Information search terminal and system

• US 5,220,625 A
• Filed: 07/17/1992
• Issued: 06/15/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 06/14/1989
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Ando, Hiroe, Hatakeyama, Atsushi, Asakawa, Satoshi, Kato, Kanji, Kawaguchi, Hisamitsu
• Primary Examiner(s): BRINICH, STEPHEN M
• Application Number:
  US07/914,334
• Time in Patent Office: 333 Days
• Field of Search: 382/54, 382/10-14, 382/16, 364/DIG. 1, 364/200
• US Class Current: 715/809
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/332 Query formulation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/338 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 18/00 Pattern recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/768 using context analysis, e.g. recognition aided by known co-occurring patterns
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99934 Query formulation, input preparation, or translation

Abstract

An information search terminal apparatus and information search system for performing information search by using a variety of windows assure high manipulatability for the user by making available information of the results of searches performed in the past and the current system state. The information search terminal and system includes a query statement input window for inputting a search query statement for a search term, a search history display window for displaying the search query statement and the number of documents as hit in the search, a search result list display window for displaying in juxtaposition a plurality of titles of documents as hit in the form of a list, and a document display window for displaying a document containing the search term and resulting from the search

Claims

1. An information search terminal apparatus, comprising:

means for storing results of search delivered from a search/retrieval system for searching and retrieving a document containing specified character strings;

input means for inputting characters and a variety of designations; and

display means for displaying a document containing a search term corresponding to said character string as a result of the search;

said information search terminal apparatus, including

a query input window for inputting a query statement for said search term;

a search history display window for displaying said query statement and the number of documents as hit in the search;

a search result list display window for displaying simultaneously titles of plural documents as hit in the search; and

a document display window for displaying the document as a result of the search;

wherein said windows are displayed on said display means.

2. An information search terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of databases are connected to said search/retrieval system,

said terminal apparatus includes a database selecting window for selecting a database to be subjected to the search from said plurality of databases, said database selecting window being displayed on said display means.

3. An information search terminal apparatus according to claim 2, wherein at least one of said database selecting window, said search query input window, said search history display window, and said document display window is provided with a display area for allowing the associated window to be closed.

4. An information search terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said search history display window is provided with a display area for commanding interruption of the search.

5. An information search terminal apparatus according to claim 4, wherein when the search processing performed by said search system is interrupted in response to designation of said display area commanding the interruption of the search, the number of documents as hit until said interruption and a marker indicating said interruption are displayed in said search history display window.

6. An information search terminal apparatus according to claim 5, wherein data of bibliographic items and document data supplied from said search/retrieval system up to the time point of said interruption are stored in said storage means.

7. An information search terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said search history display window is provided with a display area for designating change-over of search mode between a hierarchy search mode for screening a set of documents resulting from an immediately preceding search into a base set and a universe search mode for searching constantly a document set containing a predetermined number of documents as a base set in every search.

8. An information search terminal apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the mode change-over to said hierarchy search mode or said universe search mode is effected for each of the document sets resulting from the search and displayed on said search history display window.

9. An information search terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said search query statement input window includes an input user interface suited for inputting at least one of simple condition, numeric condition, proximity condition, context condition, frequency condition and logical condition.

10. An information search terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said search query input window is provided with a display area for activating an expanded term display window for displaying expanded terms to perform the search by generating and using expanded search terms having a similar meaning as the input search term.

11. An information search terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said search query statement input window is provided with a display area for activating an expand option designating window for selecting expanded search terms for effecting the search by expanding search terms having a similar meaning as the input search term.

12. An information search terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said search result list display window displays title of the document as hit together with at least one of data of creation of said document and author thereof.

13. An information search terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein in said document display window, a character string corresponding to the search term as hit is displayed under highlight in a document resulting from the search.

14. An information search terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a character string in a document displayed in said document display window is designated by said input means so as to be reused by recalling the character string in said search query input window.

