JPH05314182A - Information retrieving device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a device by which a retrieval can easily proceed to an appropriate direction in which a satisfactory result can be obtained in an information retrieving device which outputs the number of retrieval expressions indicated by a user established in an objective document. CONSTITUTION:The device is equipped with a key word input accepting means 10 which accepts the key word input of the user, retrieved result offering means 12 which finds the number of the retrieval expressions decided by the key words of the accepted user input established in the objective document, and presents the pertinent retrieval expressions and the searched number to the user, relating term preparing means 14 which prepares the relating terms of the retrieval expressions presented by the retrieved result presenting means 12, and retrieved result prediction presenting means 16 which finds the number of the retrieval expressions presenting the presented key words and the prepared relating terms established in the objective document, and presents the pertinent number and the prepared relating words to the user.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information search apparatus for outputting the number of cases in which a search expression indicated by a user is satisfied in a target document.

[0002] In this type of device, a user advances a search by successively inputting keywords.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art When a user inputs a first keyword, the number of cases in which a search expression of only this keyword is satisfied in a target document is displayed.

Then, the user repeatedly inputs the keyword and the logical operator until a satisfactory display result is obtained,
The content of the search formula is updated for each of these inputs, and the number of records is displayed.

[0005]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Whether a satisfactory search result can be obtained or whether the search is proceeding in that direction is required until a new keyword or logical operation expression is input and the search result is confirmed. I can't judge.

Therefore, it is difficult for a user who is not familiar with the database of the target document to determine an appropriate keyword or logical operation expression, and it is difficult to predict the search result (the number of cases).

Therefore, inconveniences such as an inappropriate keyword or a logical operation expression being input to perform an unnecessary search, meaningless contents being mixed in the search results, and a search performed in the past cannot be reproduced. I was invited.

The present invention has been made in view of the above conventional circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus capable of easily advancing a search in an appropriate direction to obtain a satisfactory result. ..

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, an information retrieval apparatus according to the present invention is configured as shown in FIG. 1, and the apparatus of the first invention is a keyword input acceptance for accepting a keyword input of a user. Means 10, search result presenting means 12 for finding the number of cases in which a search expression defined by the accepted user input keyword is satisfied in the target document, and presenting the search expression and the obtained number to the user The related word generating means 14 for generating a related word of the search expression presented by the means 12, and the number of cases in which the search expression including the presented keyword and the generated related word are satisfied in the target document are calculated and the number of cases is calculated. Search result prediction presenting means 16 for presenting the generated related word to the user.

The apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention further comprises a keyword input accepting means 10 for accepting a user's keyword input, and the number of cases in which a search expression defined by the accepted user input keyword is satisfied in the target document and the search expression is obtained. Search result presenting means 12 for presenting the obtained number to the user, related word generating means 14 for generating the related word of the search formula presented by the search result presenting means 12, the presented keyword and the generated related word. A search result prediction presenting means 16 for presenting the number of cases in which a search expression including and holds in the target document and presenting the number of cases and the generated related words to the user, and the presented keyword input by the user were presented. A search in which a search expression including the word specified by the user and the logical operator selected by the user from the related words is given to the search result presenting means 12 instead of the keyword input by the user. It has a generating means 18, a.

Further, the apparatus of the third invention comprises a keyword input accepting means 10 for accepting a keyword input of a user,
Search result presenting means 12 for finding the number of cases in which a search expression defined by the received user input keyword is satisfied in the target document and presenting the search expression and the obtained number to the user.
The related word generating means 14 for generating the related word of the search expression presented by the search result presenting means 12 and the number of cases in which the search expression including the presented keyword and the generated related word are satisfied in the target document are obtained. A search result prediction presenting means 16 for presenting the number of cases and the generated related words to the user, a keyword specified by the user from the presented keyword input by the user, and a related operator presented, and a logical operator selected by the user. The content presented to the user by the search expression creating means 18, which provides the search result presenting means 12 with the search expression containing "" instead of the keyword input by the user, the search result presenting means 12 and the search result expecting presenting means 16 is stored. A search history storage means 20 and a search history presentation means 22 for presenting to the user the contents stored in the search history storage means 20 when a search expression is obtained by the search result presentation means 12. Having.

The apparatus according to the fourth aspect of the present invention comprises a keyword input accepting means 10 for accepting a keyword input of a user,
Search result presenting means 12 for finding the number of cases in which a search expression defined by the received user input keyword is satisfied in the target document and presenting the search expression and the obtained number to the user.
The related word generating means 14 for generating the related word of the search expression presented by the search result presenting means 12 and the number of cases in which the search expression including the presented keyword and the generated related word are satisfied in the target document are obtained. A search result prediction presenting means 16 for presenting the number of cases and the generated related words to the user, a keyword specified by the user from the presented keyword input by the user, and a related operator presented, and a logical operator selected by the user. The content presented to the user by the search expression creating means 18, which provides the search result presenting means 12 with the search expression containing "" instead of the keyword input by the user, the search result presenting means 12 and the search result expecting presenting means 16 is stored. A search history storage means 20 and a search history presentation means 22 for presenting to the user the contents stored in the search history storage means 20 when a search expression is obtained by the search result presentation means 12. With a search-history storage unit 20 gives the expression specified user from the search has been stored equation in place of the keyword of the user input history recycling means 18.

