JP2012043258A - Retrieval system, retrieval device, retrieval program, recording medium and retrieval method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve user's convenience in narrowing retrieval results.SOLUTION: A retrieval system retrieving documents stored beforehand comprises: a specified condition information acquiring unit 101 for acquiring specified conditions to store in a storage medium; a retrieval log information storage unit 104 for storing history information of retrieval such as condition history information indicating the specified conditions and retriever information concerning a user who has executed the retrieval in association as retrieval history information; an adaptability calculation unit 102 for retrieving documents based on the specified conditions and extracting a narrowing condition for further narrowing retrieval results based on the retrieval history information which the condition history information corresponds to the specified conditions and the retriever information relates to user identification information stored by authentication; and a calculation result processing unit 103 for generating and outputting information to display the retrieval results and the extracted narrowing condition.

Description

  The present invention relates to a search system, a search device, a search program, a recording medium, and a search method, and more particularly to narrowing down search results in information search.

  Search technology for electronic data or search result display technology has become an increasingly important technology because of the increase in the number of search results due to an increase in the amount of information to be searched. This is because the information that is sought is buried in a large amount of search results, making it difficult to find. As such a search technique, for example, a ranking search technique is proposed in which a search is executed based on a search condition set by analyzing an input search request, and the search results are ordered by a predetermined score calculation means. .

  In order to obtain a search result in the information search, it is necessary to give the search condition to the system as described above. If the obtained search result is not sufficiently narrowed down, the search result is further given by giving the search condition. It is necessary to narrow down. As a technology to assist such narrowing down, a technology that recommends additional keywords for further narrowing down the search results and a re-search by specifying additional keywords on the search result display screen can be executed with one click. The technology to do is already known.

  As a technique for presenting a search keyword to a user, a technique for performing a search every time a keyword is input by the user and presenting the keyword included in the extracted document to the user is already known (for example, , See Patent Document 1).

  For example, in an information retrieval system in a company, a system that can retrieve information across databases and file systems for various departments and various uses may be used. It is possible to search for documents that have been viewed or viewed. In such a case, there is a possibility that the user can make a certain prediction about the database including the target document. When narrowing down the information, the database including the target document, that is, the above-mentioned department and usage, etc. By specifying the range, it is possible to narrow down efficiently.

  As a technology to narrow down the search results by narrowing down the search target, domain specified search in web search is known, but in order to apply it, it is necessary to know the rules for keyword input for domain specification Yes, it was not an easy operation for the user. Further, in the conventional narrowing assist technology, only recommended keywords are presented. When narrowing down the search target range, the user needs to perform an operation according to the system. Such a problem is not limited to an information search system in a company, but can occur in the same manner when information to be searched is divided into a plurality of ranges.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to improve user convenience in narrowing down search results.

  In order to solve the above problem, one aspect of the present invention is a search system that searches a document stored in advance according to a specified condition, and a user inputs information that satisfies the specified condition. Together with a user terminal for displaying the result of the search, and a search device for searching the previously stored document based on the inputted information that is the specified condition, A user authentication unit that acquires information for authenticating the user, authenticates the user, and stores user identification information for identifying the user in a storage medium, and the input information that is the specified condition A specified condition acquisition unit that acquires the specified condition and stores it in a storage medium, and a search execution unit that searches the prestored document based on the acquired specified condition Search history information storage that stores, as the search history information, the condition history information indicating the conditions specified in the search and the searcher information relating to the user who executed the search in association with each other as the history information of the executed search A search history associated with the user identification information stored in the authentication, wherein the condition history information corresponds to the stored specified condition, and the searcher information is stored in the authentication. A refinement condition extraction unit for extracting a refinement condition for further narrowing down the result of the executed search based on the information, and a command for narrowing down the search result based on the result of the executed search and the extracted refinement condition And a display information output unit that generates and outputs information for displaying an interface for input.

  The search history information storage unit also stores reference history information related to a document referred to based on a result of the search, and the refinement condition extraction unit performs the execution based on the reference history information. It is preferable to extract a narrowing-down condition for further narrowing down the search result.

  The documents stored in advance are stored separately in groups for each related document, and the reference history information is information indicating a group including documents referred to based on a result of the search. Preferably, the narrowing-down condition extracting unit extracts the group indicated by the reference history information as the narrowing-down condition.

  In addition, the narrowing-down management information storage unit that stores the batch management information in which the information for identifying the batch for each related document and the information on the manager who manages the batch are associated with each other. The condition extraction unit extracts, based on the group management information, the group management information related to the user identification information stored by the authentication by the administrator who manages the group, and the extracted management information in the group management information It is preferable to extract the narrowing-down condition based on information for identifying a group.

  The filtering condition extracting unit further counts the number of documents included in each group for a predetermined number of documents in the search result, and the grouping condition other than the group having the largest count value is the filtering condition. It is preferable to extract as

  Further, the search history information storage unit also stores in association with narrowing condition history information indicating a narrowing condition when the search result is further narrowed down, and the narrowing condition extraction unit is based on the narrowing condition history information It is preferable to extract the narrowing conditions.

