JP7740892B2 - Information retrieval device and program - Google Patents

Description

Embodiments of the present invention relate to an information search device and program.

When sending an email, there is a possibility that an input error will occur when entering an email address. For this reason, a system is known that searches for email addresses similar to the input email address and displays the multiple email addresses found, prompting the operator to confirm the email address and preventing input errors (for example, Patent Document 1).

However, with such search devices, multiple searched email addresses are displayed in the same format, which creates the problem of making it time-consuming for the operator to find the desired email address.

The problem that this invention aims to solve is to provide an information search device and program that allows an operator to easily find the information they want from among multiple candidates retrieved by an information search.

An information search device according to an embodiment includes an information database, an acquisition unit, a search execution unit, a display unit, and a selection unit. The information database stores at least the name of information and attributes associated with the name of the information . The acquisition unit acquires the name of the search target. The search execution unit searches the information database for a name that includes at least a portion of the name acquired by the acquisition unit. The display unit displays the search results from the search execution unit , the attributes associated with the search results, and, if the attributes associated with the second or subsequent search results are different from the attributes associated with the first candidate, an identification symbol indicating that the attributes are different from the attributes of the first candidate, in an order and format according to the degree of similarity with the name acquired by the acquisition unit. The selection unit selects one search result from the search results displayed by the display unit.

FIG. 1 is a hardware block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of an electronic mail sending and receiving device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the email sending and receiving device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of the information database. FIG. 4 is a first diagram showing an example of a display form of the search results. FIG. 5 is a second diagram showing an example of a display form of the search results. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a method for selecting one result from a plurality of search results. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of an email transmission process performed by the email transmission/reception device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the search process. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of an information database provided in an electronic mail sending and receiving device according to a modification of the first embodiment.

(First embodiment)
A first embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an electronic mail transmitting/receiving device 10 will be described.

(Hardware configuration of email sending/receiving device)
First, the hardware configuration of an email sending/receiving device 10 will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a hardware block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of an email sending/receiving device according to an embodiment.

The email sending and receiving device 10 is a device capable of creating and viewing emails, and sending and receiving emails with other computers connected via a computer network. The email sending and receiving device 10 is an example of an information search device in this disclosure.

The email sending and receiving device 10 includes a control unit 11 for controlling each unit. The control unit 11 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 111, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 112, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 113. The CPU 111 is connected to the ROM 112 and RAM 113 via bus lines 15, such as an address bus and a data bus. The CPU 111 loads various programs stored in the ROM 112 and the storage unit 12 into the RAM 113. The CPU 111 controls the email sending and receiving device 10 by operating in accordance with the various programs loaded into the RAM 113. In other words, the control unit 11 has the configuration of a typical computer.

The control unit 11 is connected to the memory unit 12, input/output controller 13, and communication controller 14 via the bus line 15.

The memory unit 12 is a storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or solid state drive (SSD). The memory unit 12 may also be a non-volatile memory such as a flash memory that retains stored information even when the power is turned off. The memory unit 12 stores the control program P and the information database D.

The control program P is a program that controls the overall operation of the email sending and receiving device 10.

Information database D is a table that registers the names of people to whom email can be sent and the attributes of those people. The structure of information database D will be described in detail later.

A display device 16 and an operation device 17 are connected to the input/output controller 13. The display device 16 displays a screen generated in response to instructions from the control unit 11. The display device 16 is configured, for example, as a device such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence). The operation device 17 acquires user input operations and transmits them to the control unit 11. The operation device 17 is configured, for example, as a device such as a keyboard or touch panel.

The communication controller 14 is an interface for communicating with computers and other devices connected to a network via wireless communication such as a wireless LAN. The email sending/receiving device 10 sends and receives emails to and from other computers and other devices via the communication controller 14.

(Functional configuration of email transmission/reception device)
The functional configuration of the email sending and receiving device 10 will be described with reference to Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the email sending and receiving device according to the embodiment.

