JP2004030466A - Retrieval device and retrieval program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a retrieval device and a retrieval program which can perform a retrieval using retrieval conditions inputted in the past. <P>SOLUTION: A retrieval server 10 which retrieves information according to the retrieval conditions inputted by a user is provided with a retrieval condition storage 124 which makes a plurality of retrieval conditions inputted by the user in the same retrieval corresponding each other and stores them, an input section 110 into which the user inputs a new retrieval condition as a retrieval condition, and a retrieval condition extraction section 140 which extracts from the retrieval condition storage 124, a retrieval condition corresponding to a new retrieval condition inputted to the input section 110 in the retrieval condition storage 124. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a search device and a search program. In particular, the present invention relates to a search apparatus and a search program for extracting highly relevant search conditions from search conditions input in the past and searching for information using the extracted search conditions.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As a system for searching for information, there are a system for searching for the same character string input by a user from character information, and a homepage search system on the Internet. For example, in a homepage search system, a search can be performed by combining a plurality of character strings with logical sum or logical product.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, if the search target covers a large number of areas and the amount of information to be searched becomes enormous, it becomes difficult to set an appropriate search condition for obtaining a desired search result. In addition, there is a refined search as a method of performing a search by combining a plurality of search results. In this case, since the first search condition is inappropriate because the search result is further narrowed down from the range of the first search result, the desired information is obtained. There are cases where the result is outside the range of the first search result, and even if the search is narrowed down, a desired search result cannot be obtained.
[0004]
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a search device and a search program that can solve the above-described problems. This object is achieved by a combination of features described in the independent claims. The dependent claims define further advantageous specific examples of the present invention.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
That is, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a search device that searches for information according to a search condition input by a user, and stores a plurality of search conditions input by the user in the same search in association with each other. A search condition storage unit, an input unit for a user to input a new search condition as a search condition, and a search condition storage unit that extracts a search condition corresponding to the new search condition input to the input unit from the search condition storage unit There is provided a search device including a search condition extraction unit.
The information processing apparatus may further include a search unit that searches for information using the new search condition input to the input unit and at least a part of the search condition extracted by the search condition extraction unit.
[0006]
In addition, a search condition display unit that displays the search condition extracted by the search condition extraction unit as a search condition highly relevant to the new search condition, and a search condition displayed by the search condition display unit according to a user input Further, a selection unit for selecting a search condition and a search unit for searching for information using the search condition selected by the selection unit may be further provided.
The search condition storage unit further stores count information regarding the number of times the search condition is input in association with the search condition, and the search condition extraction unit further stores the count information corresponding to the search condition together with the search condition. A weighting unit that extracts and sets weighting information according to the number of times information may be provided, and the search unit may further perform a search by weighting the search condition according to the weighting information.
In addition, an image attribute storage unit that stores attribute information of image data in association with the user may be further provided, and the weighting unit may set the weighting information according to the attribute information and the frequency information corresponding to the user. .
[0007]
The search condition extraction unit further extracts a search condition corresponding to at least a part of the extracted search condition from the search condition storage unit. The search unit includes a new search condition, a search condition corresponding to the new search condition, and a search. Information may be searched using at least a part of the search conditions corresponding to the conditions.
The search condition extraction unit further extracts a search condition corresponding to at least a part of the extracted search condition from the search condition storage unit. The search condition storage unit includes a new search condition, a search condition corresponding to the new search condition, The search conditions corresponding to the search conditions may be stored in association with each other.
Further, when the search condition extraction unit extracts a search condition corresponding to the predetermined search condition from the search condition storage unit, the predetermined search condition and the search condition corresponding to the predetermined search condition are respectively set to the relation source and the relation And a related information storage unit that stores the information in association with each other as a destination. The search unit stores a new search condition, a search condition stored in the related information storage unit as a related destination when the new search condition is a related source, and the search. Information may be searched using at least a part of the search conditions stored in the related information storage unit as the related destination when the condition is the related source.
