Information processors which provide advice information, and recording mediums

• US 6,026,400 A
• Filed: 02/11/1998
• Issued: 02/15/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 02/19/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hanger Solutions, LLC (IP Investments Group LLC)
• Original Assignee: Casio Computer Company Limited
• Inventors: Suzuki, Hideo
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): JUNG, DAVID YIUK
• Application Number:
  US09/022,331
• Time in Patent Office: 734 Days
• Field of Search: 707/1-206, 707/530, 455/158.4, 705/36, 709/204-219
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/20 of structured data, e.g. relational data
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99934 Query formulation, input preparation, or translation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99935 Query augmenting and refining, e.g. inexact access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99936 Pattern matching access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99937 Sorting

Abstract

An agent computer block 16 analyzes and classifies the meaning of a request for advice on an individual'"'"'s action, on the basis of voice recognition character data inputted by an input/output computer block 15, and requests a personal computer 2 to start up an information retrieval application program involving the request for advice on the individual'"'"'s action. When the agent computer block 16 receives from the started-up application extraction items set in an information data base of interest, the agent computer block 16 extracts from the voice recognition character data a keyword corresponding to any one of the extraction condition items or a keyword specifiable on the basis of the individual'"'"'s preference data in an information file stored in a storage device 17, and transfers to the personal computer 2 an instruction to retrieve information which meets the information extraction conditions to thereby causes the personal computer 2 to retrieve required information and provide the retrieved information back for the agent computer block 16.

Claims

1. An information processor responsive to a request for advice on an individual'"'"'s action for retrieving information which meets the content of the request and for providing the information for the individual, comprising:

input means for inputting the contents of the request to the information processor;

extraction item setting means in which a plurality of extraction items corresponding to the content of the request is set;

preference information storing means in which the individual'"'"'s preference information is stored;

keyword specifying means for analyzing the content of the request inputted by said input means, and for specifying a keyword corresponding to any one of the plurality of extraction items set in said extraction item setting means on the basis of the result of the analysis;

item extracting means for extracting at least one of the extraction items set in said extraction item setting means in consideration of the individual'"'"'s preference information stored in said preference information storing means on the basis of the keyword specified by said keyword specifying means; and

information retrieving means for retrieving from a predetermined data base information which meets the inputted content of the request for advice on the individual'"'"'s action on the basis of the at least one of the extraction items extracted by said extracting means.

2. The information processor according to claim 1, wherein said item extracting means extracts at least one of the extraction items set in said extraction item setting means on the basis of the keyword specified by said keyword specifying means, extracts at least one of the extraction items on the basis of the keyword and the individual'"'"'s preference information stored in said preference information storage means, and stores the respective results of the extraction;

and

said information retrieving means retrieves from a predetermined data base information which meets the inputted contents of the request for advice on the user'"'"'s action in accordance with the at least one extraction item extracted on the basis of the keyword and the preference information from the results of the extraction by said item extracting means and outputs the retrieved information preferentially.

3. An information processor responsive to a request for advice on an individual'"'"'s action for retrieving information which meets the contents of the request and for providing the information for the individual, comprising:

input means for inputting the contents of the request to the information processor;

classification setting means in which a plurality of classifications each corresponding to the contents of a request for advice on the individual'"'"'s action is set;

program storage means in which a plurality of application programs each for a respective one of the classifications is stored;

analyzing means for analyzing the contents of the request for advice on the individual'"'"'s action inputted by said input means;

start-up means for determining on the basis of the result of the analysis which of the classifications set in said classification setting means the contents of the request for advice on the individual'"'"'s action corresponds to and for starting up an application program stored in said program storage means and corresponding to the appropriate classification.

4. An information processor, connected to an external data processor having an information data base, for requesting, in response to an individuals request for advice on the individual'"'"'s action, the data processor to retrieve information which meets the content of the individual'"'"'s request, and for providing the information retrieved by the data processor for the individual, comprising:

input means for inputting the content of the individual'"'"'s request to the information processor;

analyzing means for analyzing the inputted contents of the individual'"'"'s request;

process requesting means for requesting the external data processor to retrieve information which meets the individual'"'"'s request on the basis of the result of the analysis; and

output means for providing the individual with the information retrieved by the data processor depending on the contents of the request by said process requesting means.

5. The information processor according to claim 4, further comprising inherent information storage means which contains information inherent in the individual and wherein said process requesting means requests, in consideration of the inherent information contained in said inherent information storage, the data processor to retrieve information which meets the individual'"'"'s request on the basis of the result of the analysis of the inputted content of the individual'"'"'s request.

6. An information processor responsive to a request for advice on an individual'"'"'s action for retrieving information which meets the contents of the request and for providing the information for the individual, comprising:

input means for inputting the contents of the request to the information processor;

action information storage means in which records of the individual'"'"'s past actions are stored;

extraction item setting means in which a plurality of extraction items for the contents of the request for advice on the individual'"'"'s action is set;

analysis means for analyzing the contents of the request inputted by said input means; and

extraction means for extracting the tendency of the individual'"'"'s actions in consideration of records of the individual'"'"'s past actions stored in said action information storage means when at least one of the extraction items set in said extraction item setting means is extracted from of the result of the analysis, for narrowing the extraction items down on the basis of the tendency of the individual'"'"'s actions and the result of the analysis, and for outputting the narrowed-down extraction items.

7. A storage medium comprising:

a first computer-executable program code for analyzing the contents of an inputted request for advice on an individual'"'"'s action and for specifying on the basis of the result of the analysis a keyword corresponding to at least one of a set plurality of extraction items;

a second computer-executable program code for extracting any one of the set extraction items on the basis of the specified keyword in consideration of the individual'"'"'s preference information; and

a third computer-executable program code for retrieving from a predetermined information data base information which meets the contents of the inputted request for advice on the individual'"'"'s action on the basis of the extracted extraction item.

8. A storage medium comprising:

a first computer-executable program code for analyzing the contents of an inputted request for advice on an individual'"'"'s action; and

a second computer-executable program code for determining on the basis of the result of the analysis which of classifications each set in correspondence to the contents of a request for advice on the individual'"'"'s action the inputted request comes under, and for starting up an application program stored in said program storage means and corresponding to the classification of the contents of a request which the inputted request comes under.

9. A storage medium comprising:

a first computer-executable program code for analyzing the contents of an inputted request for advice on an individual'"'"'s action; and

a second computer-executable program code for requesting an external center having an information data base to retrieve information which meets the request for advice on the user'"'"'s action on the basis of the analysis; and

a third computer-executable program code for outputting the information retrieved by the external center in response to the request for information retrieval by said second computer executable program code.

10. A storage medium comprising:

a first computer-executable program code for analyzing the contents of an inputted request for advice on an individual'"'"'s action; and

a second computer-executable program for extracting the tendency of the individual'"'"'s actions in consideration of stored records of the individual'"'"'s past actions when a plurality of set extraction items is extracted from the result of the analysis, for narrowing the extraction items down on the basis of the tendency of the individual'"'"'s actions and the result of the analysis, and for outputting the narrowed-down extraction items.

11. A portable information terminal having a communication function to communicate via a communication network with an external device having an information data base, comprising:

input means for inputting to the portable information terminal the contents of a request for advice on an individual'"'"'s action when the portable information terminal is requested to retrieve information necessary for the contents of the request for advice on the individual'"'"'s action;

analysis means for analyzing the contents of the request for advice on the individual'"'"'s action inputted by said input means;

specifying means for specifying a classification of information which meets the contents of the request for advice on the individual'"'"'s action on the basis of the result of the analysis of the contents of the request for advice on the individual'"'"'s action by said analysis means;

output means for accessing an external device having an information data base suitable for the classification of information specified by said specifying means to provide for the external device extraction conditions and an extraction instruction to extract information which meets the contents of the request for advice on the individual'"'"'s action; and

read means for reading the information extracted from the information data base of the external device on the basis of the extraction conditions and extraction instruction provided by said output means.

12. The portable information terminal according to 11, further comprising clocking means for recording the current time and wherein

said output means provides for the external device the classification of information specified by said specifying means or the current time recorded by said clocking means as the conditions for extracting information which meets the contents of the request for advice on the individual'"'"'s action.

13. The portable information terminal according to 11, further comprising current position detecting means for detecting the current position of the terminal and wherein

said output means provides for the external device the classification of information specified by said specifying means or the current position of the terminal detected by said current position detecting means as the conditions for extracting information which meets the contents of the request for advice on the individual'"'"'s action.

14. The portable information terminal according to 11 further comprising recognition means for reading data on the selection of information corresponding to the classification of information specified by said specifying means from a data base which contains data on the past situation of information selection stored in a storage device of the portable information terminal and for recognizing the situation of the selection of the read information;

and

drawing-out means for drawing out the conditions for narrowing required information down from the situation of selection of the information recognized by said recognition means;

said output means providing for the external device the classification of information specified by said specifying means or the conditions for narrowing down information drawn out by said drawing-out means as conditions of extracting information which meets the contents of the request for advice on the individual'"'"'s action.

15. The portable information terminal according to 11 further comprising:

current position detection means for detecting the current position of the terminal;

recognition means for reading data on the selection of information corresponding to the classification of information specified by said specifying means from a data base which contains data on the past situation of information selection stored in a storage device of the portable information terminal and for recognizing the situation of the selection of the read information; and

drawing-out means for drawing out the conditions for narrowing required information down from the situation of selection of the information recognized by said recognition means;

said output means providing for the external device the classification of information specified by said specifying means, the current position detected by said current position of the terminal detection means or the conditions for narrowing down information drawn out by said drawing-out means as the conditions for extracting information which meets the contents of the request for advice on the individual'"'"'s action.

16. A portable terminal having a communication function to communicate via a communication network with an external device having an information data base, an information processor, which is provided at a position remote from the terminal, being connected to the communication network, the terminal comprising:

input means for inputting to the portable information terminal the contents of a request for retrieving information necessary for the contents of a request for advice on an individual'"'"'s action when the portable information terminal is requested to retrieve the necessary infomation;

analysis means for analyzing the contents of the request for retrieving the necessary information inputted by said input means;

specifying means for specifying a classification of information which meets the contents of the request for advice on the individual'"'"'s action on the basis of the result of the analysis by said analysis means;

output means for accessing the information processor to provide for the information processor extraction conditions and an extraction instruction to extract information necessary for the contents of the request for advice on the individual'"'"'s action;

instruction means for instructing the information process or to extract information from an information data base of the information processor or an information data base of an external device for the classification of information specified by said specifying means, in accordance with the extraction conditions and extraction instruction provided by said output means and to transfer the extracted information to the terminal; and

read means for reading the information transferred by the information processor in accordance with the instruction by said instructing means.

17. The portable information terminal according to 16, further comprising clocking means for recording the current time and wherein

said output means provides for the information processor the classification of information specified by said specifying means or the current time recorded by said clocking means as the conditions for extracting information.

18. The portable information terminal according to 17, further comprising current position detecting means for detecting the current position of the terminal and wherein

said output means provides for the information processor the classification of information specified by said specifying means or the current position of the terminal detected by said current position detecting means as the conditions for extracting information.

19. A storage medium containing:

a first computer-executable program code for inputting to a portable information terminal the contents of a request for advice on an individual'"'"'s action when the portable information terminal is requested to retrieve information necessary for the contents of the request for advice on the individual'"'"'s action;

a second computer-executable program code for analyzing the contents of the inputted request for advice on the individual'"'"'s action;

a third computer executable-program code for specifying on the basis of the result of analyzing the contents of the inputted request a classification of information which meets the contents of the request for advice on the individual'"'"'s action;

a fourth computer-executable program code for accessing an external device having an information data base suitable for the classification of information to be specified to provide for the external device extraction conditions and an extraction instruction to extract information necessary for the contents of the request for advice on the individual'"'"'s action; and

a fifth computer executable-program code for reading the information extracted from the information data base of the external device in accordance with the provided extraction conditions and extraction instruction.

20. A storage medium containing:

a first computer executable program code for inputting to a portable information terminal a request for retrieving information necessary for the contents of a request for advice on an individual'"'"'s action when the portable information terminal is requested to retrieve the necessary information;

a second computer-executable program code for analyzing the contents of the inputted request for retrieving the necessary information;

a third computer executable-program code for specifying on the basis of the result of analyzing the contents of the request for retrieving the necessary information a classification of information which meets the contents of the request for advice on the individual'"'"'s action;

a fourth computer-executable program code for accessing an information processor to provide for the information processor extraction conditions and an extraction instruction to extract information necessary for the contents of the request for advice on the individual'"'"'s action;

a fifth computer-executable program code for instructing the information process to extract information from an information data base of the information processor or an information data base of an external device, suitable for the classification of information to be specified, on the basis of the provided extraction items and extraction instruction and for transferring the extracted information to the terminal; and

a sixth computer executable-program code for reading the extracted information transferred by the information processor in accordance with the instruction from the portable information terminal.