JPH09153060A - Information retrieval method and device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Object] In the configuration of a conventional information retrieval device, a keyboard or other character string input means for inputting a keyword is required, and is generally applied to a television receiver or the like having no character string input. It is difficult to specify the location information of the computer to be searched when the information is distributed and stored in the distributed network environment. SOLUTION: A unit information input unit 2 capable of inputting unit information whose content is similar to the unit information to be searched to an information search apparatus 1 for realizing an agent function, and a distributed network of related information included in the unit information. Position information extraction means 3 for extracting position information in the environment is provided. Further, by repeatedly reusing the agent, it is provided with means 4 to 9 that can adapt to the same type of search request and can efficiently determine the position of the computer to be searched.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention retrieves unit information that matches a condition designated by a user from a large number of unit information that are distributed and stored in each computer under a distributed network environment, and outputs the result to the user. The present invention relates to an information retrieval method having an agent function of outputting and an apparatus therefor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an agent in a conventional information search apparatus, it is necessary to explicitly input a search key such as a keyword in order to specify a search condition for the agent. Also, the location information of the computer to be searched was explicitly entered.

[0003]

In the structure of such a conventional information retrieval apparatus, a keyboard or other character string input means for inputting a keyword is required, and in general, a television receiver having no character string input, etc. Was difficult to apply. Further, it is not clear what keyword the unit information to be searched corresponds to, and it is difficult to apply it to information of a type such as a television program or travel information. Furthermore, if the information is distributed and stored under the distributed network environment, it is difficult to specify the location information of the computer to be searched for. An object of the present invention is to solve these problems.

[0004]

According to the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a unit of information whose contents are similar to the unit information to be searched is input as an example, so that a search condition is specified for an agent. It was done. Further, it is provided with position information extraction means for extracting the position information of the related information, which is often included in the unit information, in the distributed network environment. As a result, it is possible to apply to a device having no keyword input means, and it is not necessary to explicitly specify the position information of the computer to be searched.
It can also be applied to types of information for which the corresponding keyword is not clear.

Further, there is provided a function of feeding back the selection result of the user, preferentially searching the search position where the preferable unit information is obtained, and preferentially displaying the search result obtained therefrom. This can alleviate the problem of displaying search results from search positions that do not match the user's request, which is caused by not explicitly specifying the location information of the computer to be searched, and by reusing agents repeatedly. , It is possible to efficiently determine the position of the computer to be searched by adapting to the same type of search request.

[0006]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION In the invention described in claim 1 of the present invention, an agent knows a user's search request by inputting unit information whose content is similar to the unit information that the user wants to search, as an example. The location information of the related information in the distributed network environment that is often included in the input unit information is extracted and retained as the knowledge of the agent, and is specified by the location information based on the similarity with the input unit information as an example. It is an information retrieval method that obtains search results by accessing each computer that has been registered, and this enables an agent that executes a search in a distributed network environment without explicitly inputting keywords or location information of computers to be searched. Can be realized.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the function of the first aspect, the user selects unit information that matches his or her search request from the search results displayed by the agent to the user, and the selected unit is selected. This is an information retrieval method that adjusts the importance added to each of the location information held as the knowledge of the agent so that the location information from which the information originates is emphasized. , It is possible to gradually display the search results which are adapted to the user's preference and match the request with high priority.

The invention according to claim 3 of the present invention is often included in the input unit information, and unit information input means for inputting the unit information whose contents are similar to the unit information that the user wants to retrieve as an example. Based on the similarity between the position information extraction means for extracting the position information of the related information in the distributed network environment and the unit information input as an example by the user in the distributed network environment, each computer specified by the position information is accessed. The information retrieval apparatus is provided with a retrieval means for obtaining a retrieval result and a retrieval result display means for displaying the retrieval result to the user, which has the same effect as the invention according to claim 1.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the constituent elements of the third aspect, a position information managing means for accumulating and managing the extracted position information as the knowledge of the agent, and a user from the displayed search results. Unit selection input means for the user to select the one that meets the requirements of the above, and the degree of importance for adjusting the degree of importance added to each of the position information stored in the position information management means based on the selection result. 3. An information search device comprising: an adjusting means; and a search position determining means for determining the position of a computer in a distributed network environment that performs a search based on the position information managing means.
It has the same function and effect as the invention described in 1.