The control unit 11 of the email sending/receiving device 10 deploys and runs the control program P in RAM 113, thereby realizing the input information acquisition unit 21, search execution unit 22, search result display unit 23, search result selection unit 24, display control unit 25, operation control unit 26, and communication control unit 27 shown in Figure 2 as functional units.

The input information acquisition unit 21 acquires the name of the person to whom the email is to be sent, i.e., the name of the search target, entered using the operation device 17. Note that the input information acquisition unit 21 is an example of an acquisition unit in this disclosure. Note that the name is an example of the name of information in this disclosure.

The search execution unit 22 searches the information database D for names that include at least a portion of the name (name of information) acquired by the input information acquisition unit 21.

The search result display unit 23 causes the display control unit 25 to display the search results by the search execution unit 22 on the display device 16 in an order and format according to the degree of match with the name acquired by the input information acquisition unit 21. More specifically, the search result display unit 23 displays the search results by the search execution unit 22 in descending order of the degree of match between the search results and the name acquired by the input information acquisition unit 21. Furthermore, when the search results by the search execution unit 22 exactly match the name acquired by the input information acquisition unit 21, the search result display unit 23 displays them in a format different from search results that do not exactly match. Furthermore, the search result display unit 23 displays the search results by the search execution unit 22, the attributes associated with the search results, and, when the attributes associated with the second and subsequent search results are different from the attributes associated with the first candidate, an identification symbol (see Figures 4 and 5) indicating that the attributes are different from the attributes of the first candidate. The search result display unit 23 is an example of a display unit in the present disclosure.

The search result selection unit 24 selects one search result from the search results displayed by the search result display unit 23. Note that the search result selection unit 24 is an example of a selection unit in this disclosure.

The display control unit 25 displays the information instructed by the control unit 11 on the display device 16.

The operation control unit 26 acquires user operations related to sending, receiving, and viewing emails and transmits them to the control unit 11.

The communication control unit 27 controls the communication state with computers and other devices connected to the network via wireless communication such as a wireless LAN, or wired communication such as a wired LAN. This allows the email sending and receiving device 10 to send and receive emails with external computers and other devices.

(Information database structure)
The structure of the information database D will be described with reference to Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of the information database D.

As shown in Figure 3, information database D stores ID 31, name 32, email address 36, and department 37. Note that name 32, email address 36, and department 37 are each registered as text data.

ID31 is an identification number that uniquely identifies data registered in information database D. ID31 may consist of only numbers or only English letters. ID31 may also include both numbers and English letters.

Name 32 is the name of the person to whom the email is to be sent. Name 32 is further registered in hiragana notation 33, kanji notation 34, and romanized notation 35. Note that a field for registering the local language notation may also be provided to register the data of foreigners.

A family name 331 and a given name 332 are registered in the hiragana notation 33. A family name 341 and a given name 342 are registered in the kanji notation 34. A family name 351 and a given name 352 are registered in the romanized notation 35.

Email address 36 is the email address of the relevant person.

Affiliation 37 registers the affiliation of the relevant person. Affiliation 37 also registers company name 371, department name 372, and group name 373. Affiliation 37 is an example of an attribute associated with name 32.

Note that the content registered in information database D is not limited to that described above. For example, in addition to affiliation 37, attributes such as employee number may also be registered.

The horizontal axis of the information database D shown in Figure 3 is generally called records, and the vertical axis is generally called fields.

The search execution unit 22 provided in the email sending/receiving device 10 searches the information database D for a field corresponding to the name acquired by the input information acquisition unit 21, thereby searching for a record that includes at least a portion of the name acquired by the input information acquisition unit 21.

(Example of search results)
An example of displaying the search results performed by the email sending/receiving device 10 will be described with reference to Figures 4 and 5. Figure 4 is a first diagram showing an example of the display format of the search results. Figure 5 is a second diagram showing an example of the display format of the search results.