  In addition, the information processing apparatus further includes a user information storage unit that stores user identification information for identifying a user who uses the search system and information related to the user's affiliation, and the filtering condition extraction unit includes the user information Based on information stored in the storage unit, user identification information of a user associated with the user identified by the user identification information stored by the authentication is acquired, and the searcher information is stored by the authentication It is preferable to extract a narrowing-down condition for further narrowing down the result of the executed search based on the search history information which is the user identification information or the user identification information of the affiliated user. The user terminal may be an image forming apparatus.

  On the other hand, according to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a search device that searches a document stored in advance according to a specified condition, and acquires information for authenticating a user who performs a search and authenticates the user. Then, based on a user authentication unit that stores user identification information for identifying the user in a storage medium and information that is input as a specified condition, the specified condition is acquired and stored in the storage medium. A specified condition acquisition unit, a search execution unit that searches for the previously stored document based on the acquired specified condition, and a condition specified in the search as information on the history of the executed search A search history information storage unit storing search history information associated with searcher information relating to a user who has executed the search and condition history information indicating the search history information, and the stored search history information The result of the executed search is further based on the search history information in which the condition history information corresponds to the stored specified condition and the searcher information is related to user identification information stored by the authentication. A refinement condition extraction unit for extracting a refinement condition for refinement, and information for displaying an interface for inputting the result of the executed search and an instruction for refinement of the search result based on the extracted refinement condition And a display information output unit for outputting.

  Here, the information retrieval apparatus may further include an image forming unit and be configured as an image forming apparatus.

  According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a search program that causes an information processing apparatus to operate as a search apparatus that searches a document stored in advance according to a specified condition, and authenticates a user who performs a search. Acquiring the information for authenticating the user, storing the user identification information for identifying the user in a storage medium, and the specified condition based on the input specified condition information In the search as information on the history of the executed search, the step of searching the document stored in advance based on the acquired designated condition Of the search history information associated with the condition history information indicating the specified condition and searcher information regarding the user who executed the search, the condition history information is the description history. Based on the search history information corresponding to the specified conditions and the searcher information related to the user identification information stored by the authentication, a narrowing condition for further narrowing down the result of the executed search is extracted. And a step of generating and outputting information for displaying an interface for inputting a command for narrowing down the search result based on the result of the executed search and the extracted narrowing-down condition to the information processing apparatus. It is made to perform.

  Still another embodiment of the present invention is a recording medium, wherein the search program is recorded in a format readable by an information processing apparatus.

  According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a search method for causing an information processing apparatus to operate as a search apparatus that searches a document stored in advance according to a specified condition, and authenticates a user who performs a search. For acquiring the information for authenticating the user, storing the user identification information for identifying the user in a storage medium, and acquiring the specified condition based on the input information that is the specified condition And storing the information in a list of documents corresponding to the specified condition by searching the previously stored document based on the acquired specified condition. Among the search history information associated with the search history information associated with the search history information indicating the conditions specified in the search and the searcher information related to the user who executed the search, To further narrow down the results of the executed search based on the search history information corresponding to the stored specified condition and the search history information related to the user identification information stored by the authentication. Information for displaying the interface for inputting the information on the list of stored documents and the command for narrowing down the search result according to the stored filtering conditions. Generated and output.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to improve user convenience in narrowing down search results.

It is a figure which shows the operation | use form of the system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows typically the hardware constitutions of the information search device and client device which concern on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the information search device which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the search log information which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the document table which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the database table which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows operation | movement of the system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the extraction aspect of the narrowing-down conditions which concern on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the user information which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the information of the access ratio according to the department which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the totalization aspect of the search result which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the totalization aspect of the search result which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the totalization aspect of the search result which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the operation | use form of the system which concerns on other embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, a system for presenting a range to be narrowed down will be described as an example in an information search system in a company as an aid for a user to further narrow down search results.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation mode of the information search system according to the present embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the information search system according to the present embodiment includes an information search device 1, a client device 2, and a target information DB 200. The client device 2 is configured by a general information processing device such as a PC (Personal Computer), and serves as a user device for a user interface for the user to input information to the information search system and display the information search result. Function. The information retrieval apparatus 1 is connected to the client apparatus 2 via a network, and is operated as a server that retrieves document information stored in the target information DB 200 in response to a retrieval request from the client apparatus 2.

  The target information DB 200 stores electronic document information that is information to be searched. The information search apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment refers to information stored in the target information DB 200, and calculates the fitness for each electronic document with respect to a given search condition. As shown in FIG. 1, in this embodiment, an example in which the target information DB 200 is provided separately from the information search apparatus 1 will be described. However, the target information DB 200 may be configured inside the information search apparatus 1. Is possible. The target information DB 200 is configured by a nonvolatile storage medium such as an HDD. The target information DB 200 may store index information generated based on the electronic document in addition to the information on the electronic document itself. In this case, the information search device 1 calculates the fitness based on the information of the index.