The invention according to claim 5 of the present invention is provided with the same constituent elements as claim 3 or 4, and in many cases, the distributed network is included from the unit information selected by the user in the unit selection input means. An information retrieval device for extracting the position information of the related information under the environment by the function of the position information extracting means and accumulating it in the position information managing means as the knowledge of the agent, in addition to the effect of the invention according to claim 3 or 4. The unit information selected by the user in the unit selection input unit is analyzed by the position information extraction unit, new position information is also extracted from the position information, and the accumulation management of the position information managed by the position information management unit is performed. By updating, the location information, which is the knowledge of the agent, can be accumulated and refined quickly, and it can be adapted to the taste of the user early to meet the request. It has the effect that it is possible to realize an agent to perform the search.

The invention according to claim 6 of the present invention comprises the same constituent elements as claim 3 or 4 or 5, and the internal structure of each search position is defined as one of the position information in the position information management means. Based on the unit information that is stored as a sub-label and is input as the user's search request, or the label and sub-label information in the unit information that the user has selected as a unit from the search results, the importance added to the pair of label and sub-label is displayed. It is an information retrieval device for adjustment, and when a user's retrieval request is repeatedly input, it is possible to gradually adapt to the user's taste and display the retrieval result matching the demand with high priority.
That is, in addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 3 or 4 or 5, the information search device according to the present embodiment searches for a computer based on position information in the search means, and the search results are divided into categories. In this case, the position information is retained in a detailed form with a sub-label attached thereto, and the position information corresponding to the unit information selected in the unit input means is weighted in the detailed form in the importance adjusting means. The position information, which is the knowledge of the agent, is detailed by the procedure of being managed in a detailed form by the position information management means, and the agent is adapted to the taste of the user at an early stage and performs the search matching the request. It has the effect that it can be realized.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the configuration of an information search device for explaining an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
In FIG. 1, 1 is an information retrieval device, 2 is a unit information input means for inputting unit information whose content is similar to the unit information that the user wants to retrieve, and 3 is a distributed network that is often included in the input unit information. The position information extracting means 4 for extracting the position information of the related information under the environment accesses each computer specified by the position information based on the similarity with the unit information input by the user as an example in the distributed network environment. Search means 5 for obtaining the search results are search result display means for displaying the search results to the user. 6 is position information management means for accumulating and managing the extracted position information as knowledge of the agent, 7 is unit selection input means for the user to select unit information that matches the user's request from the displayed search results, and 8 is An importance adjusting means for adjusting the importance added to each of the position information stored in the position information managing means 6 based on the selection result, and a distributed network 9 for performing a search based on the position information managing means 6. It is a search position determining means for determining the position of the computer in the environment.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described. In the information retrieval device 1, the unit information input means 2 receives an input of unit information designated by the user,
The position information extracting unit 3 extracts the position information in the distributed network environment in which the related information is stored from the unit information, and the searching unit 4 accesses the computer designated by the position information and acquires the search result. , The search result display means 5,
Display the search result to the user.

Further, in the information retrieval apparatus 1, the unit selection input means 7 accepts the user's selection of the unit information matching the user's retrieval request from the retrieval result, and the importance adjusting means 8 the unit information. The position information that is the origin of the is weighted according to the frequency of selection, and the position information management unit 6
Manages and accumulates the weighting and position information, and when the search request is made again, the search position determining means 9 determines the position of the search destination in the priority order according to the weight and searches. As a result, the position information, which is the knowledge of the agent, is accumulated, and the knowledge is refined in such a manner that the position information from which the unit information selected by the user is derived is emphasized and gradually adapted to the user's preference. Search results that match the request will be displayed with high priority.

(Embodiment 1) Next, claim 1 of the present invention
A first embodiment corresponding to Nos. 3 and 3 will be described.

In the present embodiment, as an example, unit information related to travel is distributed and stored in a distributed network environment, and by inputting unit information related to a program as an example, the unit information according to a user's preference can be selected from among them. The operation of searching for unit information will be described. In addition to this, as unit information, events, companies, people, place names, etc.
Various information items can be considered. There are various formats for storing unit information, such as WWW homepages on the Internet, database items, and files. From the aspect of contents, there are those that have a character as supplementary information of other information such as a program, such as a program introduction, and those that have a single information unit such as a travel catalog. For the search using the information search device 1, an agent is used that receives a search request from the user, performs all the processes related to the search, and outputs the search result.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the display screen 10 for the user to access the agent, and the "program" agent 11 gives the user a search result of 3 regarding the program.
Titles 17 to 19 of one unit information are displayed. Thus, the agent has a function of searching and presenting information such as programs according to the user's preference. It is easy to understand that the agent is implemented by using an anthropomorphic user interface as shown in FIG. 2, but this is not an essential condition for realizing the agent function.

