JP2011210136A - Information retrieval apparatus, information storage device and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information retrieval device, an information storage device and a program which can simply obtain information which is desired to be investigated.SOLUTION: The information retrieval apparatus 1 stands by till a keyword is input in a keyword input column 25 (S1), and then performs weighting processing of the input keyword (S2). Here, the information retrieval apparatus 1 retrieves a word of an input retrieval keyword from a weighted value DB 43 to extract weighted values for each of a plurality of databases, to perform addition processing to the extracted weighted values and to determine a database with the largest numeric value as an object for retrieval. After that, retrieval processing is executed to the determined database (S4), and a retrieval result is presented on a screen (S10).

Description

  The present invention relates to an information retrieval apparatus that retrieves information based on keywords.

In a car navigation system mounted on a vehicle, when a user wants to search for a destination, the user generally performs a search by inputting a facility name or the like on a destination search screen.
For example, an information retrieval apparatus that retrieves information from a plurality of databases for an input destination has been proposed (see Patent Document 1). In this information retrieval apparatus, the detection results are displayed in a priority order corresponding to the accuracy of the database.

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-234991

  In recent years, some car navigation systems can output information other than map display and route guidance. In such a system, for example, in order to perform a destination search, a destination search is selected from a menu screen, a destination search screen is displayed once, and a keyword or the like is input for a search. For example, in order to display the weather forecast, the weather forecast screen is selected after returning to the menu screen once.

  In this way, if the field of information to be searched is different, such as searching for a destination and weather forecast, when displaying any information, a screen corresponding to the information is first selected and input on the screen. It was necessary to perform an operation. That is, it is necessary for the user to specify a database to be searched by selecting a screen corresponding to the information. Therefore, the user takes time for many operations and is inconvenient. Also, if the first screen selected from the menu screen is wrong, it is necessary to return to the menu screen once, select the correct screen, and enter the keyword or press the button again to display the information you want to check. There was a bad usability.

  In this regard, although the technique of Patent Document 1 performs a search for a plurality of databases, the plurality of databases has information on similar fields, and it is desired to search from a plurality of databases having information on different fields. Information could not be obtained easily.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an information search device, an information storage device, and a program that can easily acquire information to be examined.

  The invention according to claim 1, which has been made to solve the above-described problem, is an information search device for extracting target information by searching a plurality of search databases in which different information is stored. When the search keyword is input by the input means for inputting the search keyword, the search means searches the plurality of search databases based on the input search keyword to extract the target information, and the output means extracts the purpose of the extraction. It is configured to output information.

  The information search apparatus includes a determination unit that determines the priority order of the plurality of search databases according to the degree of association between the search keyword input by the input unit and the plurality of search databases. The output means preferentially outputs the target information extracted from the search database having a high priority determined by the determining means. Here, the database may be in any format as long as it is constructed so that stored information can be searched.

  With the information search apparatus configured as described above, desired target information is output from a plurality of search databases in which different information is stored simply by inputting a search keyword and performing a search. Therefore, it is not necessary for the user to specify a database to be searched in advance as in the prior art, and target information can be easily acquired.

  It should be noted that the search means described above only needs to be able to search a plurality of search databases, and may be configured to extract target information from one or a plurality of search databases as necessary. For example, as in the information search apparatus according to claim 2, the search means may be configured to search the search database having the highest priority determined by the determination means.

With the information search device configured as described above, the search processing is executed only on the database with the highest priority, so the processing load and processing time can be reduced.
Note that the search processing may be performed not only on the search database with the highest priority but also on a plurality of databases with a higher priority, for example, up to the second priority up to the third.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the information search apparatus, wherein the search means searches in order from a search database having a high priority determined by the determination means.
With the information search device configured as described above, it is possible to quickly obtain target information having a high priority, that is, a user having a high possibility of being required.

  When searching in order from the database with the highest priority, it may be configured to automatically execute the search of the next database when the search of one database is completed, or according to the user's instruction You may comprise so that the search of the following database may be performed.

