JP4640861B2 - Search processing method and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a document database search technique, and more particularly, to a user interface during search execution.

  Conventionally, for example, when analyzing a feature or similarity of a sentence included in a certain document group, the document group is processed using a text mining technique or a search technique based on weighted calculation. The processing results were converted to a table or graph and presented to the analyst. In the prior art, a table, a graph, or a figure is generated and displayed individually based on the data of the original document group.

  However, as the analysis proceeds, there is a case where the next analysis result is obtained from one analysis result. Even in the prior art, it was possible to simply refer to a part of the search result or to narrow down the search result, but simply displaying the corresponding part did not change the meaning of it. . Furthermore, for example, when displaying only a part of interest in a table including a new viewpoint, or converting that part into a diagram of another viewpoint, etc., the original document group is once displayed. Returning to the data, it is necessary to set a new search condition, perform processing using numerical values and text in the data of the document group, and convert the processing result to a desired display form. Therefore, in such a case, there is a problem that it takes a lot of work, and it becomes a big obstacle when thinking from the analysis result to the next analysis immediately.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-92851 discloses the following technique. That is, after the search file data acquired from the patent / technical data search system is automatically converted into a patent information or technical information analysis master table using a computer, a patent map in a necessary form or various kinds of totals A method for outputting a graph or the like is disclosed. However, even with this technique, if the search file data must be changed, it must be converted into a separate master table. Therefore, when further narrowing down the previous search results, a new search file must be prepared as usual, and the processing and labor are not simplified.
JP 2001-92851 A

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a search processing technique for enabling a searcher to analyze a search result intuitively.

  The search processing method according to the first aspect of the present invention includes a step of searching a predetermined document group according to a search condition specified by a user, and storing data of a plurality of documents extracted by the search in a storage device; Data of a plurality of documents extracted by the search is processed into data that can be selected as the next processing key for each display item and presented to the user in the first display form, and the processing result is output. The first processing step, the step of extracting the document data corresponding to the display item selected directly or indirectly by the user and storing it in the storage device, and the document data corresponding to the selected display item Each display item can be selected as the next processing key and processed into data to be presented to the user in the second display form designated by the user, and the processing result is output. And a second processing step.

  The data of a plurality of documents extracted by the search is presented to the user in the first display form as the next processing key and selectable display item, and the display selected according to the selection of the display item by the user Document data corresponding to the item is presented to the user in the second display form designated by the user as the next processing key and selectable display item. Accordingly, it is possible to proceed with analysis by changing the analysis target and the display form with an intuitive interface.

  In addition, the first and second display forms described above are at least (a) a form in which a plurality of documents to be processed are clustered by use words and presented with pre-defined display items, and (b) A form in which a plurality of documents to be processed are displayed with a display item that is defined in advance and a connection line that indicates a degree of association calculated by the use phrase of each document, and (c) a plurality of documents to be processed are used A form in which the results of classification and aggregation are displayed in a graph; (d) a form in which used phrases of a plurality of documents to be processed and a connection line representing the degree of association between the used phrases are displayed; and (e) processing The degree of relevance between a group of documents associated with a specific item of a plurality of documents to be processed and a word / phrase that is data of the document to be processed is determined based on the specific item. And use If either of the form to be displayed with a connection line between the words are also. The analysis can be advanced by freely changing these display forms. In addition, it is not limited to these display forms, You may make it include another display form. Also, it may be arbitrarily selected from other combinations.

  Further, in the first and second processing steps described above, a display program corresponding to the display form may be designated and data for the display program may be generated. The display program is switched as necessary according to the environment of the user terminal. Further, it can be realized in either a stand-alone environment or a client / server environment.

  The search processing method according to the second aspect of the present invention is a search executed by a computer having a processing unit, a storage device, a relevance data table storage unit, and a document database storing a predetermined document group. It is a processing method. In the search processing method, the processing unit searches the document database according to the search condition specified by the user, and stores the data of the first plurality of documents extracted by the search in the storage device. In order for the step and the processing unit to read the data of the first plurality of documents extracted by the first document extraction step and stored in the storage device, and to allow the user to select the information and the display form regarding the first plurality of documents. A step of generating and outputting data of a search result screen including the information of the first, and reading out data of the first plurality of documents extracted by the first document extraction step and stored in the storage device by the processing unit; At least one of a degree of association between a plurality of documents and a degree of association between one of the first plurality of documents and a phrase used in the document A first relevance level calculating step stored in the relevance level data table storage unit, and a first reference based on the data calculated by the first relevance level calculation step and stored in the relevance level data table storage unit by the processing unit The first plurality of documents data extracted by the extraction step and stored in the storage device can be selected as the next processing key for each display item, and the first display form designated by the user on the search result screen Generating and outputting data of the first processing result screen to be presented to the user, and a second plurality of second processing items corresponding to the display item selected by the user on the first processing result screen by the processing unit The document data is extracted from the document database and extracted in the second document extraction step by the second document extraction step for storing in the storage device and the processing unit. And reading the data of the second plurality of documents stored in the storage device, and the degree of relevance between the second plurality of documents and one of the second plurality of documents and being used for the documents A second relevance level calculating step of calculating at least one of the relevance level with the word and storing it in the relevance level data table storage unit; The data of the second plurality of documents extracted by the second document extraction step and stored in the storage device based on the data stored in the second document extraction step without generating and outputting the search result screen data. The second processing result screen data that can be selected as the next processing key and presented to the user in the second display form designated by the user on the first processing result screen is generated and output. Second processing step.

  The above-described method can be implemented by a program and a computer, and the computer serves as a search processing device. The program is stored in a storage medium or storage device such as a flexible disk, a CD-ROM, a magneto-optical disk, a semiconductor memory, or a hard disk. Moreover, it may be distributed as a digital signal via a network or the like. The intermediate processing result is temporarily stored in the memory.