  Next, the hardware configuration of the information search device 1 and the client device 2 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the information search apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 2, the hardware configuration of the information search apparatus 1 will be described, but the same applies to the client apparatus 2.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the information search apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment has the same configuration as an information processing terminal such as a general server or a PC (Personal Computer). That is, the information search apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 10, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 20, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 30, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 40, and an I / F 50. 80 is connected. Further, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) 60 and an operation unit 70 are connected to the I / F 50.

  The CPU 10 is a calculation means and controls the operation of the entire information retrieval apparatus 1. The RAM 20 is a volatile storage medium capable of reading and writing information at high speed, and is used as a work area when the CPU 10 processes information. The ROM 30 is a read-only nonvolatile storage medium and stores a program such as firmware. The HDD 40 is a non-volatile storage medium that can read and write information, and stores an OS (Operating System), various control programs, application programs, and the like.

  The I / F 50 connects and controls the bus 80 and various hardware and networks. The LCD 60 is a visual user interface for the user to check the state of the information search device 1. The operation unit 70 is a user interface such as a keyboard and a mouse for the user to input information to the information search apparatus 1. As described with reference to FIG. 1, the information search apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is operated as a server. Therefore, user interfaces such as the LCD 60 and the operation unit 70 can be omitted.

  In such a hardware configuration, a program stored in a storage medium such as the ROM 30, the HDD 40, or an optical disk (not shown) is read into the RAM 20, and the CPU 10 performs an operation according to the program, thereby configuring a software control unit. . A functional block that realizes the function of the information search apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is configured by a combination of the software control unit configured as described above and hardware.

  Next, functional blocks of the information search apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the target information DB 200 storing the functional blocks of the information search apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment and the information of the electronic document to be searched by the information search apparatus 1. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the information search apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes a search control unit 100, an information input unit 110, a network I / F 120, and a display unit 130.

  The information input unit 110 is configured to allow a user to operate the information search apparatus 1 and input information to the search control unit 100, and is realized by the I / F 50 and the operation unit 70 illustrated in FIG. The network I / F 120 is an interface for the information search apparatus 1 to acquire information via the network or transmit information via the network, and is realized by the I / F 50 shown in FIG. For example, it is realized by an interface of Ethernet (registered trademark) connection or an interface of USB (Universal Serial Bus) connection.

  The display unit 130 is configured to display the operation state of the information search apparatus 1, search results, and the like, and is realized by the I / F 50 and the LCD 60 shown in FIG. As described above, the information input unit 110 and the display unit 130 can be omitted. The search control unit 100 is configured to perform the search function of the information search apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. Have. The search control unit 100 includes a software control unit configured by the CPU 10 performing calculations according to a program loaded in the RAM 20 illustrated in FIG. 2 and information stored in a storage medium such as the HDD 40.

  The specified condition information acquisition unit 101 acquires search condition information input by the user via the information input unit 110 or search condition information input via the network via the network I / F 120 as specified condition information. The designation condition information is a condition designated by the user as a condition for extracting a desired document, and is information on a keyword that designates a word to be included in the electronic document to be searched. Note that the specified condition information acquisition unit 101 according to the present embodiment also acquires information related to authentication when the user logs in to the information search apparatus 1 and authenticates the user.

  The fitness level calculation unit 102 refers to the contents of each document stored in the target information DB 200 based on the specified condition information input from the specified condition information acquisition unit 101, and calculates the fitness level of each document with respect to the search condition. . In addition, the fitness calculation unit 102 stores search log information in the search log information storage 104.

  The search result processing unit 103 generates and outputs display information for displaying the list of fitness levels for each document calculated by the fitness level calculation unit 102 on the display unit 130 or the display unit of the client device 2. In addition, the search result processing unit 103 stores, in the search log information storage unit 104, information related to documents that are displayed by the user according to the list after the list of matching levels is displayed on the display unit of the client device 2. Let

  Furthermore, the fitness level calculation unit 102 and the search result processing unit 103 realize the narrow-down auxiliary function according to the present embodiment based on the information stored in the search log information storage unit 104. The narrowing-down auxiliary function according to the present embodiment is realized by presenting information for designating a range for narrowing a search target to the user. Details of the auxiliary function for narrowing down according to the present embodiment will be described later.

  The search log information storage unit 104 executes condition history information indicating a condition specified in a past search executed by the fitness calculation unit 102, reference history information indicating a document displayed according to the search result, and a search. This is a search history information storage unit that stores searcher information relating to a user who has performed as search log information. The search log information stored in the search log information storage unit 104 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the search log information storage unit 104 according to the present embodiment includes a “log ID”, “date / time”, “user ID”, “keyword”, “application narrowing condition”, “document ID”, “ Contains information on “reference database”.