15. An information search terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least two of said search query input window, said search history display window, said search result list display window and said document display window are simultaneously displayed in a multi-window configuration.

16. An information search terminal apparatus, including:

means for storing results of search delivered from a search/retrieval system for searching and retrieving a document containing specified character strings;

input means for inputting characters and a variety of designations; and

display means for displaying a document containing a search term corresponding to said character string and resulting from the search;

wherein said information search terminal apparatus comprises a search history display window for displaying query statements used in the search and the number of documents as hit in the search, said search history display window being displayed on said display means.

17. An information search terminal apparatus, including:

means for storing results of search delivered from a search/retrieval system for searching and retrieving a document containing specified character strings;

input means for inputting characters and a variety of designations; and

display means for displaying a document containing a search term corresponding to said character string and resulting from the search;

wherein said information search terminal apparatus comprises an expanded term display window for displaying expanded terms for the search, said expanded terms being expanded from said input search term and having similar meaning as the latter, and an expand option designating window for selecting said expanded terms, wherein said windows are displayed on said display means.

18. An information search terminal apparatus, including:

means for storing results of search delivered from a search/retrieval system for searching and retrieving a document containing specified character strings;

input means for inputting characters and a variety of designations; and

display means for displaying a document containing a search term corresponding to said character string and resulting from the search;

wherein said information search terminal apparatus comprises search history display control means for controlling display of query statements used in the search and the number of documents as hit as a result of the search on said display means.

19. An information search terminal apparatus according to claim 18, further comprising query statement input control means for performing display control by activating an image for inputting the query statement for the search term, when a predetermined image area is designated on an image generated under the control of said search history display control means.

20. An information search terminal apparatus according to claim 19, further comprising expantion result display control means for performing display control by activating a display of expanded terms for the search expanded from said input search term and having similar meaning as the latter and a display for expand processing, when a predetermined image area is designated on an image generated under the control of said query statement input control means.

21. An information search terminal apparatus according to claim 18, further comprising search result list display control means for performing display control by activating an image for displaying simultaneously a plurality of document names of documents as hit in the search, when a predetermined image area is designated on an image generated under the control of said search history display control means.

22. An information search terminal apparatus according to claim 18, further comprising document display control means for performing display control by activating an image for displaying a document as a result of the search, when a predetermined image area is designated on an image generated under the control of said search history display control means or said search result list display control means.

23. An information search terminal apparatus according to claim 18, wherein when a predetermined area is designated on an image generated under the control of said search history display control means, search is performed by changing over a hierarchy search mode in which search is performed by screening a document set resulting from an immediately preceding search into a base document set and a universe search mode in which a document set containing a predetermined number of documents is searched constantly in every search as a base document set.

24. An information search system, comprising:

search means for searching a document containing a specified search term;

means for storing results of search delivered from said search means;

input means for inputting characters and a variety of designations; and

display means for display a document containing said character string and resulting from the search;

wherein said display means displays a query input window for inputting a query statement for said search character string, a search history display window for displaying said query statement and the number of documents as hit in the search, a search result list display window for displaying simultaneously titles of plural documents as hit in the search and a document display window for displaying the document as a result of the search.

25. An information search system, including:

search means for searching a document containing a specified character string;

means for storing results of search delivered from said search means;

input means for inputting characters and a variety of designations; and

display means for displaying a document containing said search character string as a result of the search;

said information search system further comprising;

query statement input control means for displaying and controlling an image for inputting a query statement for said search term;

search history display control means for displaying and controlling an image for displaying said query statement and the number of documents as hit in the search;

search result list display control means for displaying and controlling an image for displaying simultaneously titles of plural documents as hit; and

document display control means for displaying and controlling an image for displaying the document as a result of the search; and

expanded result display control means for displaying and controlling an image for displaying expanded search terms developed from said input search term and having similar meaning as the latter and performing development selecting processing.