  As described above, according to the present invention, a searcher can intuitively analyze a search result.

  FIG. 1 shows a system outline diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention. For example, a network 1 such as the Internet or a LAN (Local Area Network) includes, for example, a search server 5 having a web server function, and one or a plurality of client terminals 3 having a web browser function, for example, a personal computer. It is connected.

  The search server 5 includes a document DB 53 that accumulates documents to be searched, a relevance data storage unit 54 that stores data of relevance between documents extracted by search, and the like, and documents extracted by search and the like. And a related word data storage unit 55 that stores data of words used. In addition, the search server 5 includes a search processing unit 51 that performs a search process on the document DB 53 and a data operation unit 52 that processes document data extracted by the search processing unit 51 using a predetermined algorithm. Note that the search server 5 may implement the functions described below with a plurality of computers instead of a single computer. The search server 5 may be adapted to the function of the client terminal 3 to exchange data with the client terminal 3 through another interface that is not a Web server function.

  An input device 32 such as a mouse and a keyboard and a display device 31 such as a display are connected to the client terminal 3, exchange data with the search server 5 and provide a user interface for the user of the client terminal 3. One or a plurality of client search interface units 33 that perform a display process when a search result table, graph, or flow diagram is displayed and provide a user interface for the table, graph, or flow diagram The display processing unit 34 is provided. When exchanging data with the search server 5 on the Web base, the client search interface unit 33 is a Web browser. However, a special client program may be used.

  Next, processing contents of the system shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. In the following description, search of patent documents is used as an example. First, the user operates the input device 32 of the client terminal 3 to give an instruction to the client search interface unit 33 to access the search condition designation page (step S1). In response to the access from the client terminal 3, the search server 5 transmits the data of the search condition designation page to the client terminal 3 (step S3). The client search interface unit 33 of the client terminal 3 receives the search condition designation page data from the search server 5 and displays it on the display device 31 (step S5). For example, a screen including at least a keyword input field and a designation field for designating a database to be searched is displayed. In some cases, a sentence may be input instead of a keyword, and the sentence may be used as a search condition. In this case, a search term is extracted from the sentence by morphological analysis or the like. The user inputs a search keyword or the like and specifies a search target database.

  The client search interface unit 33 of the client terminal 3 receives a search condition input such as a search keyword from the user (step S7), and transmits the search condition input data to the search server 5 (step S9). The search processing unit 51 of the search server 5 receives the search condition input data from the client terminal 3 and temporarily stores it in the storage device (step S11). Then, the document DB 53 is searched according to a search condition such as a search keyword, and the data of the corresponding document is extracted (step S13).

  For example, data as shown in FIG. 3 is stored in the document DB 53. In the table example of FIG. 3, a record number column 201 of documents, an application number column 202, an application date column 203, a publication number column 204, a publication date column 205, a registration number column 206, ,. . . An applicant column 207, a name column 208, a summary column 209, and the like are provided. In addition, data of the main text is also retained. A search is performed with reference to such data.

  Then, the data operation unit 52 performs a predetermined process on the extracted data (step S14). The predetermined process is a process of calculating the relevance of each extracted document with respect to, for example, a search keyword and rearranging the extracted documents according to the relevance. Further, it is a process of calculating the degree of association between the extracted document and the used phrase, and arranging closely related words in order according to the degree of association. The process of calculating the relevance and rearranging is the same as the conventional process, and the words in the document are weighted using “TF / IDF” or “Cullback information amount”, and then the word weight is used. A method of expressing a document as a vector and calculating the relevance of the document by an inner product of the vectors is well known. For example, it is disclosed also in Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 2000-315207 and 2002-245061. These processing results are held in the work memory area of the search server 5.

  For words used in each document, a word having a high degree of relevance is specified in advance as a related word, registered in the related word data storage unit 55, and used for the processing described above. Also good. For example, data as shown in FIG. 4 is registered in the related word data storage unit 55. In the example of FIG. 4, related words are listed corresponding to public numbers.

  And the search server 5 produces | generates the data of the search result display page containing the process result of step S14, and transmits to the client terminal 3 (step S15). The client search interface unit 33 of the client terminal 3 receives the search result display page data from the search server 5 and displays it on the display device (step S17).

  For example, a screen as shown in FIG. 5 is displayed on the display device 31. In the example of FIG. 5, a keyword input field 301, a clear button 302, a search re-execution button 318, a related word display field 303 for ranking and displaying words closely related to the input keyword, and a search target document are stored. An associative dictionary designation field 304 for designating a database, a text set designation field 305 for designating the whole or a subset of the database designated in the associative dictionary designation field 304, Word display field 316 for displaying (number of related words / number of related words in the entire document group), text display field 317 for displaying (number of documents hitting input keyword / number of all documents), table creation, graph creation , A command designation field 307 for selecting a display form such as flow creation, and the designation in the command designation field 307 A command button 306 for executing the displayed form, a vertical axis setting field 308 for setting the vertical axis of the graph and specifying a related word type, and a horizontal axis setting field 309 for setting the horizontal axis of the graph. A button 310 for returning the vertical axis setting field to the default, a button 311 for returning the horizontal axis setting field to the default, a word pattern input field 312 for searching for a compound word, and a narrow search. A button group (on / off / inverted) 313 to be selected in this case, a radio button 314 for the narrowing-down condition (AND / OR), and a display column 315 for documents hit as a result of the search are provided.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the search keywords input in step S7 are “software” and “information processing”, the database used is “patent gazette excerpt”, and the search is performed on the whole. Yes. At this time, the number of related words in the document group that hit the input keyword is 1353, and the number of related words in the entire document group is 29220. The number of documents that hit the input keyword is 60, and the total number of documents is 2752. In the related word display column 303, words related to a document group including “software” and “information processing” are displayed as a ranking of relevance, and in the document display column 315, “software” and “information” are displayed. A group of documents including “processing” is displayed as a ranking of relevance.

