JP2002149808A - System for answering to question - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system for answering to questions which can efficiently answer to the questions from questioners with high quality. SOLUTION: This system is equipped with FAQDB(Frequently Asked Question Data Base) 10 and a control part 14. The FAQDB 10 houses a plurality of the questions and answers to each of the questions with associated each other. The control part 14 detests contents of reading activities of the questioners to the answers housed in the FAQDB 10, when it detects prescribed reading activities, it performs prescribed treatment to present the questions, presented from the questioners, to solvers.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a question answering system for presenting an answer to a question from a questioner.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, legal knowledge and other specialized abilities are required to properly perform legal procedures. Therefore, attorneys, patent attorneys, and judicial scriveners are required for each field of procedure. ,
There are specialists such as tax accountants. However, depending on the person in charge of the general company, such an expert threshold may be felt high, and even if there are various questions regarding the procedures, etc., he / she hesitates to ask the expert directly. There are cases. On the other hand, for experts,
While we want to minimize customer questions, it can be difficult to get a lot of basic and standard questions.

[0003] With the recent spread of network technology represented by the Internet, a number of Web sites for browsing information in various fields have been established. With such a site as one background, FAQ (Frequency As) for automatically answering a question from a questioner is provided on such a site.
(Ked Question) service and an e-mail inquiry service. Of these, FAQ
The service is a service that allows a question frequently asked and an answer to the question to be browsed on a Web site. Further, the e-mail question service is a service in which, when a questioner writes a question in an e-mail and transmits it to a predetermined destination, a response to the question is transmitted by e-mail.

[0004]

However, heretofore, the FAQ service and the e-mail inquiry service have conventionally been provided only individually, resulting in the following problems. That is, although there is a questioner posted in the FAQ, there is a questioner who consults by e-mail without referring to the FAQ, so that the burden on the respondent is large. Further, when a question not described in the FAQ is answered by e-mail, a similar question may be sent by e-mail. If such frequency is high, this question and the answer to it
It is desirable to post on the AQ, but updating the FAQ may take time. Therefore, the questioner needs to consult by e-mail in order not to know the fact that another questioner has already asked, while the respondent answers the same question many times. The burden was heavy because I had to do it.

[0005] In addition, it is easy to select the respondents if it is a question service for a single piece of information, but if a question service for a wide variety of information is provided, it is appropriate to respond to the content of the question. It is important to select the right respondents. However, such a selection is difficult as the information is diversified and the number of questions is increased. In addition, there is no general opportunity to evaluate the speed and quality of responses from respondents. Therefore, incentives for respondents to give quick and accurate answers tended to be low.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide a question answering system capable of efficiently giving a high-quality answer to a question of a questioner.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, a question answering system according to claim 1 is a question answering system for presenting an answer to a question from a questioner. Answer storage means for storing a question and an answer to each question in association with each other, browsing behavior detecting means for detecting the content of a questioner's browsing behavior for the answer stored in the answer storage means, and the browsing behavior On condition that a predetermined browsing action is detected by the detecting means,
Question processing means for performing a predetermined process for presenting the question presented by the questioner to the respondent.

[0008] According to this system, when a predetermined browsing action is performed by a questioner, an answer from the questioner is presented to the respondent. Therefore, it is possible to accept a question only when the questioner browses the answer stored in advance, and that consultation is performed by e-mail despite the question being posted in the FAQ. Can be prevented, and an answer can be made efficiently.

A question answering system according to claim 2 is a question answering system for presenting an answer to a question from a questioner, wherein a plurality of questions and an answer to each question are associated with each other. An answer storing means for storing the answer, and searching for an answer to the question presented by the questioner from the answer stored in the answer storing means, and if the answer is found, the answer is sent to the questioner. And a question processing means for performing a predetermined process for presenting the question to the respondent when the answer is not retrieved.

According to this system, the answer to the question presented by the questioner is retrieved, and if the answer is not retrieved, the question is presented to the respondent. Therefore, when the questioner misses the answer stored in advance, the answer can be made without presenting the question to the answerer, so that the answer can be made efficiently.

The question answering system according to claim 3 is a question answering system for presenting an answer to a question from a questioner, and associates a plurality of questions with answers to each question. Answer storing means for storing the question, a question processing means for performing a predetermined process for presenting the question presented by the questioner to the respondent, a question presented by the questioner, and a question presented by the respondent. And answer processing means for storing the answer in the answer storage means.

According to this system, the question presented by the questioner and the answer presented by the respondent are stored, so that the response to the question once performed is immediately reflected in FAQ information or the like. Thus, the questioner does not ask useless questions, and the respondent does not need to answer the same question many times, and can answer efficiently.