The search condition storage unit may store a plurality of search conditions input by the user as targets of logical sum in the same search in association with each other.
[0008]
In addition, the search condition storage unit may store a plurality of search conditions input by the user as the targets of the logical product in the same search in association with each other.
In addition, an image attribute storage unit that stores attribute information of image data in association with the user is further provided, and the search condition extraction unit includes a plurality of search conditions input as targets of logical products stored in the search condition storage unit. A different number of search conditions depending on the attribute information may be extracted as search conditions corresponding to the new search condition.
The search device includes a search condition storage unit for each user, and the search condition extraction unit extracts a search condition corresponding to a new search condition input by a predetermined user from the search condition storage unit of another user. May be.
Also, a search condition storage unit is provided for each user, and at least a part of a plurality of search conditions stored in association with each other by the search condition storage unit of a predetermined user is stored in the search condition storage unit of another user An inheritance unit may be further provided.
The search condition storage unit further stores weighting information input together with the search condition in association with the search condition, and the search condition extraction unit corresponds to the new search condition and the weighting information is preset. Search conditions that satisfy the conditions may be extracted.
[0009]
The search condition extraction unit extracts a search condition corresponding to the predetermined search condition from the search condition storage unit, and sets weighting information larger than the search condition corresponding to the predetermined search condition in the predetermined search condition. A weighting unit may be further provided, and the search condition storage unit may store weighting information set by the weighting unit in association with a predetermined search condition and a search condition corresponding to the predetermined search condition.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a search program for searching for information according to a search condition input by a user, wherein a plurality of search conditions input by the user in the same search are associated with each other. Means for storing in a predetermined recording area, means for allowing a user to input a new search condition as a search condition, and function for extracting a search condition corresponding to the input new search condition in the recording area from the recording area A program is provided.
[0010]
The above summary of the invention does not enumerate all the necessary features of the present invention, and sub-combinations of these feature groups can also be the invention.
[0011]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described through embodiments of the invention. However, the following embodiments do not limit the claimed invention, and all combinations of features described in the embodiments are the solution of the invention. It is not always essential to the means.
[0012]
FIG. 1 shows an outline of the entire search system. The search system includes a search server 10 and a user terminal 30. In the present embodiment, the search system includes a plurality of user terminals 30 (user terminal 30a, user terminal 30b, etc.). The user terminal 30 is connected to the search system 10 via a communication network. The communication network in this case is a wired communication network, a wireless communication network, or a combination thereof. When the user inputs a search condition, the user terminal 30 transmits the input search condition to the search server 10. In particular, the user terminal 30 transmits the search condition input when the user requests a search to the search server 10 as a new search condition. There may be a plurality of new search conditions in this case, and they may be combined by logical sum or logical product. Furthermore, the user may give weighting information that indicates the degree of contribution to the search to a plurality of new search conditions. In this embodiment, the user terminal 30 transmits image data designated by the user to the search server 10 together with the new search condition. When receiving the search condition from the user terminal 30, the search server 10 searches for information according to the search condition and returns the search result to the user terminal 30. The search server 10 is an example of a search device according to the present invention.
[0013]
FIG. 2 shows functional blocks of the search server 10. The search server 10 includes an input unit 110, a user information storage unit 120, a search condition extraction unit 140, a weighting unit 150, a search condition display unit 160, a selection unit 170, a search unit 180, and an output unit 190. Have When the new search condition is received from the user terminal 30, the input unit 110 outputs the new search condition to the user information storage unit 120 and the search condition extraction unit 140. That is, in the input unit 110, the user inputs a new search condition as a search condition. In the present embodiment, a case is described in which character data is used as a search condition, but the search condition may be image data, audio data, or the like. When the search condition is image data, information may be searched by image pattern matching. When the search condition is voice data, information may be searched by pattern matching of voice data or matching of voice waveform, amplitude, frequency, and the like.