  On this screen, the user designates the display form of the search result in the command designation field 307 and clicks the command button 306. For example, it is assumed that “Create table” is selected as shown in FIG. The client search interface unit 33 of the client terminal 3 accepts a command input regarding the display form by the user and transmits it to the search server 5 (step S19). The data operation unit 52 of the search server 5 receives the command regarding the display form from the client terminal 3 (step S21), and the display data for realizing the display form instructed using the data extracted in step S13. Is generated and stored in the work memory area (step S23).

  The data operation unit 52 clusters the extracted documents using the extracted data (here, a summary of 60 documents, claims, other text and bibliographic information) (FIG. 6: step S31). For this clustering, the degree of association is calculated for each of the extracted related words in the document, and grouping is performed for each word with a high degree of association. Further, the degree of association between the word classified into each group and each document is calculated, and each document is linked to a group (cluster) having a high degree of association. In this clustering calculation, words in a document are weighted using “TF / IDF” or “Cullback information amount”, and then the document is expressed as a vector using the word weights. Is generally known as a method of applying a clustering algorithm to the relevance matrix obtained by calculating the relevance between all documents after calculating the vector with the inner product of the vectors. For example, see the patent documents listed above.

In the example of FIG. 5, the following clustering is performed.
Clustering 1: Formation Image Restriction Identification information Product distribution Identification clustering 2: Name Version number Version Reference relationship information Reference relationship Change Version management clustering 3: Detachable Information management method Information management ID User software information User ID
Clustering 4: Instruction Comparison Address Register Execution Address Area Debug Clustering 5: E-mail E-mail Transmission Generation Reception Terminal Clustering 6: Version Version Upgrade Equipment Version Information Serial Date and time References included in each cluster It will be a document with a deep relationship.

  In addition, the relevance degree with a specific literature of a certain phrase is calculated as follows. That is, the number of occurrences of a certain phrase in a specific document / the number of documents in which a certain phrase appears in a database (in the above example, patent gazette group) is calculated. This is defined from the viewpoint that a phrase frequently appearing in a specific document is a characteristic phrase of the specific document, while a phrase appearing in many documents is not a characteristic phrase of the specific document. Has been. However, the degree of association may be calculated by another method.

  Next, the data operation unit 52 specifies display data of each document based on the command for the designated display form (step S33). Here, a publication number, a name, and an applicant name are preset as display data, and these data are specified for each document. And the said display data of each literature is arrange | positioned for every cluster (step S35). In the present embodiment, the vertical axis represents clusters, and the horizontal axis represents applicants. That is, each document is classified by a set of a cluster and an applicant. However, other data may be used for the horizontal axis. Finally, in the client terminal 3, display data is generated in a data format that can be processed by the specific display processing unit 34, and stored in the work memory area (step S37). The specific display processing unit 34 is selected in response to the command “create table”.

  The data operation unit 52 performs the processing as described above, and transmits the generated display data to the client terminal 3 (FIG. 2: step S25). The client search interface unit 33 of the client terminal 3 receives display data from the search server 5 (step S27). Then, the client search interface unit 33 checks whether the display processing unit 34 corresponding to the received display data is activated. If not activated, the client search interface unit 33 activates the display processing unit 34 corresponding to the received display data. The display processing unit 34 displays the search result on the display device 31 in the display form instructed by the user using the received display data (step S29). The processing shifts to FIG. 11 via terminals A and B.

  FIG. 7 shows a screen example. In the example of FIG. 7, a display form selection column 401 and a table 410 are included. The display form selection column 401 is a combo box for selecting the next display form. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the patent map (FIG. 7), patent flow (FIG. 14), graph (FIG. 19), skeleton map (FIG. 24), or anchor map (FIG. 26) can be selected. it can. The table 410 includes a cluster column 402 for displaying data of each cluster, a column 403 for displaying the corresponding documents (10 cases) of the company A by cluster, and a corresponding document (8 cases) of the company B. A column 404 for displaying by cluster, a column 405 for displaying the corresponding documents (six cases) of company C by cluster, and a column 406 for displaying the corresponding documents (5 cases) of company D by cluster. Is provided. As mentioned above, the horizontal axis is the applicant's axis. On the other hand, the table 410 includes a row 407 for clustering 3, a row 408 for clustering 4, and a row 409 for clustering 5. Note that the rows of clustering 1 and 2 are not displayed due to the screen area relationship, but can be displayed by operating a scroll bar or the like. In this manner, the user can analyze which applicant's applications are included in which cluster. It can also be understood which applicants have more applications in the search results.

  Each display item including a set of a publication number, a name, and an applicant name can be selected for the next processing. In addition, it is possible to specify by area, and display items included in the area are selected. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, ten display items (documents) included in the row 408 of the clustering 4 and included in the column 403 of the company A, the column 404 of the company B, and the column 405 of the company C It can be selected by specifying. Note that display items (documents) may be selected one by one. Each display item is, for example, a button, and may be in a display form that can be clicked.

  In the example of FIG. 9, it is assumed that a display item (document) included in the area 415 is selected, and “patent flow” is selected in the display form selection column 401 as the next display form. Then, when the user presses the right button of the mouse of the input device 32, the menu shown in FIG. 10 is displayed. In the example of FIG. 10, “External command activation” 421, environment setting, copy, paste, select and paste format, insert, delete, clear formula and value, insert comment, format cell, from list Menu items such as selections and hyperlinks are included. Here, the external command activation 421 is selected. In this embodiment, if no display item is selected, it is assumed that all display items are implicitly selected.

  Then, the display processing unit 34 receives a display form and display item selection input from the user (FIG. 11: Step S41), and sends the selected display item and display form data to the client search interface unit 33 of the client terminal 3. Output.

