JP2014085874A - Information search device, information search system, and information search method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information search device, an information search system and an information search method that can output a more appropriate search result in response to a user's search keyword designation given only once.SOLUTION: A database search device 10 detects an entity search key and an attribute search key from an acquired search keyword. Then, perfect coincidence search is processed for desired information that is associated not only with an "entity" that perfectly coincides with the entity search key but also with the attribute search key. If the perfect coincidence search processing here gives no result, forward coincidence search is processed for desired information associated with an "entity" that partially coincides with the entity search key. As the forward coincidence search is processed in this way when the perfect coincidence search processing here gives no result, it is made possible to output a more appropriate search result in response to a user's search keyword designation given only once.

Description

  The present invention relates to an information search apparatus that searches for desired information desired by a user, an information search system including the information search apparatus, and an information search method performed by the information search apparatus.

  Conventionally, multi-domain question answering systems that answer questions related to various fields, not limited to specific fields, are becoming widespread due to the advancement of user interfaces using voice recognition technology and touch panels, and the advancement of wireless communication technology. is there.

  In the multi-domain question answering system, all questions related to the daily life of the user are assumed, and answers to inquiries about information about entertainment such as movies, information on common sense such as geographic history, and the like. These pieces of information are acquired from a database management system in the system or an external service execution server that can be connected to the system.

  When retrieving information, it is important how to properly extract an entity from a database in which an object (entity) inquired by a user is stored. Since the user does not always know all the information stored in the database, even if the search phrase (search word) input by the user is used as it is, the search result is not always output appropriately. Absent. For example, even if the user specifies the search word “Terry Potter” with the intention of taking out the work name “Terry Potter and the Secret Room”, only “Terry Potter and the Secret Room” is the search result. Since the possibility of output is low, the convenience for the user may be low.

  When dealing with such a problem, it is common to consider performing a forward matching search. The forward matching search is a method of searching a database for a character string including all of the expression of the character string of the search word from the beginning (front) and outputting it as a search result. If you use the above example by performing a forward match search, all the titles that contain “Terry Potter” from the top, such as “Terry Potter and the Secret Room” and “Terry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”, will be used as search results. Can be output. As a result, it is possible to extract the work names of the work groups constituting the series regardless of the subtitles of the work names, and thus there is a possibility that the work names intended by the user can be listed and output.

  However, when the forward matching search is performed, since variously expressed work names are to be searched, there is a possibility that what is not intended by the user may be output as a search result. For example, in the situation where a work with the title "Terry" exists, the user specifies "Terry" as a search word in order to obtain "Terry Potter and the Secret Room" as a search result. To do. In this case, not only “Terry Potter and the Secret Room” and “Terry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” but also “Terry” which is not intended by the user is included and output as a search result.

  For example, in the navigation device described in Patent Document 1, keywords that partially match a character input by a user are narrowed down and displayed as selectable keywords. The user can omit the input operation by selecting the corresponding keyword. For example, the operation can be shortened by selecting a keyword having three or more characters by a total of two operations, that is, an input operation of the shortest one character and a selection operation.

  However, the user's psychological burden (cost) and user's psychological burden caused by a single interaction (a series of operations from input of speech for search to confirmation of output search results) by the user, etc. In view of the burden of waiting, it is not desirable for the user to perform a search operation many times before outputting an appropriate search result. For this reason, it is required to output a more appropriate search result by specifying the search word once by the user.

JP 2009-14703 A

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an information search device, an information search system, and an information search method that can output a more appropriate search result by specifying a search word once by a user.

  An information search apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention is an information search apparatus that searches for desired information desired by a user, and includes a search word acquisition unit that acquires a search word for searching for desired information, and a search word acquisition unit Detection means for detecting a related word related to desired information and attribute information indicating an attribute of the desired information, related word candidate information that is a candidate for the related word, and candidate attribute information The related word that completely matches the related word detected by the detecting means from the candidate storing means for storing the attribute candidate information, the related word candidate information and the desired information specified from the attribute candidate information in association with each other. Search means for performing a first search process for searching for desired information, which is associated with the candidate information and associated with the attribute information detected by the detection means; The search means is associated with the related word candidate information partially matching with the related word detected by the detection means from the candidate storage means when the search result of the first search process is zero. A second search process for searching for desired information is performed.

  According to the information search device according to one aspect of the present invention, a search word is acquired, and the related word and the attribute information are detected from the acquired search word. Then, a first search process is performed for searching for desired information that is associated with the related word candidate information that completely matches the detected related word and that is associated with the attribute information. Here, when the search result of the first search process is zero, the second search process for searching for desired information associated with the related word candidate information partially matching the detected related word is performed. Is called. Thus, when the search result of the first search process (exact search as an example) is zero, desired information associated with the related word candidate information partially matching the detected related word Because the second search process (for example, partial match search such as forward match search and backward match search) is performed, more appropriate search results can be output by specifying the search term once by the user. become.

  In the information search apparatus according to another aspect, the search means has zero search results in the first search process, and when the number of characters in the related word is larger than a predetermined number of characters, A second search process may be performed.

  In this form, the second search process is performed when the search result of the first search process is zero and the number of characters in the related word is larger than a predetermined number of characters. The greater the number of characters in the related word, the higher the possibility that the search result of the first search process (for example, exact match search) becomes zero. For this reason, since the number of characters of the related word is larger than the predetermined number of characters, the second search process can be performed when the second search process is more appropriate.

  In an information search device according to another embodiment, category storage means for storing attribute information detected by the detection means and category information indicating a category of a related word related to desired information in association with each other, category information, A number-of-characters storage unit that stores a predetermined number of characters in association with each other, and the search unit stores category information stored in association with the attribute information detected by the detection unit from the category storage unit. A predetermined number of characters that are acquired and stored in association with the category information may be acquired from the character number storage means.

  In this form, category information stored in association with the detected attribute information is acquired, and a predetermined number of characters stored in association with the category information is acquired. When a predetermined number of characters suitable for the detected attribute information is acquired and the number of characters in the related word is larger than the predetermined number of characters, the second search process is performed in a more appropriate state. Second search processing can be performed.

  The information search apparatus according to another aspect further includes derivative word storage means for storing related word candidate information and derivative words derived from the related word candidate information in association with each other, and the search means is detected by the detection means. A process for searching the desired information associated with the related word candidate information stored in association with the derived word that completely matches the character string derived from the related word is performed as the first search process. , When the search result of the first search process is zero, it is associated with the related word candidate information stored in association with the derived word partially matching the character string derived from the related word detected by the detecting means. A process for searching for desired information from the candidate storage means may be performed as the second search process.

