JPH0736924A - Information retrieval device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide the information retrieval device which efficiently retrieves necessary information in a large amount of information and enables a user to easily recognize the retrieval result. CONSTITUTION:A classification for retrieval is inputted from a classification menu selection part 2 and a path based on the classification is extracted by a path extraction part 4B. A key word is inputted from a retrieval character string input part 3 and information is retrieved in a data base 5 based on the key word and the path extracted by the path extraction part 4B. A retrieval quantity detection part 4E detects the number of retrieved pieces of information. A gradation determination part 4D inputs the number detected by a retrieval quantity calculation part 4D and determines gradations corresponding to the number. A display part 6 displays the determined gradations in an area corresponding to the classification for the retrieval according to a display indication from a tree structure management part 4A.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information retrieving apparatus, and more particularly to an information retrieving apparatus capable of visually recognizing a retrieval result easily when a large amount of information is targeted for retrieval.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional information retrieval device, generally, a large amount of information is read out from a database that is hierarchically classified and managed, and information corresponding to a keyword input by a user is read out and displayed in a one-dimensional list. To do. In the above-mentioned information retrieval device, the retrieval target is one of the database classifications that is predetermined by the system, and the user preliminarily determines at which position in the database the classification exists. Need to know.
Further, in the above information search device, since the search results are listed one-dimensionally, it is difficult to grasp the search results when the number of search results is large. In order to solve such a problem, in the information search device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 5-0627709 by the present applicant, a plurality of classifications in an arbitrary hierarchy is selected as a search target from the entire classification of the database,
The number of pieces of information corresponding to the search condition is displayed in the area on the screen corresponding to the classification. According to this information retrieval device, required information can be retrieved efficiently from a large amount of information.

[0003]

In the above-mentioned conventional information retrieval apparatus, the number of pieces of information corresponding to the retrieval condition is displayed, and the user has to recognize the retrieval result by comparing the displayed number of categories. There is. Therefore, if the number of categories selected as the search target increases, it takes time for the user to recognize the search result.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and is an information retrieval apparatus capable of efficiently retrieving necessary information from a large amount of information and allowing a user to easily recognize a retrieval result. The purpose is to provide.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art and to achieve the above-mentioned object, the information retrieval apparatus of the present invention hierarchically classifies stored information and selects all of them or selects them. When searching for information belonging to one or more classifications in an arbitrary hierarchy according to the search conditions, the above-mentioned search is performed from among a plurality of predetermined patterns in which mutual differences can be easily distinguished by visual observation. It is characterized in that a specific pattern is determined according to the number of pieces of information, and the determined pattern is output to the area corresponding to each of the selected classifications. By representing this pattern using a plurality of different types of colors or different gradations, or by representing this pattern as a histogram, the differences between the patterns can be easily discriminated visually.

[0006]

In the information processing method of the present invention, for example, a user inputs a keyword and a classification to be searched using an input means such as a keyboard. Then, the search means searches the information belonging to the inputted classification of the storage means for information that matches the inputted keyword. Then, the determining means determines a specific pattern according to the number of the retrieved information from among a plurality of predetermined patterns whose mutual differences can be easily discriminated from each other visually. Then, the display unit displays the determined pattern in the area corresponding to the input classification.

[0007]

EXAMPLE A first example will be described. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the information search device 1 of the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the information search device 1 includes a classification menu selection unit 2, a search character input unit 3, an information search unit 4, a database 5 and a display unit 6. In the information search device 1, search conditions are input from the classification menu selection unit 2 and the search character input unit 3,
Information corresponding to this search condition is read from the database 5 by the information search unit 4, and the search result is displayed on the display unit 6.