  The client search interface unit 33 transmits the selected display item and display form data to the search server 5 (step S43). The data operation unit 52 of the search server 5 receives the selected display item and display form data, and temporarily stores them in the work memory area (step S45). And the data of the literature corresponding to the selected display item are extracted from literature DB53, for example (step S47). If the result of the previous process remains held in the work memory area, the data can be used. Here, since at least the public number is included in the display item, the data of ten documents can be specified from the public number. Then, using the extracted data, display data for realizing the designated display form (here, “patent flow”) is generated and stored in the work memory area (step S49).

  The data operation unit 52 calculates the relevance between the selected documents using the data of the documents corresponding to the selected display item (FIG. 12: step S61). Calculation of the degree of association between documents is also a well-known technique and will not be described here. For example, data as shown in FIG. 13 is generated and stored in the relevance data storage unit 54, for example. In the example of FIG. 13, the ten selected documents are arranged in the same manner vertically and horizontally, and the degree of association with the other nine documents is registered for each document. However, in the case of the relevance level equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value, it is represented by “−”.

  Then, display data is specified from the data of each document (step S63). Here, the publication number, name, and applicant are preset as display data, and these data are specified for each document. In addition, the display items including display data are arranged in chronological order according to the filing date or publication date included in the document data, and a display for displaying a state in which the display items are connected with a line segment having a thickness according to the degree of association. Data is generated in a format that can be processed by the display processing unit 34 for patent flow display (step S65).

  Then, the search server 5 transmits the generated display data to the client terminal 3 (FIG. 11: Step S51). The client search interface unit 33 of the client terminal 3 receives display data from the search server 5 (step S53). Then, it is confirmed whether the display processing unit 34 corresponding to the received display data is activated. If not activated, the display processing unit 34 is activated. Then, display data is output to the display processing unit 34. The display processing unit 34 corresponding to the display data displays the display data on the display device 31 in the display form designated by the user (step S55). If the search is separately performed again, the process proceeds to FIG. On the other hand, as will be described below, when selecting the display form and display items and proceeding with analysis, the process returns to step S41 (step S57).

  For example, a screen as shown in FIG. 14 is displayed. In the example of FIG. 14, ten display items 501 to 510 are arranged in time series from left to right according to the publication date or the filing date. In addition, display items having a relevance level equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold are connected by line segments, and line segments between documents having a high relevance level are shown thicker. For example, the display item 502 and the display item 503 have the highest degree of association among the ten display items and are connected by the thickest line segment. In addition, the display item 502 and the display item 510, the display item 505 and the display item 506, and the display item 505 and the display item 509 are also relatively high in relation, and are connected by a medium thick line. Note that these display items are all selectable and may be displayed as buttons. In some cases, one or a plurality of display items are selected by designating an area.

  Furthermore, instead of holding only the connection relation and thickness data between the display items in the line segment connecting the display items, the actual degree of association may be held. In this case, for example, a display switching button may be provided in addition to the display portion of FIG. 14, and the display as shown in FIG. 15 may be performed by clicking the display switching button. In FIG. 15, the relevance of the connection line is displayed on the connection line between the displayed display items. The display items are displayed at different positions in order to display the relevance values on the connection lines. Also in the display as shown in FIG. 15, each display item can be selected, and one or a plurality of display items can be selected.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 16, the user designates an area 515 so as to include the display items 506 to 510, and in the display item designation column (eg, FIG. 7) provided outside the display portion of FIG. "Is selected. Further, the right button of the mouse of the input device 32 is further pressed to display a menu as shown in FIG. 10, for example, and “external command activation” 421 is selected.

  In this way, the display processing unit 34 of the client terminal 3 accepts a display form and display item selection input from the user (FIG. 11: Step S41), and the data of the selected display form and display item is sent to the client search interface unit. To 33. The client search interface unit 33 receives the selected display form and display item data, and transmits the data to the search server 5 (step S43).

  The data operation unit 52 of the search server 5 receives the selected display item and display form data, and temporarily stores them in the work memory area (step S45). And the data of the literature corresponding to the selected display item are extracted from literature DB53, for example (step S47). If the result of the previous process remains held in the work memory area, the data can be used. Here, since the display item includes at least the public number, the data of five documents can be specified from the public number. Then, using the extracted data, display data for realizing the designated display form (here, “patent flow”) is generated and stored in the work memory area (step S49). That is, the process as shown in FIG. 12 is performed on the data of five documents.

  Then, the search server 5 transmits the generated display data to the client terminal 3 (Step S51). The client search interface unit 33 of the client terminal 3 receives display data from the search server 5 (step S53). Then, it is confirmed whether the display processing unit 34 corresponding to the received display data is activated. If not activated, the display processing unit 34 is activated. Then, display data is output to the display processing unit 34. The display processing unit 34 corresponding to the display data displays the display data on the display device 31 in the display form designated by the user (step S55).

  For example, a screen as shown in FIG. 17 is displayed. In FIG. 17, five display items are arranged in time series according to the publication date or the filing date. Each display item can be selected, and the display items are connected by a line segment having a thickness according to the degree of association between corresponding documents. However, the connection relationship in the region 515 in FIG. 16 and the connection relationship in FIG. 17 are clearly different. This is because the value differs between the relevance level of 5 documents and the relevance level of 10 documents. As described above, in this embodiment, since the relevance is calculated between the reselected documents instead of simply displaying the area 515 in an enlarged manner, the relationship only in the selected documents can be shown. Become. In FIG. 17, it is possible to further specify the display item and the display form and proceed with the analysis. If no display item is specified, processing is performed assuming that all display items are selected.

  Further, for example, in the state of FIG. 15, it is assumed that “Graph” is selected in the display form designation column (for example, FIG. 7) provided outside the display portion of FIG. 15 without selecting a display item. Further, the right button of the mouse of the input device 32 is further pressed to display a menu as shown in FIG. 10, for example, and “external command activation” 421 is selected. As described above, when no display item is selected, it is considered that all display items are selected.

