Information search system, method and program for user specification of result ranking calculation

• US 7,107,256 B2
• Filed: 11/19/2001
• Issued: 09/12/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/19/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Ea-Plus Company Limited, Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Nakajima, Mitsuru, Umebachi, Akira
• Primary Examiner(s): Pardo, Thuy N.
• Application Number:
  US09/988,251
• Publication Number:
  US 20020198870A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,758 Days
• Field of Search: 707/5, 707/3, 707/4, 707/2, 707/1, 707/10, 707/104.1, 707/6, 707/7, 707/8, 707/103.R, 709/217
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/334 Query execution G06F16/335 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99932 Access augmentation or optimizing
• 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 707/99936 Pattern matching access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99937 Sorting
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99938 Concurrency, e.g. lock management in shared database
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99944 Object-oriented database structure

Abstract

An information search system enabling an information searcher to easily surely judge whether each piece of search target information searched is important to the searcher himself or herself. The information search system implements a function of calculating, when searching for property information on a real estate property that satisfies a search condition specified by a certain user, a degree of fitness indicating how much each piece of property information satisfies the search condition on the basis of a degree-of-fitness calculation function for that user, and a function of enabling each user to change a configuration of the degree-of-fitness calculation function for the user himself or herself.

Claims

1. An information search system comprising:

an information storage unit which stores personal information, including a number of family members, with respect to each of a plurality of users and a plurality of pieces of search target information;

a control unit which calculates search parameters based on the stored personal information;

a searching unit which searches, when a user specifies a search condition, for a piece of search target information satisfying the search condition and the calculated search parameters from the pieces of search target information in the information storage unit, and stores information indicating that the pieces of search target information are searched by the user into the information storage unit;

a calculating unit which calculates a fitting value indicating how much the search target information satisfies the search condition about the respective pieces of search target information searched by said searching unit in accordance with a fitting value calculation procedure specified by the user;

a result-of-search presenting unit which presents, to the user, at least a part of information that forms each piece of search target information searched by said searching unit together with the filling value calculated by said calculating unit with respect to that piece of search target information and the search parameters calculated by the control unit; and

an outputting unit which outputs, when a piece of search target information is specified, the personal information on each user by whom the piece of search target information is searched based on the pieces of information stored in the information storage unit.

2. An information search system comprising:

an information storage unit which stores personal information, including a number of family members, with respect to each of a plurality of users and a plurality of pieces of search target information;

a control unit which calculates search parameters based on the stored personal information;

a calculating unit which calculates, when a user specifies a search condition, a fitting value indicating how much search target information satisfies the search condition about the respective pieces of search target information in the information storage unit in accordance with a fitting value calculation procedure specified by the user;

an extracting unit for extracting the search target information of which the fitting value calculated by said calculating unit and the calculated search parameters satisfy predetermined conditions, out of the plural pieces of search target information in the information storage unit, and stores information indicating that the pieces of search target information are searched by the user into the information storage unit;

a result-of-search presenting unit which presents, to the user, at least a part of information that forms each piece of search target information extracted by said extracting unit together with the fitting value calculated by said calculating unit with respect to that piece of search target information and the search parameters calculated by the control unit; and

an outputting unit which outputs, when a piece of search target information is specified, the personal information on each user by whom the piece of search target information is searched based on the pieces of information stored in the information storage unit.

3. An information search system comprising:

an information storage unit which atoms personal information, including a number of family members, with respect to each of a plurality of users, a plurality of pieces of search target information, search condition defining information for defining a search condition with respect to each of the plurality of users, and fitting value calculation procedure defining information for defining a procedure for calculating a fitting value indicating how much the information searched under the search condition defined by the search condition defining information satisfies the search condition;

a control unit which calculates search parameters based on the stored personal information;

a searching unit which searches, when a predetermined indication is given from any one of the plurality of users, for the search target information in the information storage unit that satisfies the search condition defined by the search condition defining information stored in said information storage unit with respect to one of the users having given the predetermined indication out of the plural pieces of search target information in the information storage unit and the calculated search parameters, and which stores information indicating that the pieces of search target information are searched by the one of the users into said information storage unit;

