JP3593783B2 - Information acquisition system - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a system for retrieving and acquiring desired data from a set of data stored in a database, and more particularly to an information acquisition system for limiting acquired data to a predetermined amount.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, the size of a database has been increased, or a plurality of databases have been connected via a network, and the amount of data stored in the database has increased. In addition, since the conversion of various information into electronic data has been promoted, the amount of data stored in the database has increased, and the types and amounts of data that users can acquire from the database have increased.
As the data that can be obtained electronically increases in this way, inventions that access the database more efficiently and at higher speed have been conventionally proposed.
[0003]
For example, in a database access processing method described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-182358, a hit ratio corresponding to a character string search condition and a search character string length is calculated based on the number of key values, thereby obtaining a database access process. Aims for efficiency.
However, according to the present invention, although the data to be searched can be accessed in a relatively short time, the user needs all the search results and always waits until all the search results are obtained. Was implicitly assumed, so that as intended by the present invention, it was not intended to obtain as many search results as possible by a certain time.
Turning to fields other than search, there has been proposed an invention which collects necessary data within a finite time, such as a defect data collection and search method described in JP-A-6-222962.
However, the present invention seeks to acquire fault data that makes the state of a computer abnormal while the computer is operating normally, and cannot be applied to general database search.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By converting various information into electronic data as described above, a large amount of various data can be obtained from the database, but on the other hand, the amount of information that can be obtained by being converted into electronic data increases. As a result, it takes a long time to acquire all the relevant information from the database, and there is a problem that required data cannot be obtained by the required time.
For example, when searching and retrieving data from an external terminal to a database connected via a network through a line with a small communication capacity, retrieving the required data may be completed by the required time. In some cases, all the obtained data may be wasted. Further, even if the acquisition of the data is completed by the required time, there is no time for the user to view the data, and all the acquired data may be wasted.
[0005]
A first object of the present invention is to provide an information acquisition system capable of obtaining an amount of data that can be obtained or viewable by a time designated by a user in order to solve such a problem. I do.
[0006]
Also, with the ability to access databases all over the world through networks as in today and being able to interpret all of them as one large database, obtaining search results from such a huge database Access to all data is virtually impossible (because new data is registered, updated, or deleted in another location while accessing one data), With this search method, search results cannot be obtained within a finite time.
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances to provide an information acquisition system capable of obtaining a required amount of data from a huge database during a certain time by limiting a search time to a certain time. The purpose of.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention relates to an acquisition end time designation device capable of designating a time to end a search or a viewing end time designation device capable of designating a time to end viewing by a user, and such an end time designation device. A search device that obtains data that can be obtained or viewable by a designated time from a set of data stored in the database, and a search result presentation device that outputs data obtained by the search device; An information acquisition system comprising:
[0008]
More specifically, if it is not possible to obtain information such as how many pieces of data are required in the set of data stored in the database, and how long it takes to obtain the necessary data, etc. In the information acquisition system according to the present invention, the search device can divide and acquire the search result, and further, the acquisition time reaches the time designated by the acquisition end time designation device, or the data already acquired. The retrieval result is obtained until the viewing time of the user reaches the time designated by the viewing end time designation device.
In addition, if it is possible to obtain information such as how many pieces of necessary data are included in a set of data stored in the database and how long it takes to obtain necessary information, the information acquisition of the present invention can be performed. The system predicts the time it will take to retrieve and acquire the data, so that the time falls within the time specified by the acquisition end time designating device, or the time taken to acquire the data and the time it takes to watch. It is characterized in that the total is predicted and the amount of data to be acquired is adjusted so that the total time falls within the viewing end time.
[0009]
According to the present invention, in a scene of searching for data in a set of data stored in a database (including a set of data scattered on a network in the present invention), an acquisition end time designating device or viewing end is specified by a user. When the acquisition end time or viewing end time is specified from the time designation device, the retrieval device adjusts the amount of data to be acquired so that the data can be acquired or viewed within the designated time, and the data required by the user is designated for the designated time. To be acquired or watched within.
[0010]
More specifically, if it is not possible to obtain information such as how many pieces of data are required in the set of data stored in the database and how long it takes to obtain the necessary information, The search device divides the search result and requires the acquisition time until the acquisition time reaches the time specified by the acquisition end time designation device, or until the viewing time of the already acquired data reaches the time specified by the viewing end time designation device Sequential data from the database.