[0014]
FIG. 3 shows an example of data that the input unit 110 receives from the user terminal 30. In this example, the input unit 110 includes user specifying information (user ID) for specifying a user, image specifying information (image data ID) for specifying image data, image data attribute information, and a new search condition input by the user. Is received from the user terminal 30. For example, the input unit 110 receives information specifying the user terminal 30 as user specifying information. The image attribute information is information related to the image data. For example, information indicating the content of the image, information related to the color tone included in the image, the data size of the image data, and the shooting conditions (exposure time when the image is shot) , Aperture value, photographing lens type, filter type, presence / absence of strobe, photographing date / time, weather at photographing, photographing location, etc.), or a parameter calculated according to a combination thereof.
[0015]
Returning to FIG. The user information storage unit 120 stores information received from the user terminal 30. For example, the user information storage unit 120 includes user specifying information (user ID) for specifying a user, image specifying information (image data ID) for specifying image data, attribute information of image data, and search conditions input by the user in the past. Etc. are stored.
[0016]
FIG. 4 shows functional blocks of the user information storage unit 120. The user information storage unit 120 includes an image attribute storage unit 122, a search condition storage unit 124, and a related information storage unit 126. In particular, in the present embodiment, the user information storage unit 120 has a storage unit for each user, and each storage unit has an image attribute storage unit 122, a search condition storage unit 124, and a related information storage unit 126. The storage unit in this case is a data storage area allocated to each of a plurality of users. In this example, the storage unit 120a corresponds to the user of the user terminal 30a. The image attribute storage unit 122 stores the image attribute information received from the input unit 110 in association with the user specifying information. That is, the image attribute storage unit 122 stores image data attribute information in association with the user. The image attribute storage unit 122 may store the image data itself as image attribute information.
[0017]
When receiving the new search condition from the input unit 110, the search condition storage unit 124 stores the received new search condition in association with the user specifying information. In particular, when receiving a plurality of new search conditions from the input unit 110, the search condition storage unit 124 stores the received new search conditions in association with each other. That is, the search condition storage unit 124 stores a plurality of search conditions input by the user in the same search in association with each other. In addition, the search condition storage unit 124 stores new search conditions input by a predetermined user in association with the user. Accordingly, the search condition storage unit 124 searches for the search conditions input by the user in a plurality of different searches in association with each other. Further, when weighting information is added to the search condition when the user inputs the search condition, the search condition storage unit 124 stores the weighting information input together with the search condition in association with the search condition. Here, the weighting information is information that indicates the degree of contribution in the search for a predetermined search condition. As described above, the search condition storage unit 124 stores the weighting information input in the past search in association with the search condition, so that the search server 10 can reflect the weight set in the past in the new search. it can. Therefore, the search server 10 can perform a search according to the user's preference.
[0018]
The related information storage unit 126 stores the search condition of the related source related by the search condition extracting unit 140 and the search condition of the related destination in association with each other. In other words, the related information storage unit 126 responds to the predetermined search condition and the predetermined search condition when the search condition extraction unit 140 extracts the search condition corresponding to the predetermined search condition from the search condition storage unit 124. The search conditions are stored in association with each other as the association source and the association destination. In this case, the search condition extraction unit 140 extracts the search condition from the search condition storage unit 124 so that the search condition of the related source and the search condition of the related destination are not the same.
[0019]
Further, the user information storage unit 120 has a search condition inheritance unit 130. The search condition inheritance unit 130 stores the search condition stored in the search condition storage unit 124 corresponding to one user in the search condition storage unit 124 corresponding to another user. That is, the search condition inheritance unit 130 stores at least a part of the plurality of search conditions stored in association with each other by the search condition storage unit 124 of a predetermined user in the search condition storage unit 124 of another user. As described above, the search condition inheriting unit 130 stores the search condition that one user has performed in the past as the search condition of the other user, so that the search server 10 refers to the search condition set by the other user. Search conditions can be set.
