Apparatus for and method of retrieving information

• US 6,836,822 B1
• Filed: 02/04/1999
• Issued: 12/28/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 02/06/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Pioneer Electronic Corporation (Pioneer Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Pioneer Electronic Corporation (Pioneer Corporation)
• Inventors: Koga, Koji, Kaneko, Tadayasu, Hatano, Ichiro, Takayanagi, Motohiko
• Primary Examiner(s): Thai, Tuan V.
• Application Number:
  US09/244,019
• Time in Patent Office: 2,154 Days
• Field of Search: 711/100, 711/117, 711/119, 711/154, 711/118, 701/209, 701/211
• US Class Current: 711/117
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3608 using speech input, e.g. using speech recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/26 Speech to text systems G10L15/08 takes precedence

Abstract

An information retrieving apparatus is advantageously used in a voice operation of a vehicle navigation system. The apparatus includes a storage unit for storing the plural pieces of the candidate information composing a hierarchical structure including m hierarchies (m is a natural number not less than 2), and the apparatus retrieves a target information from the hierarchical structure. The apparatus includes an input unit for inputting information, a judging unit for judging a correspondence of the inputted information with one of the plural pieces of the candidate information and for judging the hierarchy of the candidate information if the correspondence is obtained, and a retrieving unit for retrieving one of the plural pieces of the candidate information as a target information based on a judged result of the judging unit.

Claims

1. An information retrieving apparatus for retrieving target information from a plurality of candidates, comprising:

storage means for storing the plurality of candidates in a hierarchical structure including m hierarchies (m being a natural number not less than

     2);

output means for outputting a message which requests a user to input a reply;

input means for a user to input the reply; and

searching means for searching candidates as to a plurality of hierarchies in the hierarchical structure to determine a corresponding candidate to the reply,

wherein the next message which requests the user to input the next reply is further output from the output means based on the corresponding candidate until the corresponding candidate becomes the target information.

2. An information retrieving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the hierarchical structure is arranged such that each candidate belonging to (n+1)-th hierarchy (n being a natural number and n<

m−

1) is associated with one of the plurality of candidates belonging to n-th hierarchy.

3. An information retrieving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the output means outputs the next question relating to the (p+1)-th hierarchy if the corresponding candidate belongs to the p-th hierarchy (p being a natural number and p<

m−

1), while the output means outputs the next message relating to the (p+q+1)-th hierarchy if the corresponding candidate belongs to the (p+q)-th hierarchy (q being a natural number and (p+q)<

m−

1).

4. An information retrieving apparatus according to claim 3, the searching means further comprising means for expanding candidates searched;

wherein in a case where the corresponding candidates is not found in the p-th hierarchy, the searching means expand the candidates searched so that candidates in the (p+q)-th hierarchy are searched.

5. An information retrieving apparatus according to claim 4, wherein in a case where the corresponding candidates is found in the p-th hierarchy, the searching means does not expand the candidates searched so that candidates in the (p+q)-th hierarchy are not searched.

6. An information retrieving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the message relates to r-th hierarchy (r being a natural number and r<

m−

1), and the output means outputs the next message relating to (r+1)-th hierarchy if the input information is not inputted for a predetermined time.

7. An information retrieving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the r-th hierarchy (r being a natural number and r<

m−

1) comprises a plurality of groups each including candidates, and the message relates to one of the groups in the r-th hierarchy, and wherein if the input information is not inputted for a predetermined time, the output means outputs the next message relating to other one of the groups.

8. An information retrieving apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the reply is in a form of voice, and the input means comprises a voice recognition means for recognizing the reply.

9. The information retrieving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus further comprises information providing means for providing information to the user by performing data processing based on the target information.

10. A method of retrieving target information from a plurality of candidates that compose a hierarchical structure including m hierarchies (m being a natural number not less than 2), the method comprising the steps of:

outputting a message which requests a user to input a reply;

receiving the reply from the user;

searching candidates as to a plurality of hierarchies in the hierarchical structure to determine a corresponding candidate to the reply; and

outputting the next message, which further requests the user to input the next reply, based on the corresponding candidate until the corresponding candidate becomes the target information.

11. A method of retrieving target information from a plurality of candidates according to claim 10, wherein the hierarchical structure is arranged such that each candidate belonging to (n+1)-th hierarchy (n being a natural number and n<

m−

1) is associated with one of the plurality of candidates belonging to n-th hierarchy.

