JP2006171966A - Index retrieving device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize range designation by one time operation at the time of executing range retrieval, and to attain designation with an intuitively understandable feeling of operation. <P>SOLUTION: This document management system for managing a document and the attribute data or index information or the like by associating them with each other is provided with a database in which the document and the index information are stored so as to be associated with each other, an axis with which a document index category can be associated, an index information candidate value display part for displaying the candidate values of the index information enumerated on the axis, a matrix-shaped UI part prepared by the candidate value of the plurality of document index information, a pointing device for dragging the arbitrary range of the UI, a condition generating part for generating the range conditions of each index from the drag range, a retrieval processing part for operating retrieval by using those conditions and a document list display part for displaying the document list matched with the conditions as the result. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention is to efficiently search a document in which index information for improving the searchability of data managed as a document is set from the index information in a file management system, an electronic document management system, an electronic filing system, or the like. The present invention relates to an index search apparatus.

  In recent years, electronic filing systems or document management systems that store document management information in association with image data of documents created by reading documents with a scanner, etc., and search, display, print, etc. for these information have been announced Has been. Conventionally, such electronic filing apparatuses have a mechanism for efficiently retrieving documents by setting index information related to document attributes and document contents as document management information and managing the index information together with the document. Most are things.

  In a conventional index search method, an index category to be searched and a value of the search target index are generally specified, and a document in which the search target value is set is extracted. In this case, since a very wide range of values can be specified as index values, a list of input candidates registered in advance as values that have been input in advance or values that can be accepted as an index category in advance by another tool in a list form There is also an example in which an arbitrary value is selected from the list and a search is performed using the value to improve the efficiency of index search.

  In addition, it is possible to specify the start and end values of the index range, extract a document with an index value included in the range, or set multiple conditions using the same means as described above. There is also an example in which a complex search such as an And search or an Or search can be performed.

JP 2003-339437 A

  However, in the above-described conventional index search apparatus, value input from the keyboard or value selection from a list is assumed as input means. However, when performing a range search, a value input location for specifying the first value is used. A selection is made by a pointing device or a keyboard and the above input action is performed. Further, a value input portion for designating an end value is selected by a pointing device or a keyboard, and a range is designated by performing the above input action. However, this operation is cumbersome for the user, for example, when it is necessary to frequently set the initial value and the end value and perform a search.

  Even if a search is performed by performing such a complicated operation, it is not always known whether or not a document suitable for the condition is stored. You may need to search again.

  Furthermore, since the number of hits cannot be estimated, it is sufficiently expected that a huge number of documents will be hit. In this case, it takes a lot of time to extract and display an enormous amount of documents, and it is necessary to perform a search again by refining the search or re-setting the conditions, which forces a very inefficient operation. Result.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and the purpose of the present invention is to allow a user to specify a range with a single operation when performing a range search, and to provide an intuitive operation feeling. It is to be able to specify with.

  It is another object of the present invention to allow a user to estimate the number of extracted documents by displaying a setting state of index information of documents stored in advance.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention can associate a document index category with a database that stores documents and index information in association in a document management system that manages documents in association with their attribute data and index information. An axis, an index information candidate value display unit for displaying candidate values of index information listed on the axis, a matrix UI unit made up of candidate values of a plurality of document index information, and its UI A pointing device that can drag an arbitrary range, a condition generation unit that generates a range condition for each index from the drag range, a search processing unit that performs a search using those conditions, and the result condition A document list display unit for displaying a document list.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to specify a range with a single operation when performing a range search, and to specify with a sense of operation that can be intuitively understood.

  Further, the number of extracted documents can be estimated by the user by displaying the setting status of index information of documents stored in advance.

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

<Embodiment 1>
FIG. 1 is a drawing that best represents the features of the present invention, and shows an example of the structure of a display device in this embodiment.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes a GUI part of a document management system that manages documents in association with their attribute data and index information, 102 denotes a database that stores documents in association with index information, and 103 denotes a document index category. 104 is an index information candidate value display section for index information listed on the axis associated with the index category, and 105 is an index information candidate value display section belonging to two index categories. It is a created matrix.