  In this way, the display processing unit 34 of the client terminal 3 accepts a display form and display item selection input (indirect selection for display item selection) from the user (FIG. 11: Step S41), and the selection is made. The display form and display item data are output to the client search interface unit 33. The client search interface unit 33 receives the selected display form and display item data, and transmits the data to the search server 5 (step S43).

  The data operation unit 52 of the search server 5 receives the selected display item and display form data, and temporarily stores them in the work memory area (step S45). And the data of the literature corresponding to the selected display item are extracted from literature DB53, for example (step S47). If the result of the previous process remains held in the work memory area, the data can be used. Here, since at least the public number is included in the display item, the data of ten documents can be specified from the public number. Then, using the extracted data, display data for realizing the designated display form (here, “graph”) is generated and stored in the work memory area (step S49).

  The data operation unit 52 reads the related word data of the document corresponding to the selected display item (hereinafter referred to as “selected document”) from the related word data storage unit 55 (FIG. 18: step S71). Then, a predetermined number of related words having a high degree of association with the selected document group is selected (step S73). Since the degree of association between a document and a phrase is a well-known technique, a description thereof is omitted here. Then, the selected documents are classified by related words, and the number of documents is tabulated based on a specific matter (here, the application year) and stored in, for example, a work memory area (step S75). Here, the number of documents including the relevant word is counted for each relevant word for each application year. Then, display data for displaying the totaled result in a graph is generated in a format that can be processed by the display processing unit 34 for displaying the graph, and stored in, for example, a work memory area (step S77).

  Then, the search server 5 transmits the generated display data to the client terminal 3 (FIG. 11: Step S51). The client search interface unit 33 of the client terminal 3 receives display data from the search server 5 (step S53). Then, it is confirmed whether the display processing unit 34 corresponding to the received display data is activated. If not activated, the display processing unit 34 is activated. Then, display data is output to the display processing unit 34. The display processing unit 34 corresponding to the display data displays the display data on the display device 31 in the display form designated by the user (step S55).

  For example, a screen as shown in FIG. 19 is displayed. In the example of FIG. 19, a display form designation field 601 and a selection field 602 for selecting an application year or applicant are provided, the vertical axis is the number of cases (the number of documents), and the horizontal axis is the application year. A graph is displayed. In this example, 15 related words are displayed as display items, and one or a plurality of related words can be selected. That is, the words “peripheral equipment” and “automatic” are selected regardless of the application year.

  When the selection in the selection field 602 is changed from “application year” to “applicant”, the display can be changed to a graph as shown in FIG. In the example of FIG. 20, there is no change with respect to the related word that is the display item. However, since the horizontal axis is changed from the year of application to the applicant, the number of documents including each related word is tabulated and displayed for each applicant. Also in FIG. 20, one or a plurality of related words that are display items can be selected.

  For example, in the graph when the filing year is on the horizontal axis, as shown in FIG. 21, “Skeleton map” is selected in the display form designation field 601 and the related word “peripheral device” 615 as a display item is further selected. And In FIG. 21, the selection is indicated by a thick line or the like. Furthermore, when the right button of the mouse as the input device 32 is pressed, a menu as shown in FIG. 22 is displayed. In the menu in FIG. 22, options such as “series selection” 620, “environment setting”, “original data”, and “clear” are provided. Here, it is assumed that series selection 620 is selected.

  In this way, the display processing unit 34 of the client terminal 3 accepts a display form and display item selection input from the user (FIG. 11: Step S41), and the data of the selected display form and display item is sent to the client search interface unit. To 33. The client search interface unit 33 receives the selected display form and display item data, and transmits the data to the search server 5 (step S43).

  The data operation unit 52 of the search server 5 receives the selected display item and display form data, and temporarily stores them in the work memory area (step S45). And the data of the literature corresponding to the selected display item are extracted from literature DB53, for example (step S47). If the result of the previous process remains held in the work memory area, the data can be used. Here, since the display item is “peripheral device”, a document in which “peripheral device” is registered as a related word based on the data stored in the related word data storage unit 55 is specified by, for example, a public number. Then, document data is extracted from the public number. Then, using the extracted data, display data for realizing the designated display form (here, “skeleton map”) is generated and stored in the work memory area (step S49).

  The data operation unit 52 calculates the degree of association between words for each related word (word other than “peripheral device”) that is the data of the extracted document, and stores it in, for example, a work memory area (FIG. 23: step S81). . In the case of the degree of relevance below a predetermined standard, the degree of relevance is regarded as 0. This data may also be stored in the relevance data storage unit 54. Then, display data for a display form in which each word is a display item and a line segment between words according to the degree of association is generated in a format that can be processed by the display processing unit 34 that displays the skeleton map. For example, it is stored in the work memory area (step S83).

  Then, the search server 5 transmits the generated display data to the client terminal 3 (FIG. 11: Step S51). The client search interface unit 33 of the client terminal 3 receives display data from the search server 5 (step S53). Then, it is confirmed whether the display processing unit 34 corresponding to the received display data is activated. If not activated, the display processing unit 34 is activated. Then, display data is output to the display processing unit 34. The display processing unit 34 corresponding to the display data displays the display data on the display device 31 in the display form designated by the user (step S55).

  For example, a screen as shown in FIG. 24 is displayed. In FIG. 24, each related word is a display item, and one or a plurality of display items can be selected. In the present embodiment, it is determined that the whole is selected when no selection is made. Furthermore, by specifying an area, it is also possible to specify display items (related words) included in the area. In the example of FIG. 24, the related words connected by the thick line segment are deeply related, and the degree of relevance decreases as the line moves to the middle thick line segment and the thin line segment. Note that the degree of association between words that are not connected is equal to or less than a predetermined standard.