12. A method of retrieving target information from a plurality of candidates according to claim 10, wherein the step of outputting outputs the next question relating to the (p+1)-th hierarchy if the corresponding candidate belongs to the p-th hierarchy (p being a natural number and p<

m−

1), while the step of outputting outputs the next message relating to the (p+q+1)-th hierarchy if the corresponding candidate belongs to the (p+q)-th hierarchy (q being a natural number and (p+q)<

m−

1).

13. A method of retrieving target information from a plurality of candidates according to claim 12, the searching means further comprising means for expanding candidates searched;

wherein in a case where the corresponding candidates is not found in the p-th hierarchy, the step of searching expand the candidates searched so that candidates in the (p+q)-th hierarchy are searched.

14. A method of retrieving target information from a plurality of candidates according to claim 13, wherein in a case where the corresponding candidates is found in the p-th hierarchy, the step of searching does not expand the candidates searched so that candidates in the (p+q)-th hierarchy are not searched.

15. A method of retrieving target information from a plurality of candidates according to claim 10, wherein the message relates to r-th hierarchy (r being a natural number and r<

m−

1), and the step of outputting outputs the next message relating to (r+1)-th hierarchy if the input information is not inputted for a predetermined time.

16. A method of retrieving target information from a plurality of candidates according to claim 10 wherein the r-th hierarchy (r being a natural number and r<

−

1 comprises a plurality of groups each including candidates, and the message relates to one of the groups in the r-th hierarchy, and wherein if the input information is not inputted for a predetermined time, the step of outputting outputs the next message relating to other one of the groups.

17. The method according to claim 10, wherein the method further comprises the step of providing information to the user by performing data processing based on the target information.

18. A storage medium carrying, in a computer-readable manner, an information retrieving program for retrieving target information from a plurality of candidates that compose a hierarchical structure including m hierarchies (m being a natural number not less than 2), said program controls a computer device to function as:

output means for outputting a message which requests a user to input a reply;

input means for a user to input the reply; and

searching means for searching candidates as to a plurality of hierarchies in the hierarchical structure to determine a corresponding candidate to the reply,

wherein the next message which requests the user to input the next reply is further output from the output means based on the corresponding candidate until the corresponding candidate becomes the target information.

19. A storage medium according to claim 18, wherein the hierarchical structure is arranged such that each candidate belonging to (n+1)-th hierarchy (n being a natural number and n<

m−

1) is associated with one of the plurality of candidates belonging to n-th hierarchy.

20. A storage medium according to claim 18, wherein the output means outputs the next question relating to the (p+1)-th hierarchy if the corresponding candidate belongs to the p-th hierarchy (p being a natural number and p<

m−

1), while the output means outputs the next message relating to the (p+q+1)-th hierarchy if the corresponding candidate belongs to the (p+q+1)-th hierarchy (q being a natural number and (p+q)<

m−

1).

21. A storage medium according to claim 20, the searching means further comprising means for expanding candidates searched;

wherein in a case where the corresponding candidates is not found in the p-th hierarchy, the searching means expand the candidates searched so that candidates in the (p+q)-th hierarchy are searched.

22. A storage medium according to claim 21, wherein in a case where the corresponding candidates is found in the p-th hierarchy, the searching means does not expand the candidates searched so that candidates in the (p+q)-th hierarchy are not searched.

23. A storage medium according to claim 18, wherein the message relates to r-th hierarchy (r being a natural number and r<

m−

1), and the output means outputs the next message relating to (r+1)-th hierarchy if the input information is not inputted for a predetermined time.

24. A storage medium according to claim 18, wherein the r-th hierarchy (r being a natural number and r<

m−

1) comprises a plurality of groups each including candidates, and the message relates to one of the groups in the r-th hierarchy, and wherein if the input information is not inputted for a predetermined time, the output means outputs the next message relating to other one of the groups.

25. The storage medium according to claim 18, wherein the program controls the computer device to cause the input means to recognize the reply in a form of voice.

26. The storage medium according to claim 18, wherein the program controls a computer device to further function as information providing means for providing information to the user by performing data processing based on the target information.

27. A computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave and representing instructions executed by a computer system to retrieve target information from a plurality of candidates that compose a hierarchical structure including m hierarchies (m being a natural number not less than 2), comprising the instructions for:

outputting a message which requests a user to input a reply;

receiving the reply from the user;

searching candidates as to a plurality of hierarchies in the hierarchical structure to determine a corresponding candidate to the reply; and

outputting the next message, which further requests the user to input the next reply, based on the corresponding candidate until the corresponding candidate becomes the target information.