JP2005149033A - Contents retrieval method, contents update method, contents update reflecting method, contents retrieval device, contents update device, contents retrieval program, contents update program and its recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a means for selecting a category for automatic retrieval by making it unnecessary for a user to designate a category for implicit retrieval, and for selecting a category for retrieval according to the retrieval circumstances of the user, and for changing the selected category as necessary. <P>SOLUTION: This retrieval server is provided with a retrieval request receiving part which receives a request for retrieval from a client, a circumstance information receiving part which receives circumstance information in the request for retrieval from the client, a retrieval requesting part which requests retrieval to the receiving part, a category deciding part which decides the category for retrieval, a retrieval part which executes retrieval, a retrieval result generating part which performs the selection of the retrieval result or the conversion of the format, a retrieval result transmitting part which transmits the retrieval result to the client, a mapping update part which updates a parameter vector at the time of updating the retrieval result and a decision result receiving part which receives the decision result of a user from the client at the time of updating the retrieval result. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a content search method, an update method, an update reflection method, a search device, an update device, a search program, an update program, and a recording medium via a network.

  On the current Internet, there is a content search system called a search server. A general search server accepts a search request based on a keyword that is one of search keys from a client connected via the Internet, and generates a URL (Uniform Resource Locater) list format document as an HTML (Hyper Text) as a search result. Create and return in Markup Language).

  The search at this time is a keyword written in the HTML header or a keyword existing in the whole sentence with respect to a document created in HTML on the Internet registered in advance in the search server (hereinafter abbreviated as an HTML document). Is performed by checking whether it matches the keyword of the search request. At this time, the degree of coincidence is calculated using a separately defined calculation formula, and a list is often created in descending order of degree of coincidence.

  As described above, in the conventional search method using the search server, the search server often calculates the degree of matching mainly depending on whether or not the keyword that is the search key is included in the search target HTML document. So, for example, even if you search with the keyword “Iguazu” to obtain information while viewing a travel program video, the content of “Iguazu” as waterfall information and the content of the music label “Iguazu” are mixed. Therefore, in order to obtain the content of the requested information, it is necessary to confirm each content.

Therefore, there is a method in which HTML documents to be searched for are categorized in advance by the search server, and the search results are obtained only from the HTML documents of the category specified by the user by presenting the category to the user. is there. For example, in the case of the above example, if the search is performed from the content of the category “sightseeing”, the content representing the information of “Iguazu” of the waterfall can be obtained. Such a search method is called “directory search” and is actually used (see Non-Patent Document 1).
“Goo search server”, [online], [November 12, 2003 search], Internet <http://dir.goo.ne.jp>

  However, in the directory search, if the categorization considered by the user is different from the categorization realized by the search server, the user needs to search for and specify the category, which can be very laborious for the user. is there. Moreover, even if it is a category that can be easily understood, it takes a lot of time to specify the category. Therefore, it is desirable to automatically select a category for searching.

  On the other hand, even if a search is performed using the same keyword, the category in which the search is performed may change depending on the situation in which the user performs the search. For example, in the above example, the content of “Iguazu” of the waterfall is searched, but when the music of Iguazu Label is used in the BGM of the video of Iguazu Falls, the content related to “Iguazu” is Whether to search from the category or from the “music” category cannot be easily determined. In such a case, it is difficult to automatically select a category. Therefore, a method for selecting a category to be searched according to the situation in which the user searches is required.

  Further, if a means for the user to select a predetermined category is used, the change in the situation cannot be dealt with, and a search using an incorrect category may be performed. Therefore, a method for changing the selected category is required.

  Therefore, the present invention selects a category to be automatically searched without specifying a category to be explicitly searched by the user, and performs a category to be searched according to a situation in which the user searches. It is an object to provide a means for changing the selected category if necessary.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention has the following method.
According to the first aspect of the present invention, the content management unit of the content search method categorizes and manages the content for each category, and the reception unit receives status information expressing the status at the time of the search request from the client. A procedure for determining a category in which the category determining means searches for content based on status information from the category; and a procedure for searching for content in response to a search request from the determined category. Was the way to do.

