JP4809010B2 - Information retrieval system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an information search system for querying a user input keyword in a database storing a large number of records, and extracting and presenting the corresponding records.

  With the widespread use of the Internet, users have gained access to an enormous amount of information. On the other hand, it has become difficult to obtain target information directly from a huge amount of information. Therefore, for example, on the Internet, websites called search sites are widely used. In search sites, a computer system or program called a search engine cooperates with a WWW server to provide an information search service for accessing information that a user wants to obtain from a vast amount of information.

  Search engines store and manage information (records), which are clues to information that users want to finally obtain, such as the contents and location of vast information on the Internet, in an accompanying database. Then, the WWW server queries the database for a search query received from the browser, and when a corresponding record is received from the search engine, the record list is returned to the browser as a search result.

  By the way, there are a wide variety of computer hardware that can be connected to the Internet, such as personal computers and mobile phones equipped with browsers. Internet users also vary from those who are familiar with information and communication technology (IT) to those who are not. For example, in the user interface of a mobile phone, it is troublesome to enter a keyword to be given to a search engine, and even a person who is not accustomed to the operation of a computer has difficulty in inputting a keyword from a keyboard of a personal computer. In this way, with the diversification of devices and users of the Internet, the use environment of search engines must sufficiently cope with such diversification.

On the other hand, computers that enable telephone calls and data communication mainly based on HTTP communication, such as mobile phones equipped with browsers and personal computers equipped with IP telephone functions, have become the mainstream of devices using the Internet. Focusing on what is happening, a computer system can be considered in which a well-known automatic answering system for telephones and a search engine are linked together to accept a search keyword by telephone and present the search result at a search site. With such a computer system, even a person who is not good at key input can give a search keyword to a search engine and can view the result on a browser. As a technology similar to the concept discussed here, if you do not know how to operate a mobile phone with a browser, you can receive questions about the operation method over the phone and store and manage the mobile phone manual using the contents of the question as a query. There is a system (refer to Non-Patent Document 1) in which a specific operation method that answers a question is presented on a Web site. Then, the user can browse the answer to his / her question by hanging up the phone and allowing the mobile phone to access the Web site.
Nikkei Business Publications, “Keitai on Business”, [online], [Search April 25, 2005], Internet <URL: http://itpro.nikkeibp.co.jp/free/TIS/keitai/20050215/156179 />

  In the system shown in Non-Patent Document 1, the contents of questions and answers are limited, and the answers to the questions can be almost specified. However, when presenting information intended by users from a vast amount of information on the Internet, even if the automatic voice response system and the search engine are simply linked, it is not good for people who are not familiar with IT or search. A simple person cannot easily present the desired information easily. That is, the keyword cannot be selected well, and no record corresponding to the keyword is obtained at all, or the record corresponding to the keyword is too large and it is difficult to know which is the target information.

Therefore, the present invention devised a search procedure in an information search service in which a search keyword can be input by voice so that a user can naturally reach a desired information from a vast amount of information corresponding to the diversified Internet usage environment. It is to provide an information retrieval system .

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is an information search system for performing an information search service for a user of a terminal connected to a communication line and having a browser function as well as a telephone function,
Call means for connecting to the terminal and starting an automatic voice response call;
Speech recognition means for recognizing and converting a search keyword received during a call with the terminal into text;
Search means for referring to the search keyword converted into the text to a database storing records and extracting corresponding records;
Search number acquisition means for acquiring the number of records extracted by the search means;
A hit number notification means for transmitting the number of records to the terminal by an automatic voice response function,
After transmitting the number of records by the hit number notifying means, and receiving an additional search keyword from the terminal, the voice recognition means recognizes the additional search keyword and converts it into text, and the search means Inquires the database for a search keyword already inquired in the database and the additional search keyword converted into the text, extracts a corresponding record by AND search of these search keywords, and notifies the hit number notification means Sends the number of the extracted records to the terminal,
The hit number notifying means sends the number of records extracted by the search means to the terminal using the search keyword received and converted to text before the additional search keyword received and converted to text. means only including,
The information retrieval system further includes:
Telephone terminal individual identification information acquisition means for acquiring individual identification information of the terminal that has accessed by calling a predetermined telephone number by a telephone function;
Search instruction receiving means for receiving a search execution instruction by voice from the terminal that has transmitted the number of records,
A search result page creation means for creating a list of corresponding records searched by the search means on a Web page, and storing the Web page in association with the individual identification information acquired by the telephone terminal individual identification information acquisition means;
Browser terminal individual identification information acquisition means for acquiring individual identification information of a terminal that has accessed a search server by specifying a predetermined URL by a browser function;
Based on the individual identification information acquired by the telephone terminal individual identification information acquisition means and the individual identification information acquired by the browser terminal individual identification information acquisition means, the terminal having the telephone function and the terminal having the browser function are the same terminal An authentication means for determining whether or not
If the authentication means recognizes that the terminal having the telephone function and the terminal having the browser function are the same, the search result page creation means stores the Web page stored in association with the individual identification information. Search result presentation means for returning to the browser of the terminal having the browser function;
Information retrieval system with