The database 5 stores a plurality of pieces of information based on the classification having a hierarchical structure as shown in FIG. 4, for example. In the hierarchical structure shown in FIG. 4, the roots, that is, the classifications "B-1" to the lower layers of the classification "A-1" of the uppermost layer.
It has “B-3”, and further has classifications “C-1” to “C-5” below the classification “B-1” and classifications “C-6” to “C” below the classification “B-2”. -8 "and classification" B-3 "have classification" C-9 "to" C-15 ". This hierarchical structure is managed by the tree structure management unit 4A. Further, in the database 5, as shown in FIG. 2, each piece of data (information) D1, D2, D3 ... Is, for example, a classification path name P1, P2, P3 ... From the root and keywords K1, K2, K3. .. as an attribute.

As the classification menu selection unit 2, for example, a mouse is used to select a classification (range) to be searched from the classifications in the database 5. This selection is made, for example, by the user clicking the area of the classification to be selected on the display image on the display unit 6 with the mouse. The classification selected by the classification menu selection unit 2 is output to the tree structure management unit 4A of the information search unit 4.

A keyboard or the like is used as the search character input unit 3, and a search condition (search character string) for extracting necessary information is input according to a user operation. As the search condition, for example, a folder name, a file name, an owner name and a keyword are used. Further, the search condition input to the search character input unit 3 is output to the AND search unit 4C of the information search unit 4.

As shown in FIG. 1, the information retrieval section 4 is composed of a tree structure management section 4A, a path extraction section 4B, an AND retrieval section 4C, a gradation determination section 4D and a retrieval number detection section 4E. The tree structure management unit 4A manages the hierarchical information structure of the database 5. Also, the tree structure management unit 4A
Outputs to the display unit 6 a display instruction for displaying the display area corresponding to the classification selected by the classification menu selection unit 2 using the gradation determined by the gradation determination unit 4D described later.

The path extraction unit 4B includes a classification menu selection unit 2
The path name is extracted from the root of the classification selected in and the number is counted.

The AND search unit 4C performs an AND search from the database 5 for information satisfying a combination of an arbitrary path name and search character string extracted by the path extraction unit 4B.

The number-of-searches detecting unit 4E is an AND searching unit 4C.
Count the number of information retrieved in.

The gradation determination unit 4D is based on a gradation conversion table stored in advance, and the AND search unit 4D.
The number of information retrieved in C, that is, the retrieval number detection unit 4E
Determine the gradation according to the number counted in. As shown in FIG. 3, the gradation conversion table 20 is, for example, a table in which a corresponding gradation is assigned to the number of searches of a predetermined width, and a gradation having a large number of dots per inch is assigned as the number of searches increases. . For example, gradation 20B is assigned when the number of searches is "3", and gradation 20F is assigned when the number of searches is "20". The gradation determined by the gradation determination unit 4D is output to the tree structure management unit 4A.

The display unit 6 displays an image according to the display instruction from the tree structure management unit 4A of the information search unit 4. For example, the display unit 6 is in a nested state in which the upper layer of the classification encloses the lower layer as shown in FIG. 5 according to the display instruction from the tree structure management unit 4A, as shown in FIG. Display with.

The information search processing in the information search device 1 will be described below. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the information search process in the information search device 1. Step S1: When the information search process in the information search device 1 starts, the image 30 as shown in FIG. 6 is displayed on the display unit 6. In this image 30, according to the hierarchical structure of the database 5 shown in FIG. 4, the upper layer of the classification is displayed in a nested state so as to wrap the lower layer. That is, for the upper layer classification "A-1", the lower layer classification "B-1",
"B-2" and "B-3" are nested and classification "B-2"
-1 ", the lower layer classifications" C-1 "to" C-5 "
Are nested, and the classes "C-6" to "C-8" in the lower layers are nested with respect to the class "B-2", and the class "B-
3 ”to the lower layer classification“ C-9 ”to“ C-15 ”
Becomes a nest.

