JPH11345237A - Method and device for presenting information, information presentation system and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information presenting device controllable of electronic information to be presented and its structure in a visualizable presentation form. SOLUTION: A presentation information control part 12 acquires the data to be presented which corresponding to an inputted information presentation request and consists of plural pieces of electronic information that is made corresponding to each item and presentation structure information that shows dependence relation between items of the data through a presentation information acquiring part 13 and inputs them to an information presenting part 16. The part 16 presents the dependence relation between the items of the presentation object data in a visually recognizable way based on the presentation structure information. When an operator selects an item, the part 12 acquires corresponding electronic information through the part 13, also makes a presentation structure information processing part 15 reflect an item selection result and updates the presentation structure information. Also, the part 16 which performs visually recognizable presentation that reflects the item selection result.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information presentation technique, and more particularly to a technique for presenting a dependency between items of digitized information having a plurality of items in a visible form.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a network environment constructed by a public network such as the Internet, information provision that allows users to provide and obtain category-related information to each other, such as a newsgroup related to a specific category. The environment is known. Conventional methods of presenting digitized information in such newsgroups, for example, provide answers to questions that tend to frequently occur from users, etc.
Guidance-based information is presented by collecting and accumulating in advance a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) list, and referencing the FAQ list to a new user or the like in a news group.

[0003] The FAQ list specifically categorizes digitized information including an assumed problem and its answer, an inquiry and its answer based on a certain rule, and presents the list. The user searches for a target item from the presented list of FAQs and acquires corresponding information.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of presenting a conventional FAQ list. FA to be presented in this example
The structure of the Q list is constructed from the categorized Q1 to Q6 question groups and the answer groups each linked to an individual question. The user obtains an associated answer, that is, presentation information by searching and selecting a question that matches a desired item, that is, a question from a list of questions. The user solves the question by repeating the search selection process.

[0005]

The information presentation method described above is a fixed presentation form based on the structure of an FAQ list created for a category to be presented. Therefore, for example, it is not possible to flexibly respond to a user request that changes in a time series. Specifically, when an information presentation system or the like that responds to a changing user's request is to be maintained, the system needs to be frequently maintained, but when the structure of the FAQ list changes, Requires a huge amount of time for maintenance.

[0006] Also, from the viewpoint of the user, the above-described information presentation method is a question-and-answer presentation format.
The dependency between the items in the AQ list is not defined. For this reason, it is necessary to recursively make inquiries until the user's questions are resolved, and the time required to resolve the questions becomes enormous.

[0007] It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved information presenting method capable of controlling digitized information to be presented and its structure in a visually recognizable presentation form. Another object of the present invention is to provide an information presentation device suitable for implementing the above information presentation method. Another object of the present invention is to provide a recording medium for realizing the above information presentation method and apparatus on a computer device.

[0008]

According to the present invention, there is provided an information presenting method for controlling a presentation form of presentation target data constructed by including a plurality of digitized information associated with each item. A method, based on a preset probability of item selection for each item of the presentation target data, generating presentation structure information representing a dependency relationship between the items of the presentation target data, and inputting the input information Dependency between the items of the presentation target data corresponding to the presentation request is presented in a form that is visually recognizable based on the presentation structure information, and the probability related to the selected item is calculated based on the selection result, Updating the presentation structure information in accordance with the calculation result, and presenting the presentation target data in a visible manner by reflecting the updated presentation structure information. .

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information presentation apparatus for controlling a presentation form of presentation target data constructed including a plurality of digitized information items associated with each item. A presentation structure information generating means for generating presentation structure information representing a dependency between items of the presentation target data based on a preset probability of item selection for each item of the presentation target data; An information presenting unit that presents a dependency relationship between items of the presentation target data corresponding to the information presentation request in a form that is visually recognizable based on the presentation structure information; Means for holding item selection information relating to the selectively specified item and presenting the digitized information corresponding to the specified item; Characterized in that a presentation structure information updating means for updating the presentation structure information based on.

The data to be presented is constructed, for example, in the form of a predetermined FAQ list relating to a specific category, in which a group of questions supposed in advance corresponding to each item and a group of answers respectively corresponding to the group of questions are aggregated. Is done. Alternatively, it is constructed in the form of an online manual including a predetermined help file related to a specific category.