Also, if it is possible to obtain information such as how many pieces of necessary data are in the set of data stored in the database and how long it takes to obtain the necessary information, the necessary data is acquired. Predict the time it will take to get it, and estimate that the time will be within the time specified by the acquisition end time designation device, or the total of the time required for data acquisition and the time required for viewing, and Adjust the amount of data to be acquired to fit in the end time.
[0011]
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
An embodiment of an information acquisition system according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows the configuration of an information acquisition system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a process for obtaining necessary data from a database within a designated acquisition end time is performed.
The information acquisition system according to the present embodiment includes a database 1 storing a set of data, an acquisition end time designating device 2 for designating a search end time, a search device 3 for searching and acquiring data from the database 1, An information presentation device 4 that outputs data acquired by the search device 3.
[0012]
The database 1 has a single storage device or a plurality of storage devices connected via a network, and stores a set of data in a storage means in a readable manner. The database 1 can interrupt the search and the transmission of the search result by sending a specific signal, and can control the amount of acquired data according to a designated time.
The acquisition end time designation device 2 includes an acquisition end time input device 21 for a user to input an acquisition end time (search end time), and an acquisition end time holding device 22 for holding the input acquisition end time. The acquisition end time instructed by the user to be input is stored and input to the search device 3.
[0013]
The search device 3 includes a search key input device 31 for inputting a search key by a user to perform a database search, and a search engine 32 for executing a search of the database 1 based on the input search key and obtaining a search result. , End determination for determining whether or not to end the search process by comparing the clock 33 for measuring the current time with the acquisition end time held in the acquisition end time holding device 22 and the current time obtained from the clock 33 The apparatus includes a device 34 and a search result holding device 35 for holding data obtained by the search engine 32. Therefore, the search device 3 searches the database 1 while comparing the current time with the acquisition end time, and ends the search process when the current time reaches the specified acquisition end time.
The information presenting device 4 has a display device, a printer, and the like, and performs display output, print output, and the like of the data obtained by the search device 3.
[0014]
The processing by the information acquisition system of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.
First, a search key for searching the database 1 is input from the search key input device 3 (step S1), and an acquisition end time as a time at which the user wants to obtain a search result is input from the acquisition end time input device 21. (Step S2), the search processing of the database 1 by the search device 3 is started. Note that the search key input device 31 and the acquisition end time input device 21 may be physically the same input device.
[0015]
As a result, the search engine 32 searches the database 1 (step S3), retrieves the search results, and sequentially stores them in the search result holding device 35 as shown in FIG. 3 (step S5). At the time of obtaining the search result, the current time and the acquisition end time are compared by the end determination device 34 (step S4). For example, when the current time is 30 seconds before the acquisition end time, the search engine 32 specifies to the database 1. To interrupt the retrieval of search results. If all search results are obtained before the current time reaches 30 seconds before the acquisition end time, the search of the database 1 is ended (step S6).
The search results held in the search result holding device 35 are output by the search result presentation device 4 and presented to the user.
[0016]
For example, if a key “search + search + acquisition + acquisition” is input as a search key and a time “17:30:00” is designated and input as an acquisition end time, the current time measured by the clock 33 is “ The search process is continued until “17:29:30” or until all the target data is obtained. When the current time reaches “17:29:30”, all the data are still obtained. The search process ends even in the absence state.
[0017]
FIG. 4 shows the configuration of an information acquisition system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a process for obtaining necessary data from a database within a designated viewing end time is performed. In the description of the present embodiment, the same parts as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and duplicate description will be omitted.
The information acquisition system according to the present embodiment includes a viewing end time designation device 5 instead of the acquisition end time designation device 2 of the first embodiment. The viewing end time designating device 4 includes a viewing end time input device 51 for inputting a time (viewing end time) at which the user should end the search in order to view the acquired data, and an input viewing end time. It has a viewing end time holding device 52 for holding time, and holds the viewing end time instructed by the user and inputs it to the search device 3. Note that the acquisition end time designation device 2 and the viewing end time designation device 5 may be constituted by the same input device, and the designated type of time may be designated and input.
[0018]
In this embodiment, the database 1 is assumed to be composed of data scattered on the network, and a set of these data is searched.