FIG. 3 shows an example of unit information regarding a program which is an input in this embodiment. The unit information about a program includes a program title, a character string that describes the synopsis of the program, and information for viewing the program. The unit information often includes the position information of the related information. In the case of unit information related to a program, the position information of the related information is expressed directly as a network address as in a), and as in b), a label that co-occurs with a specific format such as “provided:” ( It is stored in various formats, such as when it is obtained by a search from "xx Tourist") or when a label is implicitly included in a natural language sentence as in c).

FIG. 4 is an example of the display screen 10 in which the user inputs a search request to the agent based on the unit information similar to the unit information to be searched. Here, the unit information “New Zealand travel” is selected with the mouse from the unit information related to the program displayed by the “program” agent 11 and dragged into the “search request” area of another agent as an example of the unit information to be searched. Input is done by doing.

FIG. 5 shows a mechanism for the position information extracting means 3 to extract the position information of the computer to be searched from the unit information. The mechanism for extracting the position information differs depending on the format in which the position information is stored in the unit information. In the case where the network address is explicitly included in the unit information 21 as shown in FIG. 3A), the address extraction unit 31 is provided as shown in FIG. 5A).
Directly retrieves it and obtains the label / network address pair as the location information 32. When the unit information 22 explicitly includes a label that co-occurs with a specific format as shown in FIG. 3b), the template matching unit 33 causes the template 3 called “provided: _____” to be displayed as shown in FIG. 5b).
4 is used to retrieve the label “xx tourist” 35. Using this label as a keyword, the name server inquiring unit 36 in the position information extracting means 3 inquires the name server 37 in the distributed network environment to obtain the network address. In this way, the position information 32
As a label and network address pair. Further, as shown in FIG. 3c), when the label is implicitly included in the sentence of the natural language, the input sentence is parsed by using the syntax analysis technique of the natural language, and the label “xx tourist” 35 is taken out. After that, as in the case of FIG. 5b), the name server is queried to search for the network address, and the position information 32 is obtained.

As a core word of template matching and syntactic analysis, “provide” can be mentioned for program information, but in addition, “sponsorship”, which can co-occur with a company name or a personal name,
Many words such as "sponsor", "maker", "artist" are held.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing a distributed network environment in this embodiment. On the network, the information retrieval device 1 of the present invention used by the user, computers 41, 42, 43 storing unit information related to travel,
A computer 44 that stores unit information about programs and a name server 37 that searches a network address of the corresponding computer from a label (eg, "xx tourist") of position information are connected. FIG. 6 shows a minimum configuration for explaining the present embodiment, and differs greatly from an actual distributed network such as the Internet in terms of scale and complexity. It should be noted that the name server 37 itself is not a component of the present invention, but a server implemented under the distributed network as a service for retrieving a network address from a label. For example, in the case of the Internet, "Yahoo" and "Lycos" are known.

The search means 4 accesses the computer 41 indicated by the position information 32 extracted by the position information extraction means 3 based on the above method, and performs a search based on the similarity to the text which is the content of the unit information. Generally, a plurality of unit information is obtained as a search result. In the present embodiment, unit information related to travel is searched based on unit information related to a program input by the user as an example. The search here is performed based on the similarity between the texts (here, “synopsis”) included in the two unit information. As a method of determining the similarity between texts, a set of keywords extracted from each text is treated as a vector,
A method of calculating the degree of similarity and a method of calculating the degree of similarity of meaning by performing syntax analysis / semantic analysis of each text are known, and any method may be used here.

The search method is such that a program having an agent function moves to a computer that actually performs the search and is executed there to bring back the search results. A plurality of agents divide the computers at a large number of search positions by hand. Search
The method of merging the search results, the computer at the search position also has an agent that specializes in the search, and the method of passing the search conditions and the search results through the communication between agents, the program is locally stored in the computer used by the user. There are various methods such as a method of executing the agent and thereby realizing the function of the agent in a pseudo manner. The function of the present invention can be effectively applied by any method.