A question answering system according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is a question answering system for presenting an answer to a question from a questioner, and stores information for specifying a question area that the respondent is good at. Answering the question based on the information for specifying the question area when the question and the information for specifying the question area are presented by the questioner. A question processing means for selecting a respondent with reference to the question field storage means and performing a predetermined process for presenting the question to the selected respondent is provided.

According to this system, a respondent who answers a question is automatically selected, and the question is presented to the respondent. Therefore, it is possible to present only a question according to each respondent's specialty and improve the speed and quality of the answer, so that the answer can be made efficiently.

[0015] A question answering system according to claim 5 is a question answering system for presenting an answer to a question from a questioner, wherein evaluation information storage means for storing evaluation information on the answer content of the answerer. And evaluation information processing means for storing the evaluation information in the evaluation information storage means when evaluation information for the respondent is presented by a questioner presented with an answer from the respondent. And

According to this system, the evaluation information for the answer is stored. Therefore, it is possible to evaluate the respondent based on the evaluation information. As a result, incentives can be given to respondents for providing quick and high-quality answers, and as a result, the speed and quality of responses can be improved, so that efficient answers can be provided. Can be.

[0017]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a question answering system (hereinafter, this system) according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiments, an example will be described in which the present invention is applied to a case in which a question about intellectual property rights is answered, but the present invention is not limited to this. The present invention can be applied to a case where an answer is made to an arbitrary question in an arbitrary field.

(Overall Configuration of System) First, the overall configuration of the present system according to the embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of the present system. As shown in FIG. 1, the system includes a server device 1 which is a question answer information processing device for processing information on a question and its answer, a client device 2 which is an information terminal device used by a questioner, In addition, a client device 3 which is an information terminal device used by a respondent is communicably connected via the Internet 4.

In such a system, the server device 1 stores FAQ information configured by combining a plurality of questions and answers, and the requester can browse the FAQ information. In addition, the questioner can transmit a question, and the question transmitted in this manner is transmitted to the respondent via the server device 1 under predetermined conditions. Then, when the respondent transmits an answer to the question, the question is transmitted to the requester via the server device 1.

Here, the present system has the following basic features. That is, the questioner can ask a question only when the questioner has previously viewed the FAQ information. Also, the question sent from the questioner is FAQ
Sent to respondents only if not included in the information. When transmitting a question to a respondent, a respondent suitable for the content of the question is automatically selected. The answer transmitted from the respondent is automatically stored in the server device 1 as FAQ information together with the question. In addition, the questioner can evaluate the respondent's response,
This evaluation is stored in the server device 1.

(Configuration of Server Device 1) Next, the configuration of the server device 1 shown in FIG. 1 will be described. FIG. 2 shows FIG.
3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the server device 1 shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the server device 1 of the present system includes:
Questioner DB (DB = Database) 10, Answerer DB1
1, an FAQ DB 12, a communication control IF (IF = interface) 13, and a control unit 14. These units are communicably connected via an arbitrary communication path. Further, the server device 1 is communicably connected to the Internet 4 via a communication device (not shown) such as a router and a dedicated line.

Among the components of the server device 1,
The questioner DB 10 stores information on the questioner (questioner information).
Is a questioner information storage means for storing This questioner information is, for example, a questioner I for uniquely identifying each questioner.
D, the name and company name of each questioner, the address of each questioner and the company, the e-mail address of each questioner, and the FAQ reading flag indicating whether each questioner has viewed the FAQ information. It is configured in association.

The respondent DB 11 is a respondent information storing means for storing information on the respondent (respondent information), and a question field storing means for storing information for specifying a question field which the respondent is good at. And an evaluation information storage unit for storing evaluation information on the answer contents of the respondent. The respondent is, for example, a patent attorney. Respondent D
The information stored in B11 includes, for example, a respondent ID for uniquely identifying each respondent, a name and an office name of each respondent, an address of each respondent and the office, and an e-mail of each respondent. The address, information for identifying a question area that each respondent is good at, the total number of answers made by each respondent, and evaluation information on the answer content of each respondent are associated with each other. Here, the specific content of the information for specifying the question area is arbitrary, but here, "intellectual property rights in general", "patent and utility model law", "design law"
One or more of the five specialty field names of "Trademark Law" and "Copyright Law / Unfair Competition Prevention Law" are stored. Further, the specific content of the evaluation information regarding the answer content is arbitrary, but here, the cumulative number of evaluation points in five stages determined by the requester is stored.

The FAQDB 12 is an answer storing means for storing an answer to each of a plurality of questions. The information stored in the FAQ DB 12 is configured by, for example, associating text data of each question with text data of an answer to each question.