  “Log ID” is identification information for identifying each search history. “Date and time” is information indicating the date and time when each search was executed. “User ID” is identification information for identifying the user who executed each search. “Keyword” is a keyword input as a search condition in each search. The “application narrowing condition” is a condition input for further narrowing down the search result in each search. “Document ID” is identification information for identifying a document browsed as a result of each search. The “reference destination database” is identification information for identifying a database including a document as a range including a document browsed as a result of each search.

  The target information DB 200 is a storage medium that stores search target information according to the present embodiment. Information stored in the target information DB 200 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating information of a table (hereinafter referred to as a document table) for managing information on a search target document among information stored in the target information DB 200. As shown in FIG. 5, the document table includes information on “document ID”, “database”, “creator”, “document title”, and “document text”.

  “Document ID” is identification information for identifying a document stored in the target information DB 200, and corresponds to the “document ID” in FIG. “Database” is identification information for identifying a database in which each document is included, and corresponds to the “reference destination database” in FIG. “Creator” is identification information for identifying a user who created each document. “Document title” is the title of each document. “Document text” is the content of the text of each document.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing information of a table (hereinafter referred to as a database table) for managing a database in which documents to be searched are included among information stored in the target information DB 200. As shown in FIG. 6, the database table includes information of “database”, “database name”, “manager”, “management department”, and “number of documents”.

  “Database” is identification information for identifying a database in which a document to be searched is included, and corresponds to “reference database” in FIG. 4 and “database” in FIG. “Database name” indicates the name of each database. “Manager” is information for identifying a user who manages each database. “Management department” is information for identifying a department that manages each database. “Number of documents” indicates the total number of documents included in each database.

  The target information DB 200 according to the present embodiment includes a plurality of “development department general affairs manual”, “sales department general affairs manual”, “2010 development department expenses”, etc. as indicated by “database name” in FIG. Stores database information. Each database in the present embodiment is a group for each related document. In the present embodiment, each database is a group for each issuer department. That is, the “database” shown in FIGS. 4, 5, and 6 is information for identifying a group of documents, and the database table is group management information. Then, as shown in FIG. 6, by storing unit management information for managing each unit of a document, it is possible to effectively and easily specify a unit as a search result narrowing condition.

  Next, the operation of the information search system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram showing an information search operation in the information search system according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, when searching for an electronic document registered in the target information DB 200, first, the user operates the client device 2 to input a user ID and password, and logs in to the information search device 1 (S701). ).

  By the processing of S701, the user ID of the user who performs the search is held in the information search device 1, and the information search device 1 can determine the user who is performing the search. In S701 according to the present embodiment, the specified condition information acquisition unit 101 functions as a user authentication unit that receives a login request from the client device 2 and authenticates a user, and stores a user ID that is user identification information.

  When the login is completed, the user scans the client device 2, acquires information for displaying a search condition designation screen for designating a search condition from the information search device 1, and displays the search condition designation screen (S702). ). Hereinafter, in the description of the present embodiment, a case where the user operates the client device 2 to use the function of the information search device 1 will be described as an example.

  The user operates the operation unit of the client device 2 to input a keyword as a search condition, and transmits it as specified condition information to the information search device 1 (S703). The specified condition information transmitted to the information search apparatus 1 is input from the network I / F 120 to the information search apparatus 1 and acquired by the specified condition information acquisition unit 101 of the search control unit 100 (S704). Specifically, the processing of S704 is performed by the CPU 10 functioning as the specified condition information acquisition unit 101 by performing an operation according to a program, and the specified condition information is stored in the storage area of the RAM 20 functioning as a part of the specified condition information acquisition unit 101. It is a process to store.

  In the process of S704, the specified condition information acquisition unit 101 may store the received information as the specified condition information as it is, or the specified condition generated by performing morphological analysis, synonym expansion, etc. based on the received information. Information may be acquired.

  When the matching condition calculation unit 102 acquires the specified condition information from the specified condition information acquisition unit 101, the matching level calculation unit 102 searches the index information stored in the target information DB 200 according to the specified item and keyword (S705). That is, in S704, the matching level calculation unit 102 refers to the document table stored in the target information DB 200, and calculates the matching level of each document with respect to the specified condition based on the number of appearances of the keyword as the specified condition information. Functions as an execution unit. When the fitness level is calculated, the fitness level calculation unit 102 extracts documents whose calculated fitness level is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, and sorts the order of documents based on the fitness level to generate ranking result information. Then, the fitness level calculation unit 102 inputs the ranking result information to the search result processing unit 103.

  When the search is completed, the fitness level calculation unit 102 further refers to the search log information storage unit 104 and extracts a narrowing condition for further narrowing down the obtained search result (S706). The process of S706 will be described in detail later. When the extraction of the narrowing condition is completed, the search result processing unit 103 generates display information for displaying the ranking search result and the narrowing condition, and transmits the display information to the client device 2 (S707).

  In S707, the search result processing unit 103 displays the “document title” shown in FIG. 5 in the sorted order, and also provides a link to the “document body” of each document, that is, a command for displaying each document. Generate a screen that displays the input interface. Further, the search result processing unit 103 generates a screen on which the narrowing-down conditions extracted in S706 are displayed and an interface for inputting a search result narrowing-down command based on each of the narrowing-down conditions is displayed. The client device 2 that has received the display information displays the screen as described above (S708), and ends the process.