An operator who sends an email from the email sending/receiving device 10 creates the title and body of the email to be sent, sets the email recipient, and then issues a command to send the email. This section explains how to set the email recipient.

The operator selects a menu item for setting the email destination from a menu screen (not shown) displayed on the display device 16. When that menu item is selected, the destination search screen 40 shown in Figure 4 is displayed on the display device 16.

The destination search screen 40 includes a search information input field 41, a search result display space 42, and a confirmed destination display field 43.

The search information input field 41 is a field where information (character strings) entered by the user are displayed. The user uses the operation device 17 to input the name, attributes, or email address of the person to whom they wish to send an email. Note that the name can be input in hiragana, kanji, or roman letters. Here, we will explain the case where the name of the person to whom you wish to send an email is input in hiragana.

The search result display space 42 is a space where the search execution unit 22 displays the results of a search of the information database D based on the information entered in the search information input field 41.

The confirmed destination display field 43 is a field that displays information selected by the search result selection unit 24 from the information displayed in the search result display space 42.

The destination search screen 40 shown in Figure 4 is an example in which search results for the character string "haramika" entered by the operator are displayed in the search result display space 42. Specifically, search result 421 and search result 422 are displayed in the search result display space 42.

Search result 421 is the character string that most closely matches the character string entered in search information input field 41. Search result 422 is the character string that most closely matches. Note that the search result display space 42 may also display character strings from the third candidate onwards.

In the example of Figure 4, hiragana characters have been entered on the destination search screen 40, so the search execution unit 22 calculates the degree of match with the string written in hiragana from the information database D. Therefore, the search execution unit 22 searches for the string written in hiragana that has the highest degree of match. For this reason, the search results display space 42 should normally display the search results written in hiragana, but in the example of Figure 4, the string written in kanji characters is displayed so that it can be easily compared with other candidates. Of course, the string written in hiragana may also be displayed.

The degree of match between two strings represents the closeness of the distance between the string entered in the search information input field 41 and the string registered in the information database D. In this embodiment, the closer the distance between the information entered in the search information input field 41 and the information registered in the information database D, the higher the degree of match.

The distance between the character string entered in the search information input field 41 and the character string registered in information database D is calculated using a known method. For example, the Levenshtein distance or the Jaro-Winkler distance between the character string "haramika" entered in the search information input field 41 and the character string registered in information database D is calculated.

The Levenshtein distance is a distance that represents the number of editing steps required to convert one string into another, i.e., the number of insertions, deletions, and substitutions required.

The Jaro-Winkler distance is the distance between two strings, calculated from the number of characters that match between one string and the other and whether replacement is necessary.

By calculating the distance between these character strings, a search is performed for character strings that contain at least part of the character string entered in the search information input field 41. The search results are sorted in order of similarity, i.e., distance, and a predetermined number of results are displayed in the search result display space 42 in order of similarity (highest similarity).

Next, we will explain the display format of search results 421 and 422. Search results 421 and 422 show names that contain strings that closely match the string entered in search information input field 41, and the affiliation of the person with that name. In the example of Figure 4, search result 421 is the name with the highest degree of match, and search result 422 is the name with the second highest degree of match.

In particular, the search result 421 is an exact match between the character string entered in the search information input field 41 and the search result. In this way, when the character string entered in the search information input field 41 and the search result are an exact match, the search result display unit 23 of the email sending/receiving device 10 displays the search result in bold.

Search result 422 is a search result in which only "harami" matches the character string "haramina" entered in search information input field 41. The person corresponding to search result 422 has a different group name than the person in search result 421, the person with the highest match. In such a case, the search result display unit 23 of the email sending and receiving device 10 displays an identification symbol 45 at the end of search result 422. The identification symbol 45 is assigned to search results in which the department name or group name is different from that of the person corresponding to the first candidate search result. By assigning the identification symbol 45, the operator of the email sending and receiving device 10 can recognize that the affiliation of the first candidate person is different from that of the candidate person assigned the identification symbol 45. Furthermore, search result 422 is displayed in a thinner font (style) than search result 421 because the search result does not exactly match the character string entered in search information input field 41.