In FIG. 2, the communication control IF 13
Controls communication between the server device 1 and the Internet (or a communication device such as a router) 4. Also,
The control unit 14 controls each unit of the server device 1 to perform various processes. Schematically, (1) a process for allowing a questioner to browse FAQ information, (2) a process for a question presented by a questioner, (3) a process for a response presented by a respondent, and (4) a question Performs processing on the evaluation information presented by the user.

More specifically, the control unit 14 determines (2) in the processing for the question presented by the
1) a process of detecting the content of the browsing behavior of the questioner in response to the answer stored in the FAQ DB 12, (2-2) on the condition that a predetermined browsing behavior is detected by this process.
A predetermined process for presenting the question presented by the questioner to the respondent; (2-3) searching for an answer to the question presented by the questioner from the answer stored in the FAQ DB 12;
When the answer is searched, a predetermined process for presenting the answer to the questioner is performed, and when the answer is not searched, a predetermined process for presenting the question to the respondent is performed. Processing, (2-4) When a questioner presents a question and information for specifying a question field, an answer that answers the question based on the information for specifying the presented question field. The user selects a respondent by referring to the respondent DB 11 and performs a predetermined process for presenting the question to the selected respondent.

Further, the control unit 14 performs (2) the process for the question presented by the questioner and (3) the process for the answer presented by the respondent, The answer provided is FAQD
A process for storing the result in B12 is performed. (4) In the process for the evaluation information presented by the questioner, when the evaluation information for the respondent is presented by the questioner presented with the answer by the respondent, the evaluation information is transmitted to the respondent D.
A process for storing the result in B11 is performed. In this sense, the control unit 14 constitutes a browsing behavior detecting unit, a question processing unit, and an answer processing unit described in the claims. In addition,
Details of each process will be described later.

(Configuration of Questioner's Client Device 2) Next, the configuration of the client's client device 2 will be described. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the client device 2 shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the client device 2 of the present system is schematically
0, ROM 21, RAM 22, HD 23, input device 2
4, an output device 25, an input / output control IF 26, and a communication control IF 27. These components are connected to each other via a bus so that data communication is possible.

The control unit 20 of the client device 2
It comprises a Web browser 20a. This W
The web browser 20a basically performs display control (browsing processing) for interpreting web data and displaying the web data on a monitor described later. Also, the electronic mailer 20b
Is a predetermined communication protocol (for example, SMTP (Simple
The e-mail is transmitted / received in accordance with Mail Transfer Protocol).

As the input device 24, a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, and the like can be used. A monitor described later also realizes a pointing device function in cooperation with a mouse. Output device 2
As 5, in addition to a monitor (including a home television), a speaker can be used (hereinafter, the output device 25 is referred to as a monitor 25 as necessary). These input devices 24
The input and output of signals to and from the output device 25
This is performed via F26. The client device 2 configured as described above includes a communication control IF 27, a modem,
A. It is connected to a communication device such as a router via a telephone line or the Internet 4 via a dedicated line, and accesses the server device 1 in accordance with a predetermined communication protocol (for example, TCP / IP Internet Protocol). be able to. This client device 2 has (1) FA
A process of browsing / searching Q information, (2) a process of transmitting a question to the server device 1, (3) a process of receiving and browsing an e-mail or answer transmitted from the server device 1, (4).
A process of transmitting an evaluation point for the answer content is performed. The details of each process will be described later.

(Configuration of Respondent's Client Device 3) Next, the configuration of the respondent's client device 3 will be described. The client device 3 of the present system is roughly
Control unit 30, ROM 31, RAM 32, HD 33, input device 34, output device (monitor) 35, input / output control IF3
6 and a communication control IF 37. The control unit 30 includes a Web browser 30a and an electronic mailer 30b. However, since these units can be configured in the same manner as the units having the same names in the client device 2 of the above-mentioned questioner, their description and illustration are omitted. Then, the client device 3 of the present system performs (1) a process of browsing a question by a questioner, and (2) a process of transmitting an answer to the question. The details of each process will be described later.

(Contents of Processing) Next, the details of the processing in the present system configured as described above will be described. Here, as a premise, it is assumed that, in the server device 1, the questioner information is stored in the questioner DB10, the respondent information is stored in the responder DB11, and the FAQ information is stored in the FAQDB12 by an arbitrary method.