[0020]
FIG. 5 shows an example of a table stored in the image attribute storage unit 122. In this example, the image attribute storage unit 122 captures, as image attribute information, information indicating the content of the image (image content parameter), information about the color tone included in the image (color tone parameter), the data size of the image data, and the image. The shooting conditions (shooting condition parameters) at the time of shooting and the parameters (attribute parameters) calculated according to the combination thereof are stored. These pieces of attribute information are parameters set based on the image data. For example, the information indicating the content of the image is set based on the category information of the image input by the user who transmitted the image data and the category information input by viewing the image data by another user. The user may transmit a plurality of image data in one search. In this case, the image attribute storage unit 122 stores attribute information of each image data and attribute information when a plurality of pieces of image data are set as a set of image data.
[0021]
FIG. 6 shows an example of a table stored in the search condition storage unit 124. In this example, the search condition storage unit 124 stores a search condition input as a search condition for logical sum and logical product in the same search as the search condition in association with a predetermined search condition. That is, the search condition storage unit 124 stores a plurality of search conditions that are input by the user as targets of logical sum in the same search in association with each other. In addition, the search condition storage unit 124 stores a plurality of search conditions input as logical product targets by the user in association with each other. For example, in one search, when the user inputs (“image”, “photograph” or “video”) and “landscape” and (“print” or “print”) as search conditions, the search condition storage unit 124. Stores “pictures” and “videos” as targets of logical sum in association with “image”, and stores “landscape”, “print”, and “print” as targets of logical products. Further, the search condition storage unit 124 stores number-of-times information indicating the number of times the same or similar search condition is input within a predetermined period in association with the search condition. In this figure, the search condition storage unit 124 stores “15” as “image” count information in association with “image”.
[0022]
FIG. 7 shows an example of a table stored in the related information storage unit 126. In this example, the related information storage unit 126 stores the search condition as the related source and the search condition as the related destination extracted by the search condition extraction unit 140 based on the search condition in association with each other. For example, when the search condition extraction unit 140 extracts “photograph” with “image” as a related source, the related information storage unit 126 associates “image” as the related source with “photograph” as the related destination. Store with attachments. Furthermore, when the search condition extraction unit 140 extracts “print” based on the previously extracted “photograph”, the related information storage unit 126 displays “image” as the related source and “print” as the related destination. Are stored in association with each other. In particular, in this example, the related information storage unit 126 stores the search condition directly extracted based on the related source as “related destination 1”, and based on the related destination of the related source (that is, “related destination 1”). The extracted search condition is stored as “relevant destination 2”. “Related destination 1”, “Related destination 2”, and “Related destination 3” are indices indicating the distance and direction of the relationship from the related source.
[0023]
Returning to FIG. When the search condition extraction unit 140 receives the new search condition and the image attribute information from the input unit 110, the search condition extraction unit 140 extracts the search condition according to the new search condition and the image attribute information from the user information storage unit 120. The data is output to the display unit 160. That is, the search condition extraction unit 140 extracts the search condition corresponding to the new search condition input to the input unit 110 from the search condition storage unit 124 in the search condition storage unit 124. For example, the search condition extraction unit 140 searches the search condition storage unit 124 for a search condition that is the same as or similar to the new search condition, and a search that is input as a logical sum or logical product in the same search as the found search condition. Extract at least some of the conditions. In this case, the search condition extraction unit 140 extracts a logical sum search condition and a logical product search condition at a ratio according to image attribute information. That is, the search condition extraction unit 140 corresponds to a new search condition with a different number of search conditions in accordance with attribute information from among a plurality of search conditions input as logical product targets stored in the search condition storage unit 124. As a search condition. Further, the search condition extraction unit 140 may extract a search condition corresponding to at least a part of the extracted search condition from the search condition storage unit 124.