  The information search device according to claim 4 has a weight value database. The weight value is a value indicating the degree of association between the word and the search database, and the weight value database stores a plurality of words and a weight value for each of the plurality of search databases in each word. ing. Then, the determining means extracts a word from the search keyword, calculates a weight value of the search keyword from the weight value extracted from the weight value database for the word, and based on the calculation result, a plurality of search database priorities To decide.

With the information search device configured as described above, an appropriate database based on the word weight value is selected, so that appropriate target information can be output.
The weight value may be set by the user himself / herself. Thereby, the objective information desired by the user can be output with high accuracy. However, since changing the value for each word takes a lot of time, for example, the user can select the field of information to be preferentially output, and the weight value of the word related to the selected field is increased. It may be configured.

Further, in order to change the setting of the weight value, the information search device according to claim 5 may be configured.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information retrieval apparatus comprising a connection means for connecting to an information storage apparatus storing update information for updating the weight value stored in the weight value database. In addition, when the information retrieval device is connected to the information storage device by the connection means, an update means is provided for updating the weight value stored in the weight value database based on the update information stored in the information storage device. And when a weight value is updated, a determination means determines the priority of several database for a search using the weight value updated by the update means.

  With the information search device configured as described above, the target information extracted compared to before connection can be changed by connecting the information storage device. Therefore, the tendency of the objective information output simply by connecting an information storage device can be adjusted.

  In this case, a weight value corresponding to a field that is output preferentially for each information storage device is stored in advance, and the search priority that is determined to have the highest priority when a word in a certain field is input as a search keyword The database may be configured to be different depending on the connected information storage device. As a result, the user can connect to an information storage device according to his / her preference, and obtain objective information according to his / her preference.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information search apparatus including a display unit that is mounted on a vehicle and displays an information screen including a map. The information storage device connected to the information search device by the connection means stores image information used for displaying the information screen. The display means of the information search device displays an information screen using image information stored in the information storage device when the information storage device is connected.

  If it is the information search device comprised in this way, the user can change the display mode of an information screen by connecting an information storage device. Here, you may memorize | store the image information used as a different display mode for every information storage device. Thereby, it can be set as the display mode of the screen along a user's preference by connecting the information storage device according to his / her preference.

  The information search device according to claim 7 includes a database stored in a storage device mounted on the information search device and a plurality of search databases described above outside the information search device with which the information search device can communicate. And a database stored in an external storage device.

  In the case of the information search device configured as described above, the search database of the storage device mounted on the information search device in which different information is stored, and the search of the information search device can be obtained by simply inputting a search keyword and performing a search. Desired target information is output from a plurality of search databases including a search database in an external storage device located outside. Therefore, it is not necessary for the user to specify a database to be searched in advance as in the prior art, and target information can be easily acquired.

  As described in claim 8, the information search device described in claim 7 described above may be used by being mounted on a vehicle. In that case, the external storage device may be arranged inside the vehicle as described in claim 9, or the external storage device is arranged outside the vehicle as described in claim 10. May be.

  If the external storage device is inside the vehicle, replace the external storage device connected to the information search device with an external storage device that stores a different search database, or remove it from the information search device and You can easily connect and update the search database.

  In addition, when the external storage device is outside the vehicle, it is easy to increase the capacity of the external storage device and update the data. Therefore, a search database that requires a large data capacity or a search database that is frequently updated And so on. As such an external storage device, for example, a storage device of a server system that functions as an Internet search engine can be considered.

  The invention according to claim 11 is an information storage device configured to be connectable to the information search device according to claim 5 by the connecting means, wherein update information for updating the weight value is stored. An information storage device.

  The invention according to claim 12 is an information storage device configured to be connectable to the information storage device according to claim 6 by connection means, and includes update information for updating the weight value described above, The information storage device stores image information used for displaying an information screen.

  If the information storage device is configured as in claims 11 and 12, it is possible to adjust the tendency of the target information output by the information search device during the search only by connecting to the information search device. Furthermore, in the information storage device configured as in the twelfth aspect, the display mode of the information screen can be changed only by connecting to the information search device.

  A thirteenth aspect of the present invention is a program for causing a computer system to realize functions as respective means constituting the information search apparatus according to any one of the first to tenth aspects.

