current situation and trends described above, the burden required for maintaining and maintaining data and its storage devices is reduced, the increase in the number of devices related to the system is suppressed or simplified, and There is a demand for improved use efficiency of recorded data.

However, in the conventional system, the search, display,
Since the printing portion and the storage portion of the publication data itself are inseparable, the operation period of the system increases, and as the data accumulates, the costs related to the maintenance and maintenance of the storage medium of the publication data itself and their storage devices, and Will also increase the need for space. This has been one of the reasons why the number of introduced users is limited.

In the conventional information retrieval system, LA
Regardless of the usage form of N and / or WAN,
The system is operated and used in a closed network for each user, and data is not partially or completely shared between different networks.

Further, in the case where the origins of the systems are different or the versions of the systems are different even if the origins are the same, no common data is shared at all.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and has the following features. A plurality of search systems share a common search target data, and by maintaining the originality of each search system, An object of the present invention is to solve a problem caused by a large amount of search target data.

[0020]

An information retrieval system according to the present invention for achieving the above object has the following arrangement. That is, a plurality of search systems each configured by a client server, each of which executes an independent search process, are shared by a server included in each of the plurality of search systems, and can be commonly used by the plurality of search systems. A storage unit for storing data; and an obtaining unit for obtaining data from the storage unit based on search information obtained by a server executing a search process in each of the plurality of search systems.

Further, according to the present invention, there is provided an information search device which can be used in the information search system, and the information search device has the following configuration. That is, the client
An information search device functioning as a server of a search system configured with a server, each of which performs an independent search process, shared by a server having each of a plurality of search systems configured with a client server,
Communication means for communicating with storage means for storing data commonly available to the plurality of search systems; generating means for providing a predetermined search environment to the client and generating search information in response to a search instruction from the client; Obtaining means for obtaining data as a search result from the storage means via the communication means based on the search information generated by the generation means.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling an information retrieval system, comprising: a plurality of retrieval systems each configured by a client server, each executing an independent retrieval process; A storage method for storing information that is shared by servers of each of the plurality of search systems and stores data that can be commonly used by the plurality of search systems. A search step of executing a process to obtain search information; and an obtaining step of obtaining data from the storage unit based on the search information obtained in the search step.

Further, according to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling an information search apparatus, which is executed by a plurality of search systems each including a client server, each of which executes an independent search process, and is shared by servers. A control method of an information search device having communication means for communicating with storage means for storing data that can be commonly used in the plurality of search systems, and functioning as a server of the search system,
Providing a predetermined search environment to the client, generating a search information in response to a search instruction from the client, and, based on the search information generated in the generation step, the storage unit via the communication unit. An acquisition step of acquiring data as a search result.

[0024]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<First Embodiment> In the following embodiment,
In a plurality of information retrieval systems composed of client servers, by sharing data common to the server unit of each system and its storage device, it is possible to maintain functions such as user-specific information and retrieval in each system. A description will be given of an information retrieval system which achieves a reduction in system operation and an efficient operation of shared data and its storage device.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the data search system according to the first embodiment. In the system according to the present embodiment, a case will be described in which patent publication data is used as search target data. The system A is a system for retrieving patent gazettes operated in a system composed of a so-called client server, and is a system in which the full text of gazettes can be obtained. The server unit A1 that manages search / data and user management related to the present system and the client (user) A2 are connected in a communication network A3 that is closed for security.

The server unit A1 includes a search processing server A1.
And a processing unit (hereinafter simply referred to as a processing unit) having data and processing functions relating to search, display, printing, user management, network management, and the like. The search processing server A101 further includes a storage device A having a storage medium such as a hard disk device.
One or a plurality of servers 101 'may be provided, each of which may have a data / processing system of a search processing unit, and a plurality of search processing servers A101 may be connected.

The processing unit also has data relating to publication search, such as management data of patent publication numbers. In order to be able to obtain the full text of the publication, a search processing server A101
Is connected to the data storage device A102 of the CD-ROM publication (in this embodiment, it is connected via the management server A102 ′). The storage device A102 includes one or more CD-ROM drives or CD-ROMs.
A data management server (management server) that has an autochanger for use and stores data stored in the storage device A102.
A102 'is connected via a network or an interface.

The storage device A102 may use an autochanger for both CD-ROM and DVD or an autochanger for DVD instead of the autochanger for CD-ROM, and further increase the processing speed (reduce the processing time). Therefore, the hard disk device can be used alone or in combination. Also, the management server A10
2 ′ is not independent, and the data may be managed by providing the function in the search processing server A101.