  According to such an invention, after the content management means of the content search method classifies and manages the content for each category, and the receiving means receives the situation information expressing the situation at the time of the search request from the client, the category determination means However, the category for searching the content is determined from the category based on the situation information, and the content is searched from the category determined by the search unit in response to the search request.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, as the situation information, the search key, the content that the user browses separately, the video or audio content that the user is viewing, the scene of the video content that is being viewed, The content search method uses at least one of the time position of the video or audio content, the user's operation history, the user's ID, gender, age, whereabouts, address, time, time, and information related to the contract service. It was.

  According to such an invention, in the content search method, the search key, the content that the user browses separately, the video or audio content that the user is viewing, the scene of the video content that is being viewed, the video that is being viewed Alternatively, at least one of the time content position of the audio content, the user operation history, the user ID, gender, age, whereabouts, address, time, time, and information related to the contract service is used as the situation information.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for determining a category according to a search importance output by a function to which status information and a parameter vector that is a set of parameters for determining a function are output as category determining means. It was decided to use it in the content search method.

  According to such an invention, in the content search method, the category is determined according to the search importance output by the function to which the situation information and the parameter vector that is a set of parameters that determine the property of the function are input.

  The invention described in claim 4 uses, in the content search method, as a parameter vector, a parameter that defines a ratio that reflects each piece of information of the situation information in the input of the function.

  According to such an invention, in the content search method, a parameter that defines a ratio of reflecting each piece of situation information in the input of a function is used as a parameter vector.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the category determination unit selects either a function specific to the user of the content search method or a function shared by a plurality of users and uses it in the content search method. .

  By such an invention, in the content search method, a function specific to the user of the content search method or a function shared by a plurality of users is selected and used as a function for obtaining the search importance.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, as the search means, the search importance level output by the function that receives the status information and the parameter vector that is a set of parameters for determining the property of the function for the searched content is output. Further content selection by using and weighting was used in the content search method.

  According to such an invention, the content search method uses the search importance that is output by the function that receives the situation information and the parameter vector that is a set of parameters that determine the property of the function for the searched content. Further content selection is realized by weighting.

  The invention described in claim 7 uses multiplication of the probability of the searched content and the search importance as the weighting means.

  According to such an invention, as a means for performing weighting in the content search method, the multiplication of the probability of the searched content and the search importance is used.

  The invention according to claim 8 is a procedure in which the transmission means transmits the content searched for to the client and the category in which the search is performed to prompt the user to determine the search result, and the reception means determines by the user. The procedure for receiving the result from the client and the procedure for updating the category by the update means using the received determination result are the methods that the content update method executes.

  According to such an invention, the content update method transmission means transmits the searched content and the category searched for to the client, the reception means receives the determination result by the user from the client, and the determination result received by the update means. Use to update the category.

The invention according to claim 9 is an update means.
The content update method uses update of the category to be searched by modifying the value of the parameter vector, which is a set of parameters that determine the nature of the function, and changing the search importance output from the function. .

  By such an invention, as a means for updating, updating a category for performing a search by correcting the value of a parameter vector, which is a set of parameters that determine the nature of the function, and changing the search importance output from the function Is used.

  According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, the determination result regarding whether or not the searched content is the desired content or the category selected by the user is used as the determination result by the user in the content update method. .

  According to such an invention, the content update method uses the determination result regarding whether or not the searched content is the desired content, or the category selected by the user.

  In the invention described in claim 11, the client belonging to the first group has means for notifying the search key and the status information when the content update is requested, and the client belonging to the second group When there is a means for notifying the category in addition to the search key and status information at the time of an update request, the content search device is requested when a client belonging to the second group requests an update of the content. The parameter vector input to the function used by the second group is changed so that the category received from the client belonging to the second group is selected, and the parameter vector input to the function used by the first group is the same. To change the content update request by the second group to the content update of the first group. It was a way to reflect on.

  By such an invention, when a client belonging to the second group requests a content update, the function used by the second group is selected so that the category received from the client belonging to the second group is selected. By changing the parameter vector to be input and also changing the parameter vector input to the function used by the first group in the same manner, the content update request by the second group is reflected in the content update of the first group. Let

  The invention according to claim 12 is a content management unit in which the content search device classifies and manages content by category, a reception unit that receives status information expressing a search request status from a client, and status information A category determining unit that determines a category to search for content from among the categories based on the above, and a search unit that searches for content from the determined category in response to a search request.