In this embodiment, as shown in the concept of FIG. 5, each data (node) is linked in a hypertext form, and the root ( Node A ) To access each data by following the link. The link is, for example, an address of a unique node on the network, and can be transferred to another node by specifying an address from each node. Nodes have data such as text, audio, still images, video, etc., keywords corresponding to each data, and links to other nodes, and nodes can access other nodes by unique addresses on the network. If it exists, it may be scattered on the network.
[0019]
The processing by the information acquisition system of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.
In the present embodiment, as a specific example, the search key input from the search key input device 31 is “agent + autonomous distribution + multi-agent”, and the viewing end time input from the viewing end time input device 51 is The case of “17:30:00” will be described. Further, in the present embodiment, an operation in a case where “node A” is specified as a search start node with the network shown in FIG. 5 as a search target will be described, and the contents of each node are “contents” as shown in FIG. It is assumed that “keyword” and “link” are included.
[0020]
First, when a search for data scattered on the network is started, a search key, a time at which viewing of the search result is desired to be ended, and a node to start the search are specified (steps S11, S12, S13).
Next, the search device 3 reads the keyword “agent” of “node A” for starting the search, and compares it with the search key “agent, autonomous distributed, multi-agent” (step S14). Then, it is determined whether or not the keyword satisfies the search condition (step S15), and if so, the search result is obtained (step S16). In this case, since “node A” has a keyword that matches the search key, the contents of the search result are obtained in conformity with the search condition.
Note that the keyword in the present embodiment does not need to be a list of words, and can be replaced with a keyword that can be matched with a search key, for example, a full-text search with text.
[0021]
The viewing time is accumulated for the retrieved search result data (step S17), and the viewing time is compared with the designated viewing end time (step S18). Is reached, the search process ends. On the other hand, if the total viewing time has not reached the viewing end time, the next node is searched (step S20), and the process ends when all nodes have been searched (step S19).
The viewing time is calculated by, for example, the method shown in FIG. 8. When the obtained data is text data, the calculation is performed according to the number of characters. When the obtained data is still image data, the calculation is performed according to the number of images. Sometimes it is calculated according to the image playback time, and if it is audio data, it is calculated according to the audio playback time. In addition to this method, other calculation methods such as changing the calculation method of the viewing time depending on the ratio of the character type of the text can be considered.
In the present embodiment, the content of “node A” is 900 characters of text, so that the time required for viewing is calculated as 1 minute and 40 seconds.
[0022]
Further, in the determination processing in step S18, it is determined whether or not to perform the next search based on the current time, the viewing time, and the viewing end time. In the present embodiment, “(current time) + (total viewing time) ) +60 seconds ”<“ viewing end time ”, the next node is searched. For example, if the time at this point is 17:16, the condition is satisfied, and the next node is searched.
In the search for the next node, one node is selected from the addresses ("links") of the other nodes that "node A" has, and the node is searched. Although some variations are conceivable as to which node is selected, it is assumed here that the search is performed using the depth-first algorithm.
[0023]
The next node searched by the depth-first algorithm is “node AA”, and the keyword of “node AA” is “multi-agent”. Will be ordered. For example, we finished obtaining data Time is 17:18 If this is the case, the viewing time of one still image is 3 minutes from the method of FIG. 8, so that “17: 18 + 1 minute 40 seconds + 3 minutes + 60 seconds <17:30” is satisfied, and the condition of step S18 is satisfied. Therefore, search for the next node.
Next, the search target is “node AAA”, and the keyword of “node AAA” is “interface”, so it does not match the search key. Assuming that the time at this point is 17:19, "17: 19 + 1 min 40 sec + 3 min + 60 sec <17:30" is satisfied, and the condition is still satisfied, so the next node is searched.
[0024]
The next search target is "node AAB", and since the keyword of "node AAB" is "autonomous distribution", it matches the search key and obtains the moving image of "node AAB". Assuming that the time at which the obtaining of the moving image data is completed is 17:22, the viewing time of the moving image is 3 minutes according to the method of FIG. 8, and therefore, “17: 22 + 1 minute 40 seconds + 3 minutes + 3 minutes + 60 seconds> 17:30 ", and the condition is not satisfied. Therefore, the search for the next node is not performed, and the search ends.