[0024]
FIG. 8 shows an example of a table used when the search condition extraction unit 140 determines the ratio of logical sum and logical product. In this example, the search condition extraction unit 140 stores the ratio of the logical product search conditions in all the search conditions to be extracted in association with the “attribute parameter” that is the attribute information of the image. In this case, the search condition extraction unit 140 extracts a search condition for the number of logical products corresponding to the “attribute parameter” from the preset number of search conditions. As described above, the search server 10 can set the number of logical product search conditions to be extracted according to the image attribute information, thereby allowing the search to have diversity according to the image attribute.
[0025]
Returning to FIG. In this embodiment, the search condition inheritance unit 130 refers to the search condition of another user by storing the search condition stored in the search condition storage unit 124 of another user in the search condition storage unit 124 of one user. The search condition extraction unit 140 may refer to the search conditions of other users by extracting the search conditions from the search condition storage unit 124 of other users. That is, the search condition extraction unit 140 may extract a search condition corresponding to a new search condition input by a predetermined user from the search condition storage unit 124 of another user. Further, when the search condition storage unit 124 stores weighting information in association with the search condition, the search condition extraction unit 140 extracts a search condition that satisfies the condition in which the weighting information is set in advance. That is, the search condition extraction unit 140 extracts search conditions that correspond to the new search conditions and whose weighting information satisfies a preset condition. The preset condition in this case may be set according to image attribute information.
[0026]
Further, when extracting a predetermined search condition from the search condition storage unit 124, the search condition extraction unit 140 extracts the number-of-times information corresponding to the search condition and outputs it to the weighting unit 150 together with image attribute information. In this case, the weighting unit 150 generates weighting information according to the number-of-times information and the attribute information, and outputs the weighting information to the search condition extraction unit 140. The search condition extraction unit 140 outputs the received weighting information together with the extracted search condition to the search condition display unit 160.
[0027]
When the weighting unit 150 receives the number-of-times information from the search condition extraction unit 140, the weighting unit 150 outputs weighting information corresponding to the number-of-times information to the search condition extraction unit 140. That is, the weighting unit 150 sets weighting information according to the number of times information. For example, the weighting unit 150 sets weighting information that increases the contribution in the search as the number of times indicated by the number of times information increases. Further, when receiving the attribute information of the image, the weighting unit 150 outputs weighting information corresponding to the number-of-times information and the attribute information to the search condition extraction unit 140. That is, the weighting unit 150 sets weighting information according to the attribute information and the number of times information corresponding to the user. As described above, when searching for information about an image to be attached at the time of a search instruction, the weighting information for the search is changed according to the attribute of the image. For example, the variety of effective search conditions differs between a portrait image and a landscape image. In the case of a portrait image, information about a person occupies most of the search conditions. On the other hand, in the case of landscape images, the search conditions cover a wide range such as mountains, lakes, sky, waterfalls, rivers, seas, and flowers. Therefore, for example, in the case of a portrait image, the weighting unit 150 increases the inclination of the weighting information to influence the specific search condition more greatly. On the other hand, in the case of a landscape image, the weighting unit 150 reduces the inclination of the weighting information, and various search conditions widely affect the search.
[0028]
In addition, when the search condition extraction unit 140 extracts a search condition corresponding to the predetermined search condition from the search condition storage unit 124, the weighting unit 150 sets the search corresponding to the predetermined search condition to the predetermined search condition. Set weighting information larger than the condition. For example, the weighting unit 150 sets weighting information larger than the search condition of “related destination 1” in the search condition of “related source”, and searches for “related destination 2” in the search condition of “related destination 1”. Set weighting information larger than the condition. The weighting information set in this way is stored in the search condition storage unit 124. That is, the search condition storage unit 124 stores weighting information set by the weighting unit 150 in association with a predetermined search condition and a search condition corresponding to the predetermined search condition. As described above, the weighting unit 150 sets weighting information larger than “relevant destination 2” in “relevant destination 1”, so that the search server 10 can obtain more search conditions having higher relevance from “relevant source”. It can be greatly reflected in search results.