  Reference numeral 106 denotes a pointer that indicates the location of the pointing device that can be dragged on the matrix, 107 is a search condition generation unit that generates a search condition from the area dragged by the pointing device, and 108 is the search condition. A search processing unit 109 performs a search using a document list 109. A document list display unit 109 displays a list of documents that match the search condition. The GUIs 101, 103 to 106, and 109 are displayed on a display screen of a general display device. In addition, the index search device that executes the present embodiment is a hardware of a general information processing device (a CPU, a RAM, a hard disk drive or other storage device that executes each process based on a program read from a ROM). Consists of composition.

  For example, assuming a system that manages documents relating to tour trips, it is assumed that the categories “travel destination area” and “tour departure month” exist as index categories. If “travel destination area” is assigned to the horizontal axis and “tour departure month” is assigned to the vertical axis, Index 1 corresponds to “travel destination area” and Index 2 corresponds to “tour departure month” in FIG. In FIG. 1, the UI is searching for information on tour plans departing from Europe or Oceania between April and August in the UI.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the index search method and apparatus according to this embodiment in the above configuration.

  First, in step 201, a matrix type UI is displayed for setting a search condition. Next, in step 202, an index category is assigned to each of the vertical axis and the horizontal axis. Next, in step 203, candidate values of index information that can be set as index categories assigned to each axis are displayed. Next, in step 204, an arbitrary part on the displayed matrix UI is moved by dragging the pointer using a pointing device. Next, in step 205, the cell selected by the pointer when dragging is detected, and a search condition is generated. Specifically, if the index category set on the axis is an attribute that can generate a range condition that can take consecutive values such as numbers and dates, the pointer is the top and bottom or left end of the selected matrix cell And the index information corresponding to the right end are searched, and a conditional expression having a search range as a value between them is generated.

  If the index category set on the axis is an attribute that is difficult to obtain a continuous value such as a character string, the index information corresponding to the matrix cell selected by the pointer is examined, and a conditional expression using these values as search conditions Generate. Next, in step 206, search processing is performed using the search conditions generated in step 205. Next, in step 207, using the search result information performed in step 205, a document list as a search result is created and displayed.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of a table data configuration managed by the database 102 in the above configuration, 301 is a document table for storing stored document data, and 302 is an index that can be set for each document. An index category table that represents a category list, and 303, 304, and 305 are index information tables that represent index information lists of index categories Index_1, Index_2, and Index_3, respectively.

  According to the present embodiment, it is possible to specify a range with a single operation when performing a range search, and to specify with an operational feeling that can be intuitively understood.

<Embodiment 2>
In the above-described embodiment, the matrix-shaped UI unit 105 is displayed as the search condition extraction UI and used for specifying the conditions. However, instead of the UI unit in a matrix, the search condition extraction UI is displayed as 401 in FIG. Alternatively, a graph-like UI part may be displayed and used for condition specification.

  For example, assuming a system for managing documents related to various company information, the example of FIG. 3 will be described. Here, assuming that the index category of the number of employees is set on the horizontal axis and the annual sales (100 million yen) is set on the vertical axis, the search performed in FIG. 4 has about 180 to 300 employees and This indicates that information on companies with annual sales of about 500 million yen to 900 million yen is being searched.

  According to the present embodiment, it is possible to intuitively specify the range of analog index information.

<Embodiment 3>
In the second embodiment, the graph-like UI unit 401 is displayed as the search condition extraction UI and used for specifying the condition. However, the type of the graph may be changed.

  According to the present embodiment, the user can display the search UI with a type of graph that is easy to perform an intuitive search so that the tendency of the set index category can be grasped more accurately.

<Embodiment 4>
In the above-described embodiment, the matrix-like UI unit 105 or the graph-like UI unit 401 is displayed as the search condition extraction UI and used for specifying the conditions. However, it is possible to switch between the UI display of both.

  According to the present embodiment, it is possible to select a UI display that is easy for the user to search intuitively depending on whether the search is performed using analog index information or digital index information.

<Embodiment 5>
In the above-described embodiment, the shaft portion 103 capable of associating the document index category is provided. However, the index portion 103 may be changed to an arbitrary index category desired by the user from a plurality of index categories.

  According to the present embodiment, when a plurality of index categories are registered in the document management system, it is possible to perform a combination search in an arbitrary combination by an intuitive operation.

<Embodiment 6>
In the above-described embodiment, the index information candidate value display unit 104 of the index information listed on the axis associated with the index category is provided. However, the value displayed in this part may be changed.