A computer system controlled by such a program can constitute a part of the information search apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10.
The above-described program is composed of an ordered sequence of instructions suitable for processing by a computer system, and is provided to an information search apparatus and a user who uses the information search apparatus via various recording media and communication lines. Is.

Block diagram showing schematic configuration of information retrieval device The figure which shows the instrument panel of the vehicle Figure showing an example of the information screen The figure which shows an information storage device The figure which shows the change of the display mode of the information screen Flow chart showing processing procedure of search data display processing The figure which shows an example of a weight value database Figure showing an example of a search list The figure which shows an example of the searched objective information The flowchart which shows the process sequence of the search data display process of a modification.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, the embodiment described below is merely an example, and it goes without saying that the present invention can be implemented in various forms other than the following examples.
[Example]
(1) Overall Configuration FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an information search apparatus 1 of the present embodiment. The information retrieval apparatus 1 is configured as a system that assumes a so-called car navigation apparatus that is mounted on a vehicle and used. The information search device 1 is configured to be connectable to the information storage device 2 via an information storage device connection interface (I / F) 37, and is configured to be able to communicate with the server system 3 outside the vehicle via the network 4. Has been.

  The information search device 1 includes a position detection device 11, an input operation device 12, a display device 13, a voice output device 14, a voice input device 15, a vehicle information input interface (I / F) 16, and a control device 17. .

  The position detection device 11 receives GPS information from an artificial satellite for GPS via a GPS antenna and detects a position coordinate of the vehicle, and a detection signal corresponding to the angular velocity of the rotational motion applied to the vehicle. A gyroscope for outputting and a vehicle speed sensor for outputting a detection signal corresponding to the speed of the vehicle are provided. Since these have errors of different properties, they are configured to be used while complementing each other. Depending on the accuracy, the sensor may be configured by using only a part of the above-described sensor or the like, or a vehicle steering obtained from a geomagnetic sensor for detecting an absolute direction based on geomagnetism or a rotation difference between left and right steering wheels. A sensor or the like that determines the direction by accumulating the corners may be used.

  The input operation device 12 includes a remote control terminal (so-called remote controller) 12b for inputting instructions via an operation switch group 12a and a remote sensor (not shown). As the operation switch group 12a, a touch panel configured integrally with the display device 13 to be described later and set on the display surface, a mechanical key switch provided around the display device 13, and the like can be used. In this embodiment, a configuration using only a touch panel is illustrated.

  The display device 13 is a color display device having a display surface such as a liquid crystal display, and displays various images on the display surface in response to an input of a video signal from the control device 17. An example of the screen displayed on the display device 13 and the display surface will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 2 is a view showing an instrument panel (hereinafter also simply referred to as instrument panel) 20 of the vehicle. In the present embodiment, the instrument panel 20 is provided with a handle 21, an insertion port 22 into which the information storage device 2 can be inserted, and a display device 13. Instruments such as a speedometer are not arranged, and information indicated by the instruments is displayed on an information screen 23 displayed on the display surface of the display device 13.

  FIG. 3 is an example of the information screen 23. A map display area 24 for displaying a map used for route guidance is arranged in the center of the information screen 23, and a keyword input field 25 for inputting a search keyword in search data display processing to be described later is arranged above the map display area 24. The A plurality of icons 27 for selecting various functions are arranged in the icon display area 26 at the left end of the information screen 23.

  In addition, an information display area 28 for displaying information indicated by instruments, vehicle status, time, weather, and the like is arranged on the upper right of the information screen 23, and an audio jacket photo and other photos can be displayed in other portions. An area is placed.

  In the map display area 24 described above, the current position of the vehicle detected by the position detection device 11 is displayed as a map display screen on a map indicated by map data read from the storage device 40 described later while the vehicle is running. An image in which a mark, a name, a landmark, data of various landmark symbols, and a route line indicating a route to the destination are superimposed is displayed.

  The audio output device 14 is configured to notify the user of various information by voice. Therefore, various types of guidance such as route guidance can be given to the user by both the display by the map display area 24 of the display device 13 and the voice output from the voice output device 14.