  In this mode, the first process is to search the candidate storage means for desired information associated with the related word candidate information stored in association with the derived word that is completely matched with the character string derived from the detected related word. The related word stored in association with the derived word partially matching the character string derived from the related word detected by the detecting means when the search result of the first search process is zero. A process of searching for desired information associated with the candidate information from the candidate storage unit is performed as a second search process. As a result, even if the detected related word is derived from an appropriate related word, it is possible to acquire and detect an appropriate related word.

  In the information search apparatus according to another aspect, the detection means detects a plurality of sets of related words and attribute information from the search words acquired by the search word acquisition means, and the search means detects the detected related words and attributes. When the first search process is performed using multiple pairs of information and the search result becomes one or more, the search result is output, and when the search result of the first search process is zero, The search result may be output when the second search process is performed using a plurality of pairs of detected related words and attribute information and the search result becomes one or more.

  In this form, a plurality of pairs of related words and attribute information are detected from the search word, and the first search process is performed using a plurality of pairs of detected related words and attribute information, and one or more search results are obtained. At that time, the search result is output, and when the search result of the first search process is zero, the second search process is performed using a plurality of combinations of the detected related word and attribute information. When the search result becomes one or more, the search result is output. In this way, since the search result is output when the search result becomes one or more using a plurality of combinations of the detected related word and attribute information, the time required for the search process can be shortened. It becomes possible.

  An information search system according to an aspect of the present invention is an information search system including an information search device that searches for desired information desired by a user and a communication terminal that can communicate with the information search device. A search word acquisition means for acquiring a search word for searching for desired information from the communication terminal, a related word related to the desired information from the search word acquired by the search word acquisition means, and an attribute indicating an attribute of the desired information Detection means for detecting information, related word candidate information that is a candidate for related words, attribute candidate information that is a candidate for attribute information, and desired information specified from the related word candidate information and the attribute candidate information The associated word candidate information that is completely matched with the associated word detected by the detecting means from the candidate storage means for storing the associated information. A search means for performing a first search process for searching for desired information associated with the attribute information detected by the search means, and the search means has zero search results in the first search process Then, a second search process is performed for searching for desired information associated with the related word candidate information partially matching the related word detected by the detecting means from the candidate storage means. Transmission means for transmitting the information to the information search apparatus, and result acquisition means for acquiring the search result of the first search process or the second search process by the search means from the information search apparatus.

  According to the information search system of one aspect of the present invention, a search word is acquired, and the related word and attribute information are detected from the acquired search word. Then, a first search process is performed for searching for desired information that is associated with the related word candidate information that completely matches the detected related word and that is associated with the attribute information. Here, when the search result of the first search process is zero, the second search process for searching for desired information associated with the related word candidate information partially matching the detected related word is performed. Is called. Thus, when the search result of the first search process (exact search as an example) is zero, desired information associated with the related word candidate information partially matching the detected related word Because the second search process (for example, partial match search such as forward match search and backward match search) is performed, more appropriate search results can be output by specifying the search term once by the user. become.

  An information search method according to an aspect of the present invention is an information search method performed by an information search device that searches for desired information desired by a user, wherein the information search device acquires a search word for searching for desired information. A word acquisition step; a detection step in which an information search device detects a related word related to desired information and attribute information indicating an attribute of the desired information from the search word acquired in the search word acquisition step; From the candidate storage means for storing the related word candidate information, the attribute candidate information that is a candidate of attribute information, and the desired information specified from the related word candidate information and the attribute candidate information in association with each other. Corresponds to the related word candidate information that completely matches with the related word detected by, and corresponds to the attribute information detected by the detection step A search step in which the information search apparatus performs a first search process for searching for desired information. In the search step, if the search result of the first search process is zero, candidate storage is performed. The information search apparatus performs a second search process for searching for desired information associated with the related word candidate information partially matching the related word detected by the detecting step.

  According to the information search method of one aspect of the present invention, a search word is acquired, and the related word and the attribute information are detected from the acquired search word. Then, a first search process is performed for searching for desired information that is associated with the related word candidate information that completely matches the detected related word and that is associated with the attribute information. Here, when the search result of the first search process is zero, the second search process for searching for desired information associated with the related word candidate information partially matching the detected related word is performed. Is called. Thus, when the search result of the first search process (exact search as an example) is zero, desired information associated with the related word candidate information partially matching the detected related word Because the second search process (for example, partial match search such as forward match search and backward match search) is performed, more appropriate search results can be output by specifying the search term once by the user. become.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an information search apparatus, an information search system, and an information search method capable of outputting a more appropriate search result by specifying a search word once by a user.

It is a functional block diagram for demonstrating the outline of the main function structures of the information search system which concerns on this embodiment. It is a physical block diagram for demonstrating the outline of the main physical structures of the database search apparatus concerning this embodiment. It is a table block diagram which shows an example of the table structure of an entity attribute database. It is a table block diagram which shows an example of the table structure of a matching information database. It is a table block diagram which shows an example of a table structure of an attribute entity category database. It is a table block diagram which shows an example of a table structure of the minimum number of front matching characters database. It is a table block diagram which shows an example of the table structure of the database which integrated the attribute entity category database and the forward matching minimum character number database. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the flow of the search process in a database search device.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

(1) Configuration of Information Search System First, the configuration of the entire information search system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. The information search system 1 according to the present embodiment is a user terminal 20 (communication terminal) capable of communicating with a database search device 10 that is an information search device according to the present embodiment via a communication network NW. And. FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram for explaining the outline of the main functional configuration of the information search system 1, and FIG. 2 is a physical configuration diagram for explaining the outline of the main physical configuration of the database search apparatus 10. is there. The communication network NW may be a combination of a public communication network such as the Internet, a dedicated line, a communication bus in the same physical device, and the physical arrangement of these is not limited.

  The database search device 10 is a server device that searches for desired information that is information desired by the user of the user terminal 20. The user terminal 20 is a terminal device such as a mobile phone terminal, a smartphone, or a personal computer. The user terminal 20 has general components such as a display such as a touch panel display, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a storage device, a communication module, an input module such as a keyboard, a recording module, and a voice recognition processing module. By combining these components, it is possible to receive an input of a question (search term) by the user and output it to the database search device 10 and receive an output of an answer from the database search device 10 for this output.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the database search apparatus 10 includes a CPU 11 as main physical components, a RAM 12 (Random Access Memory) and a ROM 13 (Read Only Memory) as main storage devices, and a communication module for performing communication. 14 and a computer including hardware such as an auxiliary storage device 15 such as a hard disk. Note that the main storage device is not limited to RAM, ROM, and the like, and may be replaced with a device that plays the role of main storage device such as flash memory. The database search apparatus 10 exhibits a function of executing various processes by operating these components in accordance with instructions in the program stored in the storage device.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the database search apparatus 10 includes, as main functional components, an input / output control unit 101 (search word acquisition unit), a key candidate detection unit 102 (detection unit), and a complete match control unit 103. (Search means), exact match search section 104 (search means), entity attribute database 105 (candidate storage means), matching information database 106 (derivative term storage means), forward match control section 107 (search means), forward match search section 108 (search means), entity category determination unit 109 (information storage unit), attribute entity category database 110 (category storage unit), forward matching character number determination unit 111 (determination unit), and forward matching minimum character number database 112 (character number storage unit) )have. Each function in the database search device 10 may not be arranged in a single server device, and the physical configuration is not limited. Each function may be arranged in a separate server device connected via a LAN (Local Area Network) or the Internet.

