Document search system using a meaning-ralation network

• US 20040181520A1
• Filed: 02/24/2004
• Published: 09/16/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/13/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Imaichi, Osamu, Kaji, Hiroyuki
• Granted Patent: US 7,240,051 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/3
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/3329 Natural language query formulation or dialogue systems
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/954 Relational
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/959 Network
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99944 Object-oriented database structure

Abstract

A system allows related documents to be retrieved using conventional search engines while overcoming the ambiguity of a search key entered by the user. The system includes a word sense associative network display portion for displaying word senses of the search key entered by the user together with related word senses in a network, a search portion for conducting a search by generating a search key based on word senses selected by the user, and a filtering portion for selecting documents from the result of the search that matches the selected word sense.

Claims

1. A document search system for the retrieval of documents related to a search key that is entered, said system comprising:

a word sense associative network presenting portion for presenting a meaning of said search key together with its related meaning in a network;

a search portion for conducting a search using said search key; and

a filtering portion for selecting documents from a set of documents obtained as a result of said search that matches selected word senses.

2. The document search system according to claim 1, wherein said search portion generates a search key based on selected word senses, and conducts a search using the thus generated search key.

3. The document search system according to claim 1, wherein said search portion conducts a cross-lingual document search in which said search portion searches documents written in a language different from that of the search key that is entered.

4. The document search system according to claim 1, wherein said search portion conducts a monolingual document search in which said search portion searches documents written in the same language as that of the search key that is entered.

5. The document search system according to claim 2, wherein said search portion conducts a cross-lingual document search in which said search portion searches documents written in a language different from that of the search key that is entered.

6. The document search system according to claim 2, wherein said search portion conducts a monolingual document search in which said search portion searches documents written in the same language as that of the search key that is entered.