  By configuring the invention in this way, the content search apparatus categorizes and manages the content for each category, and after receiving the status information expressing the status at the time of the search request from the client, based on the status information A category for searching for content is determined from the categories, and the content is searched from the determined categories in response to a search request.

  According to the thirteenth aspect of the present invention, the content update device transmits the searched content and the searched category to the client, and the determination by the user regarding whether or not the searched content is the desired content. The configuration includes a receiving unit that receives the result from the client, and an updating unit that updates the category according to the received determination result.

  By configuring the invention in this way, the content update apparatus transmits the searched content and the searched category to the client, and then displays the determination result by the user regarding whether or not the searched content is the desired content. The category is updated according to the received determination result received from the client.

  According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a content management unit for managing a computer by classifying content into categories, and a receiving unit for receiving status information expressing a status at the time of a search request from a client. And a program that functions as a category determination unit that determines a category for searching for content from the category based on the situation information, and a search unit for searching for content in response to a search request from the determined category.

  By configuring the invention in this way, the content search program causes the computer to classify and manage the content for each category, and then receives status information expressing the status at the time of the search request from the client. Based on the information, the category for searching the content is determined from the categories, and the content is searched from the determined category in response to the search request.

  According to the fifteenth aspect of the present invention, the content update program sends the computer the content searched for and the category searched for to the client, and whether or not the searched content is the desired content. A receiving unit that receives the determination result from the client and a program that functions as an updating unit that updates the category according to the received determination result.

  By configuring the invention in this manner, the content update program causes the computer to transmit the searched content and the searched category to the client, and the user regarding whether or not the searched content is the desired content. The determination result is received from the client, and the category is updated according to the received determination result.

    According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, a content search program or a content update program is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium.

  By configuring the invention in this manner, the computer reads the content search program or the content update program from the recording medium.

  The inventions of claims 1, 12, 14, and 16 have the following effects. Even if the user does not explicitly specify the category to be searched, the category can be automatically selected and searched. For this reason, the user is no longer required to search for and specify a category in the past, and the burden on the user can be eliminated.

  The invention of claim 2 has the following effects. When selecting a category in the content search method, the status information is used to rank the categories so as to match the user's wishes, and the search is performed from the higher ranking category to obtain the content desired by the user. It becomes possible.

  The invention of claim 3 has the following effects. When selecting a category in the content search method, the situation information and parameter vector are input to the function, the situation information used in the function is selected according to the parameter vector specification, and the search importance is determined using the information. It can be used to select a category to be searched.

  The invention of claim 4 has the following effects. By using parameters that define the rate at which each piece of status information is reflected in the function input, the rate at which the status information is used can be set as necessary and reflected in the determination of the search importance.

  The invention of claim 5 has the following effects. When obtaining the search importance by the content search method, a function specific to the user or a function shared by a plurality of users is selected and used as a function for deriving the search importance.

  The invention of claim 6 has the following effects. When content is retrieved by the content retrieval method, content that is obtained by retrieval from a category is weighted using the importance of retrieval, so that it is possible to further select content that meets the user's wishes. .

  The invention of claim 7 has the following effects. Multiplication is used as a weighting means for further selecting content searched by the content search method.

  The eighth, thirteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth aspects of the present invention have the following effects. If the content searched by the content search method is not suitable for the user's request, it can be updated to the content that meets the user's request by performing a search again according to the determination result indicated by the user. It becomes possible.

  The invention of claim 9 has the following effects. By modifying the value of the parameter vector, which is a set of parameters that determine the nature of the function, as well as the status information, the search importance output from the function can be changed, and the search category can be updated. .

  The invention of claim 10 has the following effects. Content that matches the user's wishes further by using the determination result regarding whether the searched content is the desired content or the category selected by the user as the determination result shown by the user in the content update method It becomes possible to update to.