[0029]
When the search condition display unit 160 receives the new search condition, the search condition, and the weighting information from the search condition extraction unit 140, the search condition display unit 160 transmits the new search condition to the user terminal 30 so as to be displayed on the user terminal 30. That is, the search condition display unit 160 displays the search condition extracted by the search condition extraction unit 140 as a search condition highly relevant to the new search condition. For example, the search condition display unit 160 displays weighting information corresponding to the search condition as information indicating the relevance of the search condition to the new search condition.
[0030]
When the user selects a desired search condition from the search conditions displayed on the user terminal 30 and transmits the selection result to the search server 10, the selection unit 170 receives information indicating the search information selection result from the user terminal 30. The search condition is selected according to the received information indicating the selection result, and is output to the search unit 180 together with the new search condition. That is, the selection unit 170 selects a search condition from the search conditions displayed by the search condition display unit 160 in accordance with a user input.
[0031]
When the search unit 180 receives the new search condition, the search condition, and the weighting information from the selection unit 170, the search unit 180 searches for information using the new search condition, the search condition, and the weighting information, and outputs the search result to the output unit 190. Output. That is, the search unit searches for information using the new search condition input to the input unit 110 and at least a part of the search condition extracted by the search condition extraction unit 140. In particular, the search unit 180 searches for information using the search condition selected by the selection unit 170 from the search conditions extracted by the search condition extraction unit 140.
[0032]
When receiving the search result from the search unit 180, the output unit 190 transmits the search result to the user terminal 30.
[0033]
FIG. 9 shows a flow of processing performed by the search system. When the user selects an image related to the search, and further inputs a plurality of new search conditions into the user terminal 30 by combining them with logical products and logical sums, the user terminal 30 receives the image data and the new search conditions in the search server 10. Send to. When receiving the image data and the new search condition, the input unit 110 of the search server 10 outputs them to the user information storage unit 120 and the search condition extraction unit 140 (S100). The search condition extraction unit 140 generates image attribute information based on the received image data and attribute information given to the image data by another user (S110). Further, the search condition extraction unit 140 extracts the search condition corresponding to the new search condition and the number of times of the search condition from the search condition storage unit 124 according to the attribute information, and outputs the extracted search condition to the weighting unit 150 ( S120). The weighting unit 150 sets weighting information corresponding to the relevance for the search conditions corresponding to “relevant destination 1”, “relevant destination 2”, and the like extracted by the search condition extracting unit 140, and the search condition extracting unit 140 And stored in the search condition storage unit 124 (S130). The search condition extraction unit 140 extracts, from the extracted search conditions, weighting information that satisfies a preset condition, and outputs it to the search condition display unit 160 together with the weighting information and the new search conditions. The search condition display unit 160 transmits the received new search condition, search condition, and weighting information to the user terminal 30 to display on the user terminal 30 (S140). The user selects a desired search condition from the search conditions displayed on the user terminal 30, and transmits it to the selection unit 170 (S150). The selection unit 170 outputs the search condition selected by the user to the search unit 180 together with the weighting information and the new search condition. The search unit 180 searches for information using the received new search condition, search condition, and weighting information, and outputs the search result to the output unit 190 (S160). The output unit 190 transmits the received search result to the user terminal 30 (S170).
[0034]
FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the search server 10. The search server 10 includes a CPU 700, a ROM 702, a RAM 704, and a communication interface 706. CPU 700 operates based on programs stored in ROM 702 and RAM 704. The communication interface 706 communicates with the outside via the Internet. A hard disk drive 710 as an example of a storage device stores setting information and a program on which the CPU 700 operates.