  The input / output control unit 101 is a communication processing part that performs communication with the user terminal 20. For example, the input / output control unit 101 can perform processing for receiving search information including a search word for searching for the desired information from the user terminal 20 and acquiring the search word from the received search information. is there. When the input / output control unit 101 receives a search phrase (search information) input by the user at the user terminal 20, the input / output control unit 101 acquires a search word from the search phrase. Then, the input / output control unit 101 passes this search term to the key candidate detection unit 102.

  Further, the input / output control unit 101 can receive a search result, which will be described later, obtained by the exact match control unit 103 or the forward match control unit 107, and output and transmit it to the user terminal 20. The search phrase may be information such as characters obtained by performing voice recognition processing on the voice input in the user terminal 20, and is input using the keyboard or touch panel of the user terminal 20. There may be. Search phrases are entered in a form that asks questions in various fields, for example, from asking a director of a movie to asking for historical facts. As an example of a search phrase, assuming that there is a movie titled “Terry Potter”, a search phrase with a natural sentence such as “who is the director of Terry Potter” and a combination of multiple search keywords such as “Director of Terry Potter” There are certain search phrases.

  The key candidate detection unit 102 determines an entity search key (related word) related to desired information and an attribute search key (attribute information) indicating an attribute of the desired information from the search terms acquired by the input / output control unit 101. This is the arithmetic processing part to detect. The entity search key is a keyword that expresses information related to desired information, and the attribute search key is a keyword that expresses an attribute indicating an aspect of the desired information. Depending on the search term acquired by the input / output control unit 101, the key candidate detection unit 102 may determine and detect a plurality of pairs (sets) of entity search keys and attribute search keys from the search terms. The key candidate detection unit 102 passes the detected entity search key and attribute search key (in some cases, a plurality of entity search key and attribute search key pairs) to the exact match control unit 103. Various methods to be described later can be considered as a method for extracting the entity search key and the attribute search key by the key candidate detection unit 102.

  For example, when the search term acquired by the input / output control unit 101 is a combination of two search keywords, the key candidate detection unit 102 determines that the first search keyword is an entity search key and determines the entity search key. , And the attribute search key is detected by determining that the second search keyword is the attribute search key. More specifically, for example, when the search term acquired by the input / output control unit 101 is “Terry Potter Director”, the first search keyword “Terry Potter” is detected as an entity search key, The first search keyword “director” is detected as an attribute search key.

  There may be a plurality of pairs (combinations) of entity search keys and attribute search keys. For example, if the search term acquired by the input / output control unit 101 is “Terry Potter Director”, “Terry Potter” is detected as an entity search key, and “Movie Director” includes the character string “Director”. In addition to the combination that is detected as an attribute search key, the attribute search key is “soccer team manager” in which “Terry Potter” is detected as an entity search key and includes the character string “manager”. There may be combinations that are detected as being. That is, the key candidate detection unit 102 stores a plurality of character strings including the second search keyword as candidates in advance, and the plurality of character strings including the character string of the second search keyword are attribute search keys. You may detect as there being. In this case, the first pair of the entity search key and the attribute search key is “Terry Potter” and “Movie Director”, and the second pair is “Terry Potter” and “Soccer Team Manager”.

  Further, the key candidate detection unit 102 obtains a template (that is, a natural sentence form question pattern) that is a search word candidate acquired by the input / output control unit 101 and an attribute search key corresponding to the search word candidate. It is possible to store them in association with each other. For example, “who is the director of“ ~ ”(the part of“ ˜ ”is an arbitrary character string and is determined as an entity search key) as a template that is a candidate for a search word acquired by the input / output control unit 101. The “director” as the attribute search key corresponding to this candidate is stored in association with each other. When the search term acquired by the input / output control unit 101 is “who is the director of the terry potter”, the key candidate detecting unit 102 determines that the above pattern is applied, so that “terry potter” performs the entity search. It is detected as a key, and “Director” is detected as an attribute search key.

  The entity attribute database 105 includes an entity search key candidate “entity” (related word candidate information), an attribute search key candidate “attribute” (attribute candidate information), the entity search key, and the attribute search key. This is a database that stores “values” (desired information and its candidates) specified from the combinations in association with each other. An example of a table configuration diagram of the entity attribute database 105 is shown in FIG. Here, a movie of “Terry Potter and the Secret Room” as “Entity”, “Movie Director” as the “Attribute”, and “AAAAAAA” as “Value” (ie, “Terry Potter and the Secret Room”) And the name of the director) are stored in association with each other. The entity attribute database 105 is configured using a database management system such as MySQL (registered trademark) or PostgreSQL (registered trademark), and may be a system that accepts an inquiry language such as SQL, or an internal memory of the database search device 10. It may be data such as a hash stored in.

  The matching information database 106 is a database that stores an “entity” (related word candidate information) that is a candidate for an entity search key and a derivative word derived from this “entity” in association with each other. The contents of the “entity” in the matching information database 106 and the contents of the “entity” in the entity attribute database 105 usually match. An example of the table configuration of the matching information database 106 is shown in FIG. Here, “Terry Potter and a secret room” as “entity” and “Terpotter 1st work” as “entity matching character string” are stored in association with each other. The derivative word is a character string obtained by performing the normalization process described later on the character string of the “entity”. For example, a part of the character string of the “entity”, “− ”(Long note),“ ~ ”(long note), etc., character strings from which prompt sounds such as“ tsu ”have been removed, part of this removed character string, part of this removed character string A character string to which a modifier word indicating the feature, description, etc. of “entity” is added to “,” and “fluctuation” (difference in notation that may vary depending on the user) has been added to a part of this removed character string A character string or the like. The matching information database 106 is configured using a database management system such as MySQL (registered trademark) or PostgreSQL (registered trademark), and may be a system that accepts an inquiry language such as SQL, or an internal memory of the database search apparatus 10. It may be data such as a hash stored in.