The agent generally displays a plurality of unit information obtained as a result of the search by the search result display means 5 to the user. FIG. 7 shows an example of the display screen 10 in which the agent displays the search result to the user. Here, titles 51 to 53 of three unit information regarding travel are displayed. As a result, it is possible to realize an agent that accesses a related computer and searches for unit information having contents similar to the input unit information as an example. From the unit information presented by the agent, the user may select and use the one that best suits his or her preference.

(Embodiment 2) Next, claim 2 of the present invention
And 2nd Embodiment corresponding to Claim 4 is described.

The user selects the unit information which is considered to match his or her request from the displayed plural unit information by the unit selection input means 7. In FIG. 7, the user has selected the unit information 52 having the label “shotover jet tour”.

The result of the selection made here is used for adjusting the importance of the position information stored in the position information management means 6. FIG. 8 shows the format of position information.
The location information corresponding to the location of each computer under the distributed network environment consists of three fields of importance, label and address. The degree of importance is an index indicating the degree to which the unit information stored at that position is important in terms of the preference of the user managed by this agent. The higher this value, the higher the possibility that the unit information obtained from that position will be selected by the user. In other words, it can be said that there is more information that suits the taste of the user. On the contrary, if this value is small, it is unlikely that the unit information obtained from the position is selected by the user, and there is little information that suits the user's taste.

The new position information is stored in the position information management means 6 based on the unit information input by the user as an example. FIG. 8a) shows the contents of the position information management means 6 before performing the search for the first time and inputting the unit selection. By the position information extracting means 3 described above, a pair of label and address in the input unit information is obtained as an example. A new item of position information is created by assigning an initial value of importance, such as 1.0, to it.

The position information of the position where the unit information selected by the user is stored is always stored in the position information management means 6. When the user selects unit information of a certain position from the viewpoint of whether or not the user's request is met, the importance adjusting unit 8 increases the importance of the corresponding position information. Conversely, the importance of the position information corresponding to the unit information that has not been selected is reduced.

When the same search request for the same agent, for example, a request to search for unit information related to travel is repeated, the position information managing means 6 is provided with several positions having different degrees of importance, as shown in FIG. 8b). The information is stored. The search position determining means 9 determines the position of the computer to be searched based on these importance levels. For example, a method of not searching for a position corresponding to position information whose importance is smaller than a certain fixed value can be applied. In this way, the agent adapts to the same type of search request and efficiently controls the position of the computer to be searched. Further, the search result display unit 5 displays the unit information searched from the position of high importance with high priority. For example, a method of displaying at a position closer to the beginning of the list or a method of numerically displaying the priority and explicitly displaying can be applied. With these two functions, it is possible to realize an agent that gradually adapts to the user's taste and displays useful information with high priority.

(Third Embodiment) Next, a fifth aspect of the present invention will be described.
A third embodiment corresponding to FIG. With the functions according to claims 1 to 4, the position information stored in the position information management means 6 is only derived from the unit information input by the user as an example. According to claim 5, in addition to that, the unit information selected by the user in the unit selection input means 7 is also treated as the input of the position information extraction means 3, and the position information included therein is already stored in the position information management means 6. If not, it is newly stored and managed. In the present embodiment, it is possible to extract, from the text in the unit information of "shotover jet tour", for example, the position information from which the information of the local tour company can be searched. As a result, it is possible to collect more position information with a smaller number of search requests than in the case where only the functions of claims 1 to 4 are realized.
A wide range of unit information can be searched.

(Embodiment 4) Next, claim 6 of the present invention
A fourth embodiment corresponding to FIG. According to the functions of claims 1 to 5, the position information stored in the position information management means 6 is only the position of the computer to be searched and the position of the directory in the file system of the computer. However, in a search on the Internet or the like, the information at each search position has an internal structure, and various types of information may be made available to the same computer. For example, different service types such as WWW homepage, database search service, FTP service, download using broadcasting network, and information with different meanings such as tour information and guidebook information can be distinguished by labels on the same search position. May be mixed in.

When the function of claim 6 is carried out, a sub-label is provided as a new field in the position information stored in the position information management means 6, and the service form and the meaning of the information at the same search position are given. Be able to express. The sub-label is acquired from the search position when the search unit 4 performs the search, and is stored in the position information management unit 6 by being selected by the user as a unit.

FIG. 9 shows the contents of the position information management means 6 after the same search request is repeated several times for the same agent. Even if the same "xx tourist" search position is used, if the tour information is selected and used more frequently than the guidebook information there, the position information corresponding to the tour information is important as shown in FIG. The frequency is high, and this will be searched first. In this way, even at the search position of the same label, since the respective importance levels can be attached according to the service form and the meaning of the information, the service type and the meaning of the information are also user's preference. Can be adapted to.