[0035]
The flexible disk drive 712 reads data or a program from the flexible disk 714 and provides it to the CPU 700. The CD-ROM drive 716 reads data or a program from the CD-ROM 718 and provides it to the CPU 700. The communication interface 706 transmits and receives data by connecting to the Internet.
[0036]
Software executed by the CPU 700 is stored in a recording medium such as the flexible disk 714 or the CD-ROM 718 and provided to the user. Software stored in the recording medium may be compressed or uncompressed. The software is installed in the hard disk drive 710 from the recording medium, read into the RAM 704, and executed by the CPU 700.
[0037]
Software provided by being stored in a recording medium, that is, software installed in the hard disk drive 710 includes, as a functional configuration, an input module, a user information storage module, a search condition extraction module, a weighting module, and a search condition display module. A selection module, a search module, and an output module. In addition, the user information storage module has an image attribute storage module, a search condition storage module, a related information storage module, and a search condition inheritance module as submodules. The processing that each of these modules works on the computer to cause the CPU 700 to perform is the same as the function and operation of the corresponding member in the search server 10 according to the present embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.
[0038]
As described above, the flexible disk 718 or the CD-ROM 718 as an example of the recording medium illustrated in FIG. 10 stores a part or all of the operations of the delivery instruction server 10 in all the embodiments described in the present application. can do.
[0039]
These programs may be read directly from the recording medium into the RAM and executed, or once installed in the hard disk drive, read out into the RAM and executed. Further, the program may be stored in a single recording medium or a plurality of recording media. The modules stored in the recording medium may provide respective functions in cooperation with the operating system. For example, the operating system may be requested to perform a part or all of the function, and the function may be provided based on a response from the operating system.
[0040]
As recording media, in addition to flexible disks and CD-ROMs, optical recording media such as DVD, magnetic recording media such as MD, magneto-optical recording media such as PD, tape media, magnetic recording media, IC cards and miniature cards A semiconductor memory such as can be used. Further, a storage device such as a hard disk or a RAM provided in a server system connected to a dedicated communication network or the Internet may be used as a recording medium, and the program may be provided to the search server 10 via the communication network.
[0041]
As described above, by using the search system of the present embodiment, a highly relevant one is extracted from the search conditions input in the past, and the search condition in the new search is set using the extracted search condition. Can do. In particular, when searching for information related to an image, it is possible to perform information search with diversity according to image attribute information.
[0042]
As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated using embodiment, the technical scope of this invention is not limited to the range as described in the said embodiment. Various modifications or improvements can be added to the above embodiment. It is apparent from the scope of the claims that the embodiments added with such changes or improvements can be included in the technical scope of the present invention.
[0043]
【The invention's effect】
As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, it is possible to perform a search using search conditions input in the past.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an entire search system.
FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the search server 10;
3 is a diagram illustrating an example of data received by an input unit 110 from a user terminal 30. FIG.
4 is a functional block diagram of a user information storage unit 120. FIG.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a table stored in an image attribute storage unit 122;
6 is a diagram showing an example of a table stored in a search condition storage unit 124. FIG.
7 is a diagram showing an example of a table stored in a related information storage unit 126. FIG.
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a table used when the search condition extraction unit 140 determines a logical sum and a logical product ratio;
FIG. 9 is a flowchart of processing performed by the search system.