  The complete match control unit 103 is a control part that controls the complete match search process (first search process) by the complete match search unit 104. For example, the exact match control unit 103 passes the entity search key and the attribute search key received from the key candidate detection unit 102 to the complete match search unit 104 and instructs the complete match search process to be executed. In addition, when the complete match control unit 103 determines that the search result received from the complete match search unit 104 is one or more, the complete match control unit 103 passes the search result to the input / output control unit 101. As a result, the search result is output to the user terminal 20. The exact match control unit 103 determines that the entity search key and the attribute search key received from the key candidate detection unit 102 are forward matched control when it is determined that the search result received from the complete match search unit 104 is zero. To the unit 107.

  The exact match search unit 104 is associated with the above-mentioned “entity” that completely matches the entity search key received from the exact match control unit 103, and is associated with the attribute search key detected by the key candidate detection unit 102 It is a complete match search process execution part that searches for desired information. The exact match search unit 104 accesses the entity attribute database 105 and extracts “value” candidates associated with the above “entity” that exactly matches the entity search key (“ In some cases, there are a plurality of “value” candidates), and the “value” associated with the attribute search key is extracted from the “value” candidates to perform the complete match search process. The exact match search unit 104 passes the search result to the exact match control unit 103. Further, when there are a plurality of combinations of entity search keys and attribute search keys received from the exact match control unit 103, the exact match search unit 104 sequentially performs complete match search processing for each combination. When the search result of the complete match search process becomes one or more, the search result is output to the complete match control unit 103.

  The exact match search unit 104 can obtain a derived character string that is a character string derived from the entity search key by normalizing the entity search key received from the exact match control unit 103. The entity search key normalization process is a "fluctuation" added to the search word when inputting the search word by converting the entity search key according to a predetermined rule (notation differences that may differ depending on the user) It is a process to eliminate. The normalization process described above is, for example, a process for removing long sounds such as “-” (long note), “˜” (long note), prompt sounds such as “t”, full-width and half-width kana in the entity search key. For example, a process of converting to one (for example, full-width) and aligning. For example, when the entity search key received from the exact match control unit 103 is “Terry Potter”, the exact match search unit 104 obtains the derived character string “Telpotter” by normalizing the entity search key. It is possible.

  Then, the exact match search unit 104 accesses the matching information database 106 to acquire an “entity matching character string” that completely matches the acquired derived character string. Further, the exact match search unit 104 acquires the “entity” stored in association with the acquired “entity matching character string” by accessing the matching information database 106. Further, the exact match search unit 104 accesses the entity attribute database 105 and extracts the “value” associated with the acquired “entity” and associated with the attribute search key. The exact match search unit 104 performs this extraction process as the exact match search process. Here, it is assumed that the exact match search unit 104 detects that the same “entity” as the “entity” acquired from the matching information database 106 does not exist in the entity attribute database 105. In this case, the exact match search unit 104 may acquire an “entity” partially matching the “entity” acquired from the matching information database 106 from the entity attribute database 105. Then, the exact match search unit 104 passes the search result to the complete match control unit 103. For example, when the acquired derived character string is “telepotter”, a character string that completely matches this “teleporter” is acquired from the matching information database 106 as an “entity matching character string”.

  The “entity” stored in association with the acquired “entity matching character string” is acquired from the matching information database 106. Then, the exact match search unit 104 accesses the entity attribute database 105 and extracts the “value” associated with the acquired “entity” and associated with the attribute search key. The exact match search unit 104 performs this extraction process as the exact match search process.

  The forward match control unit 107 is a control part that controls partial match search processing (second search processing) by the forward match search unit 108. Hereinafter, a configuration in which the forward match search process is controlled as an example of the partial match search process will be described. However, the partial match search process is not particularly limited. For example, the backward match search process is an alternative to the forward match search process. May be. The forward match control unit 107 passes the entity search key and attribute search key received from the complete match control unit 103 to the forward match search unit 108 and instructs the forward match search process to be executed. Further, the front match control unit 107 passes the search result received from the front match search unit 108 to the input / output control unit 101. The forward match control unit 107 passes the search results to the input / output control unit 101 when the number of search results received from the forward match search unit 108 becomes one or more. As a result, the search result is output to the user terminal 20.

  The forward match search unit 108 is a forward match search process execution part that searches for desired information that is associated with the “entity” that matches forward with the entity search key received from the forward match control unit 107. The forward match search unit 108 performs the forward match search process when the number of characters in the entity search key is larger than a predetermined number of characters described later. The forward matching search unit 108 accesses the entity attribute database 105 and extracts “value” candidates associated with the above “entity” that matches the entity search key in advance (“ There may be a plurality of “value” candidates), and a “match” search process is performed by extracting the “value” associated with the attribute search key from the “value” candidates. The forward match search unit 108 passes the search result to the input / output control unit 101. When a predetermined number of characters, which will be described later, is equal to or greater than the number of characters in the entity search key, the forward match search unit 108 passes information indicating that the search result is zero to the input / output control unit 101. . Further, when there are a plurality of combinations of the entity search key and the attribute search key received from the forward match control unit 107, the forward match search unit 108 sequentially performs the forward match search process for each combination. When the search result of the forward match search process becomes one or more, the search result is output to the forward match control unit 107.

  The forward match search unit 108 can obtain a derived character string that is a character string derived from the entity search key by normalizing the entity search key received from the forward match control unit 107. The details of the normalization processing of the entity search key have already been described, and are omitted here. For example, if the entity search key received from the front match control unit 107 is “Terry Potter”, the forward match search unit 108 obtains the derived character string “Telpotter” by normalizing the entity search key. It is possible.

  Then, the forward match search unit 108 accesses the matching information database 106 to acquire the “entity matching character string” that includes all of the acquired derived character strings from the beginning (front) (matches forward). Further, the forward match search unit 108 acquires the “entity” stored in association with the acquired “entity matching character string” by accessing the matching information database 106. Further, the front matching search unit 108 accesses the entity attribute database 105 and extracts the “value” associated with the acquired “entity” and associated with the attribute search key. The forward match search unit 108 performs this extraction process as the forward match search process. Here, it is assumed that the forward match search unit 108 detects that the same “entity” as the “entity” acquired from the matching information database 106 does not exist in the entity attribute database 105. In this case, the forward match search unit 108 may acquire an “entity” partially matching the “entity” acquired from the matching information database 106 from the entity attribute database 105. Then, the forward match search unit 108 passes the search result to the forward match control unit 107. For example, when the acquired derived character string is “Terpotter”, “Terpotter first work” and “Terpotter second work” (characters including all of “Terpotter” from the head (front)) (in addition, “ All of the entity matching character strings starting with “telepotter” are acquired from the matching information database 106 as “entity matching character strings”.