Step S2: The user uses the classification menu selection unit 2 to select whether the search range is the entire classification or a partial classification. Specifically, when a mouse is used as the classification menu selection unit 2, the classification to be searched is clicked and selected from the image 30 as shown in FIG. For example, when selecting all the classifications as a search target, the classification "A-1" which is the root is clicked and selected with the mouse. FIG. 7 shows classifications “C-3” and “B-
The case where "2" and "C-12" are selected is illustrated, and the color of the region corresponding to the selected classification is displayed in reverse. If all classifications are selected using the classification menu selection unit 2, the process of step S13 is executed,
When some classifications are selected, the process of step S3 is executed. In the case of FIG. 7, the process of step S3 is executed.

Step S3: This is executed when a part of the classification is selected in step S2, and the flag corresponding to the selected classification is turned on. Step S13: This is executed when all the classifications are selected in step S2, and the flags corresponding to all the classifications are turned on.

Step S4: The path extracting unit 4B extracts the path name from the root of the flagged classification from the tree structure management unit 4A and counts the number of classifications (n). This extraction of the path name is performed by, for example, as shown in FIG.
-3 "," B-2 "and" C-12 "are step S2.
When selected in, the path name of the classification "C-3" is / A-1 / B-1 / C- as shown in FIG.
3 ”is extracted, and the path name of the classification“ B-2 ”is“ /
"A-1 / B-2" is extracted, and "/ A-1 / B-3 / C-12" is extracted as the path name of the classification "C-12". The extracted path name is used in the search in step S6 described later. Further, in step S10 described later, a variable i used when determining whether or not the recursive process is performed is initialized, that is, set to “0”.

Step S5: A search character string required for a search is input from the search character input unit 3 in accordance with a user operation.

Step S6: The AND search section 4C searches the information stored in the database 5 based on the path name extracted in the above step S4 and the search character string input in the step S5. That is, of the information belonging to the category corresponding to the path name extracted in step S4, the information satisfying the condition of the search character string input in step S5 is searched.

Step S7: Count the number of information retrieved in step S6.

Step S8: The gradation corresponding to the number counted in step S6 is determined with reference to the gradation conversion table 20 shown in FIG. According to this gradation conversion table 20, as described above,
The larger the counted number is, the gradation with the larger number of dots per inch is determined.

Step S9: The variable i is incremented by one.

Step S10: It is determined whether or not the variable i incremented in step S9 is larger than the classification number n counted in step S4. That is, it is determined whether or not the search has been performed for all the path names selected in step S2. When it is determined that the variable i is larger than the number of classifications n, step S11
Process is executed, and if not, the process of step S6 is executed again.

Step S11: The tree structure management unit 4A outputs the display signal created based on the gradation determined in step S8 to the display unit 6 to display the image 36 as shown in FIG. In the image 36, for example, in step S7, the number of searches for the classification “C-3” is 3, and the classifications “C-6” and “C-” in the lower layers of the classification “B-2” are searched.
7 "and" C-8 "were searched for 0 and 15 respectively
This is an example in which the number of searches is 0, and the number of searches for the category “C-12” is 6. That is, step S
8, classification “C-3”, “C-6”, “C-7”,
As gradations of "C-8" and "C-12", 20B, 20A, 20E, 20A and 2 respectively.
0C is determined, and the regions in the image 26 of each classification are displayed in the determined gradation.

As described above, according to the information retrieving apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, as shown in the image 26 of FIG. 9, the area corresponding to the classification as the retrieval target becomes the number of pieces of information satisfying the retrieval condition. It is displayed using the corresponding gradation. At this time, since the region corresponding to the classification having the larger number of retrievals is displayed using the gradation having the larger number of dots per inch, the region corresponding to the classification having the larger retrievals is displayed with a higher density. As a result, when the user looks at the image 26 shown in FIG. 9 at a glance, the user can recognize the number of searches in each category at a glance without comparing the number of searches.
The search efficiency can be further improved as compared with the conventional case.