In this way, the email sending and receiving device 10 can display the search results for people to whom emails are to be sent in an order and format that corresponds to the degree of match with the name or attributes entered in the search information input field 41.

The destination search screen 50 in Figure 5 shows another example in which search results 421 and 422 for the character string "haramika" entered by the operator are displayed in the search result display space 42.

In Figure 5, search result 422 is assigned an identification symbol 46 that is different from the identification symbol 45 described above. Identification symbol 46 is assigned to search results where the company name is different from that of the person corresponding to the first candidate search result. By assigning identification symbol 46, the operator of email sending/receiving device 10 can recognize that the company name of the first candidate person is different from the company name of the candidate person assigned identification symbol 46. This makes it possible to prevent the operator from accidentally selecting a person from the wrong company and sending an email.

(How to select search results)
Next, a method for selecting an email destination from among a plurality of search results will be described with reference to Fig. 6. Fig. 6 is a diagram for explaining a method for selecting one of a plurality of search results.

As shown in Figure 6, when search results 421 and 422 are displayed on the destination search screen 40, a method for selecting search result 421 will be explained.

When the operator moves the cursor 47 on the destination search screen 40 and the cursor 47 approaches or overlaps (rolls over) the search result 421, the search result selection unit 24 operates to display a selection marker 48 that encompasses the search result 421, as shown on the destination search screen 60. Furthermore, although not shown, when the cursor 47 approaches or overlaps the search result 422, the selection marker 48 that encompasses the search result 422 is displayed. Instead of displaying the selection marker 48, the color of the rolled-over object (search result) may be changed.

When a confirmation operation (mouse ON or keyboard Enter key press, etc.) is performed while the cursor 47 is rolled over the search result 421 on the destination search screen 60, the rolled-over search result is selected, and the name in the search result is displayed in the confirmed destination display field 43, as shown on the destination search screen 70.

Instead of the confirmed recipient display field 43, the selected name may be displayed in the send field on the email application screen.

(Flow of processing performed by the email sending/receiving device)
The flow of processing performed by the email sending and receiving device 10 will be described with reference to Fig. 7. Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of email sending processing performed by the email sending and receiving device of the embodiment. It is assumed that the body of the email has already been created.

The input information acquisition unit 21 acquires the name entered in the search information input field 41 (step S11).

The search execution unit 22 performs a search process to search the information database D for information that includes at least part of the name acquired in step S11 (step S12). The detailed flow of the search process will be described later (see Figure 8).

The search result display unit 23 causes the display control unit 25 to display the search results from the search process of step S12 in the search result display space 42 in an order and format according to the degree of match with the name obtained in step S11 (step S13).

The search result selection unit 24 selects one search result from the search results displayed by the search result display unit 23. Then, it causes the display control unit 25 to display the selected search result in the confirmed destination display field 43 (step S24).

The communications control unit 27 sends the email to the destination selected in step S24 (step S25). Then, the processing in FIG. 7 ends.

Next, the flow of the search process performed by the email sending and receiving device 10 will be explained using Figure 8. Figure 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the search process.

The search execution unit 22 identifies the type of information acquired by the input information acquisition unit 21 (step S21). Specifically, it identifies whether the name entered in the search information input field 41 is written in hiragana, kanji, or roman letters.

Next, the search execution unit 22 calculates the degree of information match for the field (vertical axis direction) corresponding to the spelling of the name identified in step S21 in the information database D shown in FIG. 3 (step S22). The calculated degree of match is stored, for example, in RAM 113, together with the ID 31 corresponding to the name for which the degree of match was obtained.