  Here, the process in S706 of FIG. 7 will be described. In the process of S707 according to the present embodiment, the fitness calculation unit 102 searches based on the keyword as the search condition acquired in S703 and the user ID held in the information search apparatus 1 by the login process of S701. The log information storage unit 104 is referred to. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, from the search log information stored in the search log information storage unit 104, a search log related to “keyword” and a search log matching “user ID” are extracted.

  8A, 8B, and 8C are diagrams illustrating examples of search logs extracted from the search log information storage unit 104 in the processing in S706 according to the present embodiment. Consider a case in which a search log as shown in FIG. 8A is stored in the search log information storage unit 104 and a user with a user ID “user001” searches using “development manual” as a keyword. .

  In this case, the fitness calculation unit 102 first performs morphological analysis and synonym expansion on the “development manual” that is the keyword for the search. Here, it is assumed that a condition (“development” and “manual”) and a condition (“development” and “procedure”) are generated. When the condition calculation unit 102 generates a condition based on the keyword as described above, the condition calculation unit 102 applies the condition to the “keyword” in the search log information storage unit 104 and narrows down the search log as shown in FIG. . In other words, the degree-of-fit calculation unit extracts information corresponding to the specified condition in the current search for “keyword”, which is condition history information, from the search log information.

  When the search log is narrowed down by keyword as shown in FIG. 8B, the fitness level calculation unit 102 further narrows down the search log by user ID. As described above, here, the search by the user whose user ID is “user001” is taken as an example. As shown in FIG. 8C, the “application narrowing condition” is “development department bulletin board”, “reference database”. A search log with “db0005” is extracted. That is, the fitness level calculation unit 102 extracts, from the search log information, information in which “user ID” that is searcher information is a user ID that is a searcher in the current search.

  When the search log is extracted as shown in FIG. 8C, the fitness level calculation unit 102 extracts “development bulletin board”, which is the “application narrowing condition” in the search log, as a narrowing condition to be presented. That is, the narrowing-down condition is extracted based on the extracted search log information. Note that if the “application narrowing condition” is blank, the information of the “reference destination database” is extracted. If “application narrowing condition” is not blank, the information of “reference database” is a database ID indicating the database of “application narrowing condition”.

  That is, in order to further narrow down the search result in S705 of FIG. 7, conditions for limiting the database such as “development bulletin board” and “db0005” are extracted as conditions for limiting the search target. In this way, in a search executed in the past, a database in which documents referred to as a result of a search with similar keywords and the same searcher's affiliation are stored as a narrowing condition. It is possible to present to the user an appropriate narrowing-down condition for extracting the documents. As shown in FIG. 6, “db0005” is a database ID for identifying “development bulletin board”.

  In the example of FIGS. 8A to 8C, the case of narrowing down by user ID as shown in FIG. 8C is shown as an example. This is based on the fact that the same user is likely to access the same database as the database in which documents referred to in the past are stored. However, it is considered that not only the same user but also a user who has a close affiliation such as the same department or the like has a high possibility of accessing a document stored in the same database. In other words, the fitness level calculation unit 102 searches the search log information not only for the information that the searcher information “user ID” is the user ID of the searcher in the current search, but also in the search for the current search. You may extract the information relevant to user ID which is a person.

  Therefore, when narrowing down from the state of FIG. 8B to the state of FIG. 8C, a user who belongs to the searcher user may be narrowed down as a target. As shown in FIG. 9, such an aspect refers to information in which each user is associated with the affiliation, and the user ID of the affiliation identical to the affiliation of the user who is the searcher is also shown in FIG. This can be realized by narrowing down. The information shown in FIG. 9 is user information for managing affiliation for each user, and is stored in, for example, the fitness calculation unit 102. That is, the fitness level calculation unit 102 functions as a user information storage unit. In this way, by managing user affiliation as user information, not only the user who is a searcher but also the search history by a user who is close to affiliation can be used as information for extracting narrowing conditions. Thus, it becomes possible to determine the narrowing-down conditions from a wider range of information.

  In the case of the example in FIG. 9, since “user001” and “user002” are the same “development department”, the search log with the user ID “user002” is also extracted as a result of further narrowing down from the state of FIG. Is done. As a result, two databases, “db0001” and “db0003”, are extracted as narrowing conditions. Accordingly, the fitness level calculation unit 102 extracts the database “db0001” and the database “db0003” as the narrowing-down conditions.

  In addition, when further narrowing down from the state of FIG. 8B, in addition to the mode of referring to “user ID”, the information of “management department” shown in FIG. Only a database whose department is a management department may be extracted. In the case of the example in FIG. 8B, since the affiliation of the searcher user is “development department” as shown in FIG. 9, both “development department bulletin board” and “2010 development department expense” are extracted. Is done.

