REPLY GENERATION APPARATUS AND METHOD AND PROGRAM FOR CAUSING COMPUTER TO FUNCTION AS REPLY GENERATING APPARATUS

• US 20090094204A1
• Filed: 04/05/2007
• Published: 04/09/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/05/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: I-Business Center Corporation
• Original Assignee: I-Business Center Corporation
• Inventors: Shiraishi, Tomihisa, Iwasaki, Atsuhiro
• Granted Patent: US 8,271,485 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques

Abstract

A reply conforming to applied search criteria is generated using data obtained by a search based upon the search criteria. A reply generating server includes a storage unit storing a plurality of items of basic data; a search unit for searching and retrieving basic data, which is in line with search criteria that has been input by the user of a terminal device, from the storage unit; a reply generating unit which, in a case where a plurality of items of basic data in line with the search criteria exist, generates anew a reply conforming to the search criteria by utilizing the plurality of items of basic data; and a reply transmitting unit for transmitting the reply to the terminal device.

Claims

1. A reply generating apparatus comprising:

a storage unit in which a plurality of aggregates have been stored, wherein an aggregate is a plurality of segments each having a logical meaning and arranged in a logical order, each segment being classified under any of a plurality of category items in accordance with an attribute of the segment;

a search unit for searching said storage unit in accordance with applied search criteria;

a core category item deciding unit for deciding a core category item in a case where a plurality of aggregates in line with the search criteria have been found by said search unit, wherein the core category item is decided from among a plurality of category items corresponding to a plurality of segments constituting each of the aggregates found;

an adjacent category count calculating unit for performing an adjacent-category count calculation, in which the adjacent-category count indicates the number of other category items adjacent to one category item, in a case where a plurality of aggregates in line with the search criteria have been found by said search unit, the adjacent-category count being calculated with regard to each of the plurality of category items corresponding to the plurality of segments constituting each of the plurality of aggregates found;

a related category item deciding unit for deciding a related category item adjacent to the core category item from among category items other than the category item decided upon as the core category item, based upon the adjacent-category counts calculated by said adjacent category count calculating unit; and

a logical framework generating unit for generating a logical framework of a reply, in which a plurality of category items and the order of arrangement thereof have been determined, by adopting the core category item as the core and arranging the related category item by placing it adjacent to the core category item.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein on the basis of adjacent-category counts calculated by said adjacent category count calculating unit, said related category item deciding unit decides a related category item, which is further adjacent to the related category item adjacent to the core category item, from among category items other than the category item decided upon as the core category item and the category item decided upon as the related category item adjacent to the core category item.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an expression deciding unit for deciding upon any one of segments, which have been stored in the storage unit and classified under a core category item, as a segment that expresses the core category item, and deciding upon any one of segments, which have been stored in the storage unit and classified under the related category item, as a segment that expresses the related category item.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said related category item deciding unit decides a plurality of related category items adjacent to the core category item;

and

said logical framework generating unit prioritizes each of a plurality of combinations of the core category item and related category items based upon the adjacent-category counts calculated by said adjacent category count calculating unit regarding the core category item and related category items that exist in the combination, and, in a case where a related category item of part of a low-priority combination matches a related category item of part of a high-priority combination, excludes the low-priority combination from the logical framework generated in the logical framework generating unit.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the category items include a fixed-format category item under which a segment having a stereotypical meaning is classified;

and

said core category item deciding unit decides the core category item from among category items other than the fixed-format category item.

9. The apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising an expression deciding unit for deciding upon any one of segments, which have been stored in the storage unit and classified under a core category item, as a segment that expresses the core category item, and deciding upon any one of segments, which have been stored in the storage unit and classified under the related category item, as a segment that expresses the related category item.

6. A method of generating a reply comprising:

storing a plurality of aggregates in a storage unit, wherein an aggregate is a plurality of segments each having a logical meaning and arranged in a logical order, each segment being classified under any of a plurality of category items in accordance with an attribute of the segment;

searching the storage unit in accordance with applied search criteria;

deciding a core category item in a case where a plurality of aggregates in line with the search criteria have been found, wherein the core category item is decided from among a plurality of category items corresponding to a plurality of segments constituting each of the aggregates found;

performing an adjacent-category count calculation, in which the adjacent-category count indicates the number of other category items adjacent to one category item, in a case where a plurality of aggregates in line with the search criteria have been found, the adjacent-category count being calculated with regard to each of the plurality of category items corresponding to the plurality of segments constituting each of the plurality of aggregates found;

deciding a related category item adjacent to the core category item from among category items other than the category item decided upon as the core category item, based upon the adjacent-category counts calculated; and

generating a logical framework of a reply, in which a plurality of category items and the order of arrangement thereof have been determined, by adopting the core category item as the core and arranging the related category item by placing it adjacent to the core category item.

7. In a computer having a storage unit in which a plurality of aggregates have been stored, wherein an aggregate is a plurality of segments each having a logical meaning and arranged in a logical order and each segment is classified under any of a plurality of category items in accordance with an attribute of the segment, a program for causing said computer to:

search the storage unit in accordance with applied search criteria;

decide a core category item in a case where a plurality of aggregates in line with the search criteria have been found, wherein the core category item is decided from among a plurality of category items corresponding to a plurality of segments constituting each of the aggregates found;

perform an adjacent-category count calculation, in which the adjacent-category count indicates the number of other category items adjacent to one category item, in a case where a plurality of aggregates in line with the search criteria have been found, the adjacent-category count being calculated with regard to each of the plurality of category items corresponding to the plurality of segments constituting each of the plurality of aggregates found;

decide a related category item adjacent to the core category item from among category items other than the category item decided upon as the core category item, based upon the adjacent-category counts calculated; and

generate a logical framework of a reply, in which a plurality of category items and the order of arrangement thereof have been determined, by adopting the core category item as the core and arranging the related category item by placing it adjacent to the core category item.

8. A computer-readable recording medium on which the program set forth in claim 7 has been recorded.