First, the requester asks the client device 2 for W
After starting the web browser 20a and connecting to the Internet 4 by dial-up connection or the like, a predetermined URL (Uniform) corresponding to a predetermined initial screen when using the present system is provided in a predetermined input field of the web browser 20a.
Resource Locator to input device 24
To enter through. Then, the Web browser 20a
W of the initial screen according to a predetermined communication procedure (TPC / IP)
Requests transmission of eb data. The server device 1 that has received this request, as illustrated in the flowchart of FIG.
A process for making the questioner browse the FAQ information is performed. That is, the server device 1 constantly monitors request transmission from the client devices 2 and 3 and, when receiving a request for transmission of Web data of the initial screen, transmits the Web data to the client device 2. As a result, an initial screen is displayed on the monitor 24.

The initial screen is provided with a menu button for shifting to the FAQ screen. When the requester selects this menu button via the input device 24, the W
The web browser 20a requests transmission of web data on the FAQ screen. Before and after this, an authentication process for authenticating whether or not the requester is a requester who can use the present system can be performed as necessary. Then, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 4, the server apparatus 1 that has received the request for transmitting the Web data of the FAQ screen (step SA-1) stores the FAQ corresponding to the requester who made the request in the requester DB10. The viewing flag is turned on (step SA-2). Thus F
The AQ browsing flag is turned on by the questioner
This is for recording that the Q information has been referred to, but this recording method and recording timing are arbitrary. For example, not only the FAQ screen is displayed, but also the fact that the FAQ information has been referred to may be recorded only when a question or answer is searched, or the FAQ screen is continuously displayed for a predetermined time or more. In such a case, the fact that the FAQ information has been referred to may be recorded. In this case, the identification of the questioner can be performed, for example, by acquiring the questioner ID of the questioner in the authentication process.

Thereafter, the server device 1 sends the FAQDB 12
And generates FAQ data for the FAQ screen and transmits it to the client device 2. As a result, the FAQ screen is displayed on the monitor 25, so that the questioner can refer to the question and the answer, and can search for the question and the answer by a known method. The generation of the Web data is performed, for example, by CGI
(Common Gateway Interface
e) (hereinafter referred to as “Web”).
Data generation can be performed in the same manner).

[0036] Then, the interrogator requests that the information he wants is F
If it is not displayed on the AQ screen, a question button provided on this FAQ screen or the like is selected. Then, a question request is transmitted to the server device 1. Then, the server device 1
Performs a process on a question presented by a requester, as exemplified in the flowchart of FIG. That is, when the server apparatus 1 receives a question request from the client apparatus 2 (step SB-1), the server apparatus 1 refers to the questioner DB 10 and sets the state of the FAQ browsing flag corresponding to the questioner ID of the requester who made this request. (Step SB-
2). And if the FAQ browsing flag is OFF,
It is determined that the FAQ information has not been browsed yet, and the Web data of the predetermined error screen is transmitted to the client device 2 (step SB-3). On the other hand, if the FAQ browsing flag is ON, it is determined that the FAQ information has been browsed, and the Web data of the predetermined question input screen is transmitted to the client device 2 (step SB-4). As a result, a question input screen is displayed on the monitor 25. Also,
The server device 1 turns off the FAQ browsing flag in the interrogator DB 10 and initializes the browsing state of the FAQ information (step SB-5).

As shown in FIG. 8, this screen includes a radio button MA-1 for selecting a question field, an input field MA-2 for inputting question contents, and an instruction for transmitting a question. And a transmission button MA-3. Here, the question field corresponds to the above-mentioned question field, and the requester selects the radio button MA-1 corresponding to the field to ask himself and then inputs the content of the question into the input field MA-2.
And select the send button MA-3. Then
These pieces of information are transmitted to the server device 1.

Upon receiving this information (step SB-6), the server apparatus 1 transmits an FAQ based on the content of the transmitted question.
Search for FAQ information in DB12 (step SB-
7). Then, when a question and an answer that match the content of the question are obtained, W on the answer display screen including the answer is displayed.
The eb data is generated and transmitted to the client device 2 (steps SB-8 and SB-9). As a result, monitor 2
The answer display screen is displayed in 5. Therefore, in the case where the questioner has browsed the FAQ information in advance but cannot find the information he / she wants by mistake, the questionnaire is not sent to the respondent, but based on the FAQ information. Can give an answer. In this case, F
The specific method of searching for AQ information is arbitrary, for example,
The text matching rate between the question content and the FAQ information question is calculated, and if the text matching rate is equal to or higher than a predetermined rate, it can be determined that the question matches the question content. Alternatively, the keyword of the question content may be input to the questioner, and if the question including all of the keywords is stored in the FAQ DB 12, the question may be determined to match the question content.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step SB-7 that a question and an answer matching the content of the question cannot be obtained,
Select the respondent who answers this question (Step SB-
8, SB-10). Specifically, the respondent DB 11 is referred to based on the question field received in step SB-6, and a respondent associated with the question field matching this question field is selected. Here, if there are a plurality of such respondents, one respondent can be selected by an arbitrary method, for example, random selection, the order of the largest number of evaluation points, or Can be selected in the order in which the longest time has passed since the answer was made in the past.