That is, the above series of processing is performed as shown in the time chart of FIG. 9, and as a result, the data obtained as shown in FIG. 10 is displayed on the display of the search result presentation device 4.
[0025]
FIG. 11 shows the configuration of an information acquisition system according to a third embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, when a database is searched, a search key is divided to perform a search and obtain a search result. Data is acquired efficiently within a specified time. In the description of the present embodiment, the same parts as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and duplicate description will be omitted.
In the information acquisition system according to the present embodiment, the search device 3 is further provided with a search key dividing device 36 and a search key storage device 37, and the search key input from the search key input device 31 is converted to the search key dividing device 36. , And temporarily stores the divided search keys in the search key storage device 37. The search engine 32 searches the database 1 and retrieves search results based on the divided search keys, and repeats retrieval and retrieval of search results based on the next divided search key until an end condition is satisfied.
[0026]
The processing by the information acquisition system of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.
In the present embodiment, as a specific example, the search key input from the search key input device 31 is “(neuro + fuzzy) * learning”, and the acquisition end time input from the acquisition end time input device 21 is The case of “17:30:00” will be described. First, when the search key and the acquisition end time are input (steps S21 and S22), the input search key is divided into a plurality of search keys by the search key dividing device 36 (step S23). Although several search key division methods are conceivable, in this embodiment, the search key is converted into a product-sum standard form, and each product term is used as one divided search key. That is, the input search key “(neuro + fuzzy) * learning” is divided into two search keys “neuro * learning” and “fuzzy * learning”.
[0027]
Next, the number i of the divided search key is set to "1" (step S24), and the end determination device 34 determines whether or not the end time has been reached (step S25). Here, in the present embodiment, the conditional expression used by the end determination device 34 to determine the end condition is “current time” +60 seconds <“viewing end time”, and division is performed while this condition is satisfied. The search is continued using the search keys sequentially (steps S26, S27, S28). For example, assuming that the time at which the division of the search key ends is “17:20”, the search is continued because this condition is satisfied.
The search is performed using the first (i = 1) divided search key "neuro * learning", and the search result is obtained and stored in the search result holding device 35.
[0028]
Since another search key remains, the search key "fuzzy * learning" is normally used for searching and obtaining the search result. At this time, the time is 17:29. Assuming that the time is 30 minutes, the conditional expression (“current time” +60 seconds) <“viewing end time” is no longer satisfied, so the search is terminated, and the user is notified that the search was performed using the search key “neuro * learning”. , And the search result is displayed on the display of the search result presentation device 4 as shown in FIG.
In this embodiment, the retrieval end time is controlled by specifying the acquisition end time as in the first embodiment. However, as shown in the second embodiment, the viewing end time is specified and the viewing time is predicted. The search end time may be controlled.
[0029]
FIG. 14 shows the configuration of an information acquisition system according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. When a search result is obtained from the database 1, the data amount of the search result is previously obtained from the database 1 before obtaining the search result. When the number of records or the number of bytes can be obtained, the process of narrowing down the number of search data so that viewing and listening can be completed within the specified time by directly controlling the number of records Do Things. In the description of the present embodiment, the same parts as those in the first and second embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted.
[0030]
The information acquisition system according to the present embodiment is provided with an acquisition amount calculation device 6. The acquisition amount calculation device 6 includes a clock 61 for measuring a current time, a data transfer time, and data viewing / listening. The knowledge database 62 holding the time, the viewing end time designated by the viewing end time designation device 5, the current time obtained from the clock 61, the transfer time of the data stored in the knowledge database 62, and the data A calculation device 63 for calculating the amount of data acquisition based on the viewing time.
In addition, the search device 3 of the present embodiment searches a set of data stored in the database 1 based on the search key input from the search key input device 31, and obtains the data type and the number or amount of search results. The inquiry device 38, the type and number or amount of data of the search result obtained by the inquiry device 38, and the number or Quantity And a retrieval result acquisition device 39 for making a data acquisition request based on the retrieval result. The data obtained as a result of the acquisition request made by the retrieval result acquisition device 39 is stored in the retrieval result holding device 35.
[0031]
The processing by the information acquisition system of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.