In response to a search instruction from the client (user) A2 or an inquiry by a number, the search processing server A101 executes a search process using the search data stored in the storage device A101 ', and acquires data of a specific publication. The request is output to the management server A102 '. The management server 102 'acquires the data of the corresponding publication from the storage device A102 in accordance with the acquisition request and provides it to the search processing server A101. The search processing server A101 is the management server 10
When the data is obtained from 2 ′, the data is transferred to the client A2 as a search result. The search processing server A101 uses the search data stored in the search processing server A101 itself and / or the storage device A101 ′ (for example, correspondence between a keyword and a publication number, etc.) to search conditions from the client. Will be searched for the publication number corresponding to.

In the system of the present embodiment, in addition to this general use mode, the management server Al02 'is further provided with a search processing server B101 in the information search system B composed of a separately operated client server.
It can also respond to acquisition requests from. That is, the search processing server B101 in the information search system B is connected to the management server A102 ′ of the information search system A via the network devices A4 and B4, and receives an acquisition request from the search processing server B101. receive. The management server A102 'that has received the acquisition request from the search processing server B101 acquires the corresponding data (publication data) from the storage device A102, and provides this to the search processing server B101 that is the acquisition request source. I do. The search processing server B101 transfers the provided data to the user B2 on the system B as a search result. The server B1 that manages search / data and user management related to the system B and the client (user) B2 are connected in a communication network B3 closed for security.

FIG. 2 shows the search processing operation of the search server B101 and the management server A102 'according to the first embodiment.
5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of FIG. Step S2
When a search request including a search condition such as a keyword or a publication date is received from the client B2 in step 01, in step S202, a search is performed using the search data stored in the search processing server B101 and / or the storage device B101 ′. The process is executed to obtain a publication number that matches the search condition. Next, in step S203, an acquisition request including the acquired publication number is generated, and in step S204, the storage device A1 shared by a plurality of systems.
02, this acquisition request is transmitted.

The management server A 102 ′ operates in step S 21.
When the acquisition request is received in step S1, the received acquisition request is converted into data reading position information in step S212. Here, for example, the publication number included in the acquisition request is converted into information indicating the number of CD-ROMs on which the publication data is available.

Subsequently, in step S213, data (publication data) is read in accordance with the data read position information, and in step S214, data for the issue source of the acquisition request is created. At this time, the read data may be further transmitted.

The search processing server B101 executes step S
When the publication data is acquired from the management server A 102 ′ in 205, it is transmitted to the client that issued the search condition as search result data in step S206.

In the above system configuration, the management server A 102 ′ of the information retrieval system sharing data.
And data to be shared with the search processing server B101, its configuration and usage conditions are set in advance (for example, the type of target publication, publication number, CD-RO
It is preferable to add / modify data, processes, and flowgrams related thereto in advance. As a result, it is possible to specify the data requested to be obtained and to provide the data in the requested format, and it is possible to adapt to the operation form of each search system.

This use condition is based on the management server A 102 ′.
Is held for each search system, and is referred to when data is read in the above-described step S213, and data is read under the use conditions corresponding to the search system of the issuer of the acquisition request.

Further, in which system the shared data and the storage device existing are to be maintained, the communication environment (geographical environment, installation and maintenance cost of communication lines) with other systems sharing data, the maintenance system, By making a comprehensive evaluation of the specifications (capacity, versatility, and service life, etc.) of the storage device, more reliable system operation can be achieved, and lower maintenance costs can be expected.

It should be noted that the separately operated client
The information search system B composed of a server can further add a method for securing security on the network (to protect an unspecified intrusion from outside) and a device therefor to the network device. it can.

The network between the different systems may be via a public line or a dedicated line. As a device for this network and a method for ensuring safety,
Personal computers for firewalls, routers, hubs and gateways at the entrance and exit of each network (may be workstations (EWS))
And so on. It should be noted that these network devices and the technique for ensuring safety do not need to be the same between systems of the number of collars, and can be changed according to the network environment and required security.

As shown in FIG. 1, the information retrieval system B on the side of requesting data acquisition is also composed of a so-called client server.
101 is a CD which should be provided in the conventional system
-It does not have a ROM publication data storage device or a management server therefor (corresponding to A102 and A102 '),
The data is acquired from the storage device A102 that stores the common data in the server unit (A1 in this example) of another system via the network, and the data is transferred to the client B2 in the original network.