The server 1 acquires the e-mail address of the respondent selected in this way from the respondent DB 11 and sends the e-mail including the above-mentioned question to the e-mail address. Generate and transmit (Step SB-11). The e-mail transmitted in this way is spooled in the mail server device 1 corresponding to the e-mail address. Further, server device 1 stores the question transmitted in this manner in FAQDB 12 (step SB-12). Thereafter, the respondent uses the electronic mailer 30b of the client device 3 to browse the electronic mail transmitted to the user at an arbitrary timing. Then, the answer to this question is input by inputting it to a predetermined Web site or by sending it to the server device 1 by e-mail.

Then, as exemplified in the flowchart of FIG. 6, the server device 1 performs a process on the answer presented by the respondent. That is, upon receiving the answer from the respondent (step SC-1), the server device 1 obtains, from the questioner DB 10, the e-mail address of the questioner who asked the question corresponding to the answer, and acquires the e-mail address. An e-mail containing the answer is generated and transmitted to the destination (step SC-2). Thus, the answer can be transmitted to the questioner. Further, the server device 1 determines whether or not to store this answer in the FAQ DB 12 (step SC-3). In other words, if the answer is to the question stored in the FAQDB 12 in the previous SB-12, it is necessary to store the answer in the FAQDB 12, and this answer is stored in the FAQ DB 12 in association with the question stored in the earlier. (Step SC-4). With this, the FAQ information in the FAQ DB 12 automatically increases. Thereafter, the server device 1 increments the number of replies in the respondent DB11 of the respondent who has made the answer by one (step SC-5).

Note that the method of specifying the questioner who is the destination of the e-mail in step SC-2 and the method of specifying the question relating the answer in step SC-4 are optional. At the time of transmission, a question ID for uniquely specifying the question is given, and the question ID and the questioner ID of the questioner are stored in the server device 1 in association with each other. This question I
By including D, it can be specified.

The questioner receiving the answer in this way transmits a request to perform evaluation information on the answer to the server device 1 at an arbitrary timing thereafter. For example,
The questioner selects the evaluation input button displayed on the initial screen. The server device 1 performs processing on the evaluation information presented by the requester, as illustrated in the flowchart of FIG. That is, upon receiving the evaluation request from the client device 2 (step SD-
1) The Web data of the predetermined evaluation input screen is transmitted to the client device 2 (step SD-2). As a result,
The monitor 25 displays an evaluation input screen.

As shown in FIG. 9, the evaluation input screen includes a radio button MB for evaluating an answer.
-1 and transmission button M for instructing transmission of evaluation information
B-2 is displayed. In this screen, the questioner is "very satisfied", "sufficiently satisfied""normal"
The radio button MB-1 selects an evaluation corresponding to the degree of self-satisfaction with the answer among the evaluations classified into five grades of "slightly dissatisfied" and "dissatisfied". Then, when the requester selects the transmission button MB-2, information indicating the selected evaluation is transmitted to the server device 1.

When receiving the evaluation information (step SD-3), the server device 1 calculates an evaluation point based on the evaluation information (step SD-4). For example, if the evaluation information is "very satisfied", the evaluation point =
5. When the evaluation information is “satisfactory”, the evaluation point is calculated as follows: evaluation point = 4, and when the evaluation information is “unsatisfied”, evaluation point = 1. However, it is also possible for the questioner to directly send the evaluation points as the evaluation information, and in this case, it is not necessary to calculate the evaluation points.

Then, server device 1 updates the cumulative number of the corresponding evaluation points in respondent DB 11 based on the evaluation points (step SD-5). That is, the total number of evaluation points of the respondent who has been evaluated is called from the respondent DB 11, and the calculated evaluation points are added to this total number. At this time, the method of specifying the respondent is arbitrary. For example, when the questionr inputs the evaluation information, the question ID or the name of the respondent is input. Is stored on the server device 1 side, and when the questioner has obtained only the answer from one of the respondents, this can be performed by referring to the question status of this questioner. The evaluation points stored in this way can be used arbitrarily. For example, the evaluation points can be used as a reference when selecting a respondent as described above, or the average score of the evaluation points is calculated as the cumulative number of evaluation points / the number of answers. In addition, respondents whose average score is less than or equal to a predetermined score are excluded from respondents of this system,
It is possible to automatically send an e-mail indicating that the answer is of poor quality.