In the present embodiment, as a specific example, the search key input from the search key input device 31 is “Collaboration * MIT”, and the viewing end time input from the viewing end time input device 51 is “17:30”. 0:00 ”, a case where the database 1 that stores text, still images, moving images, and the like is searched will be described.
First, when the search key and the viewing end time are input (steps S31 and S32), the inquiry device 38 makes an inquiry to the knowledge database 63 using the search key (step S33), and the type and amount of data related to the search key To get. FIG. 16 shows an example of the result of this inquiry. When the inquiry based on the search key “Collaboration * MIT” is No. 1 to No. 8 are obtained, each of which is associated with a "title" (that is, a type of data) and its "content" (that is, the amount of data).
[0032]
Next, based on such an inquiry result, the acquisition amount calculation device 6 calculates a data acquisition amount such that viewing ends within the viewing end time designated by the end time designation device 5 (step S34), and Perform a refinement. As a method of checking whether or not viewing is completed within the viewing end time when certain data is obtained, for example, {“viewing end time” − “current time”}> ｛(“total data amount” / “average "Data transfer rate") + ("number of text characters" / "time required to read one character") + ("number of still images" / "time required to view one") + "moving image playback time" + " Audio playback time "+" preliminary time "｝. As shown in FIG. 17, the average data transfer rate, the time required to read one character of text, and the like are stored in the knowledge database 62 in advance.
[0033]
That is, when the above-mentioned conditional expression is used to determine from the query result shown in FIG. 16 and the information stored in the knowledge database shown in FIG. 17, if all the data are obtained, the viewing is ended by the viewing end time. Is impossible, the data to be obtained is narrowed down. As a method of this narrowing down, for example, as shown in FIG. 1 to No. It is desirable to find a more efficient combination that can end viewing by the viewing end time as a combination of data up to 5, but in this embodiment, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. No. within the range in which viewing can be ended. A simplified method of obtaining as much data as possible from the first data is used.
In this method, first, the data number i is set to an initial value "0" (step S41), and it is determined whether or not the (i + 1) -th data is available for viewing within a designated time (step S42). If it is possible, the data number i is further increased by one, and the determination process is repeated (step S43). On the other hand, if it is not possible, the data up to (i) th one before the number that is no longer available is obtained (step S44), and the data is obtained as a search result.
[0034]
Specifically, assuming that the current time is “16:20:00” in this method, there is 70 minutes before the viewing end time. Then, No. The time required from the time of obtaining the data up to 3 to the time of viewing is {(0.3 [Mbyte] +0.2 [Mbyte] +8.5 [Mbyte]) / 10,000 [bytes / s]} + ( 6000 [characters] × 1/10 [s / character]) + (5 [still image number] × 180 [s / still image number]) + (3600 [character] × 1/10 [s / character]) + ( 3 [the number of still images] × 180 [s / the number of still images]) + 5 [minutes] +5 [minutes] = 65 [minutes].
No. The time required from the time of obtaining the data up to 4 to the time of viewing from the time of obtaining is (0.3 [Mbyte] +0.2 [Mbyte] +8.5 [Mbyte] +6 [Mbyte]) / 10,000 [bytes / s] ]｝ + (6000 [characters] × 1/10 [s / character]) + (5 [still image number] × 180 [s / still image number]) + (3600 [character] × 1/10 [s / character] ]) + (3 [the number of still images] × 180 [s / the number of still images]) + 5 [minutes] +3 [minutes] +5 [minutes] = 78 minutes.
[0035]
Therefore, No. It is determined that the data of up to No. 3 should be obtained, and the search result obtaining device 39 determines that the data of No. 3 is obtained. No. 1 to No. A request is made to retrieve up to three pieces of data (step S35), and this search result is stored in the search result holding device 35. The search result presentation device 4 displays the search results accumulated in the search result holding device 35 on a display as shown in FIG. 19 and presents them to the user.
In the present embodiment, the viewing end time is specified as in the second embodiment, but the acquisition end time may be specified as shown in the first embodiment.
[0036]
FIG. 20 shows the configuration of an information acquisition system according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. In the fourth embodiment, when all the search results cannot be obtained, the search results are narrowed down. It is. In the description of this embodiment, the same parts as those of the first embodiment, the second embodiment, and the fourth embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted.