a calculating unit which calculates the fitting value indicating how much each piece of search target information searched by said searching unit satisfies the search condition used for searching for the search target information in the procedure defined by the fitting value calculation procedure defining information stored in said information storage unit with respect to the search permission party having given the predetermined indication;

a result-of-search presenting unit which presents, to the one of the users, at least a part of information that forms each piece of search target information searched by said searching unit together with the fitting value calculated by said calculating unit with respect to that piece of search target information and the calculated search parameters; and

an outputting unit which outputs, when a piece of search target information is specified, the personal information on each user by whom the piece of search target information is searched based on pieces of information stored in the information storage unit.

4. An information search system according to claim 3, wherein the calculating unit stores each calculated fitting value as a fitting value of a corresponding piece of search target information for the user into the information storage unit, and

the outputting unit outputs the personal information on each user by whom the piece of search target information is searched together with the fitting value of the piece of search target information for each user.

5. An information search system according to claim 3, wherein the plural pieces of search target information contain first type search target information permitted to be browsed by one of the users, and second type search target information inhibited to be browsed by one of the users,

said searching unit searches for the search target information from the first type search target information contained in the plural pieces of search target information, and

said information search system further comprises:

a second calculating unit which calculates, when the search target information to be processed is given, the fitting value indicating how much the second type search target information to be processed satisfies the search condition stored in said information storage unit about the one of the users with respect to each of the plurality of users in the procedure defined by the fitting value calculation procedure stored in said information storage unit with respect to the one of the users; and

a result-of-search output unit for outputting, to each of the plurality of the users, the information on the one of the users and the fitting value calculated by said second calculating unit with respect to the one of the users.

6. An information search method comprising:

storing personal information, including a number of family members, with respect to each of a plurality of users and a plurality of search target information;

calculating search parameters based on the stored personal information;

searching, when a user specifies a search condition, for a piece of search target information satisfying the search condition and the calculated search parameters from the pieces of search target information;

storing information indicating that the pieces of search target information are searched by the user;

calculating a filling value indicating how much the search target information satisfies the search condition about the respective pieces of search target information searched in said searching in accordance with a fitting value calculation procedure specified by the user; and

presenting, to the user, at least a part of information that forms each piece of search target information searched in said searching together with the fitting value calculated by said calculating with respect to that piece of search target information and the calculated search parameters; and

outputting the personal information about each user by whom the piece of search target information is search based on the stored pieces of information, when the piece of search target information is specified.

7. An information search method comprising:

storing personal information, including a number of family members, with respect to each of a plurality of users and a plurality of search target information;

calculating search parameters based on the stored personal information;

calculating, when a user specifies a search condition, a fitting value indicating how much search target information satisfying the search condition about the respective pieces of search target information in accordance with a fitting value calculation procedure specified by the user;

extracting the search target information of which the fitting value calculated in said calculating and the calculated search parameters satisfy predetermined conditions, out of the plural pieces of search target information;

storing information indicating that the pieces of search target information are searched by the user;

presenting, to the user, at least a part of information that forms each piece of search target information extracted in said extracting together with the fitting value calculated in said calculating with respect to that piece of search target information and the calculated search parameters; and

outputting the personal information about each user by whom the piece of search target information is search based on the stored pieces of information, when the piece of search target information is specified.

8. A computer readable medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute:

storing personal information, including a number of family members, with respect to each of a plurality of users and a plurality of search target information;

calculating search parameters based on the stored personal information;

searching, when a user specifies a search condition, for a piece of search target information satisfying the search condition and the calculated search parameters from the pieces of search target information;

storing information indicating that the pieces of search target information are searched by the user;

calculating a fitting value indicating how much the search target information satisfies the search condition about the respective pieces of search target information searched in said searching in accordance with a fitting value calculation procedure specified by the user; and

presenting, to the user, at least a part of information that forms each piece of search target information searched in said searching together with the fitting value calculated by said calculating with respect to that piece of search target information and the calculated search parameters; and

outputting the personal information about each user by whom the piece of search target information is search based on the stored pieces of information, when the piece of search target information is specified.