The voice input device 15 has a microphone (not shown), and inputs a voice uttered by a user input through the microphone.
The vehicle information input I / F 16 is an interface for inputting output signals from various sensors that detect the operation of the brake, accelerator, turn signal, and the like by the user, and transfers the input output signals of the various sensors to the control device 17.

  The control device 17 is configured around a known microcomputer including a CPU, ROM, RAM, I / O, a bus line connecting these components, and the like, and controls the entire information retrieval device 1.

  The control device 17 includes a display data processing unit 31, a voice recognition unit 32, a search condition input unit 33, a range switching instruction input unit 34, a search range determination unit 35, a search unit 36, and an information storage device connection interface (I / F) 37. , A communication unit 38, a presentation unit 39, a storage device 40, and the like.

  The display data processing unit 31 executes navigation-related processing, search data display processing described later, and the like according to the application program 41 and various data read from the ROM, RAM, storage device 40, and the like.

Examples of the navigation-related processing described above include map display processing, route calculation processing, route guidance processing, and the like.
The map display process calculates a current position of the vehicle based on each detection signal from the position detection device 11, and displays a map display screen showing a map and the like near the current position based on the map data 42 stored in the storage device 40. This is a process of displaying on the display device 13. The route calculation process is a process of calculating an optimum route from the current position to the target position designated by the operation of the input operation device 12 by the user based on the map data 42 stored in the storage device 40. As a method for automatically setting an optimum route in this way, a method such as cost calculation by the Dijkstra method is known.

  In the route guidance process, the route line indicating the route calculated by the route calculation process is displayed on the map display screen so as to be overlapped, or the voice output device 14 outputs the route guidance to the destination as a voice. This is the process to be performed. In this route guidance process, the points required for guidance are calculated from the above-described route calculation results and road shape data stored in the map data, intersection position information, crossing position information, etc. It is determined what kind of guidance (instruction such as turning right or left, ie, so-called navigation) is necessary.

  The voice recognition unit 32 extracts conversation voice data from the voice input via the voice input device 15. Then, the extracted conversational voice data is collated by referring to dictionary data (not shown) stored in the storage device 40, and a higher comparison target pattern having a higher degree of matching than a plurality of comparison target pattern candidates is input. Determine with information.

The search condition input unit 33 receives a search keyword composed of character information input to the keyword input field 25 via the input operation device 12 or the voice input device 15.
The range switching instruction input unit 34 receives an instruction to switch the database to be searched when the switch button 61 is pressed in a search list 60 described later. Note that the function of the range switching instruction input unit 34 is not used in the present embodiment, but is used in a modification described later. Specific processing for switching databases will be described in a modification.

  The search range determination unit 35 extracts words from the search keyword received by the search condition input unit 33, and updates the weight value database (weight value DB) 43 stored in the storage device 40 and the information storage device 2. A weighting process is performed based on the information, and a database to be searched is determined from a plurality of databases. Details of the weighting process will be described later.

  The search unit 36 searches the database determined by the search range determination unit 35 based on the search keyword received by the search condition input unit 33 and extracts target information. If the determined database is the fourth database (DB4) 52 of the server system 3 located outside the vehicle, a search request is transmitted to the server system 3 via the network 4.

The information storage device connection interface (I / F) 37 mediates the connection between the control device 17 and the information storage device 2.
The communication unit 38 is a device that realizes data communication between the control device 17 and the server system 3, and transmits a search request to the server system 3 and receives information from the server system 3.

The presentation unit 39 outputs the result searched by the search unit 36 to the display device 13 or the audio output device 14 as a video signal or an audio signal.
The storage device 40 is a storage region for storing data, a storage region for an application program 41 for operating the information search device 1, a storage region for map data 42 indicating map information, and a weight value used for weighting a search keyword. The storage medium includes a DB 43, a plurality of other search databases, and a storage area for storing various other data. Details of the weight value DB 43 will be described later.

  The map data stored in the storage device 40 includes road data used for map matching, route search by route calculation processing, route guidance by route guidance processing, drawing data composed of various data necessary for map display, and the like. included.