In the information acquisition system according to the present embodiment, the search device 3 is further provided with a search key holding device 30 that arranges and holds a plurality of search keys input from the search key input device 31 in a wide search range. The query device 38 retrieves the search keys from the search keys held in the search key holding device 30 in the order of the search range and queries the database 1 with the search keys.
[0037]
The processing by the information acquisition system of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.
In the present embodiment, as a specific example, a plurality of search keys input from the search key input device 31 are “agent + autonomous”, “agent”, “software * agent”, “multi * software *”. Assuming that the viewing end time inputted from the acquisition end time input device 21 is "17:00:00", data relating to the "agent" is designated from the database 1 in which texts, still images, moving images, etc. are stored. The case where the search is performed before is described.
[0038]
First, when the search key and the acquisition end time are input (steps S51 and S52), the search key holding device 30 sorts the search keys in order of a wider target range (step S53). FIG. 22 shows an example of search keys sorted and held by the search key holding device 30. In this example, "agent + autonomous", "agent", "software * agent", and "multi * software" are shown. * Agent ”in the order of the target range, and No. 1 to No. The number 4 is attached.
Then, the search key number i is set to "1" (step S54). First, the database 1 is queried with the search key "agent + autonomous" having the widest target range among the search keys (step S55). Get the result of this query.
[0039]
FIG. 23 shows an example of a query result for the search key “agent + autonomous”. 1 to No. 8 are obtained, each of which is associated with a "title" (that is, a type of data) and its "content" (that is, the amount of data).
Next, based on such an inquiry result, the acquisition amount calculation device 6 calculates the data acquisition amount such that the data acquisition ends within the acquisition end time specified by the end time designation device 2 (step S56). The result acquiring device 39 acquires data within the range of the calculated data amount (steps S57, S58, S59).
[0040]
For example, assuming that the average data transfer rate is 10,000 [Byte / s], the acquisition amount calculating device 6 knows that the time required for obtaining all the results in FIG. 23 is 39 minutes, and the time at this time is If it is “16:35:00”, the order is not completed within the time specified by the end time specifying device 2, so that the query is performed by changing the search key to the search key “agent” having one narrower range ( Step S58). FIG. 24 shows an example of a query result for the search key "agent". 1 to No. 6 are obtained, each of which is associated with a "title" (that is, a type of data) and its "content" (that is, the amount of data).
[0041]
As for the inquiry result, it is calculated that it takes 28 minutes to obtain all the results by the acquisition amount calculation device 6 in the same manner as described above. If the time at this time is “16:35:30”, It is found that the acquisition is not completed by the time specified by the end time specifying device 2, and an inquiry is made using a search key "agent * software" having a narrower range. FIG. 25 shows an example of a query result for the search key "agent * software". 1 and No. Two results are obtained, each of which is associated with a “title” (ie, data type) and its “content” (ie, data amount).
With respect to this inquiry result, it is calculated that it takes 10 minutes and 30 seconds to obtain all the results by the acquisition amount calculation device 6. If the time at this time is "16:36:00", the end time designation device It is known that the acquisition is completed by the time designated in step 2, and the search result acquisition device 39 obtains the search result using the search key “agent * software”. The retrieved search results are stored in the search result storage device 35 and presented to the user by the search result presentation device 4 as shown in FIG.
[0042]
FIG. 27 shows the configuration of an information acquisition system according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention. In the fourth embodiment, when all the search results cannot be obtained, the search results are narrowed down. It is. In the description of this embodiment, the same parts as those of the first embodiment, the second embodiment, and the fourth embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted.
The information acquisition system according to the present embodiment further includes a thesaurus dictionary unit 7 that stores synonyms of the search key. There is further provided a search key conversion device 40 for replacing a higher-order word or expanding a search key using the thesaurus 7 so that a wider range can be searched.
[0043]
That is, the retrieval device 3 predicts the end time of data acquisition or viewing by the acquisition amount calculation device 6 from the result of the inquiry by the inquiry device 38, and the time specified by the end time designation device 2 by the acquisition amount calculation device 6. If there is enough time before, the current search key is converted by the search key conversion device 40, the inquiry is made again with the new search key, and the search amount is specified by the end time specification device 2 by the acquisition amount calculation device 6. If there is not enough time by the time, the search result is obtained using the search result obtaining device 39 with the current search key, and the time specified by the end time specifying device 2 is passed by the obtained amount calculation device 6. In this case, search results are obtained using the search result acquisition device 39 using the immediately preceding search key, and the obtained results are stored in the search result holding device 35.