[0036]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the search is performed based on the similarity to the unit information input by the user as an example, the present invention can be applied to a television receiver having no keyword input means. It is also applicable to types of information such as television programs and travel information in which it is not clear what keyword the unit information to be searched corresponds to.

Further, according to the present invention, the position information of the related information is automatically extracted and used from the unit information input by the user as an example or the unit information selected as a unit from the search result. It is not necessary to explicitly specify the position information, and the user can use it without being aware that the unit information is distributed and stored.

Further, according to the present invention, information available in various forms such as WWW homepage, database search service, FTP service, and download using broadcasting network in a distributed network environment is provided in response to a user's search request. A uniform structure for use can be realized. In the unified mechanism, mutual reference such as searching for information of another form using information of one form as a search key becomes easy.

Further, according to the present invention, an agent having a learning ability that can adapt to the same type of search request and efficiently determine the position of the computer to be searched can be realized. , It can be used efficiently according to various tastes of an individual such as a TV program preference and a preference for overseas travel. This function can be provided to the user in an intuitive and easy-to-understand form by using an agent-like user interface.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an information search device according to each embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a display screen diagram for a user to access an agent according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of unit information input by a user as an example or displayed as a search result in the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a display screen diagram in which a user inputs a search request to an agent by inputting unit information similar to the unit information to be searched in the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a position information extraction method in the position information extraction means in the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing an outline of a distributed network environment according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a display screen diagram for displaying a search result of an agent according to the second embodiment and being selected by a user.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a storage format of position information in position information management means in the second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing a storage format of position information having a sub-label showing an internal structure in the position information management means in the fourth exemplary embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Information Retrieval Device 2 Unit Information Input Means 3 Position Information Extraction Means 4 Search Means 5 Search Result Display Means 6 Position Information Management Means 7 Unit Selection Input Means 8 Importance Adjusting Means 9 Search Position Determining Means 10 Display Screens 11-16 Anthropomorphism 17-19 Example of title of unit information regarding program 21-23 Example of unit information regarding program 31-23 Example of unit information regarding program 31 Address extraction unit 32 Position information 33 Template matching unit 34 Template 35 Label 36 Name server inquiry unit 37 Name server 41 ~ 44 Calculator 51 for each search position Example of title of unit information about travel 51-53

Continued Front Page (72) Inventor Mitsuhiro Sato 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A distributed network in which an agent knows a user's search request by inputting, as an example, unit information whose contents are similar to the unit information that the user wants to search, and which is often included in the input unit information. Information retrieval that extracts location information of related information in the environment and retains it as agent knowledge, and accesses each computer specified by location information based on the similarity to the input unit information to obtain search results Method. 2. The knowledge of the agent so that the user selects the unit information that matches his or her search request from the search results displayed by the agent to the user and the position information from which the selected unit information is derived is emphasized. The information search method according to claim 1, wherein the importance added to each of the held position information is adjusted. 3. A unit information input means for inputting unit information whose content is similar to the unit information that the user wants to retrieve as an example, and position information of related information in a distributed network environment that is often included in the input unit information. A location information extraction means for extracting the location information, and a retrieval means for obtaining a retrieval result by accessing each computer designated by the location information based on the similarity between the unit information input as an example by the user in the distributed network environment. An information search device comprising a search result display means for displaying a result to a user. 4. Position information management means for accumulating and managing the extracted position information as agent knowledge, and unit selection input means for the user to select unit information that matches the user's request from the displayed search results. , An importance adjusting means for adjusting the importance added to each of the position information stored in the position information managing means based on the selection result, and a distributed network environment for performing a search based on the position information managing means 4. The information search apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a search position determining unit that determines the position of the computer in. 5. The position information extracting unit extracts the position information of the related information in a distributed network environment, which is included in many cases from the unit information selected by the user in the unit selection input unit, and the position information is used as the knowledge of the agent. The information retrieval device according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the information retrieval device stores the information in management means. 6. An internal structure of each search position is stored as a sub-label as one of the position information in the position information managing means, and unit information input as a user's search request or a user selects a unit from search results. The information retrieval device according to claim 3, 4 or 5, wherein the importance added to the pair of label and sublabel is adjusted based on the information of the label and the sublabel in the unit information.