Information retrieval system and method

• US 5,062,074 A
• Filed: 08/30/1990
• Issued: 10/29/1991
• Est. Priority Date: 12/04/1986
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: TNET Incorporated
• Original Assignee: TNET Incorporated
• Inventors: Kleinberger, Paul J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Shaw, Gareth D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chaki, Kakali
• Application Number:
  US07/575,046
• Time in Patent Office: 425 Days
• Field of Search: 364/200 MS File, 364/900 MS File
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/30 of unstructured textual data document management systems G06F16/93
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/90344 by using string matching techniques
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99935 Query augmenting and refining, e.g. inexact access

Abstract

A computerized information retrieval system is formed of a textbase of texts of variable length and content. The texts are selected from the textbase on the basis of Boolean logic searches among keywords associated with the texts. When a group is retrieved from such a search, the system automatically segregates the texts based on the presence of absence of a criterion key keyword selected so as to segregate the texts into sub-groups. The same criterion key analysis can then be applied recursively to the sub-groups. The criterion key analysis can then be applied recursively to the sub-groups. The resulting sub-groups are then displayed to the user in a hierarchical display to illustrate the relationships among the texts. A string comparison routine is also disclosed to search for similar keywords.

Claims

1. A method utilizing processor means and associated memory means for making explicit the relationships among texts in a text base stored in the memory means, the relationships being other than those provided by a user, each text in the text base of texts being associated with at least one keyword, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) the processor means accepting from the user a search request of a search to be performed to locate a first group of the texts;

(b) the processor means performing the search request described by the user in step (a) among the keywords associated with the texts in the text base to locate the first group of texts having associated keywords matching the search request;

(c) for each of the keywords associated with at least one of the texts in the first group, the processor means counting the number of texts in the first group associated with each of the keywords;

(d) the processor means comparing the number of texts associated with each of the keywords to identify the keyword associated with a largest number of texts;

(e) the processor means defining as a "criterion key" the keyword which is associated with the largest number of texts;

(f) the processor means separating the first group of texts into first and second sub-groups of texts, the first sub-group of texts including texts having the criterion key as a keyword and the second sub-group of texts including texts not having the criterion key as a keyword;

(g) repeating steps (c), (d), (e), and (f) at least once using the first sub-group as a group;

(h) repeating steps (c), (d), (e), and (f) at least once using the second sub-group as a group; and

(i) displaying the criterion key from steps (e), (g) and (h) on a suitable display medium in a hierarchical manner in which the criterion keys from steps (g) and (h) are displayed in a subsidiary relationship to the criterion key from step (e) so that relationships, based on associations with the criterion key keywords, among the texts in the first group found by the search of step (b) are presented to the user.

2. A method utilizing processor means and associated memory means for making explicit the relationships among texts in a text base stored in the memory means, the relationships being other than those provided by a user, each text in the text base of texts being associated with at least one keyword, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) the processor means accepting from the user a search request of a search to be performed to locate a first group of the texts;

(b) the processor means performing the search request described by the user in step (a) among the keywords associated with the texts in the text base to locate the first group of texts having associated keywords matching the search request;

(c) for each of the keywords associated with at least one of the texts in the first group, the processor means counting the number of texts in the first group associated with each of the keywords;

(d) the processor means comparing the number of texts associated with each of the keywords to identify the keyword associated with a largest number of texts;

(e) the processor means defining as a "criterion key" the keyword which is associated with the largest number of texts;

(f) the processor means separating the first group of texts into first and second sub-groups of texts, the first sub-group of texts including texts having the criterion key as a keyword and the second sub-group of texts including texts not having the criterion key as a keyword;

(g) repeating steps (c), (d), (e), and (f) at least once using the first sub-group as a group;

(h) displaying the criterion key from steps (e), and (g) on a suitable display medium in a hierarchical manner in which the criterion key from step (g) is displayed in a subsidiary relationship to the criterion key from step (e) so that relationships, based on associations with the criterion key keywords, among the texts in the first group found by the search of step (b) are presented to the user; and

(i) also displaying on the display medium a numerical character in conjunction with the criterion keys of the sub-groups, the numerical character being the number of texts from step (c), at least when the sub-group has more than one text and the sub-group is not separated into further sub-groups on the display medium.