[0044]
FIG. 28 shows an example of the contents held by the thesaurus dictionary 7. There are roughly two types of thesaurus dictionaries. One is specialized for a specific database, and classifies the control keywords of the database. In the case of such a thesaurus dictionary, there is a feature that anything that can be searched by a lower word can also be searched by a higher word. Therefore, when searching by lower terms, the number of search results is small and search results in a narrower range can be obtained. When searching by higher terms, search results are large and search results in a wider range can be obtained. On the other hand, in general thesaurus dictionaries that are not specialized for databases, the classification does not correspond to the classification of the database, so that what can be searched for in lower terms cannot always be searched for in upper terms. In order to obtain a wider range of search results using such a thesaurus, there is a method of performing a search with all the co-terms or lower terms of a certain word. In this embodiment, it is assumed that a thesaurus dictionary specialized for a database is used.
[0045]
The processing by the information acquisition system of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.
In this embodiment, as a specific example, the search key input from the search key input device 31 is “ISDN”, and the acquisition end time input from the acquisition end time input device 21 is “17:00: 00”. The case where as much data as possible regarding "ISDN" is obtained from the database 1 storing texts, still images, moving images, and the like by the designated time will be described.
[0046]
First, when the search key and the acquisition end time are input (steps S61 and S62), the query device 38 makes an inquiry to the database 1 using the input search key (step S63), and the type and amount of data for the search key. And find out. FIG. 30 shows an example of this inquiry result. 1 is obtained, and the “title” (that is, the type of data) is associated with the “content” (that is, the amount of data).
Next, based on the result of this inquiry, the time required for the acquisition amount calculation device 6 to obtain the result is predicted, and if there is sufficient time by the time specified by the end time specification device 2 (step S64), the search key Is converted to a higher word and a query is performed again (step S65). Whether there is enough time before the designated time is determined by, for example, whether the following conditional expression is satisfied.
[0047]
In the case of this embodiment, assuming that the average data transfer rate is 10,000 [bytes / s], the time required for acquisition is 5 seconds, so the “current time” is “17:00:00”. If there is, the following conditional expression (“current time” + “acquisition time” +600 seconds) <“acquisition end time” is satisfied.
As a result, the search key "ISDN" is replaced by the search key conversion device 40 with the broader term "digital communication", and the inquiry device 38 makes another inquiry. FIG. 31 shows an example of a query result for the search key “digital communication”. 1 to No. 3 are obtained, each of which is associated with a “title” (ie, data type) and its “content” (ie, data amount).
[0048]
Further, assuming that the time at this point is “17:00:30”, the acquisition time calculated by the acquisition amount calculation device 6 is 15 seconds. (“Acquisition time” +600 seconds) <“acquisition end time” will still be satisfied, and the search key “digital communication” is replaced by the search key conversion device 40 with the search key “data communication”. At this point, if the above search formula is not satisfied and the search formula (“current time” + “acquisition time” +60 seconds) <“acquisition end time” is satisfied, the search key “digital communication” To retrieve the search result (step S66). FIG. 32 shows an example of the result of querying the database 1 for the search key “data communication”.
[0049]
Assuming that the time at this point is “17:01:00”, the acquisition time calculated by the acquisition amount calculation device 6 is 33 seconds. Therefore, (“current time” + “acquisition” in the conditional expression) (Time) +600 seconds) <“acquisition end time”, and also does not satisfy the conditional expression (“current time” + “acquisition time” +60 seconds) <“acquisition end time”. In such a case, the search result is obtained by replacing the search key with the previous "digital communication" (step S67).
The results obtained as described above are stored in the search result holding device 35 and presented to the user by the search result presentation device 4 as shown in FIG.