(Other Aspects of the Invention) As is clear from what has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described system unit, but also to the question and answer as the server device 1 used in this system. It can also be understood as an information processing device, a question answering method for achieving each of the above processes, or a recording medium in which a computer program is readablely recorded.

That is, the present invention relates to a question answering information processing apparatus. The question answering information processing apparatus comprises: answer storing means for storing a plurality of questions and answers to each question in association with each other; A browsing behavior detecting means for detecting the content of the browsing behavior of the questioner with respect to the answer stored in the answer storing means, and a presentation provided by the questioner on condition that a predetermined browsing behavior is detected by the browsing behavior detecting means. Question processing means for performing a predetermined process for presenting the question to the respondent.

According to this device, when a predetermined browsing action is performed by the requester, an answer from the requester is presented to the respondent. Therefore, it is possible to accept a question only when the questioner browses the answer stored in advance, and that consultation is performed by e-mail despite the question being posted in the FAQ. Can be prevented, and an answer can be made efficiently.

The question-answering information processing apparatus may further include an answer storage unit that stores the plurality of questions and the answers to the questions in association with each other, and stores the answers to the questions presented by the questioner in the answer storage unit. Search from the answer stored in the, if the answer is found, perform a predetermined process to present the answer to the questioner, if the answer is not found, Question processing means for performing a predetermined process for presenting a question to a respondent.

According to this apparatus, the answer to the question presented by the questioner is retrieved, and if the answer is not retrieved, the question is presented to the respondent. Therefore,
If the questioner misses the answer stored in advance, the answer can be made without presenting the question to the answerer, so that the answer can be made efficiently.

Further, the question answering information processing apparatus stores answering means for associating a plurality of questions and answers to each of the questions with each other, and presents the question presented by the questioner to the answerer. Question processing means for performing a predetermined process, a question presented by the questioner and an answer presented by the answerer, and an answer processing means for storing the answer in the answer storage means. I do.

According to this device, the question presented by the questioner and the answer presented by the respondent are stored, so that the response to the question once performed is immediately reflected in FAQ information and the like. Thus, the questioner does not ask useless questions, and the respondent does not need to answer the same question many times, and can answer efficiently.

Further, the question answering information processing apparatus includes a question area storing means for storing information for specifying a question area which the respondent is good at, and a question from the questioner and information for specifying the question area. When presented, the respondent who answers the question is selected with reference to the question field storage means based on the information for specifying the presented question field, and the respondent who selected the question is selected. And a question processing means for performing a predetermined process for presenting the information.

According to this device, the respondent who answers the question is automatically selected, and the question is presented to the respondent.
Therefore, it is possible to present only a question according to each respondent's specialty and improve the speed and quality of the answer, so that the answer can be made efficiently.

In the question answering information processing apparatus, evaluation information storage means for storing evaluation information relating to the answer content of the respondent, and evaluation information for the respondent presented by the questioner to which the answer is presented by the respondent are presented. And an evaluation information processing means for storing the evaluation information in the evaluation information storage means in the case of the above.

According to this device, the evaluation information for the answer is stored. Therefore, it is possible to evaluate the respondent based on the evaluation information. For this reason,
An incentive for giving a quick and high-quality answer to the respondent can be given, and as a result, the speed and quality of the answer can be improved, so that the answer can be made efficiently.

The present invention also relates to a question answering method. This question answering method stores a plurality of questions and answers to each of the questions in a predetermined question answering information processing device in association with each other. A browsing activity detection procedure for detecting the content of the browsing behavior of the questioner with respect to the answer stored in the answer storage procedure, and a condition that a predetermined browsing behavior is detected by the browsing behavior detection procedure. And a question processing procedure for performing a predetermined process for presenting the question presented by the user to the respondent.

According to this method, when a predetermined browsing action is performed by the questioner, the answer from the questioner is presented to the respondent. Therefore, it is possible to accept a question only when the questioner browses the answer stored in advance, and that consultation is performed by e-mail despite the question being posted in the FAQ. Can be prevented, and an answer can be made efficiently.

The question answering method includes an answer storing procedure for storing a plurality of questions and answers to the respective questions in a predetermined question answering information processing apparatus in association with each other, and a method for answering the questions presented by the questioner. The answer is searched from the answer stored in the answer storing procedure, and when the answer is searched, a predetermined process for presenting the answer to the questioner is performed, and the answer is not searched. And a question processing procedure for performing a predetermined process for presenting the question to the respondent.

According to this method, the answer to the question presented by the questioner is retrieved, and if the answer is not retrieved, the question is presented to the respondent. Therefore,
If the questioner misses the answer stored in advance, the answer can be made without presenting the question to the answerer, so that the answer can be made efficiently.