  Although not shown in FIG. 24, a display form designation field is provided in order to shift from the skeleton map to the next display form. In the display form designation field, the next display form is selected, and further display items are selected. After that, when the right button of the mouse which is the input device 32 is pressed, for example, a menu screen as shown in FIG. 10 is displayed. Here, when “External command activation” 421 is selected, a display form and a display item are selected and input. Here, for example, it is assumed that all display items are selected and “anchor map” is selected as the display form.

  In this way, the display processing unit 34 of the client terminal 3 accepts a display form and display item selection input (indirect selection for display item selection) from the user (FIG. 11: Step S41), and the selection is made. The display form and display item data are output to the client search interface unit 33. The client search interface unit 33 receives the selected display form and display item data, and transmits the data to the search server 5 (step S43).

  The data operation unit 52 of the search server 5 receives the selected display item and display form data, and temporarily stores them in the work memory area (step S45). And the data of the literature corresponding to the selected display item are extracted from literature DB53, for example (step S47). If the result of the previous process remains held in the work memory area, the data can be used. Since the display items selected here are all related words (excluding “peripheral devices”), any one of all the related words displayed in FIG. 24 based on the data stored in the related word data storage unit 55. Is identified by a public number, for example. Then, document data is extracted from the public number. In addition, when all the related words are selected in FIG. 24, processing may be performed based on the data of the documents extracted in the previous process, assuming that the documents to be processed are not changed. Then, using the extracted data, display data for realizing the designated display form (here, “anchor map”) is generated and stored in the work memory area (step S49).

  The data operation unit 52 groups the extracted documents based on specific items (here, the applicant name) (FIG. 25: Step S91). That is, the literature is divided for each applicant. Next, the degree of association between a group of documents included in each group and each related word is calculated and stored, for example, in a work memory area (step S93). Further, it may be stored in the relevance data storage unit 54. Each group is represented by data (“Company A”, “Company B”, “Company C”) of the specific matter (applicant name), and the degree of relevance between the group of documents included in the group and each related word is indicated. Display data to be represented by the thickness of the line segment between the data of the specific item and the related word is generated in a format that can be processed by the corresponding display processing unit 34 and stored in, for example, a work memory area (step S95). ).

  Then, the search server 5 transmits the generated display data to the client terminal 3 (FIG. 11: Step S51). The client search interface unit 33 of the client terminal 3 receives display data from the search server 5 (step S53). Then, it is confirmed whether the display processing unit 34 corresponding to the received display data is activated. If not activated, the display processing unit 34 is activated. Then, display data is output to the display processing unit 34. The display processing unit 34 corresponding to the display data displays the display data on the display device 31 in the display form designated by the user (step S55).

  For example, a screen as shown in FIG. 26 is displayed. In FIG. 26, selectable display items are “Company A” 701, “Company B” 702, “Company C” 703, and all related words. However, related words having a relevance level equal to or lower than a predetermined value are not connected to the applicant's name and are therefore omitted. These display items can be selected, for example, as buttons. In addition, a button for indicating selection may be prepared separately. In addition, a method is also possible in which an area is designated and a display item in the area is regarded as a selection. In FIG. 26, the positions of the applicant names of “Company A” 701, “Company B” 702, and “Company C” 703 are fixed, and the thickness indicating the degree of association with the related word radially from these applicant names. The line is stretched and connected to related words. Since some related words are related to a plurality of document groups (a plurality of applicants' documents), there are also related words connected to a plurality of applicant names by a plurality of line segments.

  Although not shown in FIG. 26, a display form designation field is provided, and the next display form can be designated from FIG. That is, a plurality of display items and display forms can be designated and displayed in the next display form.

  As described above, by directly shifting from one display form to another display form such as graphs, tables, and various flows, the analyst can investigate and analyze without breaking thoughts. In addition, the display forms realized as described above show classification according to relevance, transition based on specific matters of document contents, relevance along time series, and different meanings. As a result, the analyst can support the research and analysis from various viewpoints.

  Furthermore, since the range to be analyzed can be specified when moving to another display form, associative investigation / analysis becomes possible. Also, if you specify the range you want to analyze, close the documents within that range, calculate the relevance newly, etc., and display the result, so it will be classified and displayed with higher accuracy and support the analyst's thinking Can do.

  Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, although an example of display mode transition has been described with reference to the drawings, it is not necessary to take such a route, and any display mode can be selected at any stage. However, there are cases where the display form that can be changed is limited due to some restrictions, but in principle, the display form can be changed to an arbitrary display form.

  Moreover, the functional block shown in FIG. 1 is an example, and does not necessarily correspond to a program module. Further, although the implementation in the client / server environment has been shown, the above-described processing may be performed by a terminal device having the functions of the search server 5 and the client terminal 3 together. In some cases, only the search function is placed on the server.

  The screen display example is an example, and the screen configuration as described above is not necessarily required.

  Furthermore, the calculation method of the relevance is arbitrary, and the display form is not limited to the above-described form. The document data may be processed by other processing algorithms and presented to the user.

(Appendix 1)
Searching a predetermined document group according to a search condition designated by the user, and storing data of a plurality of documents extracted by the search in a storage device;
The data of a plurality of documents extracted by the search are processed into data for making each display item selectable as a next processing key and presented to the user in the first display form, and the processing result is output. A first processing step,
Extracting literature data corresponding to the display item selected directly or indirectly by the user and storing it in a storage device;
Document data corresponding to the selected display item can be selected as data that can be selected as the next processing key for each display item and presented to the user in the second display form designated by the user. A second processing step for processing and outputting the processing result;
A search processing method using a computer.