  Further, based on the access log for each database for a predetermined period, the access ratio for each department for each database may be obtained, and the database used as a narrowing condition may be extracted based on the access ratio. FIG. 10A is a diagram illustrating an example of information on the access ratio for each department for each database. The information shown in FIG. 10A is stored, for example, as one of the items in the database table described in FIG.

  In the case of the example of FIG. 8B, the affiliation of the searcher user is “development department” as shown in FIG. If the access ratio threshold for each department is “90%”, the access ratio of the development department is 90% or more as shown in the table of FIG. 10B from the table of FIG. Three databases are extracted: “Development Department General Affairs Manual”, “2010 Development Department Expenses”, and “Development Department Bulletin Board”. Then, the fitness calculation unit 102 takes the AND of the extraction result shown in FIG. 8B and the extraction result shown in FIG. 10B, resulting in “2010 development department expense” and “development department bulletin board”. "2 databases are extracted as narrowing conditions. When a plurality of databases are extracted as narrowing conditions, all of them may be presented to the user as narrowing conditions, but it is also possible to narrow down the narrowing conditions to be presented by further weighting.

  As one of the weighting methods, the degree of matching of keywords can be used. As described above, when morphological analysis and synonym expansion are performed on a search keyword, it is conceivable to change the weight value between complete match and partial match. For example, if it is a perfect match, the weight value is set to “1”, and the reciprocal number of the edit rejection such as a large number, a small number, or a different morpheme is used as the weight value. be able to.

  In the case of the example of FIG. 8B, the “development manual” is completely coincident, so the weight value is “1”. On the other hand, since “development, budget application, procedure manual” has an extra “budget application”, the edit distance is “2”, and the reciprocal number “0.5” is the weight value.

  As another weighting method, a large weight value can be set for the database used as the “application narrowing condition”, and a small weight value can be set for the database extracted from the “reference database”. . This is based on the idea that the conditions actually used as the application narrowing conditions in past searches should be preferentially applied. In this case, for the database extracted from the “reference destination database”, the weight value may be doubled, and for the database used as the “application narrowing condition”, the weight value may be doubled.

  As another weighting method, a large weight value can be set for a search log of a user who is a searcher, and a small weight value can be set for a search log of a user who belongs close as described above. . In this case, the weight value is doubled for the search log of the user who is the searcher, the weight value is doubled for the search log of the user who is close to the affiliation, and the weight value is set for the search log of the user irrelevant to the affiliation Is considered to be 0.5 times. In addition, when excluding a search log of a user who does not belong, the weight value can be set to 0 times.

  Based on such setting of the weight value, the weight value is calculated for each of the databases extracted from the “apply narrowing condition” and “reference destination database” in the extracted search log as shown in FIG. 8B. Here, it is assumed that the user “user098” belongs to the same affiliation as the user “user001”. In this case, the database of “development department bulletin board”, that is, “db0001”, is used as “application narrowing condition” because the user matches and the keyword matches completely in the search log of “user001”. “2 × 1 × 2 = 4” is calculated, and the user's affiliation is the same in the search log “user098”, the editing distance of the keyword is “2”, and “reference” is used instead of “application narrowing condition”. Since it is extracted from the “destination database”, “1 × 0.5 × 1 = 0.5” is calculated, and the total is “4.5”.

  On the other hand, for the database of “2010 Development Department Expenses”, ie, “db0003”, the user affiliations are the same, the keyword editing distance is “2”, and it is used as “application narrowing condition”. It is calculated as 1 × 0.5 × 2 = 1 ″. All of these calculations are executed by the fitness calculation unit 102. As a result, the fitness calculation unit 102 extracts the “development department bulletin board”, that is, the database “db0001” as a narrowing condition.

  In this way, after the search log is extracted by the keyword as shown in FIG. 8B, the weight value is calculated and added for each database, so that “application narrowing condition” and “database” are added to the search log. Can be taken into account. In addition to selecting any one and extracting it as a narrowing-down condition, it may be sorted and displayed in the order of calculated weight values.

  In addition, when presenting a plurality of databases to the user as a narrowing condition, in addition to extracting the narrowing condition based on the search log information stored in the search log information storage unit 104 described above, the search in S705 of FIG. A narrowing condition may be extracted based on the result, and the narrowing condition extracted as a result may be presented. Such an embodiment will be described below.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a result of counting the number of documents extracted as a result of the search processing in S705 of FIG. 7 for each database in which each document is stored. In the process of S706, the fitness level calculation unit 102 obtains a count result as shown in FIG. 11, and then extracts a database whose count value exceeds a predetermined threshold as a narrowing condition. In the example of FIG. 11, when the threshold value is “10”, the fitness level calculation unit 102 extracts “development unit bulletin board” as a narrowing condition.