[0011] Further, the presentation structure information generating means specifically calculates, for each item of the data to be presented, a prior probability and a posterior probability relating to a preset item selection based on a predetermined Bayes theorem. And calculating the transition probabilities between the items with respect to the item to which the item selection should transition from a specific item, and presenting the presentation structure information indicating the dependency between the items based on the calculation result, for example, for each operator. It is configured to generate.

The information presenting means may include, for example, a tree comprising a plurality of nodes corresponding to each of the items and a plurality of paths by line segments representing transitional relations between the nodes based on the presentation structure information. It is configured to be presented in structural form. In addition, the information indicating the selected state of the selectively specified item is configured to be visibly presented. Furthermore, the present invention is configured to present, in a combined form, an interface for visually presenting the dependency between items based on the presentation structure information and the digitized information corresponding to each item.

Further, the presentation structure information updating means recalculates, for example, the prior probability, the posterior probability and the transition probability for the corresponding item based on the item selection information, and reflects the calculation result. The presentation structure information is configured to be updated.

The information presentation system of the present invention is configured such that the information presentation device of the present invention is connected to a communication line, and that the digitized information circulated through the communication line is taken into the information presentation device. Things.

The recording medium of the present invention is a computer-readable recording medium on which a program for causing a computer device to execute the following processing is recorded. (1) For each item of the presentation target data constructed including a plurality of digitized information associated with each item, based on a predetermined probability of item selection, the items between the presentation target data items are determined. A process of generating presentation structure information representing a dependency relationship; (2) presenting a dependency relationship between items of the presentation target data corresponding to an information presentation request from an operator in a form that can be visually recognized based on the presentation structure information; (3) For the presented presentation target data, hold the item selection information on the items selectively specified by the operator, and present the digitized information corresponding to the specified items. Processing, (4) processing for updating the presentation structure information based on the item selection information.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. (First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing an embodiment of an information presenting apparatus to which the present invention is applied. This information presentation device 1 is realized by a computer device.
That is, the presentation information file 17 is built in the internal or external storage device of the computer device, and the CPU of the computer device reads and executes a predetermined program, so that the presentation request input unit 11, the presentation information control unit 12, the presentation information Acquisition unit 13, presentation structure information storage unit 1
4. The functional blocks of the presentation structure information processing unit 15 and the information presentation unit 16 are constructed.

The above program is usually stored in an internal storage device or an external storage device of a computer device, and is read and executed as needed.
A recording medium that can be separated from the computer device, for example, a CD
-Stored in a ROM, FD, or the like, or read from a program server or the like connected to the computer device through a line, installed in the internal storage device or the external storage device at the time of use, and provided for execution at any time; Is also good.

The presentation information file 17 is a file in which digitized information such as documents and images to be presented is stored, for example, in the form of a database. In the following description,
It is assumed that presentation target data constructed for each specific category (hereinafter, information category) is assumed, and digitized information is associated with each specific category (hereinafter, item) used as an index in the presentation target data. It is assumed that Further, as an example of the presentation target data, a predetermined FAQ list constructed including a plurality of digitized information for each information category will be described.

The presentation request input unit 11 receives a presentation request from an operator or the like input through an input interface such as a keyboard or a mouse (not shown) and performs input to the presentation information control unit 12. .

The presentation information control unit 12 controls the presentation processing of the presentation target data in cooperation with the presentation information acquisition unit 13 and the presentation structure information processing unit 15 in response to the input presentation request.

The presentation information acquisition unit 13 acquires presentation target data and digitization information corresponding to the input presentation request from the presentation information file 17 and acquires presentation structure information to be described later from the presentation structure information storage unit 14. And input it to the presentation information control 12.