  The invention of claim 11 has the following effects. By using the search key, status information, and category notified to the search server when another group updates the content, the content update performed by itself is updated without further notification of the information required for the update. Content can be obtained. Thereby, the user can reduce the burden at the time of content update.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a content search system 10 when the present invention is applied to the first embodiment.
The content search system 10 includes a search server 100, a client 200, and a network 300 that connects them. In FIG. 1, only one client 200 is shown for simplicity, but usually, a plurality of clients 200 are often connected to the search server 100. The network 300 is, for example, an IP network typified by the Internet or a regional IP network, a public network typified by a telephone network, a dedicated line, or the like, regardless of whether it is wired or wireless. Here, the content search device and the content update device in the claims correspond to all or part of the search server 100.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the search server 100 includes a search request receiving unit 101, a situation information receiving unit 102, a search request unit 103, a category determining unit 104, a search unit 106, a search result generating unit 107, a search result transmitting unit 108, The mapping updating unit 109 and the determination result receiving unit 110 are configured.

  There are a plurality of search units 106 for each category into which the content is classified, that is, if there are M categories, there are M search units 106. Only one is shown here for simplicity. Further, when the search unit 106 is realized by software, it is possible to use a single program that executes a search for each category so that a plurality of search units 106 exist. In any case, the search unit 106 manages data indicating the location of content classified into each category or content classified into a category represented by, for example, a URI (Unform Resource Identifier). .

  The search request receiving unit 101, the situation information receiving unit 102, and the determination result receiving unit 110 may be configured as one or two receiving units.

Next, the operation of the search server will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG.
When the client 200 requests the search to the search server 100, a search key is sent to the search request receiving unit 101 of the search server 100. Here, the most common search request is realized as an explicit keyword input directly by the user operating an input device such as a keyboard of the client 200.

  At the same time or whenever the situation changes, the situation information is sent to the situation information receiving unit 102.

  The status information includes a search key, content that is separately viewed by the user, video or audio content that is separately viewed by the user, scene of the video content that is being viewed, video that is being viewed, It consists of information on the time position of audio content, user operation history, user ID, gender, age, whereabouts, address, time, time, and contract service.

  There is no limitation on the means for inputting the status information. For example, the status information is written in the client setting file in advance by a user operation or another information collecting means in the client, and the file is transmitted from the client to the search server. In addition, it is possible to convert information dynamically acquired by another software operating on the client into a status information format and transmit it to the search server.

  When the status information is transmitted simultaneously with the search request, it is possible to perform transmission in one transaction. In this case, the search request receiving unit 101 and the status information receiving unit 102 that receive information are configured as one receiving unit, and the search request receiving unit and the status information receiving unit function within the receiving unit. It can be configured as follows.

  Further, when the status information is transmitted to the status information receiving unit 102 every time the status information changes, the status information receiving unit 102 stores the status information of a plurality of clients in a storage medium such as a memory. Manage the situation. Also, when sending status information together with a search request, the status information receiving unit 102 holds the status information received from the client.

  After receiving the search key from the client, the search request receiving unit 101 sends the search key to the search request unit 103 and sends a request for determining the category to the status information receiving unit 102. The situation information receiving unit 102 sends the situation information received from the client to the category determining unit 104. The category determination unit 104 first determines a search importance level that defines which category is to be searched from, or which category is to be prioritized using a category mapping function.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the category mapping function. The category mapping function includes, for example, a parameter vector W that defines whether or not N pieces of situation information x ₁ , x ₂ ,..., X _N and situation information are used as function inputs. It is a function that outputs the search importance levels i ₁ , i ₂ ,..., I _M of _M categories (M is a natural number) as an input. The category mapping function F is configured as the following equation (1). Examples of the category mapping function F include those calculated by matrix operation as in equation (2), and those in which the category mapping function is configured by a neural network. When the situation information is expressed as a keyword, it is input after being mapped to an ID and digitized.

  As the category mapping function, a function specific to the user can be used, a function common to a plurality of users can be used, or the functions can be switched according to the situation information. In addition, when the user ID is included in the situation information, the user ID becomes one parameter of the category mapping function. Therefore, even if one parameter vector W is used by a plurality of users, it differs for each user. Search importance can be determined.

  In the parameter vector, by using parameters that define the ratio of reflecting each piece of situation information to the function input, set the ratio to use the situation information as necessary and reflect it in the determination of the search importance. be able to.

  The value of the parameter vector W is determined in advance as an arbitrary value. For example, constants such as all 1 may be given, or the relationship between the situation information and the search importance is derived by another method, and each element of the parameter vector W is matched with the relation between the situation information and the search importance. You may decide.