  Then, “Terry Potter and the Secret Room” stored in association with “Terpotter 1st Work” and “Terry Potter and Prisoner of Azghavan” stored in association with “Terpotter 2nd Work” are “entities”. Obtained from the matching information database 106. Next, the front matching search unit 108 extracts the “value” associated with the acquired “terri potter and secret room” and associated with the attribute search key. The forward match search unit 108 performs this extraction process as the above-described forward match search process, and further calculates the “value” associated with “Terry Potter and Prisoner of Azghavan” and associated with the attribute search key. Extract. The forward match search unit 108 performs this extraction process as the forward match search process. Here, when the attribute search key is “movie director”, as shown in FIG. 3, “AAAAAA” (that is, the name of the movie director of “Terry Potter and the Secret Room”) as “value” and “ "BBBBBBBB" (ie, the name of the movie director of "Terry Potter and the Prisoner of Azghavan") is extracted.

  The forward match search unit 108 first accesses the entity category determination unit 109 in order to acquire a predetermined number of characters, and stores it in association with the attribute search key received from the forward match control unit 107. Category information is acquired from the attribute entity category database 110. The category information is information indicating in which category (field) the attribute indicated by the attribute search key is classified. Then, the forward match search unit 108 accesses the forward match character number determination unit 111, and stores a predetermined number of characters, which will be described later, stored in association with the category information acquired from the attribute entity category database 110. Obtained from the matching minimum character number database 112.

  The attribute entity category database 110 stores the “attribute” corresponding to the attribute search key and the “entity category” corresponding to the category information indicating the category (field) of the entity search key related to the desired information in association with each other. It is a database. An example of a table configuration diagram of the attribute entity category database 110 is shown in FIG. Here, “movie director” as “attribute” and “movie work” as “entity category” are stored in association with each other. The attribute entity category database 110 is configured by using a database management system such as MySQL (registered trademark) or PostgreSQL (registered trademark), and may be a system that accepts an inquiry language such as SQL, or the internal structure of the database search apparatus 10. Data such as a hash stored in the memory may be used.

  The forward matching minimum character number database 112 stores an “entity category” corresponding to category information indicating a category (field) of an entity search key related to desired information and a “front matching execution” corresponding to a predetermined number of characters described later. It is a database that stores “minimum number of characters” in association with each other. An example of a table configuration diagram of the front matching minimum character number database 112 is shown in FIG. In this case, “movie work” as “entity category” and “4” as “minimum number of characters for forward matching” are stored in association with each other. The front matching minimum character number database 112 is configured using a database management system such as MySQL (registered trademark) or PostgreSQL (registered trademark), and may be a system that accepts an inquiry language such as SQL, or the database search apparatus 10 Data such as a hash stored in the internal memory may be used. Note that the attribute entity category database 110 and the forward matching minimum character number database 112 may be integrated using “attribute” as a key, as shown in FIG.

  For example, the front match search unit 108 accesses the entity category determination unit 109 via the front match control unit 107 and stores it in association with the attribute search key “movie director” received from the front match control unit 107. The information “movie work” is acquired from the attribute entity category database 110. Then, the front match search unit 108 accesses the front match character number determination unit 111 via the front match control unit 107 and stores it in association with the category information “movie work” acquired from the attribute entity category database 110. A predetermined predetermined number of characters “4” is acquired from the forward matching minimum character number database 112.

  Further, when there are a plurality of combinations of the entity search key and the attribute search key received from the forward match control unit 107, the forward match search unit 108 sequentially performs the forward match search process for each combination. When the search result of the forward match search process becomes one or more, the search result is output to the forward match control unit 107. For example, there are only two combinations of entity search key and attribute search key, the entity search key of the first combination is “Terry Potter”, the attribute search key is “Movie Director”, and the second Assume that the combined entity search key is “Terry Potter” and the attribute search key is “Soccer Team Manager”. In this case, the front matching search unit 108 first acquires the category information “movie work” stored in association with the attribute search key “movie director” from the attribute entity category database 110 as described above, and the category information “ A predetermined number of characters “4” stored in association with “movie work” is acquired. Since the number of characters “7” of the entity search key “Terry Potter” is larger than the predetermined number of characters “4”, the forward matching search process is performed.

  If the search result of the forward match search process is zero, a process for determining whether or not the forward match search process can be executed is performed for the second combination as well. That is, as described above, the front matching search unit 108 acquires the category information “sport related person” stored in association with the attribute search key “soccer team manager” from the attribute entity category database 110, and the category information “sports”. A predetermined number of characters “2” stored in association with “related person” is acquired. Since the number of characters “7” of the entity search key “Terry Potter” is larger than the predetermined number of characters “2”, the forward matching search process is performed. When the search result of the forward match search process is zero, it is determined that the forward match search process has been completed for all the entity search key and attribute search key pairs (combinations), and the forward match search unit 108 performs the search. Information indicating that the result is zero is passed to the input / output control unit 101. When the forward match search unit 108 performs the forward match search process, the forward match search unit 108 also performs a forward search based on a comparison result between the derived character string and a predetermined number of characters for the derived character string obtained by the normalization process. You may perform execution determination of a matching search process.

  When the entity category determination unit 109 receives the attribute search key from the front match control unit 107, the entity category determination unit 109 acquires the category information stored in association with the attribute search key from the attribute entity category database 110, and causes the front match control unit 107 to This is a determination processing part to be passed to the forward match search unit 108 via

  When the front matching character number determination unit 111 receives the category information from the front matching control unit 107, the front matching character number determination unit 111 acquires a predetermined predetermined number of characters stored in association with the category information from the front matching minimum character number database 112, This is a determination processing part that is passed to the forward match search unit 108 via the match control unit 107.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the user terminal 20 includes a transmission unit 201 (transmission unit) and an acquisition unit 202 (result acquisition unit) as main functional components.

  The transmission unit 201 is a communication processing part that performs communication with the database search apparatus 10. For example, the transmission unit 201 can transmit search information including a search word for searching for the desired information to the database search device 10. For example, the transmission unit 201 can transmit a search phrase (search information) input by the user at the user terminal 20 to the database search device 10. The search phrase may be information such as characters obtained by performing voice recognition processing on the voice input in the user terminal 20, and is input using the keyboard or touch panel of the user terminal 20. There may be.

  The acquisition unit 202 is a communication processing part that performs communication with the database search apparatus 10. For example, the acquisition unit 202 can receive and acquire the search results of the exact match search process and the forward match search process in the database search apparatus 10 from the database search apparatus 10. The search result acquired by the acquisition unit 202 is displayed on the display of the user terminal 20 or the like.

(2) Flow of Search Processing in Database Search Device Subsequently, the flow of search processing (information search method) in the database search device 10 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of search processing in the database search apparatus 10. The process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 8 is started every time a search phrase (search word) is input to the database search apparatus 10 and is executed until a series of processes described later regarding each of the input search phrases is completed. .