The question answering method includes an answer storing procedure for associating a plurality of questions and answers to the respective questions with each other and storing them in a predetermined question answering information processing apparatus. A question processing procedure for performing a predetermined process for presenting to the respondent, a question presented by the questioner, and an answer presented by the respondent, an answer processing procedure of storing the answer in the question answer information processing apparatus; It is characterized by having.

According to this procedure, the question presented by the questioner and the answer presented by the respondent are stored, so that the response to the question once performed is immediately reflected in FAQ information and the like. Thus, the questioner does not ask useless questions, and the respondent does not need to answer the same question many times, and can answer efficiently.

The question answering method includes a question field storing procedure for storing information for specifying a question field which the respondent is good at in a predetermined question answer information processing apparatus, and specifying the question and the question field from the questioner. When the information for the question is presented, based on the information for specifying the presented question field, the respondent who answers the question is referred to by referring to the information stored in the question field storing procedure. And performing a predetermined process for presenting the question to the selected respondent.

According to this method, the respondent who answers the question is automatically selected, and the question is presented to the respondent.
Therefore, it is possible to present only a question according to each respondent's specialty and improve the speed and quality of the answer, so that the answer can be made efficiently.

The question answering method includes an evaluation information storing procedure for storing evaluation information on the answer content of the answerer in a predetermined question answering information processing device, and a question answerer presented with an answer from the answerer. And an evaluation information processing procedure for storing the evaluation information in the question answering information processing device when the evaluation information is presented.

According to this method, the evaluation information for the answer is stored. Therefore, it is possible to evaluate the respondent based on the evaluation information. For this reason,
An incentive for giving a quick and high-quality answer to the respondent can be given, and as a result, the speed and quality of the answer can be improved, so that the answer can be made efficiently.

The present invention also relates to a recording medium, characterized by recording a program for causing a computer to execute each of the above-mentioned question answering methods. According to this recording medium, by reading and executing the program recorded on the recording medium by the computer, each of the above-mentioned question answering methods can be realized using the computer, and the same method as each of these methods can be realized. The effect can be obtained.

Here, the “computer-readable recording medium” is a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a magneto-optical disk, a ROM, an EPROM, an EEPROM, a CD, or the like.
-Any "portable physical medium" such as ROM, DVD, etc.
And ROM and R built into various computer systems
The program is held for a short period of time, such as a communication line or a carrier wave when transmitting the program via an arbitrary “fixed physical medium” such as AM or HD, or a network such as a LAN, WAN, or the Internet. "Communication medium" shall be included. Also, "Program"
A data processing method described in an arbitrary language or description method, regardless of the format of source code or binary code. Note that the “program” is not necessarily limited to a single program, but may be distributed as a plurality of modules or libraries, or may be an OS (Operating).
System) to achieve its function in cooperation with a separate program typified by System. Note that a known configuration or procedure can be used for a specific configuration, a reading procedure, an installation procedure after reading, or the like in each of the apparatuses described in the embodiments.

(Other Possibilities of Configuration and Processing) The embodiments of the present invention have been described so far.
The present invention may be embodied in various different embodiments other than the above-described embodiments within the scope of the technical idea described in the claims.

(Server device 1) For example, with respect to the server device 1, the components shown in the figure are functionally conceptual.
It does not necessarily need to be physically configured as shown. For example, all or any part of the processing functions provided in each server of the server device 1, in particular, each processing function performed by the control unit 14, are transferred to the CPU (Centr).
al Processing Unit) and C
It can be realized by a program interpreted and executed by the PU, or can be realized as hardware by wired logic. The program is stored in the present recording medium (not shown), and is mechanically read by the server device 1 as needed. Further, the form of distribution / integration of the server apparatus 1 is not limited to the illustrated one, and all or a part of the server apparatus 1 may be functionally or physically distributed / integrated in an arbitrary unit corresponding to various loads or the like. Can be configured.

(Client Devices 2, 3) The client devices 2, 3 are, for example, personal computers, workstations, home game machines, Internet TVs, PDAs (Personal Digital).
Assistant) or mobile phone or PHS
(Personal Handy Phone Sys
tem) can be realized by a mobile communication terminal. Further, the control unit 20 can be entirely or arbitrarily implemented by a CPU and a program interpreted and executed by the CPU. That is, RO
OS (Operating) is installed in M21 or HD23.
A computer program for giving instructions to the CPU in cooperation with the System and performing various processes is stored. This computer program is executed by being loaded into the RAM 22, and forms the control unit 20 in cooperation with the CPU. However, this computer program may be stored in an application program server connected to any of the client devices 2 and 3 via the arbitrary Internet 4, and all or part of the computer program may be downloaded as needed. It is. Alternatively, all or any part of each control unit 20 can be realized as hardware such as wired logic.