[0013]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the user decides the contents of the search formula by inputting a keyword and performs the search, the number of items obtained by the search formula including the words related to the search formula and the conditions of the related words is also obtained. The related word presented to the user becomes a candidate for a keyword to be input next, and the number of related words serves as a reference material when selecting a related word of a keyword candidate.

In the second invention, when the user designates one of the presented related words and selects the logical operator, the conditions determined by these are automatically added to the retrieval formulas up to then, and the conditional formula is used. The search will proceed.

In the third invention, the search history is accumulated and stored every time the search is advanced, and when a new search result is presented to the user, the search history up to that point is also presented. This presentation of the search history can be used to grasp the current degree of progress of the search.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, when the user specifies any one of the search expressions included in the search history accumulated and stored in the past, the search expression is reused and the search is restarted from this history position.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of an information retrieval apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings (FIGS. 2 to 8).

FIG. 2 illustrates the configuration of the embodiment,
In the figure, the input display unit 50 includes a keyboard 52 and a display 54. The keyboard 52 is used by the user for inputting keywords and the like, and the display 54 displays and outputs the search result and the like to the user.

Further, the number calculation unit 56 outputs the search result by referring to the inverted file 58, and the inverted file 58 outputs the word, the identification number of the file in which the word exists, and the number of words in the file ( And the number of records are stored in the corresponding fields.

Further, the related word extraction unit 60 refers to the related word table 62 and outputs the related words, and the related word table 62 is output.
Stores a large number of records in which a word, a list of related words, and the number of related words (number of cases) are stored in corresponding fields.

The writing unit 64 writes the search history in the search history file storage unit 66, and the selection unit 68 reads the search history from the search history file storage unit 66. These input display unit 50, number calculation unit 56, related word extraction unit 60,
The writing unit 64 and the selecting unit 68 are controlled by the control processing unit 70, and the control contents will be described below with reference to FIG.

The user inputs the keyboard 52 of the input display section 50.
When you input a keyword by operating (Step 30
0), the case count calculation unit 56 refers to the inverted file 58 using this keyword, and the display 54 of the input display unit 50 displays and outputs the number of cases obtained by the case count calculation unit 56 and the keyword at that time (step). 302).

Then, the related word extracting unit 60 also refers to the related word table 62 by the inputted keyword to extract the related word corresponding to the keyword (step 304), and also obtains the logical product of the related word and the keyword. The number of cases obtained is calculated (step 306), and the input display unit 50 is further calculated.
The display 54 displays the related word and the number of cases obtained by the related word extraction unit 60 (step 308).

In FIG. 4, the display 5 at this time is shown.
4 is explained, the keyword (information) and the number of cases obtained for the keyword are displayed in one line on the upper side of the screen, and the related words and the number of cases acquired for the related words are left-justified in the lower area. The list is displayed in descending order of number.

The user can recognize the related word being displayed as a keyword candidate from the list display of the related word and the number of cases obtained for the related word, and can grasp the number of cases obtained when the related word is selected. That is, the user can easily confirm the keywords that can advance the search in an appropriate direction from these displays.

When the user selects any of the related words displayed here, a search expression which is the logical product of the displayed keyword (search expression) and the selected related word is automatically generated ( Yes in step 310).

FIG. 5 explains the display contents of the expression when the related word "extract" is selected while the keyword "information" is displayed, and the search expression up to that point is "information".
Is automatically updated to a new one that takes the logical product of
Therefore, the input operation of the search formula is simple and easy.

When any of the related words is selected and a new search expression is obtained, a list of the related words and the number of items is stored in the screen (display memory) (step 312), and then the new search expression is used. The retrieved search is performed in the same manner as above.

FIG. 6 shows the screen display at that time, and the list of related words and the number of cases is also displayed at this time.
Moreover, since the previous list remains, the user can easily determine whether or not the search is proceeding in the appropriate direction.

When the search using the related words is further advanced, the progress of the search at that time can be easily grasped from the display of each list, and the search formulas of these lists are also accumulated on the screen. Since it is left like, the difference of each search formula is clarified, the related term is selected, the new keyword is input, and the logical operator (and, not, etc. can be used)
Available for selection.