9. A computer readable storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute:

storing personal information, including a number of family members, with respect to each of a plurality of users and a plurality of search target information;

calculating search parameters based on the stored personal information;

calculating, when a user specifies a search condition, a fitting value indicating how much search target information satisfies the search condition about the respective pieces of search target information in accordance with a fitting value calculation procedure specified by the user;

extracting the search target information of which the filling value calculated in said calculating and the calculated search parameters satisfy predetermined conditions, out of the plural pieces of search target information;

storing information indicating that the pieces of search target information are searched by the user;

presenting, to the user, at least a part of information that forms each piece of search target information extracted in said extracting together with the fitting value calculated in said calculating with respect to that piece of search target information and the calculated search parameters; and

outputting the personal information about each user by whom the piece of search target information is search based on the stored pieces of information, when the piece of search target information is specified.

10. A computer readable storage medium storing a program for making a computer function as an information search system, the program comprising:

an information storage unit which stores personal information, including a number of family members, with respect to each of a plurality of users, a plurality of pieces of search target information, search condition defining information for defining a search condition with respect to each of the plurality of users, and fitting value calculation procedure defining information for defining a procedure for calculating a fitting value indicating how much the information searched under the search condition defined by the search condition defining information satisfies the search condition;

a control unit which calculates search parameters based on the stored personal information;

a searching unit which searches, when a predetermined indication is given from any one of the plurality of users, for the search target information in the information storage unit that satisfies the search condition defined by the search condition defining information stored in said information storage unit with respect to one of the users having given the predetermined indication out of the plural pieces of search target information in the information storage unit and the calculated search parameters, and which stores information indicating that the pieces of search target information are searched by the one of the users into said information storage unit;

a calculating unit which calculates the fitting value indicating how much each piece of search target information searched by said searching unit satisfies the search condition used for searching for the search target information in the procedure defined by the fitting value calculation procedure defining information stored in said information storage unit with respect to the search permission party having given the predetermined indication;

a result-of-search presenting unit which presents, to the one of the users, at least a part of information that forms each piece of search target information searched by said searching unit together with the fitting value calculated by said calculating unit with respect to that piece of search target information and the calculated search parameters; and

an outputting unit which outputs, when a piece of search target information is specified, the personal information on each user by whom the piece of search target information is searched based on pieces of information stored in the information storage unit.

11. An information search system comprising:

an information storage unit which stores search target information and personal information, including a number of family members, about a user among a plurality of users;

a control unit which calculates search parameters based on the stored personal information;

a searching unit which searches the information storage unit for the search target information satisfying a search condition specified by the user and the calculated search parameters, and which stores in the storage unit search record information that the user searched for the search target information;

a calculating unit which calculates a fitting value according to a filling value calculation procedure specified by the user, the filling value indicating a degree to which the search target information satisfies the search condition;

a presenting unit which presents at least a portion of the search target information and the fitting value corresponding to the search target information and the calculated search parameters; and

an outputting unit which outputs the personal information for each of the users having a search record information corresponding to the presented search target information stored in the storage unit.

12. An information search system, comprising:

an information storage unit storing user data, including a number of family members, for each of a plurality of users and a plurality of pieces of search target information for each of the plurality of users;

a control unit which calculates search parameters based on the stored personal information;

a searching unit searching for information based on user specified search target information and calculated search parameters, and maintaining a history of searches carried out by each user;

a calculating unit calculating a synthetic fitting value and a plurality of type-based fitting values for every item searched, using fitting value calculation procedures specified by the user; and

a search summary unit presenting, for each search, the search target information used, results generated by the search, a plurality of fitting values calculated for each result, and the calculated search parameters.