  Further, as described above, a plurality of search databases in which different information is stored are registered in the storage device 40. The first database (DB1) 44 stores information such as destination names and telephone numbers used in the route calculation process. The second database (DB2) 45 stores vehicle operation manual information. The third database (DB3) 46 stores information such as TV and radio program guide information and music data.

  The information storage device 2 stores update information for updating the weight value set for the word in the weight value DB 43 and image information used for displaying the information screen 23. Memory can be applied. Further, the information storage device 2 is decorated with a ribbon 2a and the like as shown in FIG.

  When the information storage device 2 is connected to the information storage device connection I / F 37, the display data processing unit 31 reads out the image information and changes the display mode of the information screen 23 using the image information. Specifically, the background of the information screen 23, the display of the map display area 24, the design and color of the icon 27, the display of the gradation, etc., and the background and display mode of the information display area 28 change.

  Specific examples of the information screen 23 in which the display mode is changed are shown in FIGS. FIGS. 5A to 5C show the display modes changed according to the preferences of women according to the image information stored in the information storage device 2. FIG. 5A is an example of a cute display mode based on pink and white, FIG. 5B is an example of a display mode featuring characters, and FIG. 5C is based on gold and black. It is an example of a flashy display mode.

  In this way, the information storage device 2 can be used to switch the information screen 23 to a display mode that matches the user's preference. Details of the update information using the information storage device 2 will be described later.

The server system 3 is configured to be capable of data communication with the information search apparatus 1 via the network 4, and a control apparatus 51 that controls the server system 3 and a fourth database stored in the external storage apparatus 53. (DB4) 52. The server system 3 is configured as a server that provides a website search engine, and the database 52 stores website search data. When there is a search request from the information search apparatus 1, the keyword requested from the fourth database 52 is searched and the search result is transmitted to the information search apparatus 1. As described above, the information search apparatus 1 can acquire information on the website via the server system 3.
(2) Processing by Information Search Device Hereinafter, search data display processing, which is characteristic processing of the present invention and executed by the control device included in the information search device 1, will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This search data display process is repeatedly executed while the information search apparatus 1 is activated. Note that the details of the map display process, the route calculation process, and the route guidance process described above performed by the conventional navigation device are the same as those of the conventional method, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted.

  In this search data display processing, first, it is determined whether or not a keyword as a search condition has been input to the keyword input field 25 (S1). If it has not been input (S1: NO), S1 is repeated and input is performed again. Wait until done. If a search keyword has been input (S1: YES), the process proceeds to S2.

  Next, a weighting process is performed (S2). Here, a word is extracted from the input search keyword, the word is searched from the weight value DB 43, a weight value for each of a plurality of databases (a value indicating the degree of association between the word and the database) is extracted, and an addition process is performed. The database with the largest numerical value is determined as the database to be searched.

  An example of the weight value DB 43 is shown in FIG. A plurality of words are registered in the weight value DB 43, and a weight value indicating a degree related to the database is set for each of the plurality of databases. An appropriate value may be set in advance as the weight value. If similar information is stored in a plurality of databases, a high weight value is set for the databases (DB1 to DB3) arranged inside the vehicle, and the database (DB4) arranged outside the vehicle. The weight value for may be set low.

Here, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, when the keyword input in the keyword input field 25 is “window” or “cloudy”, the weight value W _DBi of each database corresponding to those words is extracted. Add the weight value for each database. As a result, the calculation results of each database are SUM (W _DB1 ) = 0.95, SUM (W _DB2 ) = 1.25, SUM (W _DB3 ) = 0.35, SUM (W _DB4 ) = 0.75, Thus, the order of priority is set in order from the database with the largest calculation result. In this case, the priority order is DB2, DB1, DB4, and DB3 in order from the top.

A known technique such as the tf / idf method can be used as the weight value W _DBi of each database corresponding to the input word. Also, instead of simply adding the weight values for each word, the weight values are changed according to the input order of the search keywords (in FIG. 3, the first is “window” and the second is “cloudy”). Any known technique may be used. Furthermore, when a word that is not registered in the weight value DB 43 is input as a keyword, a related word of the word may be searched, and the weight value of the word extracted there may be used for weighting processing.