The second embodiment will be described. The information search apparatus of the present embodiment differs from the information search apparatus of the first embodiment described above only in the gradation conversion table used by the gradation determination unit 4D. Figure 10. It is a figure for demonstrating the gradation conversion table which the gradation determination part 4D of a present Example uses. While the gradation conversion table 20 of the first embodiment described above shows the relationship between the number of searches and the gradation of density, the gradation 40 of this embodiment shows the relationship between the number of searches and the color gradation. For example, when the number of searches is "1-4", the gradation of "light yellow" is determined, and when the number of searches is "25-29", it is "blue".
The gradation of is determined. In the case of the first embodiment, for example, the classification “C-3” shown in FIG. 9 is “light yellow”,
The classifications “C-6”, “C-7” and “C-8” are displayed as “white”, “green” and “white”, and the classification “C-12” is displayed as “yellow”.

According to the information retrieving apparatus of this embodiment, by visually recognizing the color difference, like the information retrieving apparatus 1 of the first embodiment described above, at first glance at the image showing the retrieval result, the number of retrievals is found. It is possible to recognize the number of searches in each category at a glance without comparing the sizes of the search results, and it is possible to further improve the search efficiency compared to the conventional case.

A third embodiment will be described. Unlike the information retrieval apparatus of the first and second embodiments described above, the information retrieval apparatus of the present embodiment has a height corresponding to the number of retrievals in the area corresponding to each classification on the display screen, as shown in FIG. Display a histogram with. Even in the information search apparatus of the present embodiment, by visually recognizing the height of the histogram, similar to the information search apparatus 1 of the first embodiment described above, at first glance at the image showing the search results, it is possible to compare the number of search results. You can recognize the number of searches in each category at first glance,
The search efficiency can be further improved as compared with the conventional case.

[0032]

According to the information retrieving apparatus of the present embodiment, by visually observing the image showing the retrieval result, the number of retrievals of each classification can be recognized at a glance without comparing the magnitude of the number of retrievals. , The search efficiency can be further improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an information search device according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining data stored in a database of the information search device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a gradation conversion table used in a gradation determination unit of the information search device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a hierarchical structure included in a database of the information search device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a search process of the information search device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a display image on the display unit in step S1 of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a display image on the display unit in step S2 of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the path name extracted by the path extracting unit in step S4 of FIG.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a display image on the display unit in step S11 of FIG.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a gradation conversion table used by a gradation determining unit of the information search device according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a display image on the display unit of the information search device according to the third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ... Information search device 2 ... Classification menu selection unit 3 ... Search character input unit 4 ... Information search unit 4A ... Tree structure management unit 4B ... Path extraction unit 4C ... AND Search unit 4D ... Gradation determination unit 4E ... Search number detection unit 5 ... Database 6 ... Display unit 20, 40 ... Gradation conversion table 30, 36 ... Image

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A retrieval device that hierarchically classifies stored information and retrieves information belonging to all categories or to one or more categories in a selected arbitrary hierarchy according to a retrieval condition. From among a plurality of predetermined patterns in which the difference can be easily discriminated visually, a specific pattern is determined according to the number of the retrieved information, and the determined pattern is assigned to each of the selected classifications. An information retrieval device characterized by outputting to a corresponding area. 2. A storage unit for storing information hierarchically classified, an input unit for inputting a keyword and a classification to be searched for, and the information inputted from the information belonging to the inputted classification of the storage unit. A specific pattern according to the number of the searched information is determined from a search means for searching the information matching the keyword and a plurality of predetermined patterns whose mutual differences can be easily discriminated visually. An information retrieval apparatus, comprising: a determining unit that outputs the determined pattern and an output unit that outputs the determined pattern in an area corresponding to the input classification. 3. The information search device according to claim 1, wherein the pattern is represented by using a plurality of different types of colors. 4. The information retrieving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pattern is expressed with different gradations. 5. The information search device according to claim 1, wherein the pattern is represented as a histogram.