Data processing: database and file management or data structures – Database design – Data structure types
Reexamination Certificate
1998-09-03
2001-05-01
Ho, Ruay Lian (Department: 2771)
Data processing: database and file management or data structures
Database design
Data structure types
C707S793000, C707S793000, C707S793000, C704S009000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06226638
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information searching apparatus and its method including a function for providing a searcher with a searching hint, in a cross-lingual information retrieval for converting a key-term into another language and searching a database.
2. Description of the Related Art
Nowadays, with the developments in computer networks, progress has been made in searching apparatuses, and accordingly information can be obtained from computers all over the world. When a database written in a certain language is searched, it is common to search this database using the same language. However, when this database is to be searched using another language, a given key-term is simply converted into the language of this database. Here, a key-term is defined to be a word or word compound of which a query is composed. Such a searching method is called a cross-lingual information retrieval. For example, when a database written in English is to be searched using a key-term written in Japanese, this key-term is converted into English, and then a search is performed.
As a conventional information search, there is the following technology. A key-term is rewritten into related terms such as similar terms, synonyms, antonyms, a shift of indication, translated terms, abbreviated terms, and the like, the results are displayed, and a searcher selects some terms to be supplied to a search engine among the displayed ones. Here, the shift of indication means another character string having a similar form as the key-term being displayed.
In the above-mentioned conventional information search, there is the following problem.
In the above-mentioned conventional cross-lingual information retrieval, a key-term that a user inputs is converted to the language of a database, and optionally this converted key-term is expanded to its related terms in the same language. In this method, however, a searcher cannot comprehensively or fully understand the relationship between the key-term he inputs and the actual key-terms to be supplied to the search engine.
If a more suitable cross-lingual information retrieval is desired, it is necessary to simultaneously perform a conversion (translation expansion) which is a simple translation of the input key-term, and another conversion (related-term expansion) into related terms. However, if such an expansion process having at least two levels (referred to as a multi-level expansion process, hereinafter) is performed, a series of expansion processes becomes more difficult to grasp. Therefore, there might arise the possibility that unnecessary key-terms are input to the search engine or necessary key-terms are carelessly omitted.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide an information searching apparatus including an interface, and its method, whose expansion processes can be easily understood by a searcher, in an information search for iteratively expanding an input key-term.
The information searching apparatus of the present invention comprises an inputting unit, an expanding unit, a storing unit, an outputting unit, and a searching unit.
The inputting unit inputs the key-term, the expanding unit rewrites the key-term into information having a plurality of levels, and the storing unit stores an expansion history having the plurality of levels, in the form of a tree structure. The outputting unit outputs at least a part of the information stored in the above-mentioned tree structure, and the searching unit makes a search using the expanded key-terms selected by the searcher among the ones in the expansion history shown by the outputting unit.
The expanding unit includes, for example, a translation dictionary for translating a term from one language into another language, and a related-term dictionary for obtaining related terms in the same language, such as similar terms, synonyms, antonyms, a shift of indication, translated terms, abbreviated terms, and the like. Further, this unit expands the thus-input key-term into key-terms in the database language by combining the translation expansion process and the related-term expansion processes. The expansion history of the terms is stored in the storing unit in the form of a tree structure in which the expanded terms at each level are made to be nodes.
The outputting unit displays, for example, an expansion history of the tree structure which is stored in the storing unit, on a screen, and a user (searcher) designates the terms included in the thus-displayed expansion history as key-terms for searching. The searching unit searches a database or the like using the thus-designated key-terms for searching, and obtains the searched results.
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Fuji Masaru
Okura Seiji
Ushioda Akira
Fujitsu Limited
Ho Ruay Lian
Staas & Halsey , LLP
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