Document retrieval apparatus

• US 7,634,473 B2
• Filed: 01/26/2006
• Issued: 12/15/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/09/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fuji Xerox Company Limited (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Fuji Xerox Company Limited (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Shibata, Hirohito, Ikeda, Hitoshi, Yoshioka, Takeshi, Yamada, Toshiya, Fukui, Motofumi
• Primary Examiner(s): Robinson; Greta L
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wilcox; James J
• Application Number:
  US11/339,519
• Publication Number:
  US 20060282415A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,419 Days
• Field of Search: 707/205
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/93 Document management systems
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99932 Access augmentation or optimizing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99935 Query augmenting and refining, e.g. inexact access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface

Abstract

A document retrieval apparatus for retrieving documents from a document database in which documents are registered, and displaying the retrieved documents, the document retrieval apparatus includes: a keyword input unit for accepting input of a retrieval keyword for retrieving the documents; a document retrieval unit for retrieving the documents from the document database on the basis of the retrieval keyword; a keyword weight calculation unit for calculating those weights of the retrieval keyword which feature contents of the retrieved documents, as keyword weights; and a display process unit for displaying the retrieved documents in a state where the retrieval keyword contained in the retrieved documents is presented in display aspects conforming to the keyword weights.

Claims

1. A document retrieval apparatus for retrieving a retrieved document from a document database in which documents are registered, and displaying the retrieved document, the document retrieval apparatus comprising:

a document retrieval unit for retrieving the retrieved document from the document database based on a retrieval keyword;

a keyword weight calculation unit for calculating a keyword weight of the retrieval keyword, which represents at least a degree of relevance between the retrieval keyword and contents of the retrieved document, the keyword weight calculation unit calculating the keyword weight of the retrieval keyword in part by multiplying both;

a number of occurrences of the retrieval keyword in the retrieved document, and

a preset weight of the retrieval keyword, which is set before the document retrieval unit retrieves the retrieved document, and which represents a relative importance of the retrieval keyword with respect to other retrieval keywords in a same search query; and

a display process unit for displaying the retrieved document in a state where the retrieval keyword contained in the retrieved document is presented in a display aspect reflecting the keyword weight by changing a density of highlighting, changing a sort of meshing and changing a gradation of a background.

2. The document retrieval apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display process unit displays the retrieved document in a state where the display aspect of the retrieval keyword contained in the retrieved document is made different based on reference values which prescribe the display aspect conforming to the keyword weight.

3. A document retrieval apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a document ranking unit for calculating a summation of the keyword weights for a plurality of retrieved documents, so as to rank the retrieved documents in accordance with summation values.

4. The document retrieval apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a thesaurus/dictionary unit for holding relevant words which are relevant to other words, respectively, and degrees of relevance between the relevant words and the other words, respectively, wherein;

the document retrieval unit retrieves the retrieved documents from the document database based on the retrieval keyword and a relevant word, from among the relevant words, relevant to the retrieval keyword according to the thesaurus/dictionary unit;

the keyword weight calculation unit factors a degree of relevance between the relevant word and the retrieval keyword according to the thesaurus/dictionary unit into the calculating of the keyword weight and

the display process unit displays the retrieved document in a state where the relevant word relevant to the retrieval keyword contained in the retrieved document is presented in a display aspect reflecting the keyword weight.

5. The document retrieval apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the document retrieval apparatus automatically selects a feature word, which reflects contents of an inputted document, as the retrieval keyword, the feature word being selected based on either:

the feature word having a high occurrence frequency, or the feature word being a title.

6. The document retrieval apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising:

a keyword selection input unit for accepting selection of the retrieval keyword from either of an input document and a previously retrieved document, wherein

the display process unit displays the input document and the retrieved document in a state where a word corresponding to the selected retrieval keyword, in either of the input document or the retrieved document, whichever the keyword selection input unit did not accept selection of the retrieval keyword from, is presented in a display aspect reflecting the keyword weight.

7. The document retrieval apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising:

a candidate document selection input unit for accepting selection of the retrieved document from among a plurality of displayed retrieved document candidates, wherein

the display process unit displays the input document in a state where the retrieval keyword contained in the input document is presented in a display aspect reflecting the keyword weight.

10. A document retrieval apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a keyword input unit for accepting input of a retrieval keyword for retrieving the document, wherein

the retrieval keyword is a keyword input by a user using the keyword input unit.

8. A computer-readable storage medium encoded with a computer program readable by a computer, the computer program instructing the computer to execute a method comprising:

accepting input of a retrieval keyword for retrieving a document;

retrieving the document from the document database based on the retrieval keyword;

calculating a keyword weight of the retrieval keyword, which represents at least a degree of relevance between the retrieval keyword and contents of the retrieved document, the calculating of the keyword weight of the retrieval keyword being conducted in part by multiplying both;

a number of occurrences of the retrieval keyword in the retrieved document, and

a preset weight of the retrieval keyword, which is set before the document is retrieved, and which represents a relative importance of the retrieval keyword with respect to other retrieval keywords in a same search query; and

displaying the retrieved document in a state where the retrieval keyword contained in the retrieved document is presented in a display aspect reflecting the keyword weight by changing a density of highlighting, changing a sort of meshing and changing a gradation of a background.

9. A document retrieval method for retrieving a retrieved document from a document database in which documents are registered, and displaying the retrieved document, the document retrieval method comprising:

inputting of a retrieval keyword for retrieving the retrieved document;

retrieving the retrieved document from the document database based on the retrieval keyword;

calculating a keyword weight of the retrieval keyword, which represents at least a degree of relevance between the retrieval keyword and contents of the retrieved document, the calculating of the keyword weight of the retrieval keyword being conducted in part by multiplying both;

a number of occurrences of the retrieval keyword in the retrieved document, and

a preset weight of the retrieval keyword, which is set before the document is retrieved, and which represents a relative importance of the retrieval keyword with respect to other retrieval keywords in a same search query; and

displaying the retrieved document in a state where the retrieval keyword contained in the retrieved document is presented in a display aspect reflecting the keyword weight by changing a density of highlighting, changing a sort of meshing and changing a gradation of a background.