Further, different information retrieval systems need not be the same information retrieval system. In other words, systems derived from different search engines, systems created by different origins, systems derived from different versions of the same system changed to user-specific specifications, or a combination of these may be used. Is clear.

Although the storage device has been described as being included in the server unit A1 of the search system A, it may be an independent device without belonging to any search system. Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the education of the storage device by two systems has been described, but it goes without saying that the storage device may be shared by three or more systems. Also, system B
It is also possible to provide a management server and a storage device similar to that of the system A, and to configure the storage device to be shared by a plurality of systems in a complementary manner.

<Second Embodiment> In the first embodiment,
The search information obtained by the search processing server B101 always accesses the storage device A102 of the search system A to obtain the search result data (publication data), but is not limited thereto. For example, in a search system sharing the storage device A102 of the search system A, search result data corresponding to certain search information is obtained from data stored in its own storage device, and search result data corresponding to another search information is obtained. May be obtained from the storage device A102. In the second embodiment, such a system will be described.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the data search system according to the second embodiment. The basic configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment. However, in a search system C including a so-called client server that requests data acquisition, a server unit C1 is accessed by a search processing server C101. Possible dedicated storage device C1
02 and a management server C102 '. The storage device 102 includes a CD-ROM for a part of the period
Partial data of the ROM publication is stored. If the publication data corresponding to the obtained search information is stored in the storage device C102, the storage device C10
2 will be obtained.

On the other hand, when the publication data corresponding to the obtained search information is not stored in the storage device C103, another system (system A) is connected via the network.
From the storage device A102 in the server unit A1 of
The data is transferred to the client C2.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining an operation example of the search processing server C101 according to the second embodiment. Steps S201 to S206 shown in FIG.
Is the same as the processing shown in FIG.

When an acquisition request is generated in step S203, first, in step S401, this is transferred to its own management server, that is, the management server C102 'of the search unit C1, and an attempt is made to acquire data. Here, if the data is obtained, steps S402 to S403 are performed.
Then, the obtained data is transmitted to the search requesting client C2 as a search result. On the other hand, if the management server 102 ′ and the storage device 102 cannot acquire the data corresponding to the acquisition request, the process proceeds to step S40
The process proceeds from step 2 to step S204, and data is acquired from the shared storage device A102 according to the procedure described in the first embodiment.

As described above, according to each of the above-described embodiments, the information recorded in the storage device and the operation rate of the storage device are improved by sharing the data common to the server units of different systems and the storage device. Is achieved. In addition, the reduction of facility costs and the reduction of maintenance costs can be achieved by partially or entirely eliminating the need for common data and storage devices. Furthermore, the reduction of the operation cost by reducing the occupied space of the storage device is also achieved.

Further, the purpose of this system is not to unify all the systems or outsource all the systems, but to share the text information part common to each system. And maintain / deploy data unique to each user.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but allows a case in which the configuration of the device partially differs depending on the network, the search system, and the target data amount. In the above embodiment,
Although the publication data was used as the data to be searched, it is clear that the data to be searched is not limited to this.

In each of the above embodiments, a fee may be charged for using the data in the storage device by another search system. This billing may be a fixed fee, or may be a pay-as-you-go system according to the number of publications to be used, the data capacity or the number of accesses.

Further, when the shared data is updated, it is necessary to update the search data used by the search processing server of each search system. This requires the uniqueness of the search environment in each search system. In order to maintain it, it is essential that they be updated individually. However, the information indicating the update content is stored in the management server A1.
From 02 ', it may be distributed to each search system.

[0054]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The common search target data can be shared by a plurality of search systems, and the uniqueness of each search system can be maintained. As a result, it is possible to maintain and expand existing data and systems while solving the problem caused by the increase in the capacity of search target data.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a data search system according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a search processing server B10 according to the first embodiment;
6 is a flowchart illustrating a search processing operation and an operation of a management server A102 ′.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a data search system according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a search processing server C10 according to a second embodiment;
6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation example of FIG.