The presentation structure information storage unit 14 stores presentation structure information indicating the structure of the data to be presented in the presentation information file 17. The presentation structure information is information for visually presenting the dependency relationship between items in the FAQ list in a tree structure (hereinafter, tree structure) form. In this case, dependencies between items are FAQ
This is a relationship indicating, for example, a hierarchy, an order, a similarity, etc., between items corresponding to the digitized information group forming the information category of the list, ie, items to be selected by the operator. Further, since the operator or the like specifies and selects a desired item based on these relationships, and pays attention to the case where selections are made continuously, these relationships are referred to as “transition relationships” of item selection. It can be said that it represents. Therefore, in the present embodiment, it is determined in advance whether or not each item is selected (or accessed, hereinafter consent) by an operator or the like based on a predetermined Bayes Theory, which is a probabilistic method. The probabilities and posterior probabilities are each calculated, and the conditional transition probabilities between items (hereinafter, transition probabilities) are calculated in consideration of item selection conditions for items to be transitioned from a specific item. Then, information including these calculated values is stored as presentation structure information in the presentation structure information storage unit 14 in association with, for example, each operator. In this presentation structure information, it is assumed that the initial presentation structure information is constructed by the above-described respective probabilities preset for each item in the FAQ list.

The presentation structure information processing section 15 updates presentation structure information in the presentation structure information storage section 14 based on an input presentation request. The update in this case is
For the item selected by the presentation request, the above-mentioned prior probability, posterior probability, and transition probability are each recalculated, and the calculated result is reflected in the presentation structure information and updated.

The information presenting section 16 presents the presentation target data and presentation structure information acquired by the presentation information acquiring section 13. This information presenting unit 16 is, for example,
It is configured using a presentation output interface such as a browser in a Web environment. In this presentation mode, the structure of the data group to be presented forming the FAQ list based on the presentation structure information is displayed in a visible manner, and the operator selects a desired item from this structure via the input interface. By doing so, the computerized information corresponding to the item is displayed.

Next, an information presenting method using the information presenting apparatus 1 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG.
Is a processing procedure diagram in the information presentation device 1 in this case. In the presentation request input unit 11, when a presentation request from an operator or the like is input (step S101), the presentation request is input to the presentation information control unit 12. The presentation request input in this case is, for example, an initial presentation request including designation of an information category relating to a desired FAQ list.

The presentation information control unit 12 inputs the obtained presentation request to the presentation information acquisition unit 13 and
In conjunction with, the presentation target data corresponding to the presentation request is acquired from the presentation information file 17 and the corresponding presentation structure information is acquired from the presentation structure information storage unit 14 (step S102).

Next, the presentation information control unit 12 presents the presentation target data and the presentation structure information acquired in cooperation with the information presentation unit 16 (step S103). In this case, for example, the structure of the FAQ list based on the presentation structure information and the interface for presenting the digitized information corresponding to each item may be presented in a combined form.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the structure of the FAQ list presented in the information presentation section 16 based on the presentation structure information. This diagram is a structure showing the dependency between items in the FAQ list, for example, presented based on the presentation structure information at the initial stage. Each question indicated by “Q1 to Q11” should be changed by an arrow. Each is associated with each question. Specifically, it is represented by a tree structure including “items” indicated by circular nodes (nodes) corresponding to the digitized information, and “transition relations” indicated by arrows. “Q1” is a root in the presentation target data, and represents an “information category” to which the FAQ list belongs.

When a presentation request from the operator or the like for the presentation target data and the presentation structure information is input by the presentation request input unit 11 (step S104), the presentation information control unit 12 To acquire the digitized information corresponding to the presentation request. The presentation request input is, for example, an operation input performed interactively via the input interface with respect to the FAQ list structure being presented on a presentation output interface such as a browser screen (not shown). A desired item, that is, a node is selected.

Next, the presentation information control unit 12 presents the digitized information acquired in cooperation with the information presentation unit 16 (step S105). The presentation information control unit 12 determines in step S1
04 (hereinafter, selection information) including the selected items and the selection order in the presentation request (step S106), and stores the selection information in the presentation structure information processing unit 15.
To enter.

The presentation structure information processing section 15 updates the presentation structure information by reflecting the selection information (step S10).
7). Specifically, for the item corresponding to the selection information, the above-described prior probabilities, posterior probabilities, and transition probabilities after the selection are recalculated, thereby updating the presentation structure information by reflecting the calculation results. Things. Along with this selected item, the transition relation for all related items, that is, the dependency between the items, changes.
From this, the dependency between items is learned and updated by reflecting the selection result from the operator or the like.

Further, when there is a presentation request for the item of the presentation target data (step S108: Yes), the process returns to step S104 and repeats the processing. In this case, for example, the item corresponding to the selection information held in step S106 may be configured to be presented so that the information indicating “selected” is visually reflected in the corresponding node in the next presentation. . On the other hand, if there is no input of the presentation request from the operator or the like (step S108: No), the process is terminated.