  Further, in the aspect of FIG. 11, since there is a high possibility that a database in which many documents are stored is selected as a narrowing-down condition, the hit rate for the number of documents stored in each database is determined. A threshold may be applied. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the hit rate for the number of documents stored in a document, with respect to the documents extracted as a result of the search, the hit rate for each database storing each document. In the processing of S706, the fitness level calculation unit 102 calculates a hit rate as shown in FIG. 12, and then extracts a database whose hit rate exceeds a predetermined threshold as a narrowing condition. In the example of FIG. 12, when the threshold value is “0.2”, the fitness level calculation unit 102 extracts “development department general affairs manual” and “development department bulletin board” as the narrowing-down conditions.

  It can also be combined with the above-described weight values. In the example described above, the case where the weight value of “development department bulletin board” is “4.5” and the weight value of “2010 development department expense” is “1” has been described as an example. By multiplying this weight value by the hit rate shown in FIG. 12, it is possible to obtain the hit rate in consideration of the weight value by the search log. In the case of the example of FIG. 12, the hit rate in consideration of the weight value calculated by the fitness calculation unit 102 is “0.9” for “development bulletin board” and “0.05” for “2010 development department expense”. It is. In FIG. 11 and FIG. 12, the database name is used as the key, but the database ID may be used as the key.

  Here, the user's action on the search result is considered. When a large number of documents are extracted as a search result as a result of search based on the input keyword, the extracted documents are displayed over a plurality of screens every predetermined number. For example, when the interface of the information search device 1 is displayed on the client device 2 via a web browser or the like, many documents as search results are displayed over a plurality of screens (pages) of the web page for every predetermined number. The

  At this time, if there is no highly relevant document as the user's action for the document status displayed on the first and second pages, the user may change the keyword instead of narrowing down and execute a re-search Is expensive. Also, if the search results in a small number of highly related documents and a large number of lowly related documents, the user has a high possibility of narrowing down. Further, when there are many highly relevant documents and few irrelevant documents as a result of the search, the user is likely to manually extract a desired document from the displayed documents without performing narrowing down. .

  Therefore, the case where the user narrows down the search result is highly likely that the document displayed as the search result includes a small number of highly related documents and a large number of low related documents. That is, the effective condition as the narrowing-down condition can be a condition that excludes most of the documents displayed on the first and second pages of the search result.

  In order to realize such a condition, when the search result is obtained in S705 of FIG. 7, the fitness calculation unit 102 displays the documents displayed on the first and second pages on the search result display screen among the extracted documents. That is, for a predetermined number of documents, the number is counted for each database in which each document is stored. FIG. 13 shows an example of the count result. As shown in FIG. 13, when the degree-of-fit calculation unit 102 obtains a document count value for each database in which each document is stored, it extracts a narrowing condition based on the count result.

  For example, in the example of FIG. 13, “db4744” having the second count value is extracted as a narrowing condition. Further, “db3221” having the third count value may be used as the narrowing-down condition. In addition, a condition indicating that “db3521” having the largest count value is excluded may be extracted as a narrowing condition. With such a process, it is possible to provide a narrower extraction condition extraction mode and present a more versatile narrowing condition to the user.

  As described above, in the search system according to the present embodiment, when a search is performed based on the input search condition and a search result is obtained, the input search condition and the user who executed the search By referring to the information of the past search history based on the information related to the above, a narrowing condition for further narrowing down the search result is extracted and presented to the user. This can improve user convenience in narrowing down search results.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the user inputs the search condition information by operating the client device 2 constituted by a general PC or the like has been described as an example. In addition, for example, as shown in FIG. 13, information on search conditions is input to an operation unit such as a printer, a scanner, a copier, or a display panel of an MFP as an image forming apparatus having a combination of these functions. It can also be used as an interface. In the example of FIG. 14, not the client device 2 but the multifunction device 3 is used as a terminal for a user to input information on search conditions.

  On the other hand, the information search device 1 may be the above-described multifunction device. That is, the information retrieval apparatus 1 described above is realized by the multifunction peripheral by providing the Web server function and the function described in FIG. 3 inside the multifunction peripheral and exchanging information with the client apparatus 2 via the network. Is possible.

1 Information Retrieval Device 2 Client Device 10 CPU
20 RAM
30 ROM
0 HDD
50 I / F
60 LCD
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 70 Operation part 80 Bus 100 Search control part 101 Specification condition information acquisition part 102 Goodness-of-fit calculation part 103 Search result processing part 104 Search log information storage part 110 Information input part 120 Network I / F
130 Display unit 200 Target information DB

JP-A-3-294964

Claims (13)