  For example, when there is an analog index category such as “Travel Price”, in the matrix display, the categories to be displayed such as the 100,000 yen level, 200,000 yen level, 300,000 yen level, etc. Can be changed so that the axis is displayed only between 100,000 yen and 200,000 yen.

  According to the present embodiment, it is possible to display index information in a range in which a user who performs a search can easily understand visually.

<Embodiment 7>
In the embodiment, the index information candidate value display unit 104 of the index information listed on the axis associated with the index category is included, but the values displayed in this part are rearranged according to an arbitrary criterion, You may sort.

  According to the present embodiment, it is possible to search by including a plurality of pieces of information that are not normally continuous in the search condition at the same time.

<Eighth embodiment>
In the above-described embodiment, the matrix-like UI unit 105 is displayed as the search condition extraction UI and used to specify the conditions. However, index information that matches the conditions of each matrix cell displayed in advance is set. The number of existing documents may be displayed as shown in FIG.

  According to the present embodiment, by displaying the setting status of index information of documents stored in advance, the user can estimate the number of search results, and the search results are zero or a huge number of search results. It is possible to avoid situations such as hitting.

<Embodiment 9>
In the above-described embodiment, the graph-like UI unit 401 is displayed as the search condition extraction UI and used for specifying the conditions. However, index information set in advance in the document is plotted in a graph as shown in FIG. You can use it as a guide for searching.

  The plot at this time does not need to be one plot per document, and if there is a document in which a value close to a certain value exists, a plurality of documents may be plotted as one plot.

  Further, this plot may be displayed by changing the shape, color, size, etc. depending on the number of documents.

  According to the present embodiment, it becomes possible for the user to grasp the setting status of index information of documents stored in advance, and the user can estimate the number of search results. It is possible to avoid a situation where a huge number is hit.

It is a block diagram at the time of employ | adopting the matrix UI in embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart figure of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the table data structure in embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram at the time of employ | adopting graph UI in embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram at the time of employ | adopting matrix UI and displaying the setting condition of index information in embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram at the time of employ | adopting graph UI and displaying the setting condition of index information in embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

101 GUI
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 102 Database 103 Axis part 104 Index information candidate value display part 105 Matrix 106 Pointer 107 Search condition generation part 108 which produces | generates search conditions 109 Search processing part 109 Document list display part 301 Document table 302 Index category table 303 Index information list of Index_1 304 Index_2 Index information list 305 Index_3 index information list 401 Graph created using index information as both axes 501 Number of documents 601 Document plot

Claims (10)

In a document management system that manages documents in association with their attribute data and index information,
A database that stores documents and index information in association with each other, an axis that can associate document index categories, an index information candidate value display unit that displays candidate values of index information listed on the axis, and a plurality of A matrix UI unit created by using candidate values of document index information, a pointing device that can drag an arbitrary range of the UI, a condition generation unit that generates a range condition of each index from the drag range, and An index search apparatus comprising: a search processing unit that performs a search using a condition; and a document list display unit that displays a document list that matches a condition that is a result of the search.   2. The index search apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a graph-like UI part as a search condition extraction UI.   The index search according to claim 2, further comprising a graph format changing unit capable of changing the graph into a plurality of types of graph formats.   The index search apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a search condition extraction UI switching unit having a function of switching between a matrix-like UI and a graph-like UI.   2. The index search apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a document index category assigning unit capable of selecting a document index category associated with the axis from a plurality of document index categories.   The index search apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an index information candidate value display change unit capable of changing or arbitrarily selecting a candidate value of index information displayed on the axis.   The index search apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a candidate value sorting unit for index information that can sort and sort candidate values of index information displayed on the axis according to an arbitrary criterion.   2. The index search according to claim 1, further comprising a condition-compliant document number display instruction unit for displaying the number of documents in which an index of a condition that matches the search condition of the matrix cell is set.   2. The index search apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a condition-compliant document number graphing display instruction unit that graphs and displays the number of documents for which an index that matches the search condition of the graph display unit is set.   A document that prompts the condition-adapted document count display instruction section or condition-compliant document count graph display instruction section to update information when a new document is added or index information is added or changed to an existing document. The index search device according to claim 1, further comprising a number display update unit.

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