The search execution unit 22 determines whether matching has been performed against all information in the field (step S23). If it is determined that matching has been performed against all information in the field (step S23: Yes), the process proceeds to step S24. On the other hand, if it is determined that matching has not been performed against all information in the field (step S23: No), the process returns to step S22.

If it is determined in step S23 that matching has been performed against all information in the field, the search execution unit 22 sorts the IDs 31 stored in RAM 113 in descending order of degree of match (step S24). Then, the process proceeds to step S13 in Figure 7. The ID 31 sorted to the top by the processing of step S24 is the most likely search result.

As described above, the email sending and receiving device 10 (information search device) of the first embodiment includes an information database D that registers at least the names (information titles) of people to whom email is to be sent; an input information acquisition unit 21 (acquisition unit) that acquires the names of people to be searched; a search execution unit 22 that searches the information database D for names that include at least a portion of the name of the person acquired by the input information acquisition unit 21; a search result display unit 23 (display unit) that displays the search results by the search execution unit 22 in an order and format according to the degree of match with the name of the person acquired by the input information acquisition unit 21; and a search result selection unit 24 (selection unit) that selects one search result from the search results displayed by the search result display unit 23. Therefore, even if similar names exist, the user can reliably select the desired email recipient without making a mistake.

In addition, in the email sending/receiving device 10 (information search device) of the first embodiment, the search result display unit 23 (display unit) displays the search results by the search execution unit 22 in order of the degree of match between the search results and the names (names) of people acquired by the input information acquisition unit 21. Therefore, the user can easily select a destination for the email they want to send by simply searching for the destination in the order displayed.

In addition, in the email sending/receiving device 10 (information search device) of the first embodiment, if the search results by the search execution unit 22 exactly match the name (name) of the person acquired by the input information acquisition unit 21, the search result display unit 23 (display unit) displays the results in a different format from search results that do not exactly match. This makes it even easier to select a recipient.

In addition, in the email sending/receiving device 10 (information search device) of the first embodiment, the information database D further registers the affiliation (attribute) associated with the name (name of information) of the person to whom the email is to be sent, and the search result display unit 23 (display unit) displays the search results by the search execution unit 22, the affiliation (attribute) associated with the first candidate, and, if the affiliation associated with the second candidate and subsequent search results differs from the affiliation associated with the search result with the highest degree of match, identification symbols 45, 46 indicating that the affiliation is different from that of the first candidate. Therefore, the user can select the recipient of the email taking into account differences in affiliation.

(Modification of the first embodiment)
The following describes a modified example of the first embodiment in which the present disclosure is applied to an email sending and receiving device 10. The email sending and receiving device 10 of the modified example of the first embodiment includes an information database D that can search for the name of the recipient of an email by either their current surname or their maiden name.

Note that the hardware configuration and functional configuration of the email sending and receiving device 10 in this modified version of the first embodiment are the same as the hardware configuration and functional configuration of the email sending and receiving device 10 described in the first embodiment, so a description thereof will be omitted.

Figure 9 shows an example of the structure of an information database provided in an email sending and receiving device in a modified version of the first embodiment.

As shown in Figure 3, information database D stores ID 31, name 32, email address 36, and department 37. Note that name 32, email address 36, and department 37 are each registered as text data.

The ID 31, email address 36, and affiliation 37 are the same as the data registered in the information database D provided in the email sending/receiving device 10 of the first embodiment (see Figure 3).

Name 32 is the name of the person to whom the email is sent. Name 32 also includes current surname 38 and maiden surname 39.

In the current family name 38, a hiragana notation 381, a kanji notation 382, and a romanized notation 383 are registered. In the hiragana notation 381, a family name 3811 and a given name 3812 are registered. In the kanji notation 382, a family name 3821 and a given name 3822 are registered. In the romanized notation 383, a family name 3831 and a given name 3832 are registered.