The information retrieval system according to any includes a query database query history for the database using the set of search terms multiple is stored, from the query database, associating the search keyword the speech recognition means has recognized is a candidate search keyword obtaining means for obtaining a search keyword that are candidates for being stored, to the terminal, and notifies the candidate search terms, before Symbol search keyword and the candidate search keyword execution necessity of aND search by Candidate search keyword presenting means for confirming the rejection,
The search means executes an AND search based on the search keyword and the candidate search keyword when a message is sent from the terminal that an AND search is executed in response to the necessity confirmation by the candidate search keyword presenting means. An information retrieval system may be used.

  Further, in the query database, individual identification information is stored in association with a query history based on the set of the plurality of search keywords, and the candidate search keyword acquisition means refers to the query database, and the telephone terminal individual An information search system for acquiring candidate search keywords associated with the individual identification information acquired by the identification information acquisition means and the search keywords recognized by the voice recognition means may be used.

According to the information search Sakushi stearyl arm of the present invention, the search keyword can be entered by voice, also, it is possible to correspond to diversified Internet use environment, user A unaccustomed to information retrieval, the enormous amount of information You can get to the information you want naturally.

=== Network configuration ===
FIG. 1 shows a network configuration including an information search system (hereinafter referred to as a search system) in an embodiment of the present invention. In this example, the network configuration assumes a case where a user searches for information on the Internet 50 using a mobile phone (hereinafter referred to as browser phone) 30 in which a browser is mounted. The information search system 1 of this embodiment communicates with a browser via the Internet 50 as a WWW server with a search engine, and is connected to a public telephone network 40 including a mobile communication network 41 and ISDN. It is also possible to call with.

  In this embodiment, the information search system 1 includes a voice recognition / response unit 10 that mainly executes processing related to a call via the browser phone 30 and the public telephone network 40, a search unit 20 mainly having a WWW server function, The search engine of the search unit 20 stores and manages a large number of records in a database attached thereto, performs a database search based on the input search keyword, and extracts corresponding records. The information search system 1 performs a call or data communication with the browser phone 30 while the voice recognition / response unit 10 and the search unit 20 operate in cooperation, and provides an information search service to the user of the browser phone 30. The search system 1 is not limited to the configuration connected to the public telephone network 40, but is configured to make a call with the browser phone 30 via the IP telephone network using the Internet 50 or directly connected to the mobile communication network 41. It may be.

  The browser phone 30 is connected to the Internet 50 via the mobile communication network 41 by its browser function and communicates with the WWW server of the information search system 1, and the telephone number of the information search system 1 is set by the telephone function. A call is made and the line is connected to the voice recognition / response unit 10 of the information retrieval system 1.

=== Voice Response Unit ===
FIG. 2 shows a functional block configuration of the information search system 1 of the present embodiment. Each functional block of the information retrieval system 1 is realized by executing specific hardware or a program installed in a computer. When the telephone number acquisition unit 12 of the voice recognition / response unit 10 receives a call from the browser phone 30 by a well-known telephone number notification service provided by the telephone service of the mobile carrier, the browser phone 30 A telephone number is acquired as individual identification information. The call control unit 11 gives an incoming call signal from the browser phone 30 to the telephone number acquisition unit 12, and if the telephone number is acquired here, the call control unit 11 responds to the incoming call and makes a call to the browser phone 30 and the line. Connect to enable the call, and disconnect the line when the end of the call is recognized.

