Information Retrieval System, Registration Apparatus for Indexes for Information Retrieval, Information Retrieval Method and Program

• US 20090094186A1
• Filed: 10/02/2008
• Published: 04/09/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/05/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: KAN, Masaki
• Granted Patent: US 8,452,788 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2228 Indexing structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/313 Selection or weighting of terms for indexing

Abstract

An information retrieval system comprising: an information acquisition unit that acquires information as a subject of retrieval; a time information specifying unit that specifies time information owned by said information as the subject of retrieval; and an index updating unit that updates said index using the time information specified by said time information specifying unit; wherein said information retrieval system provides an information retrieving function of reproducing retrieved results at any time point by providing index for information retrieval with the time information and by using data of said index relevant to a reference point of retrieval identified at the time of retrieval.

Claims

1. An information retrieval system comprising:

an information acquisition unit that acquires information as a subject of retrieval;

a time information specifying unit that specifies time information owned by said information as the subject of retrieval; and

an index updating unit that updates said index using the time information specified by said time information specifying unit;

wherein said information retrieval system provides an information retrieving function of reproducing retrieved results at any time point by providing index for information retrieval with the time information and by using data of said index relevant to a reference point of retrieval identified at the time of retrieval.

2. The information retrieval system according to claim 1 wherein

said index is formulated by a set of indexes which are each newly prepared with lapse of preset time and in which the indexes prepared in the past are saved;

and

retrieved results at any time point are reproduced by referring to the index(es) relevant to the reference point of retrieval specified at the time of retrieval.

3. The information retrieval system according to claim 2 wherein, in the absence of an index indicative of the time information specified by said time information specifying unit, said index updating unit prepares an index indicative of the time in question to register the information which becomes a subject for retrieval therein.

4. The information retrieval system according to claim 1 wherein, if the information which may become the subject for retrieval has been registered in a pre-existing index, said index updating unit compares the time information registered in said pre-existing index to said time information specified to update the index in accordance with a preset priority reference.

5. The information retrieval system according to claim 2 further comprising:

an index management unit that changes formulation of said set of indexes on the time axis.

6. The information retrieval system according to claim 1 wherein

the retrieved results are presented by sequentially referencing said indexes beginning from past index data closest to said reference point of retrieval and progressing towards older index data.

7. The information retrieval system according to claim 1 wherein formulation of set of indexes along the time axis is changed in accordance with a time unit that may be specified in information retrieval.

8. The information retrieval system according to claim 1 wherein

said time unit that may be identified in said information retrieval is the same as a recording interval of the information registered in said index.

9. The information retrieval system according to claim 1 further comprising:

a backup data addition unit that acquires backup data from a backup information storage section and delivering the backup data acquired to said index updating unit.

10. An information retrieval system according to claim 1, further comprising:

means for acquiring the information of a set of indexes which are each newly prepared with lapse of preset time and in which the indexes prepared in the past are saved;

means for selecting any one of said indexes from said set of indexes;

means for acquiring backup data of a time interval indicative of said selected index, from a backup management unit that manages backup data; and

an index updating unit that updates the index information of said backup data acquired for said selected index,

wherein said system provides an information retrieving function of performing retrieval starting at any time point specified by said index.

11. An information retrieval system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a backup management unit that manages backup data;

means for acquiring a set of indexes which are each newly prepared with lapse of preset time and in which the indexes prepared in the past are saved;

means for selecting information to be registered in an index registering section from said backup management unit;

means for acquiring the latest backup data of said selected information from said backup management unit, within a time interval indicated by each index contained in said set of indexes; and

an index updating unit that updates each index contained in said set of indexes by the latest backup data of said selected information within a time interval indicated by each index,

wherein said system provides an information retrieving function of performing retrieval starting at any time point specified by said index.

12. An apparatus for registering index for use in said information retrieval system according to claim 1;

wherein the apparatus comprising;

information acquisition means for acquiring information as a subject of retrieval;

time information specifying means for specifying time information owned by said information as the subject of retrieval; and

index updating means for updating a portion of said index corresponding to the time information specified by said time information specifying unit.

13. A program executed on a computer that forms an apparatus for registering indexes;

said program comprising processings of;

acquiring information as a subject of retrieval;

specifying time information owned by said information as the subject of retrieval; and

updating a portion of an index or indexes corresponding to the time information specified,

wherein said indexes are used as an index for information retrieval with the time information thereby performing information retrieval by using data of said index relevant to a reference point of retrieval identified at the time of retrieval.

14. The program according to claim 13, wherein

said program further comprising processings of:

acquiring information of a set of indexes;

selecting any one index from said set of indexes;

acquiring backup data of a time interval represented by said selected index from backup data; and

registering or updating the index information for said selected index of said backup data acquired,

thereby performing retrieval starting at any time point specified by said index.

15. The program according to claim 13, wherein said program further comprising processings of:

acquiring information of a set of indexes;

selecting the information to be registered in said index from backup data;

acquiring the latest backup data of the selected information within a time interval represented by each index in said set of indexes; and

registering or updating, for each of said indexes, the index information of said backup data acquired,

wherein retrieval is performed on the data starting from any time specified by said index.

16. A method for registering indexes comprising:

acquiring information as a subject for retrieval;

specifying time information of said subject of retrieval; and

updating said index using the time information thus specified;

wherein the method provides retrieval starting at any time point by providing an index for information retrieval with the time information by using data of said index relevant to a reference point of retrieval identified at the time of retrieval.

17. The method according to claim 16, further comprising:

acquiring information on a set of indexes;

selecting any one index from said set of indexes;

acquiring backup data of a time interval represented by said selected index; and

registering or updating, for said index selected, the index information of said backup data acquired,

wherein a retrieval is performed on the data starting from any time point specified by said index.

18. The method according to claim 16, further comprising:

acquiring information on a set of indexes by an index registration unit;

selecting information to be registered in said index from a backup management unit designed to manage backup data;

acquiring, from said backup management unit, the latest backup data of said selected information, within a time interval represented by each index included in said set of indexes; and

registering or updating, for said index selected, the information of said backup data acquired,

wherein an information retrieval is performed so as to retrieve data starting from any time point specified by the index.