Question answering system, data search method, and computer program

• US 20070022099A1
• Filed: 12/21/2005
• Published: 01/25/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/12/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Fuji Xerox Company Limited (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Fuji Xerox Company Limited (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Masuichi, Hiroshi, Yoshimura, Hiroki, Sugihara, Daigo, Ohkuma, Tomoko
• Application Number:
  US11/312,930
• Publication Number:
  US 20070022099A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/3329 Natural language query formulation or dialogue systems

Abstract

A question answering system includes an answer candidate extraction unit, a query generation unit, a passage search unit, an answer candidate inspection unit and an answer output unit. The answer candidate extraction unit executes a search process based on an input question to extract a plurality of initial answer candidates. The query generation unit generates a query including at least two of the initial answer candidates as search words. The passage search unit executes a search process based on the query to extract a hit sentence corresponding to the query. The answer candidate inspection unit analyzes the hit sentence to inspect a relationship between the initial answer candidates and generates answer candidates to the input question on a basis of an inspection result. The answer output unit outputs the answer candidates generated by the answer candidate inspection unit.

Claims

1. A question answering system comprising:

an answer candidate extraction unit that executes a search process based on an input question to extract a plurality of initial answer candidates;

a query generation unit that generates a query including at least two of the initial answer candidates as search words;

a passage search unit that executes a search process based on the query to extract search results corresponding to the query;

an answer candidate inspection unit that analyzes the hit sentence to inspect a relationship between the initial answer candidates and generates answer candidates to the input question on a basis of an inspection result; and

an answer output unit that outputs the answer candidates generated by the answer candidate inspection unit.

2. The question answering system according to claim 1, wherein the answer candidate inspection unit determines whether or not the initial answer candidates contain initial answer candidates handled as apposition, paraphrase, or parallel, and generates the answer candidates on a basis of a determination result.

3. The question answering system according to claim 2, wherein if the initial answer candidates contain the answer candidates handled as apposition, paraphrase, or juxtaposition, the answer candidate inspection unit executes at least one of a process of combining the answer candidates to generate a new answer candidate and a process of re-ranking the answer candidates, to generate the answer candidates.

4. The question answering system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a morphological analysis unit that executes a morphological analysis process of the hit sentence extracted by the passage search unit, wherein;

the answer candidate inspection unit determines whether or not a region containing initial answer candidates included in the hit sentence is based on a predetermined rule on a basis of an analysis result of the morphological analysis unit, and

if the region is based on the predetermined rule, the answer candidate inspection unit combines the initial answer candidates contained in the region to generate the answer candidates.

5. The question answering system according to claim 1, wherein:

the answer candidate inspection unit executes pattern matching on a basis of the initial answer candidates contained in the hit sentence extracted by the passage search unit, detects a region containing the initial answer candidates contained in the hit sentence, determines whether or not the detected region is based on a predetermined rule, and

if the region is based on the predetermined rule, the answer candidate inspection unit combines the initial answer candidates contained in the region to generate a answer candidate.

6. The question answering system according to claim 1, wherein:

the answer candidate extraction unit executes the search process based on the input question to extract sentences including the initial answer candidates, and

the passage search unit searching a set of passages including the sentences extracted by the answer candidate extraction unit.

7. The question answering system according to claim 1, wherein the passage search unit searches a knowledge source different from a knowledge source, which the answer candidate extraction unit searches based on the input question.

8. The question answering system according to claim 1, wherein:

the answer candidate inspection unit inspects whether or not the initial answer candidates contain synonymous answer candidates and handles the synonymous answer candidates as a group, and

the answer candidate inspection unit analyzes the hit sentence to inspect a relationship between the group of synonymous answer candidates and the other initial answer candidates, and generates the answer candidates to the input question on the basis of the inspection result.

9. The question answering system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a morphological analysis unit that executes a morphological analysis process of the initial answer candidates, which are of components of the query generated by the query generation unit, wherein;

the answer candidate inspection unit calculates a word overlap ratio of each query on a basis of an analysis result of the morphological analysis unit, sets score of each answer candidate on a basis of the calculated word overlap ratio, and determines an answer candidate ranking output as the answer candidates to the input question.