In the above-described processing procedure, for example, the presentation information acquisition unit 13 sequentially acquires digitized information of the presentation target data corresponding to the presentation request from the presentation information file 17 and sequentially presents the presentation information control unit 12 and the information presentation unit. 16 may be presented in coordination with FIG. Alternatively, the above step S
In step 102, the presentation information acquisition unit 13 collectively acquires and stores in advance all the digitized information related to the presentation target data corresponding to the presentation request at the initial stage, and responds to the presentation request from the presentation request input unit 11. The corresponding presentation processing may be performed via the presentation information control unit 12 and the information presentation unit 16.

In steps S104 to S107, the presentation structure information is updated every time a presentation request is input. For example, a series of repeated presentation request inputs is accumulated and held in step S106.
When the predetermined process such as the input of the presentation request is completed, the above-described probabilities may be recalculated collectively to update the presentation structure information.

In the present embodiment, the presentation structure information is configured to be held in the function block of the “storage unit”. For example, the presentation structure information is stored in the presentation information file 17 in the form of a database. It may be constructed in a form that includes it.

Further, when the presentation structure information is presented so as to be visually recognizable, the presentation structure information is presented in the form of a tree structure. However, the present invention is not limited to such a form. You may be comprised so that the dependence between items may be shown so that it may be grasped visually.

Further, the above description has been made assuming that the FAQ list is assumed in the presentation information file 17, but it is constructed from a structure having a plurality of items, such as an online manual including a help file and the like. The same applies to data in general.

As described above, the information presentation device 1 of the present embodiment
Then, by reflecting the presentation request from the operator or the like in the presentation structure information, compared to the fixed presentation form as in the conventional method, the presentation request from the operator or the like changing in time series is more flexible and It can respond more effectively.

Further, since the presentation form is based on the dependency between the items, the processing time required to resolve the questions of the operator or the like is longer than that of the conventional question-and-answer information presentation method. Can be greatly reduced.

Further, since the dependency between the items is defined based on the probability, for example, the optimal route (learning route) until the operator reaches the question point can be grasped on the tree structure. .

Further, since the selection result of the item from the operator or the like is reflected in the tree structure, the history of the previous selection result can be easily grasped at the next use, and more effective presentation can be performed. From this, for example, it is possible to infer an item that is frequently selected, such as an item in which a questionable point of an operator or the like is likely to occur, and a transition process of a questionable point, that is, a transition process of item selection. .

Further, by holding the presentation structure information for each operator, it becomes possible to use the data as a profile in accessing the presentation target data.

(Second Embodiment) The present invention is a system for browsing information on a large amount of digitized information distributed through a public network such as the Internet as a communication line, for example, a system functioning as the information presenting apparatus. client,
It is also possible to carry out the present invention in conformity with the form of an information browsing system provided with an information providing server functioning as an information providing device.

The client in this case is positioned as, for example, an information acquisition device for a plurality of large-scale databases on the Internet environment. As an example of the configuration, a communication control unit that performs communication with an information providing server via a public network is provided.
And a presentation request input unit 11, a presentation information control unit 12, a presentation information acquisition unit 13, a presentation structure information storage unit 14, a presentation structure information processing unit 15, and an information presentation unit 16. . On the other hand, the information providing server, for example, in the internal or external storage device of the computer device,
The same database as the presentation information file 17 is constructed, and a communication control unit for communicating with the client is provided.

The difference between the client and the information presenting apparatus 1 is that the client includes a known communication control unit for performing communication control, and a presentation from the information providing server corresponding to the presentation request of the presentation request input unit 11. The target data and the digitized information are configured to be input to the presentation information acquisition unit 13 via the communication control unit. In addition, by making the configuration in which the acquired presentation target data and the corresponding digitized information are stored in the client, the substitution is possible, and the same effect as that of the information presentation device 1 can be obtained.

In this information browsing system, as compared with the conventional system, for example, even when the structure of the data to be presented changes, it is based on the presentation structure information.
A system capable of promptly responding to a changing information presentation request from the client side without frequent maintenance of the system can be realized.