(Appendix 2)
The first and second display forms are a form in which at least a plurality of documents to be processed are clustered by use words and presented with pre-defined display items;
A form in which a plurality of documents to be processed are displayed with a connection item representing a relevance calculated based on a display item defined in advance and a use phrase of each document;
A form in which a plurality of documents to be processed are classified and aggregated with respect to words used and displayed as a graph,
A form for displaying a use phrase of a plurality of documents to be processed and a connection line indicating a degree of association between the use phrases;
The degree of relevance between a group of documents associated with a specific item among a plurality of documents to be processed by the specific item and a use phrase that is data of the document to be processed with the specific item Displaying with a connecting line between the specific matter and the use phrase,
The search processing method according to supplementary note 1, wherein the search processing method is any one of the above.

(Appendix 3)
The first processing step includes
Clustering each document using data of a plurality of documents extracted by the search;
Extracting data relating to display items defined in advance for the first display form from data of a plurality of documents extracted by the search;
Generating data for displaying each cluster as the next processing key with the data relating to the extracted display items;
The search processing method according to supplementary note 1 including:

(Appendix 4)
The first processing step includes
Calculating the relevance of each document using data of a plurality of documents extracted by the search;
Extracting data relating to display items defined in advance for the first display form from data of a plurality of documents extracted by the search;
Generating data for displaying the data relating to the display items extracted as the next processing key and extracted for each document and the line segment connecting the data to reflect the relevance of each document; ,
The search processing method according to supplementary note 1 including:

(Appendix 5)
The first processing step includes
Classifying a plurality of documents extracted by the search based on words used as data of a plurality of documents extracted by the search, and the first display form among the data of the plurality of documents extracted by the search A step of counting the number of documents based on a predetermined specific matter;
Generating data for displaying the aggregation result;
The search processing method according to supplementary note 1 including:

(Appendix 6)
The first processing step includes
Calculating a relevance level of a used word that is data of a plurality of documents extracted by the search;
Generating data for displaying the use phrase as the next processing key and a line segment that connects the use phrases reflecting the relevance;
The search processing method according to supplementary note 1 including:

(Appendix 7)
The first processing step includes
Associating a plurality of documents extracted by the search with specific matters defined in advance for the first display form;
Calculating a relevance between a group of related documents and a use phrase that is data of a plurality of documents extracted by the search;
Data for representing the related document group by the data of the specific item and displaying the degree of association between the related document group and the use phrase with a connection line between the specific item and the use word A step of generating
The search processing method according to supplementary note 1 including:

(Appendix 8)
The second processing step includes
Clustering each document using data of the document identified from the selected display item;
Extracting data relating to display items defined in advance for the second display form from the data of the plurality of identified documents;
Generating data for displaying each cluster as the next processing key with the data relating to the extracted display items;
The search processing method according to supplementary note 1 including:

(Appendix 9)
The second processing step includes
Calculating the relevance of each document using data of the document identified from the selected display item;
Extracting data relating to display items defined in advance for the second display form from the data of the identified literature;
A step of generating data for displaying the data related to the display items extracted for each document, which is the next processing key, and the line segment connecting the data by reflecting the relevance of each document. When,
The search processing method according to supplementary note 1 including:

(Appendix 10)
The second processing step includes
The specified document is classified based on a use phrase that is data of the document specified from the selected display item, and the second display form is specified in advance in the data of the specified document Counting the number of documents based on
Generating data for displaying the aggregation result;
The search processing method according to supplementary note 1 including:

(Appendix 11)
The second processing step includes
Calculating a relevance level of a use phrase of a document identified from the selected display item;
Generating data for displaying the use phrase that is the next processing key and a line segment that connects the use phrases reflecting the relevance;
The search processing method according to supplementary note 1 including:

(Appendix 12)
The second processing step includes
Associating a document identified from the selected display item with a specific item pre-defined for the second display form;
Calculating a degree of association between an associated literature group and a use phrase that is data of the identified literature;
The associated document group is represented by the specific item, and data for displaying the degree of association between the associated document group and the use phrase with a connection line between the specific item and the use word is generated. And steps to
The search processing method according to supplementary note 1 including:

(Appendix 13)
Said document is a patent document,
The search processing method according to appendix 1, wherein the display item is bibliographic information of a patent document or a used phrase of the patent document.

(Appendix 14)
In the first and second processing steps,
The search processing method according to appendix 1, wherein a display program corresponding to a display form is designated and data for the display program is generated.

(Appendix 15)
The search processing method according to claim 1, wherein the first display form and the second display form are an arbitrary combination of predetermined display forms.

(Appendix 16)
Searching a predetermined document group according to a search condition designated by the user, and storing data of a plurality of documents extracted by the search in a storage device;
The data of a plurality of documents extracted by the search are processed into data for making each display item selectable as a next processing key and presented to the user in the first display form, and the processing result is output. A first processing step,
Extracting literature data corresponding to the display item selected directly or indirectly by the user and storing it in a storage device;
Document data corresponding to the selected display item can be selected as data that can be selected as the next processing key for each display item and presented to the user in the second display form designated by the user. A second processing step for processing and outputting the processing result;
A program that causes a computer to execute.

(Appendix 17)
Means for searching a predetermined document group according to a search condition designated by a user, and storing data of a plurality of documents extracted by the search in a storage device;
The data of a plurality of documents extracted by the search are processed into data for making each display item selectable as a next processing key and presented to the user in the first display form, and the processing result is output. Means to
Means for extracting document data corresponding to a display item selected directly or indirectly by the user and storing it in a storage device;
Document data corresponding to the selected display item can be selected as data that can be selected as the next processing key for each display item and presented to the user in the second display form designated by the user. Means for processing and outputting the processing result;
A search processing apparatus.