10 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the search server 10. FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
10 Search server
30 User terminal
110 Input section
120 User information storage unit
122 Image attribute storage unit
124 Search condition storage
126 Related information storage unit
130 Search condition inheritance part
140 Search condition extraction unit
150 Weighting part
160 Search condition display area
170 Selector
180 Search part
190 Output unit

Claims (16)

A search device that searches for information according to a search condition entered by a user,
A search condition storage unit that stores a plurality of the search conditions input by the user in the same search in association with each other;
An input unit for a user to input a new search condition as a search condition;
The search condition storage unit, comprising: a search condition extraction unit that extracts the search condition corresponding to the new search condition input to the input unit from the search condition storage unit. The apparatus further comprises a search unit that searches for information using the new search condition input to the input unit and at least a part of the search condition extracted by the search condition extraction unit. The search device according to 1. A search condition display unit that displays the search condition extracted by the search condition extraction unit as a search condition highly relevant to the new search condition;
A selection unit for selecting a search condition from the search conditions displayed by the search condition display unit in response to the user's input;
The search device according to claim 1, further comprising: a search unit that searches for information using the search condition selected by the selection unit. The search condition storage unit further stores number-of-times information related to the number of times the search condition is input in association with the search condition,
The search condition extraction unit further extracts the number-of-times information corresponding to the search condition together with the search condition,
Furthermore, a weighting unit that sets weighting information according to the number of times information is provided,
The search device according to claim 2, wherein the search unit further performs a search by weighting the search condition according to the weighting information. An image attribute storage unit that stores attribute information of image data in association with the user;
The search device according to claim 4, wherein the weighting unit sets the weighting information according to the attribute information corresponding to the user and the number-of-times information. The search condition extraction unit further extracts a search condition corresponding to at least a part of the extracted search condition from the search condition storage unit,
The search unit searches for information using the new search condition, a search condition corresponding to the new search condition, and at least a part of the search condition corresponding to the search condition. Alternatively, the search device according to claim 3. The search condition extraction unit further extracts a search condition corresponding to at least a part of the extracted search condition from the search condition storage unit,
The search condition storage unit stores the new search condition, the search condition corresponding to the new search condition, and the search condition corresponding to the search condition in association with each other. Search device. When the search condition extraction unit extracts a search condition corresponding to the predetermined search condition from the search condition storage unit, the predetermined search condition and the search condition corresponding to the predetermined search condition are And a related information storage unit that stores the related information in association with each other,
The search unit includes the new search condition, the search condition stored in the related information storage unit as the related destination when the new search condition is the related source, and the search condition as the related source. The search device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein information is searched using at least a part of the search condition stored in the related information storage unit as the related destination. The search apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the search condition storage unit stores the plurality of search conditions that are input by the user as a logical sum in the same search in association with each other. The search device according to claim 1, wherein the search condition storage unit stores the plurality of search conditions input as logical product targets by the user in association with each other in association with each other. An image attribute storage unit that stores attribute information of image data in association with the user;
The search condition extraction unit selects, as the new search condition, a different number of search conditions according to the attribute information from the plurality of search conditions input as the logical product targets stored in the search condition storage unit. The search device according to claim 9, wherein the search device is extracted as a corresponding search condition. The search device includes the search condition storage unit for each user,
The search device according to claim 1, wherein the search condition extraction unit extracts a search condition corresponding to the new search condition input by a predetermined user from the search condition storage unit of another user. The search condition storage unit is provided for each user,
It further comprises a search condition inheritance unit that stores at least a part of a plurality of search conditions stored in association with each other by the search condition storage unit of a predetermined user in the search condition storage unit of another user. The search device according to claim 1. The search condition storage unit further stores weighting information input together with the search condition in association with the search condition,
The search device according to claim 1, wherein the search condition extraction unit extracts the search condition corresponding to the new search condition and the weighting information satisfying a preset condition. The search condition extraction unit extracts a search condition corresponding to the predetermined search condition from the search condition storage unit,
A weighting unit for setting weighting information larger than the search condition corresponding to the predetermined search condition in the predetermined search condition;
The search condition storage unit stores the weighting information set by the weighting unit in association with the predetermined search condition and a search condition corresponding to the predetermined search condition, respectively. The search device described in 1. A search program for searching for information according to a search condition entered by a user.
Means for storing a plurality of the search conditions input by the user in the same search in a predetermined recording area in association with each other;
Means for allowing a user to input a new search condition as a search condition;
A program for causing the search condition corresponding to the input new search condition to function as means for extracting from the recording area in the recording area.

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