[0047]

As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, digitized information to be presented and its structure can be presented in a visually recognizable presentation form in a browser or the like. There is a specific effect that the interface can be realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of an information presentation device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a processing procedure diagram in the information presentation device.

FIG. 3 is a presentation example showing a dependency relationship between items in an FAQ list based on presentation structure information.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing a presentation form of a conventional FAQ list.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Information presentation apparatus 11 Presentation request input part 12 Presentation information control part 13 Presentation information acquisition part 14 Presentation structure information storage part 15 Presentation structure information processing part 16 Information presentation part 17 Presentation information file

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. A method for controlling a presentation mode of presentation target data constructed including a plurality of digitized information items associated with each item, wherein each of the presentation target data items is set in advance. Based on the probability related to the item selection, presentation structure information indicating a dependency relationship between the items of the presentation target data is generated, and the dependency relationship between the items of the presentation target data corresponding to the input information presentation request is determined. Presenting the information in a viewable form based on the presentation structure information, calculating the probability of the selected item based on the selection result, updating the presentation structure information according to the calculation result, An information presentation method, characterized by presenting the presentation target data in a visible manner by reflecting the presented presentation structure information. 2. An apparatus for controlling a presentation form of presentation target data constructed by including a plurality of digitized information associated with each item, wherein each of the items of the presentation target data is set in advance. A presentation structure information generating means for generating presentation structure information representing a dependency relationship between items of the presentation target data based on a probability related to item selection; and an inter-item of the presentation target data corresponding to an information presentation request from an operator. Information presenting means for presenting the dependency relationship in the form visible based on the presentation structure information, and holding item selection information on items selectively specified by the operator with respect to the presented presentation target data Means for presenting the digitized information corresponding to the specified item, and updating the presentation structure information based on the item selection information Information presentation apparatus comprising: the forming information updating means. 3. The presentation target data is constructed in the form of a predetermined FAQ list relating to a specific category, in which a group of questions supposed in advance corresponding to each item and a group of answers corresponding to each of the question groups are aggregated. 3. The information presentation device according to claim 2, wherein 4. The information presentation apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said presentation target data is constructed in the form of an online manual including a predetermined help file relating to a specific category. 5. The presentation structure information generating means calculates, for each item of the presentation target data, a prior probability and a posterior probability relating to a preset item selection based on a predetermined Bayes theorem. It is characterized in that it is configured to calculate transition probabilities between items for an item to be transited from a specific item, and to generate presentation structure information indicating a dependency between the items based on the calculation result. The information presentation device according to claim 2, wherein 6. The information presentation apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said presentation structure information generating means is configured to generate said presentation structure information for each operator. 7. The present invention according to claim 2, wherein the presentation target data and the presentation structure information are constructed by being included in a database storing the plurality of digitized information. Information presentation device as described. 8. The information presenting means, based on the presentation structure information, has a tree structure composed of a plurality of nodes corresponding to the respective items and a plurality of paths by line segments representing transition relations between the nodes. The information presentation device according to claim 2, wherein the information presentation device is configured to be presented in a form. 9. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the information presenting means is configured to visually present information indicating the selected state for the selectively specified item. Information presentation device. 10. The information presenting means presents in a combined form an interface for visually presenting dependency between items based on the presentation structure information and the digitized information corresponding to each item. The information presentation device according to claim 2, wherein the information presentation device is configured as described above. 11. The presentation structure information updating means recalculates the prior probability, the posterior probability, and the transition probability for a corresponding item based on the item selection information,
The information presentation device according to claim 2, wherein the presentation structure information is configured to be updated by reflecting the calculation result. 12. An information presenting apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said information presenting apparatus is connected to a communication line, and digitized information circulated through said communication line is taken into said information presenting apparatus. The configured information presentation system. 13. For each item of the presentation target data constructed including a plurality of digitized information associated with each item, the item of the presentation target data is set based on a preset probability related to item selection. A process of generating presentation structure information representing a dependency relationship between items; presenting a dependency relationship between items of the presentation target data corresponding to an information presentation request from an operator in a viewable form based on the presentation structure information; Processing, for the presented presentation target data, holding the item selection information on the item selectively specified by the operator, and presenting the digitized information corresponding to the specified item; A process of updating the presentation structure information based on the selection information; A recording medium that can be.