It is a figure which shows the functional block in one embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the main processing flow in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the data stored in literature DB. It is a figure which shows an example of the data stored in a related word data storage part. It is a figure which shows the example of a screen which presents the first search result. It is a figure which shows the processing flow for implement | achieving a 1st display form. It is a figure which shows the 1st display form. It is a figure which shows an example of the display form designation | designated column in a 1st display form. It is a figure which shows the 1st display form. It is a figure which shows the menu in a 1st display form. It is a figure which shows the main processing flow in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the processing flow for implement | achieving a 2nd display form. It is a figure which shows an example of the data stored in a relevance degree data storage part. It is a figure which shows the 2nd display form. It is a figure which shows the 3rd display form. It is a figure which shows the 2nd display form. It is a figure which shows the 4th display form. It is a figure which shows the processing flow for implement | achieving a 5th display form. It is a figure which shows the 5th display form. It is a figure which shows the 6th display form. It is a figure which shows the 5th display form. It is a figure which shows the menu in a 5th display form. It is a figure which shows the processing flow for implement | achieving a 7th display form. It is a figure which shows the 7th display form. It is a figure which shows the processing flow for implement | achieving the 8th display form. It is a figure which shows the 8th display form.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Network 3 Client terminal 5 Search server 31 Display apparatus 32 Input device 33 Client search interface part 34 Display processing part 51 Search processing part 52 Data operation part 53 Reference DB 54 Relevance data storage part 55 Related word data storage part

Claims (5)

A search processing method executed by a computer having a processing unit, a storage device, a relevance data table storage unit, and a literature database storing a predetermined literature group,
A first document extraction step of searching the document database according to a search condition designated by a user by the processing unit, and storing data of a first plurality of documents extracted by the search in the storage device;
The processing unit reads out the data of the first plurality of documents extracted by the first document extraction step and stored in the storage device, and selects information and display form related to the first plurality of documents to the user Generating and outputting search result screen data including information for generating
The processing unit reads out the data of the first plurality of documents extracted by the first document extraction step and stored in the storage device, and the relevance between the first plurality of documents and the first A first relevance calculating step of calculating at least one of the relevance between one of a plurality of documents and a word used in the document, and storing the relevance in a relevance data table storage unit;
Based on the data calculated by the first relevance calculation step and stored in the relevance data table storage by the processing unit, the first extracted by the first document extraction step and stored in the storage device 1st processing result screen which makes it possible to select data of a plurality of documents as each processing item as a next processing key and present to the user in a first display form designated by the user on the search result screen A first processing step for generating and outputting the data of
A second document extraction unit that extracts data of a second plurality of documents corresponding to the display item selected by the user on the first process result screen from the document database and stores the data in the storage device. Steps,
The processing unit reads the data of the second plurality of documents extracted by the second document extraction step and stored in the storage device, and the degree of relevance between the second plurality of documents and the second A second relevance level calculating step of calculating at least one of the relevance between one of the plurality of documents and a word used in the document, and storing the relevance in a relevance data table storage unit;
Based on the data calculated by the second relevance level calculating step and stored in the relevance level data table storage unit by the processing unit, the second data extracted by the second document extraction step and stored in the storage device The display items can be selected as the next processing key without generating and outputting the data of the search result screen for the data of the plurality of documents in 2 and the first specified by the user on the first processing result screen. A second processing step of generating and outputting data of a second processing result screen to be presented to the user in the display form of 2,
Search processing method including The first and second display forms are a form in which at least a plurality of documents to be processed are clustered by use words and presented with pre-defined display items;
A form in which a plurality of documents to be processed are displayed with a connection item representing a relevance calculated based on a display item defined in advance and a use phrase of each document;
A form in which a plurality of documents to be processed are classified and aggregated with respect to words used and displayed as a graph,
A form for displaying a use phrase of a plurality of documents to be processed and a connection line indicating a degree of association between the use phrases;
The degree of relevance between a group of documents associated with a specific item among a plurality of documents to be processed by the specific item and a use phrase that is data of the document to be processed with the specific item Displaying with a connecting line between the specific matter and the use phrase,
The search processing method according to claim 1, wherein the search processing method is any one of the above. In the first and second processing steps,
The search processing method according to claim 1, wherein a display program corresponding to a display form is designated and data for the display program is generated. The first processing step includes
Clustering each document using data read from the relevance data table storage by the processing unit;
Data related to display items defined in advance for the first display form from the data of the first plurality of documents extracted by the processing unit by the first document extraction step and stored in the storage device. Extracting the
Generating, by the processing unit, data for displaying each cluster as data related to the extracted display item as the next processing key;
The search processing method according to claim 1, comprising: A first document extraction step of searching a document database storing a predetermined document group according to a search condition designated by a user, and storing data of a first plurality of documents extracted by the search in a storage device;
The data of the first plurality of documents extracted by the first document extraction step and stored in the storage device is read, and information for allowing the user to select information on the first plurality of documents and a display form are selected. Generating and outputting search result screen data, including:
The data of the first plurality of documents extracted by the first document extraction step and stored in the storage device is read out, and the relevance between the first plurality of documents and the first plurality of documents A first relevance calculating step of calculating at least one of the relevance between one of the words and the phrase used in the document and storing the relevance in a relevance data table storage unit;
The first plurality of documents extracted by the first document extraction step and stored in the storage device based on the data calculated by the first relationship level calculation step and stored in the relationship level data table storage unit The first processing result screen data is generated so that each display item can be selected as the next processing key and presented to the user in the first display form designated by the user on the search result screen. A first processing step to output;
A second document extracting step of extracting data of a second plurality of documents corresponding to the display item selected by the user on the first processing result screen from the document database and storing the data in the storage device;
The data of the second plurality of documents extracted by the second document extraction step and stored in the storage device is read, and the relevance between the second plurality of documents and the second plurality of documents A second relevance calculating step of calculating at least one of the relevance between one of the words and the phrase used in the document and storing the relevance in the relevance data table storage unit;
The second plurality of documents extracted by the second document extraction step and stored in the storage device based on the data calculated by the second relationship level calculation step and stored in the relationship level data table storage unit The display data can be selected as the next processing key without generating and outputting the data of the search result screen, and the second display form designated by the user on the first processing result screen. A second processing step for generating and outputting data of a second processing result screen to be presented to the user;
A program that causes a computer to execute.

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