A search system for searching a document stored in advance according to specified conditions,
A user terminal for displaying information as the specified condition by a user and displaying the search result;
A search device for searching for the previously stored document based on the input information that is a specified condition,
The search device includes:
A user authentication unit that acquires information for authenticating the user, authenticates the user, and stores user identification information for identifying the user in a storage medium;
A specified condition acquisition unit that acquires the specified condition and stores it in a storage medium based on the input information that is the specified condition;
A search execution unit for searching the previously stored document based on the acquired specified condition;
Search history information storage unit that stores, as the search history information, the condition history information indicating the conditions specified in the search and the searcher information related to the user who executed the search are stored as search history information When,
Of the stored search history information, the condition history information corresponds to the stored specified condition, and the searcher information is based on search history information related to user identification information stored by the authentication. A refinement condition extraction unit for extracting refinement conditions for further narrowing down the results of the executed search;
A display information output unit for generating and outputting information for displaying an interface for inputting an instruction for narrowing down the search result according to the result of the executed search and the extracted narrowing-down condition Search system. The search history information storage unit stores reference history information related to a document referred to based on a result of the search,
The search system according to claim 1, wherein the narrowing-down condition extracting unit extracts a narrowing-down condition for further narrowing down the result of the executed search based on the reference history information. The documents stored in advance are stored in groups of related documents,
The reference history information is information indicating a group including documents referred to based on a result of the search,
The search system according to claim 2, wherein the narrowing-down condition extracting unit extracts the group indicated by the reference history information as the narrowing-down condition. A batch management information storage unit that stores batch management information in which information for identifying the batch for each related document and information about an administrator managing the batch are associated;
The narrowing-down condition extracting unit extracts the group management information related to the user identification information stored by the authentication by the administrator who manages the group based on the group management information, and extracts the group management information The search system according to claim 3, wherein the narrowing-down condition is extracted based on information for identifying the group in.   The filtering condition extracting unit further counts the number of documents included in each group for a predetermined number of documents in the search result, and extracts a group other than the group having the largest count value as the filtering condition. 5. The search system according to claim 3 or 4, wherein: The search history information storage unit also associates and stores refinement condition history information indicating a refinement condition when the search result is further refined,
The search system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the narrowing-down condition extracting unit extracts the narrowing-down conditions based on the narrowing-down condition history information. A user information storage unit for storing user identification information for identifying a user who uses the search system and information related to the user's affiliation;
The narrowing-down condition extraction unit acquires user identification information of a user associated with the user identified by the user identification information stored by the authentication based on information stored in the user information storage unit, and Extracting a narrowing condition for further narrowing down the result of the executed search based on search history information that is the user identification information stored by the authentication or the user identification information of the associated user belonging to the affiliation. The search system according to any one of claims 1 to 6.   The search system according to claim 1, wherein the user terminal is an image forming apparatus. A search device for searching a document stored in advance according to specified conditions,
A user authentication unit that acquires information for authenticating a user who performs a search, authenticates the user, and stores user identification information for identifying the user in a storage medium;
A specified condition acquisition unit that acquires the specified condition and stores it in a storage medium based on the input information that is the specified condition;
A search execution unit for searching the previously stored document based on the acquired specified condition;
Search history information storage unit that stores, as the search history information, the condition history information indicating the conditions specified in the search and the searcher information related to the user who executed the search are stored as search history information When,
Of the stored search history information, the condition history information corresponds to the stored specified condition, and the searcher information is based on search history information related to user identification information stored by the authentication. A refinement condition extraction unit for extracting refinement conditions for further narrowing down the results of the executed search;
A display information output unit for generating and outputting information for displaying an interface for inputting an instruction for narrowing down the search result according to the result of the executed search and the extracted narrowing-down condition Search device.   The retrieval apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising an image forming unit, and configured as an image forming apparatus. A search program that causes an information processing device to operate as a search device that searches a document stored in advance according to specified conditions,
Acquiring information for authenticating a user performing a search, authenticating the user, and storing user identification information for identifying the user in a storage medium;
Acquiring the specified condition and storing it in a storage medium based on the input information that is the specified condition;
Searching the pre-stored document based on the acquired specified condition;
As the history information of the executed search, the condition history information includes the condition history information indicating the condition specified in the search and the search history information associated with the searcher information related to the user who executed the search. Based on the search history information corresponding to the stored specified condition and the searcher information related to the user identification information stored by the authentication, a narrowing-down condition for further narrowing down the result of the executed search is extracted. And steps to
Causing the information processing apparatus to execute a step of generating and outputting information for displaying an interface for inputting an instruction for narrowing down the search result based on the result of the executed search and the extracted filtering condition A search program characterized by   12. A recording medium in which the search program according to claim 11 is recorded in a format readable by an information processing apparatus. A search method for causing an information processing apparatus to operate as a search apparatus that searches a document stored in advance according to a specified condition,
Obtaining information for authenticating a user who performs a search, authenticating the user, storing user identification information for identifying the user in a storage medium,
Based on the input information that is a specified condition, the specified condition is acquired and stored in a storage medium;
Based on the acquired specified condition, search the previously stored document and store information on a list of documents corresponding to the specified condition in a storage medium,
As the history information of the executed search, the condition history information includes the condition history information indicating the condition specified in the search and the search history information associated with the searcher information related to the user who executed the search. Based on the search history information corresponding to the stored specified condition and the searcher information related to the user identification information stored by the authentication, a narrowing-down condition for further narrowing down the result of the executed search is extracted. And store it in a storage medium
A search method, comprising: generating and outputting information for displaying an interface for inputting a command for narrowing down the search result based on the stored document list information and the stored filtering condition.

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