  Further, when the information storage device 2 is connected to the information search device 1, the weight value of the weight value DB used in the weighting process is determined based on the weight value update information for each word stored in the information storage device 2. Updated. When the weight value is updated, the priority order of each database is determined by the weighting process described above using the updated weight value. Since the search result also changes as the weight value changes, it is possible to adjust the tendency of the target information output during the search by connecting the information storage device 2.

  Here, for example, the update information may be a new weight value DB different from the weight value DB 43 included in the storage device 40 of the information search device 1. In this case, the weight value DB used in the process of S2 may be the weight value DB stored in the information storage device 2. In addition, for example, parameter information for adding or subtracting a weight value for a specific word may be used. In this case, when the specific word is input as a keyword, a weighting process (weighting value adding process) may be performed by adding or subtracting the weight value corresponding to the parameter. .

  Return to the description of the flowchart. After S2, it is determined whether or not a database to be searched has been determined (S3). Specifically, if the database with the highest priority is determined, it is determined that the database to be searched is determined. The case where the database is not determined is, for example, a case where none of the words input as keywords are registered in the weight value DB.

  If the database to be searched is not determined (S3: NO), the process proceeds to S6. If the database to be searched is determined (S3: YES), search processing is executed for the determined database (S4). Since the specific processing of the search processing is publicly known, detailed description is omitted.

  Next, it is determined whether or not a search result (purpose information) is obtained in the search process of S4 (S5). If no search result is obtained (S5: NO), the process proceeds to S6. On the other hand, if the search result of the purpose information is obtained (S5: YES), the process proceeds to S7.

  If the database to be searched is not determined in S3 and if no search result is obtained in S5, the error processing indicates that the search result is not obtained and prompts for the input of a different keyword. Is displayed on the screen (S6). Thereafter, the process returns to S1.

  If the search result is obtained in S6, it is determined whether or not the obtained result is two or more (S7), and if only one is detected (S7: NO), the processing is performed. Shifts to S10. On the other hand, if two or more items are detected (S7: YES), a search list 60 in which the search results are displayed as a list as shown in FIG. 8 is presented in the information screen 23 (S8). And it waits until any search result is selected by the user from the search results listed in the search list 60 (S9: NO), and if any search result is selected (S9: YES), The process proceeds to S10.

Next, a search result is presented (S10).
An example of presenting search results will be described. For example, when “defrost rear glass” is selected in FIG. 8, the screen of the target information (vehicle operation manual information) shown in FIG. 9 is displayed as a search result. If the search result is one, the screen of FIG. 9 is displayed without performing the display of FIG.

  In addition, for example, when a result of searching by inputting a keyword is a facility name used in the route calculation process, a button for setting as a route guidance destination is arranged on the screen displaying the search result. The

  Specifically, when “near” and “convenience store” are entered in the keyword input field 25, as can be seen from FIG. 7, the priority order is DB1, DB4, DB3, DB2 in order from the top, and the search processing is performed on DB1. Done. The search result display screen displays a convenience store extracted from DB 1 and a button for setting the convenience store as a destination. Then, by pressing the button (performing an operation of selecting and determining the button on the screen), the destination of the route guidance is set with one touch.

  For example, when “weather forecast” and “Aichi” are entered in the keyword input field 25, as can be seen from FIG. 7, the priority order is DB4, DB1, DB3, DB2 in order from the top, and the search processing is performed on DB4. Is called. And it connects with the external server system 3, and the weather forecast map of Aichi Prefecture various places is displayed.

  For example, when “graduation” is entered in the keyword input field 25, as can be seen from FIG. 7, the priority order is DB3, DB4, DB1, DB2 in order from the top, and the search processing is performed on DB3. On the search result display screen, a music data screen (play list) extracted from the DB 3 and a button for playing the song are displayed. By pressing the button, playback can be started.

After this S10, this process ends.
(3) Advantages of the Invention With the information search device 1 described above, when a search keyword is input and a search is performed, the weight value DB 43 (or update information of the information storage device 2) is used to store a plurality of databases. An appropriate database based on the word weight value is selected from the list, and the target information extracted from the selected database is output.