For the maiden name 39, a hiragana notation 391, a kanji notation 392, and a romanized notation 393 are registered. For the hiragana notation 391, a surname 3911 and a given name 3912 are registered. For the kanji notation 392, a surname 3921 and a given name 3922 are registered. For the romanized notation 393, a surname 3931 and a given name 3932 are registered.

If there is no maiden name, a NULL value indicating that the field is blank will be registered in each field corresponding to maiden name 39.

The search execution unit 22 searches for information that includes at least a portion of either the current surname 38 or the maiden surname 39 in at least a portion of the name (name of information) acquired by the input information acquisition unit 21.

In this way, the email sending and receiving device 10 of this modified version of the first embodiment is able to search for the correct information regardless of whether a current or maiden name is entered. When a search is performed by entering a maiden name, the search result display unit 23 preferably also displays the current surname when instructing the display control unit 25 to display the search results in the search result display space 42. This allows the operator to confirm both the current and maiden names.

In addition to current and maiden names, names after name changes may also be registered in information database D. This makes it possible to search for correct information even if a name has changed.

As explained above, in the email sending/receiving device 10 (information search device) of a modified version of the first embodiment, the information database D registers the current and maiden names of people to whom email is sent as the names (names of information), and the search execution unit 22 searches for information containing at least part of either the current or maiden name acquired by the input information acquisition unit 21 (acquisition unit). Therefore, even if the name of the information to be searched for has changed, the operator can easily find the information they want.

The above describes embodiments of the present invention, but these embodiments are illustrative and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. This novel embodiment can be embodied in a variety of other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their variations are included within the scope and spirit of the invention, as well as within the scope of the invention and its equivalents as set forth in the claims.

10...Email sending/receiving device (information search device), 21...Input information acquisition unit (acquisition unit), 22...Search execution unit, 23...Search result display unit (display unit), 24...Search result selection unit (selection unit), 25...Display control unit, 32...Name (name of information), 37...Affiliation (attribute), 38...Current surname, 39...Maiden surname, 40, 50...Destination search screen, 41...Search information input field, 42...Search result display space, 43...Confirmed destination display field, 45, 46...Identification symbol, 48...Selection marker, D...Information database

Patent No. 6419403

Claims (5)

an information database in which at least the names of information and attributes associated with the names of the information are registered;
an acquisition unit for acquiring a name of a search target;
a search execution unit that searches the information database for a name that includes at least a part of the name acquired by the acquisition unit;
a display unit that displays the search results by the search execution unit , the attributes associated with the search results, and, if the attributes associated with the second or subsequent search results are different from the attributes associated with the first candidate, an identification symbol indicating that the attributes are different from the attributes of the first candidate, in an order and form according to the degree of match with the name acquired by the acquisition unit;
a selection unit for selecting one search result from among the search results displayed by the display unit;
An information search device comprising: The display unit
displaying the search results by the search execution unit in order of the degree of match between the search results and the names acquired by the acquisition unit;
2. The information retrieval device according to claim 1. The display unit
When the search results by the search execution unit exactly match the name acquired by the acquisition unit, the search results are displayed in a format different from that of search results that do not exactly match.
3. The information retrieval device according to claim 1. In the information database, the current surname and maiden surname are registered as the name of the information,
the search execution unit searches for information that includes at least a part of either the current surname or the maiden surname in at least a part of the name acquired by the acquisition unit.
4. The information retrieval device according to claim 1. Computer,
an information database in which at least the names of information and attributes associated with the names of the information are registered;
an acquisition unit for acquiring a name or attribute of a search target;
a search execution unit that searches the information database for information that includes at least a part of the name acquired by the acquisition unit;
a display unit that displays the search results by the search execution unit , the attributes associated with the search results, and, if the attributes associated with the second or subsequent search results are different from the attributes associated with the first candidate, an identification symbol indicating that the attributes are different from the attributes of the first candidate, in an order and form according to the degree of match with the name acquired by the acquisition unit;
a selection unit for selecting one search result from among the search results displayed by the display unit;
A program that makes it work.