  First, the input / output control unit 101 receives search information including a search word for searching for the desired information from the user terminal 20, and acquires the search word from the received search information (step S01, search word). Acquisition step). Thereby, the input of the search term is accepted. Then, the input / output control unit 101 passes this search term to the key candidate detection unit 102. The search phrase may be information such as characters obtained by performing voice recognition processing on the voice input in the user terminal 20, or may be input using a keyboard or a touch panel. . Search phrases are entered in a form that asks questions in various fields, for example, from asking a director of a movie to asking for historical facts. As an example of a search phrase, assuming that there is a movie titled “Terry Potter”, a search phrase with a natural sentence such as “who is the director of Terry Potter” and a combination of two search keywords such as “Director of Terry Potter” There are certain search phrases.

  Next, the key candidate detection unit 102 extracts and detects the entity search key related to the desired information and the attribute search key indicating the attribute of the desired information from the search terms acquired by the input / output control unit 101 ( Step S02, detection step). The key candidate detection unit 102 passes the detected entity search key and attribute search key to the complete match control unit 103. For example, when the search term acquired by the input / output control unit 101 is a combination of two search keywords, the key candidate detection unit 102 determines that the first search keyword is an entity search key and determines the entity search key. , And the attribute search key is detected by determining that the second search keyword is the attribute search key. More specifically, for example, when the search term acquired by the input / output control unit 101 is “Terry Potter Director”, the first search keyword “Terry Potter” is detected as an entity search key, The first search keyword “director” is detected as an attribute search key.

  There may be a plurality of combinations of entity search keys and attribute search keys. For example, when the search term acquired by the input / output control unit 101 is “Terry Potter Director”, “Terry Potter” is detected as an entity search key, and “Movie Director” is detected as an attribute search key. In addition, there may be a combination in which “Terry Potter” is detected as an entity search key and “Soccer Team Manager” is detected as an attribute search key. Further, when the search term acquired by the input / output control unit 101 is “who is the director of the terry potter”, the key candidate detecting unit 102 determines that the above pattern is applied, so that the “terry potter” performs the entity search. It is detected as a key, and “Director” is detected as an attribute search key.

  Next, the exact match control unit 103 passes the entity search key and the attribute search key received from the key candidate detection unit 102 to the complete match search unit 104, and instructs to execute the complete match search process (step). S03, search step). The exact match search unit 104 accesses the entity attribute database 105 and extracts “value” candidates associated with the above “entity” that exactly matches the entity search key (“ In some cases, there are a plurality of “value” candidates), and the “value” associated with the attribute search key is extracted from the “value” candidates to perform the complete match search process.

  Next, the exact match control unit 103 determines whether or not the search result received from the exact match search unit 104 is one or more (step S04). When it is determined that the search result received from the exact match search unit 104 is one or more, the process proceeds to step S05 described later. On the other hand, when it is determined that the search result received from the exact match search unit 104 is zero, the process proceeds to step S06 described later.

  In step S05, the exact match control unit 103 or the forward match control unit 107 passes the search result received from the exact match search unit 104 or the forward match search unit 108 to the input / output control unit 101. As a result, the search result is output to the user terminal 20. Then, a series of processing is completed.

  In step S06, the exact match control unit 103 determines whether the exact match search processing has been completed for all of the entity search key / attribute search key pairs (combinations). When it is determined that the exact match search processing has not been completed for all the entity search key and attribute search key pairs, the exact match control unit 103 determines whether the entity search key and attribute search key have not been completely matched. The combination is passed to the exact match search unit 104, and the process proceeds to step S03 described above. On the other hand, when it is determined that the complete match search process has been completed for all of the entity search key and attribute search key pairs (combinations), the complete match control unit 103 receives the entity search key and attribute search received from the key candidate detection unit 102. The key is passed to the front matching control unit 107. The forward match control unit 107 passes the entity search key and attribute search key received from the complete match control unit 103 to the forward match search unit 108 and instructs the forward match search process to be executed.

  Then, the forward match search unit 108 accesses the entity category determination unit 109, and acquires category information stored in association with the attribute search key received from the forward match control unit 107 from the attribute entity category database 110 (step). S07).

  Then, the forward match search unit 108 accesses the forward match character number determination unit 111 and stores it in association with the category information acquired from the attribute entity category database 110. The minimum number of characters to be executed is acquired from the forward matching minimum number of characters database 112 (step S08). For example, the front matching search unit 108 accesses the front matching character number determination unit 111 and stores a predetermined predetermined number of characters “stored in association with the category information“ movie work ”acquired from the attribute entity category database 110. 4 ”is acquired from the minimum matching character count database 112.

  Then, the forward match search unit 108 determines whether the number of characters in the entity search key received from the forward match control unit 107 is larger than the predetermined number of characters (step S09). When it is determined that the number of characters of the entity search key received from the forward matching control unit 107 is larger than the predetermined number of characters, the process proceeds to step S10 described later. On the other hand, when it is determined that the number of characters of the entity search key received from the front matching control unit 107 is equal to or less than the predetermined number of characters described above, the process proceeds to step S12 described later.

  In step S10, the front matching search unit 108 accesses the entity attribute database 105 and extracts a candidate of desired information associated with the above-mentioned “entity” that matches the entity search key forward (“entity” one). In some cases, there are a plurality of “value” candidates for one, and the desired information associated with the attribute search key is extracted from the desired information candidates to perform a forward matching search process (search step). The forward match search unit 108 passes the search result to the input / output control unit 101. Then, the process proceeds to step S11.

  More specifically, for example, when the entity search key is “Terry Potter”, the front match search unit 108 obtains a derived character string “Telpotter” by normalizing the entity search key. Then, the front matching search unit 108 searches the matching information database 106 for the “terriptor first work” and the “telepotter second work”, which are “entity matching character strings” including all of the derived character string “telippota” from the beginning (front). Access to get. Then, the front match search unit 108 acquires “territory potter and secret room” stored in association with “terripotter first work” which is the acquired “entity matching character string” as “entity”, By extracting the “value” associated with the acquired “terri potter and secret room” and associated with the attribute search key from the entity attribute database 105, the above-described forward match search process is performed. Here, when the attribute search key is “movie director”, as shown in FIG. 3, “AAAAAA” (that is, the name of the movie director of “Terry Potter and the Secret Room”) is extracted as “value”. Is done. Further, the front matching search unit 108 acquires “acquired as an entity” “terripotter and prisoner of Azghavan” stored in association with “teripota second work” which is the acquired “entity matching character string”. The above-described forward match search process is performed by extracting from the entity attribute database 105 the “value” that is associated with “Terry Potter and the Prisoner of Azghavan” and associated with the attribute search key. Here, when the attribute search key is “movie director”, as shown in FIG. 3, “BBBBBBBB” (that is, the name of the movie director of “Terry Potter and the Prisoner of Azgaban”) is extracted as shown in FIG. Is done.