  Therefore, when searching for target information from a plurality of databases, the user does not need to perform an operation of selecting a database in advance (for example, an operation of displaying a destination search screen), and target information can be easily acquired. become. In addition, since the database to be searched is selected as appropriate according to the keyword weighting, the information desired by the user can be obtained with high accuracy.

  Further, in the information search apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the search process is executed on a database having a low priority determined by the weighting process, that is, a database that is unlikely to require the user to search the database. First, the search processing is executed only on the high priority database, so that the processing load and the search time can be reduced by eliminating unnecessary search processing. In addition, the target information can be obtained quickly by executing the search process from a database having a high priority, that is, a possibility that the user needs to be high.

Further, in the information search device 1 of the present embodiment, the search result when searching with the same search keyword varies depending on whether or not the information storage device 2 is connected. Therefore, by connecting the information storage device 2, the tendency of the target information output at the time of search can be adjusted easily. Furthermore, the display mode of the information screen 23 can be changed by connecting the information storage device 2.
(4) Modifications While the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can take various forms as long as they belong to the technical scope of the present invention. Needless to say.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the search is performed only from the database determined to have the highest priority by the weighting process in S2 of FIG. 6 is illustrated, but the result of searching other than the database having the highest priority is also output. You may comprise so that it can do. In that case, for example, the search data display process may be executed as in the flowchart shown in FIG.

In the search data display process of FIG. 10, first, the variable i is set to 1 (S21).
In subsequent S22, it is determined whether or not a keyword serving as a search condition has been input. In S23, a weighting process is performed. The processes of S22 and S23 are the same as the processes of S1 and S2 in the search data display process of FIG.

Next, the database having the i-th most weight calculation result in S23, ie, the database having the i-th priority is selected (S24).
Next, it is determined whether a database to be searched is determined (S25). Specifically, if the i-th priority database is determined, it is determined that the database to be searched is determined. If the database to be searched is not determined (S25: NO), the process proceeds to S28.

  On the other hand, if a database to be searched is determined (S25: YES), search processing is executed on the database (S26), and it is determined whether or not a search result is obtained (S27). Is not obtained (S27: NO), the process proceeds to S28.

The error process of S28 is the same as the process of S6 in the search data display process of FIG. 6, and the process returns to S22 after S28.
If a search result is obtained in S27 (S27: YES), a search list 60 as shown in FIG. 8 is presented in the information screen 23 (S29).

  Next, it is determined whether or not the switching button 61 in the search list 60 has been pressed (S30). If the switch button has not been pressed (S30: NO), it is determined whether or not any search result has been selected by the user from the search results listed in the search list 60 (S31). If no search result is selected (S31: NO), the process returns to S30.

  That is, with the loop of S30 and S31, while the search list 60 is displayed, the process waits until the switch button 61 is pressed or a search result is selected. When a search result is selected (S31: YES), the selected search result is presented on the information screen 23 (S32), and this process is terminated.

  On the other hand, when the switching button 61 is pressed in S30 (S30: YES), the variable i is incremented to i + 1 (S33), and then it is determined whether or not the variable i is larger than the reference value n (S34). . The reference value n here is the number of databases that can be searched by the information search apparatus. When the variable i is not larger than the reference value n (S34: NO), the process returns to S24. When the variable i is larger than the reference value n (S34: YES), the variable i is returned to 1 (S35), and the process returns to S24.

  That is, by the processing from S33 to S35, the database selected in S24 is changed to one having a lower priority than the previously searched database. If the database searched last time is the database with the lowest priority, the database is changed to the database with the highest priority next.

  Thus, if it is an information search device which performs search data display processing, the information displayed on the information screen 23 can be easily switched to the target information extracted from a different database only by pressing the switch button 61. .

  In the search data display process of FIG. 10 described above, a configuration is shown in which a different database search is executed each time the switch button 61 is pressed. Different databases may be searched, or a plurality of databases may be searched simultaneously. Note that the order of the databases to be searched may be executed according to the priority order determined by the weighting process. With such a configuration, it is possible to quickly output target information that is considered to be desired by the user.