  The voice dialogue unit 13 sends a guidance message voice by synthesized voice to the browser phone 30 via the call control unit 11. The voice recognition unit 14 converts the received voice from the browser phone into text. The response unit communication interface 15 performs communication control with the search unit 20, for example, transmits the text of the search keyword converted by the voice recognition unit 14 to the search engine 21 of the search unit 20, or from the search unit 20 to the search keyword. Receive information related to search, such as the number of applicable records (number of hits). If the information received from the search unit 20 via the response unit communication interface 15 is the number of hits, the search number notification control unit 16 causes the voice dialog unit 13 to transmit the number.

  Note that a telephone that has made a call without notification of the telephone number may be disconnected without answering the incoming call. In addition, for a call from a telephone that is not subject to the information retrieval service, such as a telephone number acquired by the telephone number acquisition unit 12, the line may be disconnected when the telephone number is acquired. Note that it is also possible to answer once to a non-number notification or an incoming call of a telephone that is not a service target, send a message that it is not a service target via the voice dialogue unit 13, and then disconnect.

=== Search unit ===
The search unit 20 is mainly composed of a search engine 21 and a WWW server 22. Then, communication control with the voice recognition / response unit 10 is performed. For example, a search keyword is received from the voice recognition / response unit 10, or the hit number of the record extracted by the search engine 21 is stored in the voice recognition / response unit 10. A web page (search result page) describing a list of records extracted as search results by the search unit communication interface 23 to be notified and the search engine 21 is created, and a predetermined URL is associated with the search result page. The search result page creation unit 24 to be stored and managed and the individual identification information of the browser that has accessed the WWW server 22, and the individual identification information and the telephone acquired by the telephone number acquisition unit 12 of the voice recognition / response unit 10 Whether the browser you are accessing is a browser phone browser for that phone number And a authentication section 25 determines that.

=== Information Retrieval Service ===
FIG. 3 shows the flow of communication and information processing between the browser phone 30 and the information search system 1 as a method of using the information search service provided by the information search system 1 of the present embodiment. The user first makes a call to the telephone number assigned to the information search system 1 by the telephone function of his / her own browser phone 30. The call control unit 11 of the information retrieval system 1 transfers this call signal to the telephone number acquisition unit 12, and when the telephone number of the browser phone 30 that has made the call is acquired by the telephone number acquisition unit 12, the call control unit 11 In response, the browser phone 30 is connected to the line. Then, the voice dialogue unit 13 sends a guidance message by synthesized voice to the browser phone 30 and starts a call with the user of the browser phone (s1 to s3).

  In the course of a call with the browser phone 30, the voice dialogue unit 13 sends a guidance message prompting the user to input the search keyword in a timely manner, and the user responds to the message by using the browser phone 30 to input the search keyword. When the voice is spoken, the voice recognition unit 14 analyzes the voice and recognizes the search keyword, converts the keyword into text (s4, s5), and gives the text to the voice dialogue unit 13. The voice interaction unit 13 repeats the text with synthesized speech, and prompts the user to confirm the correctness of the search keyword (s6). Examples of synthesized speech for checking the correctness of this search keyword include: “Search keyword is TV,” “High if correct, pronounce“ Yes ”if wrong,” A synthesized voice is generated by inserting the text “TV” recognized by the voice recognition unit 14 into a prepared guidance message other than “TV”, and the generated voice is sent to the browser phone 30.

  If there is a response to the guidance from the browser phone 30, the voice signal of the response is given to the voice recognition unit 14, and if the voice recognition unit 14 recognizes “high”, the text data of the previous “TV” Is given to the search engine 21 (s7, s8 → s9). If the reply voice from the browser phone 30 is recognized as “No” by the voice recognition unit 14, it is only necessary to prompt the voice input of the search keyword once more and cause the user of the other party to input the search keyword by voice again (s8). → s3).