(Configuration of Network) The network connecting the server device 1 and the client devices 2 and 3 is not limited to the Internet 4 described above, and any network can be used. For example, the present system can be constructed using a LAN, WAN, or personal computer communication network within a limited area. In addition, terrestrial broadcasting, CATV, CS, B
S or ISDB (Integrated Ser
visits Digital Broadcastin
Various data can be transmitted and received using g).
That is, the network can include not only a wired network but also these wireless / communication networks.

Further, among the processes described in the embodiment, all or some of the processes described as being performed automatically can be manually performed, or the processes described as being performed manually can be performed. All or part of the processing can be automatically performed by a known method. In addition, the processing procedures, control procedures,
Information including parameters such as specific names, various types of registration data, and search conditions can be arbitrarily changed unless otherwise specified.

[0075]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to accept a question only when a questioner views a prestored answer, and the like. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the consultation from being performed by e-mail in spite of the above, and it is possible to provide an efficient answer.

Further, according to the present invention, the answer to the question presented by the questioner is searched, and if the answer is not found, the question is presented to the respondent. Therefore, when the questioner misses the answer stored in advance, the answer can be made without presenting the question to the answerer, so that the answer can be made efficiently.

Further, according to the present invention, the question presented by the questioner and the answer presented by the respondent are stored, so that the answer to the question once performed is immediately reflected in FAQ information and the like. The questioner does not needlessly ask a question, and the respondent does not need to answer the same question many times, and can answer efficiently.

Further, according to the present invention, a respondent who answers a question is automatically selected, and a question is presented to this respondent. Therefore, it is possible to present only a question according to each respondent's specialty and improve the speed and quality of the answer, so that the answer can be made efficiently.

Further, according to the present invention, evaluation information for an answer is stored. Therefore, it is possible to evaluate the respondent based on the evaluation information. As a result, incentives can be given to respondents for providing quick and high-quality answers, and as a result, the speed and quality of responses can be improved, so that efficient answers can be provided. Can be.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a question answering system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a server device.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a client device.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart exemplifying a process for causing a questioner to browse FAQ information.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a process for a question presented by a requester.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a process for a response presented by a respondent.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a process for evaluation information presented by a requester;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a display example of a question input screen.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a display example of an evaluation input screen.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Server apparatus 10 Questioner database 11 Answerer database 12 FAQ database 13 Communication control interface 14 Control part 2, 3 Client apparatus 20, 30 Control part 20a Web browser 20b Electronic mailer 21, 31, ROM 22, 32 RAM 23, 33 HD 24 , 34 Input device 25, 35 Output device 26, 36 Input / output control IF 27, 37 Communication control IF 4 Internet

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A question answering system for presenting an answer to a question from a questioner, an answer storing means for storing a plurality of questions and answers to each of the questions in association with each other; A browsing behavior detecting means for detecting the contents of the browsing behavior of the questioner in response to the answer stored in the means, and a question presented by the questioner on condition that a predetermined browsing behavior is detected by the browsing behavior detecting means. And a question processing means for performing a predetermined process for presenting to a respondent. 2. A question answering system for presenting an answer to a question from a questioner, an answer storing means for storing a plurality of questions and answers to each question in association with each other, Search for the answer to the question presented from the answer stored in the answer storage means, if the answer is found, perform a predetermined process to present the answer to the questioner, And a question processing means for performing a predetermined process for presenting the question to the respondent when the answer is not found. 3. A question answering system for presenting an answer to a question from a questioner, an answer storing means for storing a plurality of questions and an answer to each question in association with each other, Question processing means for performing a predetermined process for presenting the question presented to the respondent to the question, and the question presented by the questioner and the answer presented by the respondent are stored in the answer storage means. A question answering system, comprising: 4. A question answering system for presenting an answer to a question from a questioner, a question field storing means for storing information for specifying a question field which the respondent is good at, and a question from the questioner. When the information for specifying the question area is presented, the respondent who answers the question is referred to the question area storage unit based on the information for specifying the presented question area. And a question processing means for performing a predetermined process for presenting the question to the selected respondent. 5. A question answering system for presenting an answer to a question from a questioner, comprising: evaluation information storage means for storing evaluation information on the answer content of the respondent; and a question presented with an answer by the respondent. A question answering system comprising: an evaluation information processing unit that stores the evaluation information in the evaluation information storage unit when the evaluation information for the respondent is presented by a person.