[0050]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the information acquisition system according to the present invention, when the acquisition end time is specified in advance, the acquisition of data can be completed by the specified time, and the viewing end time is specified. did In this case, an amount of data that can be viewed by the designated time can be obtained. Therefore, even in a database storing an enormous amount of data, it is possible to acquire the amount of data that the user needs and can use, thereby enabling data utilization.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an information acquisition system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing search results according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of an information acquisition system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a data set according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing contents of a node according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a method of calculating a viewing time according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a time chart showing a flow of processing according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a display of a search result according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram of an information acquisition system according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a display of a search result according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 14 is a configuration diagram of an information acquisition system according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a query result according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 17 is a diagram showing contents of a knowledge database according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a display of a search result according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 20 is a configuration diagram of an information acquisition system according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 21 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 22 is a diagram showing contents held by a search key holding device according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an inquiry result according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 24 is a diagram showing an inquiry result according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 25 is a diagram showing an inquiry result according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 26 is a diagram showing a display of a search result according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 27 is a configuration diagram of an information acquisition system according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 28 is a conceptual diagram showing the contents of a thesaurus dictionary according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 29 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 30 is a diagram showing an inquiry result according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 31 is a diagram showing an inquiry result according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 32 is a diagram showing a query result according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 33 is a diagram showing a display of a search result according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 ... database, 2 ... acquisition end time designation device,
3 ... search device, 4 ... search result presentation device,
5 ... viewing end time designation device 6 ... acquisition amount calculation device

Claims (6)

A database storing a set of data including at least moving image data ,
An acquisition end time designation device for designating a time to end the search;
A search device that searches the database for data that can be obtained up to a predetermined time before a time designated by the acquisition end time designation device, and acquires the data;
A search result presentation device that outputs data obtained by the search device;
An information acquisition system comprising: A database containing a collection of data,
A viewing end time designation device for designating a viewing end time of data desired by the user;
User calculated predicted on the basis of the preset reference time required to view data for each data type, the user before the specified time by the viewing end time specified device can view data A viewing time prediction device for determining whether or not
A search device that searches and acquires data that can be viewed by a user from the database based on a determination result by the viewing time prediction device;
A search result presentation device that outputs data obtained by the search device;
An information acquisition system comprising: A database containing a collection of data,
A search device for searching for and acquiring data corresponding to a search key from the database;
A search result presentation device that outputs data obtained by the search device;
An end time designation device that designates a time when data acquisition or viewing by the user ends,
The search device has a function of dividing a search key composed of a plurality of keywords connected by logical operators into a plurality of search keys while retaining a keyword unit, and acquiring data from the database by each of the divided search keys. And the total time required for viewing already acquired data may exceed the viewing end time. An information acquisition system characterized by occasionally stopping subsequent data searches. A database containing a collection of data,
An end time designation device for designating a time when data acquisition or user viewing ends,
An acquisition amount calculation device that performs a calculation process of estimating a data amount in which acquisition is completed within the acquisition end time specified by the end time designation device or data viewing ends within the viewing end time,
A retrieval device that retrieves and acquires data of the amount predicted by the acquisition amount calculation device from the database;
A search result presentation device that outputs data obtained by the search device;
An information acquisition system comprising: A database containing a collection of data,
An end time designation device for designating a time when data acquisition or user viewing ends,
An acquisition amount calculation device that predicts a data amount at which acquisition ends within the acquisition end time specified by the end time designation device or data viewing ends within the viewing end time,
A retrieval device that retrieves and acquires data of the amount predicted by the acquisition amount calculation device from the database;
A search result presentation device that outputs data obtained by the search device,
The search device, for a plurality of input search keys, a search key that is the largest in the range in which the amount of data obtained by searching the database is within the data amount predicted by the obtained amount calculation device. An information acquisition system characterized by performing a search using the information. A database containing a collection of data,
An end time designation device for designating a time when data acquisition or user viewing ends,
An acquisition amount calculation device that performs a calculation process of estimating a data amount in which acquisition is completed within the acquisition end time specified by the end time designation device or data viewing ends within the viewing end time,
A retrieval device that retrieves and acquires from the database based on the input search key data of the amount predicted by the acquisition amount calculation device;
A thesaurus dictionary device storing synonyms of the search key,
A search result presentation device that outputs data obtained by the search device,
If the amount of data obtained by searching the database using a search key is less than the amount of data predicted by the obtained amount calculation device, the search device newly expands the search key by a synonym of the thesaurus dictionary device. The search is continued with a new search key or a higher-order word of the search key as a new search key, and the acquired data amount is maximized within the data amount predicted by the acquisition amount calculation device. Information acquisition system.

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