  Moreover, in the said Example, the server system 3 was comprised as a server which provides the search engine of a website, and the data which the database 52 has illustrated the structure which is data for website search. However, the data included in the database 52 is not limited to the above data, and can be data in various fields. For example, the server system 3 provides unique content, and the database 52 can store keywords for searching for the content and the content itself.

  Moreover, in the said Example, the structure which makes the database memorize | stored in the memory | storage device 40 which the information search device 1 has, and the external storage device 53 which the server system 3 has become the database for search used as search object was illustrated. However, a database stored in an external storage device that is located outside the information search device 1 and inside the vehicle and can communicate with the information search device 1 may be a search target.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Information retrieval apparatus, 2 ... Information storage apparatus, 2a ... Ribbon, 3 ... Server system, 4 ... Network, 11 ... Position detection apparatus, 12 ... Input operation apparatus, 12a ... Operation switch group, 12b ... Remote control terminal, 13 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS ... Display apparatus, 14 ... Audio | voice output apparatus, 15 ... Audio | voice input apparatus, 16 ... Vehicle information input I / F, 17 ... Control apparatus, 20 ... Instrument panel, 21 ... Handle, 22 ... Insert, 23 ... Information screen, 24 ... Map display area, 25 ... Keyword input field, 26 ... Icon display area, 27 ... Icon, 28 ... Information display area, 31 ... Display data processing section, 32 ... Voice recognition section, 33 ... Search condition input section, 34 ... Range Switching instruction input unit 35 ... Search range determination unit 36 ... Search unit 37 ... Information storage device connection I / F 38 ... Communication unit 39 ... Presentation unit 40 ... Storage device 41 ... Application ® emission program, 42 ... map data, 43 ... weight value DB, 51 ... controller, 52 ... database, 53 ... external storage device, 60 ... search list, 61 ... switching button

Claims (13)

An input means for entering a search keyword;
Search means for searching a plurality of search databases storing different information based on the search keyword input by the input means, and extracting target information;
Output means for outputting the purpose information extracted by the search means, and an information search device comprising:
Determining means for determining priorities of the plurality of search databases according to the degree of association between the search keyword input by the input means and the plurality of search databases;
The information search apparatus characterized in that the output means preferentially outputs the target information extracted from the search database having a high priority determined by the determination means. The information search apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the search unit searches the search database having the highest priority determined by the determination unit. The information search apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the search unit searches in order from the search database having a high priority determined by the determination unit. A weight value database in which a plurality of words and a weight value indicating a degree of association between the word and each of the search databases are stored for each of the words;
The determination means extracts a word from the search keyword, calculates a weight value of the search keyword from a weight value extracted from the weight value database for the word, and based on the calculation result, the plurality of search databases The information search device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the priority is determined. Connection means for connecting to an information storage device in which update information for updating the weight value stored in the weight value database is stored;
Update means for updating the weight value stored in the weight value database based on the update information when connected to the information storage device by the connection means;
5. The determination unit, when the weight value is updated by the update unit, determines a priority order of the plurality of search databases using the weight value updated by the update unit. The information search device described in 1. The information search device is mounted on a vehicle,
A display means for displaying an information screen including a map;
The information storage device stores image information used for displaying the information screen,
The information search apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the display unit displays the information screen using the image information when the information storage device is connected by the connection unit. The plurality of search databases include a database stored in a storage device mounted on the information search device, and a database stored in an external storage device outside the information search device with which the information search device can communicate. The information search device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: The information search apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the information search apparatus is used by being mounted on a vehicle. The information retrieval apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the external storage device is disposed inside the vehicle. The information search device according to claim 8, wherein the external storage device is disposed outside the vehicle. An information storage device configured to be connectable to the information search device according to claim 5 by the connection means,
The information storage device stores update information for updating the weight value. An information storage device configured to be connectable to the information storage device according to claim 6 by the connection means,
The information storage device stores update information for updating the weight value and image information used for displaying the information screen.   The program for making a computer system implement | achieve the function as each means which comprises the information search device of any one of Claims 1-10.