  In step S11, the front match control unit 107 determines whether or not the search result received from the front match search unit 108 is one or more. When it is determined that the search result received from the forward match search unit 108 is one or more, the process proceeds to step S05 described above. On the other hand, when it is determined that the search result received from the forward match search unit 108 is zero, the process proceeds to step S12 described later.

  In step S12, the front match control unit 107 determines whether or not the front match search processing has been completed for all the entity search key and attribute search key pairs (combinations). When it is determined that the forward match search processing has not been completed for all the entity search key and attribute search key pairs, the forward match control unit 107 determines whether the entity search key and attribute search key for which the forward match search processing has not been completed. The combination is passed to the forward match search unit 108, and the process proceeds to step S07 described above. On the other hand, when it is determined that the forward match search processing has been completed for all the entity search key and attribute search key pairs (combinations), the forward match search unit 108 inputs and outputs information indicating that the search result is zero. The data is transferred to the control unit 101 (step S13). And it transfers to above-mentioned step S05.

(3) Operation and Effect of the Present Invention According to the database search device 10, a search term is acquired, and the entity search key and the attribute search key are detected from the acquired search term. Then, a complete match search process is performed for searching for desired information that is associated with the “entity” that completely matches the detected entity search key and that is associated with the attribute search key. Here, when the search result of the exact match search process is zero, the forward match search process for searching for desired information associated with the “entity” that matches the detected entity search key in the forward direction is performed. As described above, when the search result of the exact match search process is zero, the forward match search process for searching for desired information associated with the “entity” that is forward matched with the detected entity search key is performed. Therefore, it is possible to output a more appropriate search result by specifying the search word once by the user.

  Further, according to the database search device 10, when the search result of the exact match search process is zero and when the number of characters of the entity search key is larger than the predetermined number of characters, the forward match search process Is done. The greater the number of characters in the entity search key, the higher the possibility that the search result of the exact match search process will be zero. For this reason, since the number of characters of the entity search key is larger than the predetermined number of characters, the forward match search process can be performed when it is more appropriate to perform the forward match search process. Since the exact match search process and the forward match search process are combined, the number of characters in the input search information leads to the execution of the forward match search process when the user of the user terminal 20 inputs appropriate search information. Regardless of whether it is the number of characters, the output of the search result is secured.

  Moreover, according to the database search device 10, the category information stored in association with the detected attribute search key is acquired, and the predetermined number of characters stored in association with the category information is acquired. When a predetermined number of characters suitable for the detected attribute search key is acquired and the number of characters in the related word is larger than the predetermined number of characters, it is more appropriate to perform the front matching search process. Processing can be performed. Further, the change setting can be made so that the predetermined number of characters is different if the category information is different. Therefore, in a field where it is appropriate to perform the forward matching search process with a character string length of a short number of characters, it is possible to perform a search with a character string length of such a short number of characters. As a result, it is possible to prevent the process of not displaying the result expected by the user of the user terminal 20 from being performed more than necessary.

  Further, according to the database search device 10, the “value” associated with the “entity” stored in association with the derived word that completely matches the character string derived from the detected entity search key is stored in the entity attribute database. If the search from 105 is performed as an exact match search process and the search result of the exact match search process is zero, the search is performed in association with a derived word partially matching the character string derived from the detected entity search key. The process of searching the entity attribute database 105 for the “value” associated with the “entity” is performed as a forward matching search process. As a result, even when the detected entity search key is derived from an appropriate entity search key (for example, one having fluctuations), it is possible to obtain and detect an appropriate entity search key.

  Further, according to the database search device 10, a plurality of sets of entity search keys and attribute search keys are detected from the search word, and a complete match search process is performed using a plurality of sets of detected entity search keys and attribute search keys. The search result is output when the search result becomes 1 or more, and when the search result of the exact match search process is zero, the combination of the detected entity search key and attribute search key The search result is output at the time when the search result becomes one or more by performing the forward matching search process using a plurality of. In this way, since the search result is output when the search result becomes one or more using a plurality of combinations of the detected entity search key and attribute search key, the time required for the search process is shortened. It becomes possible.

(4) Modification In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, the complete match control unit 103 determines whether or not the search result received from the complete match search unit 104 is one or more (steps). S04), when it is determined that the search result received from the exact match search unit 104 is one or more, the complete match control unit 103 passes the search result received from the complete match search unit 104 to the input / output control unit 101. (Step S05). As a result, the search result is output to the user terminal 20.

  Here, when a plurality of combinations of entity search key and attribute search key combinations are detected in step S02 (for example, candidate combinations C1, C2, and C3 of entity search key and attribute search key are detected), In step S04, the total number of search results for each of a plurality of candidates (the total number of search results for candidate C1, the number of search results for candidate C2, and the number of search results for candidate C3) is one or more. It is good also as a structure which determines whether it is.

  When this configuration is adopted, in step S05, when it is determined that the total number of search results for each of the plurality of candidates is one or more, the exact match control unit 103 displays a search result indicating the total number. The data is transferred to the input / output control unit 101. As a result, a search result indicating the total number is output to the user terminal 20.

  For this reason, even when the detection accuracy of the entity search key and the attribute search key is low, by obtaining a search result for each candidate using a plurality of candidates for the combination of the entity search key and the attribute search key as described above, It is possible to increase the number of scenes where more appropriate search results can be obtained.

  As described above, in the above embodiment, the configuration in which the forward match search process is controlled as an example of the partial match search process has been described. However, the partial match search process is not particularly limited. For example, the backward match search process It may be.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an information search apparatus, an information search system, and an information search method capable of outputting a more appropriate search result by specifying a search word once by a user.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Information search system, 10 ... Database search device, 20 ... User terminal, 101 ... Input / output control part, 102 ... Key candidate detection part, 103 ... Perfect match control part, 104 ... Perfect match search part, 105 ... Entity attribute database , 106 ... matching information database, 107 ... forward match control section, 108 ... forward match search section, 109 ... entity category determination section, 110 ... attribute entity category database, 111 ... forward match character count determination section, 112 ... forward match minimum character count database , 201 ... transmission unit, 202 ... acquisition unit, NW ... communication network.