When the search is advanced by using a keyword other than the related word, the user inputs a new keyword and indicates this (Yes in step 314). When returning to the previous search, the user instructs this (step 3
16 (Yes), for example, the latest list is deleted from the display of FIG. 6 and the display of FIG. 5 is restored (step 31).
8).

When the search is temporarily terminated (No in step 316), all search histories (each history is a record having the number of items, the search formula, the date, and the time as the field contents) are all as shown in FIG. Is displayed (step 320),
These data are written from the writing unit 64 to the search history file storage unit 66 (step 322).

When the search is restarted after that,
When the user gives an instruction to use the displayed history (Yes in step 324), the input for selecting the displayed history is accepted (step 326), and the search processing is performed from the position of the selected history. It will be restarted.

That is, the user can reuse the saved search expression and can immediately restart the search operation from the state of the search expression.

[0035]

As described above, according to the present invention, when a search is performed and the result is displayed, a word related to this search expression and a search expression obtained by adding a condition of the related word are obtained. The number of cases is presented to the user as a keyword candidate and the prediction of search results when this candidate is adopted,
Since the user is supported, it is possible to proceed with the search in an appropriate direction very easily.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the principle of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an example.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a display screen of search results and related words.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of an edit screen of a search expression for narrowing down.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a display screen after a narrowed search.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a search expression history display screen.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a search history display screen.

[Explanation of symbols]

 50 input display section 52 keyboard 54 display 56 number of calculation section 58 inverted file 60 related word extraction section 62 related word table 64 writing section 66 selection section 70 control processing section

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A keyword input accepting means (10) for accepting a user's keyword input, and a number of cases in which a search expression defined by the accepted user input keyword is satisfied in a target document, and the search expression and the number obtained Search result presenting means (12) for presenting and to the user
A related word generating means (14) for generating a related word of the search expression presented by the search result presenting means (12); and a search expression including the presented keyword and the generated related word in the target document. An information retrieval device, comprising: a retrieval result prediction presenting means (16) for obtaining the number of cases to be established and presenting the number of cases and the generated related words to the user. 2. A keyword input accepting means (10) for accepting a keyword input of a user, and a number of cases in which a search formula defined by the accepted keyword of the user input is satisfied in a target document, and the search formula is obtained. Search result presenting means (12) for presenting and to the user
A related word generating means (14) for generating a related word of the search expression presented by the search result presenting means (12); and a search expression including the presented keyword and the generated related word in the target document. A search result prediction presenting means (16) for obtaining the number of cases that are satisfied and presenting the number of cases and the generated related words to the user, and a keyword specified by the user from the presented keyword input by the user and the presented related word. A search formula creating means (1) for giving a search formula including the logical operator selected by the user to the search result presenting means (12) in place of the keyword input by the user.
8) An information search device comprising: 3. A keyword input accepting means (10) for accepting a user's keyword input, and a number of cases in which a search formula defined by the accepted user-input keyword is satisfied in a target document, and the search formula and the number of cases are obtained. Search result presenting means (12) for presenting and to the user
A related word generating means (14) for generating a related word of the search expression presented by the search result presenting means (12); and a search expression including the presented keyword and the generated related word in the target document. A search result prediction presenting means (16) for obtaining the number of cases that are satisfied and presenting the number of cases and the generated related words to the user, and a keyword specified by the user from the presented keyword input by the user and the presented related word. A search formula creating means (1) for giving a search formula including the logical operator selected by the user to the search result presenting means (12) in place of the keyword input by the user.
8), search result presentation means (12) and search result prediction presentation means (1
6) the search history storage means (20) for storing and storing the content presented to the user, and the content stored in the search history storage means (20) when the search expression is obtained by the search result presentation means (12). And a search history presenting means (22) for presenting to the user. 4. A keyword input accepting means (10) for accepting a user's keyword input, and a number of cases in which a search expression defined by the accepted user-input keyword is satisfied in a target document, and the search expression is obtained. Search result presenting means (12) for presenting and to the user
A related word generating means (14) for generating a related word of the search expression presented by the search result presenting means (12); and a search expression including the presented keyword and the generated related word in the target document. A search result prediction presenting means (16) for obtaining the number of cases that are satisfied and presenting the number of cases and the generated related words to the user, and a keyword specified by the user from the presented keyword input by the user and the presented related word. A search formula creating means (1) for giving a search formula including the logical operator selected by the user to the search result presenting means (12) in place of the keyword input by the user.
8), search result presentation means (12) and search result prediction presentation means (1
6) the search history storage means (20) for storing and storing the content presented to the user, and the content stored in the search history storage means (20) when the search expression is obtained by the search result presentation means (12). To the search result presenting means (12), which replaces the expression specified by the user from the search expression stored in the search history storing means (20) with the keyword input by the user. History reusing means to give (1
8) An information search device comprising: