Document retrieval assisting method and system for the same and document retrieval service using the same

• US 6,446,065 B1
• Filed: 02/29/2000
• Issued: 09/03/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 07/05/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Ono, Kazuhiro, Iwayama, Makoto, Yamaguchi, Atsuko, Niwa, Yoshiki, Nishioka, Shingo, Takano, Akihiko
• Primary Examiner(s): RONES, CHARLES
• Application Number:
  US09/515,323
• Time in Patent Office: 917 Days
• Field of Search: 707/3, 707/4, 707/6, 707/5, 707/104.1
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/30 of unstructured textual data document management systems G06F16/93
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/338 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• 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 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

A document retrieval assistance method has a user interface with an interactive guidance function. In response to a search query, search results including a title list of retrieved documents is displayed alongside a separate display of topic words extracted from the retrieved documents which reflect the search results. In particular, a topic-word graph is displayed alongside a list of titles of the retrieved documents and the interface enables browsing of the documents using the topic words. Further, the interface permits emphasized display of the list of titles of the documents through direct selection of the titles displayed in the list or through selection of the topic words. Further, an associative search can be executed using a selected document to refine the original search results and develop updated displays of the search results and topic words contained in the documents.

Claims

1. An assisting execution program comprising a program for arranging and displaying a display area of search results in a list of a set of retrieved documents including information from which an agent identifies the retrieved documents, an area for displaying topic words reflecting the search results in one of a list and a graph reflecting a degree of relevance between the topic words extracted from the set of retrieved documents, wherein said areas are displayed proximate one another, and a communication program, wherein the service comprises sending a retrieval assisting execution program on an agent computer that executes a query from the agent and making the program operable on the agent computer,

wherein said retrieval operation comprises:

a step of adding or deleting a word display as a topic word to or from search words;

a step of designating a selection/no selection state of each word displayed as a topic word;

a step of emphasizing each document containing one or more selected topic words with an intensity depending on how many selected topic words are contained;

a step of rearranging and displaying the search results in decreasing order of intensity for emphasis;

a step of designating a selection/no selection state of each document from the search results;

a step of emphasizing topic words contained in the selected documents;

a step of carrying out an associative search by using one or more selected documents as a search key; and

a prune step of leaving only selected documents and gathering information about topic words only from the selected documents.

2. A computer-readble medium for executing a computer program for a document retrieval service agent using an information provider computer including a retrieval execution program,

wherein the retrieval assisting execution program comprises a program for arranging and displaying a display area of the search results in a list of a set of retrieved documents including information from which the agent identifies the retrieved document and an area for displaying topic words reflecting the search results in a list or a graph indicating a degree of relevance between the topic words extracted from the set of retrieved documents,

a communication program with which the search query input by a user of the program is sent to the information provider computer and receives necessary information produced and sent from the provider computer concerning the search results, topic words and cross-reference data between retrieved documents and corresponding topic-words, and with which the user is provided with a program with a set of retrieval operations comprising:

a step of adding or deleting a word display as a topic word to or from search words;

a step of designating a selection/no selection state of each word displayed as a topic word;

a step of emphasizing each document containing one or more selected topic words with an intensity, depending on how many selected topic words are contained;

a step of rearranging and displaying the search results in decreasing order of intensity for emphasis;

a step of designating a selection/no selection state of each document from the search results;

a step of emphasizing topic words contained in the selected documents;

a step of carrying out an associative search by using one or more selected documents as a search key; and

a prune step of leaving only selected documents and gathering information about topic words only from the selected documents.

3. A document retrieval assisting service for a retrieval service agent computer using an information provider side computer having a text database functioning as a search subject, a retrieval assisting execution program comprising a program for arranging and displaying a display area of the search results in a list of a set of retrieved documents including information from which the agent identifies the retrieved documents, an area for displaying topic words reflecting the search results in one of a list or a graph reflecting a degree of relevance between the topic words extracted from the set of retrieved documents, wherein said areas are displayed proximate one another, and a communication program, wherein the service comprises sending the retrieval assisting execution program to the agent computer on a query from the agent and making the program operable on the agent side computer,

wherein said retrieval operation comprises:

a step of adding or deleting a word display as a topic word to or from search words;

a step of designating a selection/no selection state of each word displayed as a topic word;

a step of emphasizing each document containing one or more selected topic words with an intensity depending on how many selected topic words are contained;

a step of rearranging and displaying the search results in decreasing order of intensity for emphasis;

a step of designating a selection/no selection state of each document from the search results;

a step of emphasizing topic words contained in the selected documents;

a step of carrying out an associative search by using one or more selected documents as a search key; and

a prune step of leaving only selected documents and gathering information about topic words only from the selected documents.

4. A document retrieval serve or document retrieval assisting service according to claim 3, comprising sending the retrieval assisting execution program to an agent side computer on a query from an agent, to preliminarily deliver the retrieval assisting execution program to an agent that potentially uses the service without starting operation of the retrieval assisting execution program.

5. A document retrieval service or a document retrieval assisting service according to claim 3,

wherein the step of designating the selection/non selection state of an individual word displayed as a topic word includes performing with a mouse: an operation to display the background color of a selected topic word or the font thereof as distinctive to make the selected topic word readily identifiable and put only a designated topic word at selection state while putting others at non selection state, an operation to toggle the selection/non selection of only the designated word, an operation to collectively select words with overlap with a designated rectangle region while putting others at non selection state, an operation to collectively move a selected word group, and an operation to add to selected state all topic words which can be browsed through one link with relevance between topic words from any of already selected words.

6. A document retrieval service or document retrieval assisting service according to claim 3,

wherein the step of designating the selection/non selection state of an individual word from search results includes displaying a small window on the side of the title of an individual document on an search results display area and using a distinctive color for a document, if selected, to make the selected document readily identifiable and toggle the selection/non selection of the corresponding document if a designated operation such as mouse clicking on the window part is executed (the color thus changes), and collectively selecting or never selecting a plurality of documents by designating such documents by drag operation.

7. A document retrieval service that retrieves documents with a retrieval service agent by accessing an information provider and obtaining and providing to a client search results, information about topic words, and information relevant to a relation between the search results and the topic words, wherein a computer of the information provider is equipped with a text database functioning as a search subject, a retrieval assisting execution program comprising a program for arranging and displaying a display area of the search results in a list of a set of retrieved documents including information in a form from which the agent identifies the retrieved documents, an area for displaying topic words reflecting the search results in one of a list and a graph indicating a degree of relevance between the topic words extracted from the set of retrieved documents, and a communication program, wherein in response to a search query received from the agent via the retrieval assisting execution program, a retrieval operation for the query is performed with extraction of topic words from the search results and calculation of the degree of relevance between the topic words and sending to the retrieval assisting execution program working on the agent computer all needed data concerning the search results, topic words and cross-reference data between retrieved documents and corresponding topic-words,

wherein said retrieval operation comprises:

a step of adding or deleting a word display as a topic word to or from search words;

a step of designating a selection/no selection state of each word displayed as a topic word;

a step of emphasizing each document containing one or more selected topic words with an intensity, depending on how many selected topic words are contained;

a step of rearranging and displaying the search results in decreasing order of intensity for emphasis;

a step of designating a selection/no selection state of each document from the search results;

a step of emphasizing topic words contained in the selected documents;

a step of carrying out an associative search by using one or more selected documents as a search key; and

a prune step of leaving only selected documents and gathering information about topic words only from the selected documents.

8. A document retrieval service or document retrieval assisting service according to claim 7, wherein the retrieval assisting execution program is preliminarily delivered to the agent, so that the agent might start the program when desired.

9. A document retrieval service or a document retrieval assisting service according to claim 8, wherein the step of adding or deleting an individual word displayed as a topic word to or from search words includes performing with a mouse:

an operation to add only designated topic words to the search words, an operation to delete some search words being the same as the designated topic words from the search words, an operation to collectively add selected topic words to the search words, and an operation to delete all search words being the same as any one of the selected topic words.

10. A document retrieval service or a document retrieval assisting service according to claim 7,

wherein the step of adding or deleting an individual word displayed as a topic word to or from search words includes performing with a mouse: an operation to add only designated topic words to search words, an operation to delete some search words being the same as designated topic words from the search words, and an operation to collectively add selected topic words to the search words, and an operation to delete all search words being the same as any one of the selected topic words.

11. A document retrieval service or a document retrieval assisting service according to claim 7,

wherein the step of designating the selection/non selection state of an individual word displayed as a topic word includes performing with a mouse:

an operation to display the background color of a selected topic word or the font thereof as distinctive to make the selected topic word readily identifiable and put only a designated topic word at selection state while putting others at non selection state, an operation to toggle the selection/non selection of only the designated word, an operation to collectively select words with overlap with a designated rectangle region while putting others at non selection state, an operation to collectively move a selected word group, and an operation to add to selection state all topic words which can be reached through one relevance-link between topic words from any of already selected words.

12. A document retrieval service or document retrieval assisting service according to claim 7,

wherein the step of designating the selection/non selection state of an individual word from search results includes displaying a small window on the side of the title of an individual document on a search results display area and using a distinctive color for a document, if selected, to make the selected document readily identifiable and toggle the selection/non selection of the corresponding document if a designated operation such as mouse clicking on the window part is effected (the color thus changes), and collectively selecting or un-selecting a plurality of documents by designating such documents by drag operation.