An information search apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention is an information search apparatus that searches for desired information desired by a user, and includes a search word acquisition unit that acquires a search word for searching for desired information, and a search word acquisition unit Detection means for detecting a related word related to desired information and attribute information indicating an attribute of the desired information, related word candidate information that is a candidate for the related word, and candidate attribute information The related word that completely matches the related word detected by the detecting means from the candidate storing means for storing the attribute candidate information, the related word candidate information and the desired information specified from the attribute candidate information in association with each other. Search means for performing a first search process for searching for desired information, which is associated with the candidate information and associated with the attribute information detected by the detection means; Provided, the search means, when the search result of the first search process of 5-zero, and, in the case than a predetermined number set in advance is larger in number of related words, from the candidate storing means, the detecting means A second search process for searching for desired information associated with the related word candidate information partially matching the detected related word is performed.

An information search system according to an aspect of the present invention is an information search system including an information search device that searches for desired information desired by a user and a communication terminal that can communicate with the information search device. A search word acquisition means for acquiring a search word for searching for desired information from the communication terminal, a related word related to the desired information from the search word acquired by the search word acquisition means, and an attribute of the desired information Detecting means for detecting attribute information indicating, related word candidate information that is a candidate for related words, attribute candidate information that is a candidate for attribute information, and desired information specified from the related word candidate information and the attribute candidate information Information is associated with the related word candidate information that completely matches the related word detected by the detecting means from the candidate storing means for storing the information in association with each other. And a search means for performing a first search process for searching for desired information associated with the attribute information detected by the detection means. The search means has a search result of the first search process. In the case of zero , and when the number of characters in the related word is larger than a predetermined number of characters, the related word candidate information partially matching with the related word detected by the detecting unit is stored in the candidate storage unit. The communication terminal performs a second search process for searching for the associated desired information, and the communication terminal transmits a search term to the information search apparatus, and a first search process or a second search process by the search means And a result acquisition means for acquiring the search result from the information search device.

An information search method according to an aspect of the present invention is an information search method performed by an information search device that searches for desired information desired by a user, wherein the information search device acquires a search word for searching for desired information. A word acquisition step; a detection step in which an information search device detects a related word related to desired information and attribute information indicating an attribute of the desired information from the search word acquired in the search word acquisition step; From the candidate storage means for storing the related word candidate information, the attribute candidate information that is a candidate of attribute information, and the desired information specified from the related word candidate information and the attribute candidate information in association with each other. Corresponds to the related word candidate information that completely matches with the related word detected by, and corresponds to the attribute information detected by the detection step Being kicked, anda search steps of the first search processing information search apparatus performs to search for desired information, the search step, if the results for the first search process of 5-zero, and, in advance Desired information associated with the related word candidate information partially matching the related word detected by the detection step from the candidate storage means when the number of characters of the related word is larger than the predetermined number of characters determined The information search apparatus performs a second search process for searching for the information.

Claims (7)

An information retrieval device for retrieving desired information desired by a user,
Search word acquisition means for acquiring a search word for searching for the desired information;
Detecting means for detecting a related word related to the desired information and attribute information indicating an attribute of the desired information from the search word acquired by the search word acquiring means;
Candidate for storing associated word candidate information that is a candidate for the related word, attribute candidate information that is a candidate for the attribute information, and desired information identified from the related word candidate information and the candidate attribute information. Corresponding to the related word candidate information that completely matches the related word detected by the detecting means from the storage means, and corresponding to the attribute information detected by the detecting means Search means for performing a first search process for searching for information;
With
When the search result of the first search process is zero, the search means is associated with the related word candidate information partially matching the related word detected by the detection means from the candidate storage means. An information search apparatus that performs a second search process for searching for the desired information.   The search means performs the second search process when the search result of the first search process is zero, and when the number of characters of the related word is larger than a predetermined number of characters. The information search device according to claim 1, wherein the information search device is performed. Category storage means for storing the attribute information detected by the detection means and category information indicating the category of the related word related to the desired information in association with each other;
A character number storage means for storing the category information and the predetermined predetermined number of characters in association with each other;
Further comprising
The search means acquires the category information stored in association with the attribute information detected by the detection means from the category storage means, and stores the predetermined information stored in association with the category information. Obtaining the number of characters from the character number storage means,
The information search device according to claim 2. Further comprising derived word storage means for storing the related word candidate information and a derived word derived from the related word candidate information in association with each other;
The search means includes the desired information associated with the related word candidate information stored in association with the derived word that completely matches the character string derived from the related word detected by the detecting means. The process of searching from the candidate storage means is performed as the first search process, and when the search result of the first search process is zero, the character string and the part derived from the related word detected by the detection means A process for searching the desired information associated with the related word candidate information stored in association with the matching derived word from the candidate storage unit is performed as the second search process.
The information search device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The detection means detects a plurality of pairs of the related word and the attribute information from the search word acquired by the search word acquisition means,
The search means performs the first search process using a plurality of sets of the detected related word and the attribute information, and outputs the search result when the search result becomes one or more. When the search result of the first search process is zero, the second search process is performed using a plurality of sets of the detected related word and the attribute information, and one or more search results are obtained. The information search device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the search result is output at a point of time. An information search system comprising an information search device for searching for desired information desired by a user and a communication terminal capable of communicating with the information search device,
The information search device includes:
Search term acquisition means for acquiring a search term for searching for the desired information from the communication terminal;
Detecting means for detecting a related word related to the desired information and attribute information indicating an attribute of the desired information from the search word acquired by the search word acquiring means;
Candidate for storing associated word candidate information that is a candidate for the related word, attribute candidate information that is a candidate for the attribute information, and desired information identified from the related word candidate information and the candidate attribute information. Corresponding to the related word candidate information that completely matches the related word detected by the detecting means from the storage means, and corresponding to the attribute information detected by the detecting means Search means for performing a first search process for searching for information;
Have
When the search result of the first search process is zero, the search means is associated with the related word candidate information partially matching the related word detected by the detection means from the candidate storage means. And performing a second search process for searching for the desired information,
The communication terminal is
Transmitting means for transmitting the search term to the information search device;
A result acquisition means for acquiring a search result of the first search process or the second search process by the search means from the information search device;
An information retrieval system. An information search method performed by an information search device for searching for desired information desired by a user,
A search word acquisition step in which the information search device acquires a search word for searching for the desired information;
A detection step in which the information search device detects a related word related to the desired information and attribute information indicating an attribute of the desired information from the search word acquired by the search word acquisition step;
Candidate for storing associated word candidate information that is a candidate for the related word, attribute candidate information that is a candidate for the attribute information, and desired information identified from the related word candidate information and the candidate attribute information. Corresponding to the related word candidate information that completely matches the related word detected by the detecting step from the storage means, and corresponding to the attribute information detected by the detecting step A search step in which the information search device performs a first search process for searching for information;
Have
In the search step, when the search result of the first search process is zero, it is associated with the related word candidate information partially matching the related word detected by the detection step from the candidate storage unit. An information search method in which the information search apparatus performs a second search process for searching for the desired information.

Images