10. The question answering system according to claim 1, wherein:

the answer candidate inspection unit has a configuration to which a machine learning technique is applied, and

the answer candidate inspection unit updates a rule used in extracting of the answer candidates, on a basis of the machine learning technique.

11. A data search method comprising:

executing a search process based on an input question to extract a plurality of initial answer candidates;

generating a query including at least two of the initial answer candidates as search words;

executing a search process based on the query to extract a hit sentence corresponding to the query;

analyzing the hit sentence to inspect a relationship between the initial answer candidates;

generating answer candidates to the input question on a basis of a result of the inspecting; and

outputting the answer candidates generated.

12. The data search method according to claim 11, wherein:

the inspecting determines whether or not the initial answer candidates contain initial answer candidates handled as apposition, paraphrase, or juxtaposition, and

the generating of the answer candidates generates the answer candidates on a basis of a results of the determining.

13. The data search method according to claim 12 wherein if the initial answer candidates contain the answer candidates handled as apposition, paraphrase, or juxtaposition, the generating of the answer candidates executes at least one of a process of combining the answer candidates to generate a new answer candidate and a process of re-ranking the answer candidates to generate the answer candidates.

14. The data search method according to claim 11, further comprising

executing a morphological analysis process of the hit sentence extracted, wherein:

the inspecting determines whether or not a region containing initial answer candidates included in the hit sentence is based on a predetermined rule on a basis of a result of the morphological analysis process, the data search method further comprising;

if the region is based on the predetermined rule, the generating of the answer candidates combines the initial answer candidates contained in the region to generate the answer candidates.

15. The data search method according to claim 11, wherein:

the inspecting executes pattern matching on a basis of the initial answer candidates contained in the hit sentence extracted, detecting a region containing the initial answer candidates contained in the hit sentence, and determining whether or not the detected region is based on a predetermined rule, and

if the region is based on the predetermined rule, the inspecting further combines the initial answer candidates contained in the region to generate a answer candidate.

16. The data search method according to claim 11, wherein

the executing of the search process based on the input question executes the search process based on the input question to extract sentences including the initial answer candidates, and

the executing of the search process based on the query searches a set of passages including the sentences extracted by the answer candidate extraction unit.

17. The data search method according to claim 11, wherein the executing of the search process based on the query searches a knowledge source different from a knowledge source, which the executing of the search process based on the input question searches.

18. The data search method according to claim 11, wherein

the analyzing comprises:

inspecting whether or not the initial answer candidates contain synonymous answer candidates and handles the synonymous answer candidates as a group, and

analyzing the hit sentence to inspect a relationship between the group of synonymous answer candidates and the other initial answer candidates, wherein;

the generating of the answer candidates generates the answer candidates to the input question on the basis of a result of the inspecting the relationship.

19. The data search method according to claim 11, further comprising:

executing a morphological analysis process of the initial answer candidates, which are of components of the query generated by the query generation unit, wherein;

the analyzing comprises;

calculating a word overlap ratio of each query on a basis of a result of the morphological analysis process,

setting score of each answer candidate on a basis of the calculated word overlap ratio; and

determining an answer candidate ranking output as the answer candidates to the input question.

20. The data search method according to claim 11 wherein

the analyzing adopts a machine a machine learning technique, and

the analyzing comprises updating a rule used in extracting of the answer candidates, on a basis of the machine learning technique.

21. A computer program stored in a computer readable recording medium, the program causing a computer to execute a data search process comprising:

executing a search process based on an input question to extract a plurality of initial answer candidates;

generating a query including at least two of the initial answer candidates as search words;

executing a search process based on the query to extract a hit sentence corresponding to the query;

analyzing the hit sentence to inspect a relationship between the initial answer candidates;

generating answer candidates to the input question on a basis of a result of the inspecting; and

outputting the answer candidates generated.