The search importance obtained using the category mapping function indicates the importance of each category according to the situation information. For example, the search key degree _{i m (1 ≦ m ≦ M} ) normalizes the value rose meter vector W as taking a value of 0 ≦ i _m ≦ 1, and so is high search importance as the value of i _m is greater The value can be determined. Further, as another category mapping function, a function that outputs the search importance in binary expression such as _im = 0 or 1 can be used.

The category determination unit 104 determines a category according to the determined search importance. Category determination can be implemented, for example, by selecting only the categories of search importance is i _m> 0. Only one category may be selected, or a plurality of categories may be selected. The determined category is sent to the search request unit 103 together with the search importance.

  The search request unit 103 selects the search unit 106 corresponding to the category determined by the category determination unit 104, sends the search key sent from the search request receiving unit 101, and requests a search. Further, the search importance and category are sent to the search result generation unit 107.

  The selected search unit 106 searches the corresponding category for content that matches the search key received from the search request unit 103, and sends the content to the search result generation unit 107 as a search result. The search results sent by the search unit 106 are given, for example, higher scores in order from the content close to the search key. As an example of the search unit for assigning a score to content in this way, Namazu (http://www.namazu.org/) can be cited.

Search result generation unit 107, by performing weighting to the search result using the search key degree i _m of from the search severity and category received from the search request unit 103 categories, sent from the search unit 106 From the search results, the content to be sent to the client is selected, and this is used as the search result.

For example, the search result generation unit 107, the score of Pm pieces of content obtained by the search of the search unit 106, when were s _pm respectively, the score S _pm obtained by the following equation (3) becomes higher content Select as the search result.

Next, the search result generation unit 107 converts the search result into a format that can be used by the client. For example, it is possible to describe the URL list of the content having the top 10 scores _Spm in HTML, and to describe the category in which it is searched for each selected content. In addition, only content with the highest score _Spm may be displayed.

  The format in which the selected content is converted is determined in advance by a service contract between the client and the server. Therefore, the search result generation unit 107 may convert the selected content using a predetermined format algorithm or the like according to a predetermined format.

  The converted search result is sent to the search result transmission unit 108. The search result transmission unit 108 transmits the converted search result to the client 200. The client 200 displays the received converted search result on the display unit. The user will see the display.

Next, update of the searched content will be described.
When the search result is different from the expected content, the user can update the search result by notifying the search server 100 that the search result is not appropriate. For example, when the search result is presented in a list, the user selects an inappropriate item in the search result, conversely selects an appropriate item, or transmits the selected item to the search server 100. When the category is presented to the user together with the search result, the category that the user thinks is correct is selected and transmitted to the search server 100, or the category is explicitly specified and transmitted to the search server 100. Is also possible. Information sent in this way is called correct / incorrect information.

  The determination result receiving unit 110 of the search server 100 receives the correct / incorrect information transmitted from the client 200 and then sends it to the mapping update unit 109. The mapping update unit 109 extracts from the correct / incorrect information, for example, a category in which a search result that the user has determined to be inappropriate is searched. The extraction is realized by performing format analysis based on a predetermined correct / incorrect information format.

Next, the search key corresponding to the correct / incorrect information is obtained from the search request receiving unit 101, the situation information is obtained from the situation information receiving unit 102, and the parameter vector W is updated using the search key, the situation information, and the correct / incorrect information. The parameter vector update is realized by correcting the value of the parameter vector, which is a set of parameters that determine the properties of the function. For example, using the same situation information x ₁ , x ₂ ,..., X _N as the previous search, the category search importance i _d (d is 1 ≦ d ≦ M) determined to be inappropriate by the user. The parameter vector W is adjusted so that (natural number) is zero. For example, when the category mapping function is configured by a neural network, the calculation method is realized by performing supervised learning in which the input and output are specified.

  Using the updated parameter vector W, the search importance output from the function is changed, the category in which the search is performed is updated, and the content as a search result is updated by updating the category. it can. As a result, it is possible to acquire content according to the user's wishes.