Claims (19)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of search systems each configured by a client and a server, each of which performs an independent search process, shared by a server included in each of the plurality of search systems, and shared by the plurality of search systems. A storage unit for storing usable data; and an acquisition unit for acquiring data from the storage unit based on search information obtained by a server executing a search process in each of the plurality of search systems. An information retrieval system characterized in that: 2. The information retrieval system according to claim 1, wherein said storage means is owned by one of said plurality of information retrieval systems. 3. The obtaining means converts the data stored in the storage means into data request information for reading based on search information from the server, and obtains data from the storage means based on the obtained data request information. 2. The information search system according to claim 1, further comprising: an access unit that reads out the data; and a providing unit that provides data obtained by the access unit to the server as search result data. 4. The information retrieval system according to claim 3, further comprising a network device for connecting said access means and each server of said plurality of retrieval systems. 5. The information search system according to claim 4, wherein said network device has means for ensuring security of each of said plurality of search systems. 6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a setting unit configured to individually set a use condition of the data stored in the storage unit for each of the plurality of search systems, wherein the acquisition unit includes the search information from a server; 2. The information search system according to claim 1, wherein the data request information is generated based on a use condition set in the server. 7. At least one of the plurality of search systems has its own dedicated storage means. In the search system having the dedicated storage means, at least one of the plurality of search systems has a function based on obtained search information. 2. The information retrieval system according to claim 1, wherein data is acquired from either the dedicated storage unit or the storage unit. 8. Commonly available data stored in said storage means is data obtained from a CD-ROM publication,
2. The information search system according to claim 1, wherein the data is edited and processed. 9. The storage device according to claim 1, wherein the storage means is a CD-ROM autochanger, a CD-ROM / DVD autochanger, a DVD autochanger, a hard disk device, or a combination thereof.
Information retrieval system described in. 10. An information search device functioning as a server of a search system configured by a client server, wherein each of the plurality of search systems configured by a client server performs an independent search process. Communication means for communicating with storage means for storing data that is shared by the servers having the plurality of search systems and which can be commonly used by the plurality of search systems; providing a predetermined search environment to the client; and searching information in response to a search instruction from the client And an obtaining unit for obtaining data as a search result from the storage unit via the communication unit based on the search information generated by the generating unit. apparatus. 11. A dedicated storage unit provided separately from the storage unit and dedicated to the information search device; and any one of the storage unit and the dedicated storage unit based on the search information generated by the generation unit. And determining means for determining whether to obtain data, wherein the obtaining means is based on a determination result of the determining means,
2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein corresponding data is obtained from one of the storage unit and the dedicated storage unit.
0. The information search device according to 0. 12. A plurality of search systems each comprising a client and a server, each executing an independent search process, and shared by a server of each of the plurality of search systems, and shared by the plurality of search systems. A control method of an information search system having storage means for storing usable data, wherein in each of the plurality of search systems, a server executes a search process to obtain search information; An acquisition step of acquiring data from the storage unit based on the search information obtained in the step. 13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the storage unit is owned by one of the plurality of information search methods. 14. The obtaining step includes: converting data stored in the storage unit into data request information for reading based on search information from the server; and obtaining data from the storage unit based on the obtained data request information. 13. The method according to claim 12, further comprising: an access step of reading the data; and a providing step of providing data obtained in the access step to the server as search result data. 15. The control method according to claim 12, further comprising a step of ensuring security in communication between said storage means and said server. 16. The method according to claim 16, further comprising a setting step of individually setting a use condition of the data stored in the storage unit for each of the plurality of search systems, wherein the obtaining step includes: obtaining the search information from a server; 13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the data request information is generated based on a use condition set in the server. 17. At least one of the plurality of search systems has a dedicated storage unit dedicated to itself, and in the obtaining step, in the search system having the dedicated storage unit, based on the obtained search information, 13. The control method according to claim 12, wherein data is acquired from either the dedicated storage unit or the storage unit. 18. A plurality of search systems, each of which performs an independent search process, is shared by servers of a plurality of search systems each including a client and a server, and stores data commonly available to the plurality of search systems. A method for controlling an information search device having communication means for communicating with storage means and functioning as a server of the search system, wherein a predetermined search environment is provided to a client, and search information is provided in response to a search instruction from the client. An information retrieval apparatus comprising: a generation step of generating; and an obtaining step of obtaining data as a search result from the storage unit via the communication unit based on the search information generated in the generation step. Control method. 19. The information search device provided separately from the storage means has a dedicated storage means dedicated thereto. Based on the search information generated in the generation step, the storage means and the dedicated storage means A determining step of determining from which of the data to obtain, the obtaining step is based on a determination result of the determining step,
2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein corresponding data is obtained from one of the storage unit and the dedicated storage unit.
9. The control method for an information search device according to item 8.