3. A method utilizing processor means and associated memory means for making explicit the relationships among texts in a text base stored in the memory means, the relationships being other than those provided by a user, each text in the text base of texts being associated with at least one keyword, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) the processor means accepting from the user a search request of a search to be performed to locate a first group of the texts;

(b) the processor means performing the search request described by the user in step (a) among the keywords associated with the texts in the text base to locate the first group of texts having associated keywords matching the search request;

(c) for each of the keywords associated with at least one of the texts in the first group, the processor means counting the number of texts in the first group associated with each of the keywords;

(d) the processor means comparing the number of texts associated with each of the keywords to identify the keyword associated with a largest number of texts;

(e) the processor means defining as a "criterion key" the keyword which is associated with the largest number of texts;

(f) the processor means separating the first group of texts into first and second sub-groups of texts, the first sub-group of texts including texts having the criterion key as a keyword and the second sub-group of texts including texts not having the criterion key as a keyword;

(g) repeating steps (c), (d), (e), and (f) at least once using the first sub-group as a group;

(h) displaying the criterion key from steps (e), and (g) on a suitable display medium in a hierarchical manner in which the criterion key from step (g) is displayed in a subsidiary relationship to the criterion key from step (e) so that relationships, based on associations with the criterion key keywords, among the texts in the first group found by the search of step (b) are presented to the user.

4. A method utilizing processor means and associated memory means for making explicit the relationships among texts in a text base stored in the memory means, the relationships being other than those provided by a user, each text in the text base of texts being associated with at least one keyword, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) the processor means accepting from the user a search request of a search to be performed to locate a first group of the texts;

(b) the processor means performing the search request described by the user in step (a) among the keywords associated with the texts in the text base to locate the first group of texts having associated keywords matching the search request;

(c) for each of the keywords associated with at least one of the texts in the first group, the processor means counting the number of texts in the first group associated with each of the keywords;

(d) the processor means comparing the number of texts associated with each of the keywords to identify the keyword associated with a largest number of texts;

(e) the processor means defining as a "criterion key" the keyword which is associated with the largest number of texts;

(f) the processor means separating the first group of texts into first and second sub-groups of texts, the first sub-group of texts including texts having the criterion key as a keyword and the second sub-group of texts including texts not having the criterion key as a keyword;

(g) repeating steps (c), (d), (e), and (f) at least once using the second sub-group as a group;

(h) displaying the criterion key from steps (e), and (g) on a suitable display medium in a hierarchical manner in which the criterion key from step (g) is displayed in a subsidiary relationship to the criterion key from step (e) so that relationships, based on associations with the criterion key keywords, among the texts in the first group found by the search of step (b) are presented to the user; and

(i) also displaying on the display medium a numerical character in conjunction with the criterion keys of the sub-groups, the numerical character being the number of texts from step (c), at least when the sub-group has more than one text and the sub-group is not separated into further sub-groups on the display medium.

5. A method utilizing processor means and associated memory means for making explicit the relationships among texts in a text base stored in the memory means, the relationships being other than those provided by a user, each text in the text base of texts being associated with at least one keyword, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) the processor means accepting from the user a search request of a search to be performed to locate a first group of the texts;

(b) the processor means performing the search request described by the user in step (a) among the keywords associated with the texts in the text base to locate the first group of texts having associated keywords matching the search request;

(c) for each of the keywords associated with at least one of the texts in the first group, the processor means counting the number of texts in the first group associated with each of the keywords;

(d) the processor means comparing the number of texts associated with each of the keywords to identify the keyword associated with a largest number of texts;

(e) the processor means defining as a "criterion key" the keyword which is associated with the largest number of texts;

(f) the processor means separating the first group of texts into first and second sub-groups of texts, the first sub-group of texts including texts having the criterion key as a keyword and the second sub-group of texts including texts not having the criterion key as a keyword;

(g) repeating steps (c), (d), (e), and (f) at least once using the second sub-group as a group; and

(h) displaying the criterion key from steps (e) and (g) on a suitable display medium in a hierarchical manner in which the criterion key from step (g) is displayed in a subsidiary relationship to the criterion key from step (e) so that relationships, based on associations with the criterion key keywords, among the texts in the first group found by the search of step (b) are presented to the user.

6. A method utilizing processor means and associated memory means for making explicit the relationships among texts in a text base stored in the memory means, the relationships being other than those provided by a user, each text in the text base of texts being associated with at least one keyword, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) the processor means accepting from the user a search request of a search to be performed to locate a first group of the texts;

(b) the processor means performing the search request described by the user in step (a) among the keywords associated with the texts in the text base to locate the first group of texts having associated keywords matching the search request;

(c) for each of the keywords associated with at least one of the texts in the first group, the processor means counting the number of texts in the first group associated with each of the keywords;

(d) the processor means comparing the number of texts associated with each of the keywords to identify the keyword associated with a largest number of texts;

(e) the processor means defining as a "criterion key" the keyword which is associated with the largest number of texts; and

(f) displaying the criterion key from step (e) on a suitable display medium so that a relationship, based on associations with the criterion key keyword, among the texts in the first group found by the search of step (b) are presented to the user.