  By the way, updating the content by the user as described above places a burden on the user. Therefore, based on the contract with the user, two groups into which the users are classified are set in advance, and the burden on the other group is reduced by using the procedure of one group. For example, in the first group, the user does not need to perform the content update procedure, but the group requires a usage fee for the search, and in the second group, the user always needs to perform the content update procedure. There is a group that can be searched for free. In this case, the parameter vector W used when the user of the first group searches automatically using the parameter vector W updated by the user of the second group performing the content update procedure. To be updated. This can be realized, for example, by omitting the user ID from the situation information. When the parameter vector W configured in this way is used, when the user of the second group performs a content update procedure, the parameter vector W is updated. Therefore, the user of the first group updates the content by himself / herself. Searches according to the situation can be realized without any procedures.

[Second Embodiment]
FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing the content search system 10 when the present invention is applied to the second embodiment.
The content search system 10 includes a search server 100, a client 200, networks 300 and 400 connecting them, and a meta search server 500. In FIG. 4, only one client 200 is shown for simplicity, but normally, a plurality of clients 200 are often connected to the meta search server 500. As the networks 300 and 400, the same network used in the first embodiment can be used. Here, the network 300 and the network 400 are described separately, but of course, the same network may be used. Here, the content search device and the content update device in the claims correspond to all or part of the meta search server 500.

  There are a plurality of search servers 100 for each category, that is, if there are M categories, there are M search servers, but only one is shown in FIG. 4 for simplicity. Further, when the search server is implemented as a search server that implements a plurality of categories and executes a search for each category, it is possible to cause one search server to behave as a plurality of search servers. In any case, the search server 100 manages data indicating the location of content classified into a category or content classified into a category represented by a URI, for example.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the meta search server 500 includes a search request receiving unit 501, a status information receiving unit 502, a search request unit 503, a category determining unit 504, a search result generating unit 507, a search result transmitting unit 508, a mapping update unit. 509 and the determination result receiving unit 510.

  The search request receiving unit 501, the status information receiving unit 502, and the determination result receiving unit 510 may be configured as one or two receiving units.

  After the meta search server 500 receives the search key from the client 200, the search key is sent to the search request unit 503, and the category determination unit 504 determines the search importance from the situation information and selects the category. The process until it is sent to the search request unit 503 is the same as that in the first embodiment.

  The search request unit 503 requests the search server 100 corresponding to the category selected by the category determination unit 504 using the search key sent from the search request receiving unit 501. In this case, when a plurality of categories are selected, a search is requested to the corresponding search servers. Further, the search request unit 503 sends the search importance and the category to the search result generation unit 507 as in the first embodiment.

  The search server 100 requested to search performs a search according to the search key, and sends the searched content to the search result generation unit 507 as a search result. The search result generation unit 507 analyzes the search results received from the search server 100 and performs ranking.

  The analysis of the search result is performed according to a format defined for each search server, and the content corresponding to the result or the URI of the content is extracted. Here, if a high score is assigned to content in order from the appropriate one, the score is calculated from the search results and the search importance obtained from all the search servers, as in the first embodiment. Then, ranking is performed, the higher score is selected, the format is converted, and the search result is transmitted to the client. The search result generated by the conversion is transmitted from the search result transmission unit 508 to the client 200.

  The search result received by the client 200 is displayed on the display unit. The user will see the display.

  The procedure for updating the content by the user is the same as that in the first embodiment, and in the second embodiment, a search according to the user's situation is possible.

  Further, according to the contract with the user, two groups are set in advance, and the client is divided into a first group that does not require content update and a second group that requires content update, and the second group. According to the procedure for updating the contents of the users in the group, the method for realizing the search according to the situation is realized in the same manner as in the first embodiment, without the users in the first group updating the contents themselves. it can.

  Note that the present invention described above is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be appropriately modified within the scope of the technical idea.

1 is a configuration diagram illustrating an entire system when the present invention is applied to a first embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the search server in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows a category mapping function. It is a block diagram which shows the whole system at the time of applying this invention to 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the meta search server in 2nd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Content search system 100 Search server 101 Search request reception part 102 Situation information reception part 103 Search request part 104 Category determination part 106 Search part 107 Search result generation part 108 Search result transmission part 109 Mapping update part 110 Determination result reception part 200 Client 300 Network 400 Network 500 Meta search server 501 Search request reception unit 502 Status information reception unit 503 Search request unit 504 Category determination unit 507 Search result generation unit 508 Search result transmission unit 509 Mapping update unit 510 Determination result reception unit

Claims (16)

A content search method in which a content search device searches for content in response to a search request from a client device connected via a network,
A procedure for content management means to classify and manage content by category,
A procedure for receiving status information expressing a status at the time of a search request from the client device;
A procedure for determining a category for searching for content based on the situation information received from the category by the category determining means;
A content search method, wherein the search means executes a procedure for searching for content from a determined category in response to a search request. As the situation information,
Search key, content viewed separately by the user, video or audio content being viewed by the user, scene of the video content being viewed, time position of the video or audio content being viewed, user operation 2. The content search method according to claim 1, wherein at least one or more of history, user ID, gender, age, residence, address, time, time, and contract service information is used. As the category determining means,
The category is determined according to the search importance output by the input function of the situation information and a parameter vector that is a set of parameters for determining the property of the function. Content search method. As the parameter vector,
The content search method according to claim 3, wherein a parameter that defines a ratio at which each piece of information of the situation information is reflected in a function input is used. In the category determining means,
3. The content search method according to claim 1, wherein a function specific to a user of the content search method or a function shared by a plurality of users is selected and used. As the search means,
Content is further obtained by weighting the searched content using the importance of search output from the function to which the status information and a parameter vector that is a set of parameters that determine the properties of the function are input. The content search method according to claim 1, wherein the content search method is selected. As a means for performing the weighting,
The content search method according to claim 6, wherein multiplication of the probability of the searched content and the search importance is used. A content update method for updating content searched by a content search device in response to an update request from a client device connected via a network,
A procedure in which the transmission means transmits the searched content and the searched category to the client device to prompt the user to determine the search result;
A receiving means for receiving a determination result by a user from the client device;
A content updating method, wherein the updating means executes a procedure for updating the category using the received determination result. As the updating means,
9. The category for performing a search is updated by changing a value of a parameter vector, which is a set of parameters that determine a property of the function, to change a search importance output from the function. Content update method. As a determination result by the user,
9. The content updating method according to claim 8, wherein a determination result regarding whether or not the searched content is desired content or a category selected by a user is used. In the content search apparatus connected to the first group and the second group each composed of a plurality of client apparatuses via a network,
A content update reflecting method for reflecting the content update performed by the second group in the content update of the first group,
The client device belonging to the first group has means for notifying a search key and status information when a content update is requested, and the client device belonging to the second group is requested when a content update is requested. In addition to the search key and status information, when you have a means to notify the category,
The content search device is
When the client device belonging to the second group requests the content update, the category received from the client device belonging to the second group is selected.
The parameter vector input to the function used by the second group is changed, and the parameter vector input to the function used by the first group is also changed in the same manner, whereby the content update request by the second group is changed to the first. A method for reflecting a content update, characterized in that the content update is reflected in a content update of a group. A content search device that searches for content in response to a search request from a client device connected via a network,
A content management unit that categorizes and manages content by category;
A receiving unit that receives status information representing a status at the time of a search request from the client device;
A category determining unit that determines a category for searching for content from the categories based on the received situation information;
A content search apparatus comprising: a search unit for searching for content from a determined category in response to a search request. A content update device that updates content searched by a content search device in response to an update request from a client device connected via a network,
A transmission unit that transmits the searched content and the searched category to the client device and prompts the user to determine the search result;
A receiving unit that receives a determination result by a user from the client device;
Using the received determination result, an update unit for updating the category;
A content update apparatus comprising: A content search program for searching for content in response to a search request from a client device connected via a network,
Computer
Content management means for classifying and managing content by category;
Receiving means for receiving status information expressing the status at the time of a search request from the client device;
Category determining means for determining a category for searching for content from among the categories based on the received status information;
A content search program that functions as search means for searching for content in response to a search request from a determined category. A content update program for updating content searched by a content search device in response to an update request from a client device connected via a network,
Computer
Transmitting means for transmitting the searched content and the searched category to the client device to prompt the user to determine the search result;
Receiving means for receiving a determination result by the user from the client device;
A content update program that functions as update means for updating a category using a received determination result.   A computer-readable recording medium on which the program according to claim 14 or 15 is recorded.

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