  In the information retrieval system 1, the search engine 21 refers to its own database for a search keyword based on the voice from the browser phone 30, extracts a corresponding record, and determines the number of records (the number of hits) as the search unit communication interface 15. Is sent to the voice recognition / response unit 10 (s11). The search number notification control unit 16 acquires the number of hits via the response unit communication interface 15 (s12), and informs the voice dialogue unit 13 that, for example, “the number of retrieved records is 10,”. The number of hits “10” is notified to the user by voice. At this time, the voice dialogue unit 13 asks “Do you want to see the search results on the web page?” “If you want to see it, say“ High ”,“ If you do n’t see it, say “No”, etc. ” A guidance message asking whether or not to browse the search result is also sent (s13). Here, if the voice recognition unit 14 recognizes that the voice from the browser phone 30 with respect to the guidance message for confirming whether or not browsing is “high”, the voice dialogue unit 13 reads “Search result on search result page”. Please send a message such as "Thank you for the call. Thank you." And then the call control unit disconnects the line and ends the call. Alternatively, a guidance message prompting the user to hang up is transmitted, the line is disconnected on the user side, and the call is terminated (s14 to s15 → s16). If it is recognized as “No”, it is only necessary to send a synthesized voice to accept an additional keyword for AND search or a new keyword (s15 → s3). Then, if the search keyword is finally determined, that is, if a “high” response is recognized in response to the guidance message for confirming whether or not browsing is necessary, that fact (search result page creation instruction) is searched. The search result page creation unit 24 of the search result page creation unit 24 of the unit 20 creates the search result page based on the search keyword that is the origin of the necessity confirmation, and calls the search result page. The telephone number acquired by the number acquisition unit 12 is associated and stored. Then, the browser phone 30 waits for access to obtain this page by the browser function.

  On the other hand, when the call with the information retrieval system 1 is finished, the user activates the browser function of his / her browser phone, designates a predetermined URL, and accesses the browser phone to the WWW server of the search system (s21). . The WWW server 22 acquires individual identification information from the accessed browser, and based on the individual identification information and the telephone number previously acquired by the telephone number acquisition unit 12, the browser phone of the acquired telephone number and the acquired telephone number It is determined whether or not 30 browsers are the same. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the browser phone 30 has a JAVA (registered trademark) execution environment, and a dedicated program for using the information search service is installed as a JAVA application. Then, the program acquires the telephone number of the browser phone 30 in which the program is installed, and additionally writes the acquired telephone number as a parameter to a predetermined URL for identifying the WWW server 22 of the information search system 1. Then, the browser phone 30 is made to access the WWW server 22 of the information search system 1 by the URL to which the telephone number is added.

  The WWW server 22 acquires the parameter added to the URL from the accessed browser phone, and gives the parameter to the authentication unit 25. The authentication unit 25 compares the parameter with the number sequence of the telephone numbers acquired by the telephone number acquisition unit 12 and notifies the WWW server 22 of the comparison result. When the WWW server 22 receives the authentication information from the authentication unit 25, the WWW server 22 returns a search result page stored in association with the telephone number described in the acquired parameter to the browser phone 30 (s21 to s23). → s24). Thereby, the user can browse a list of records including the search keyword specified by his / her voice (s25). If the authentication fails, an appropriate error process such as returning a Web page describing that fact to the browser may be executed (s23 → s26).

  As described above, according to the information search service method of this embodiment, a search engine that can input a search keyword by voice can browse a list of records extracted after confirming the number of hits. Therefore, no information can be obtained even if the search result page is browsed with zero hits, and communication costs and communication time are not wasted. Moreover, the user does not browse the enormous number of extracted records as they are on the search result page. The user can decide whether or not to browse the search result page in consideration of the number of hits and the time and cost required for communication.

=== About individual identification information ===
The individual identification information acquisition method and authentication method of the browser phone 30 in the information search system 1 are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various methods are conceivable. For example, as is well known, the browser phone 30 is configured to store an individual identification number unique to itself in addition to the telephone number, and to send the individual identification number when accessing the WWW server 22. Yes. Therefore, a user of the information providing service provided by the information search system 1 is a member who has pre-registered the phone number of the browser phone 30 and the device individual identification number in the information search system 1, and the information search system 1 The number and individual identification information are stored in association with each other. The authentication unit 25 returns a search result page if the individual identification number of the browser that has accessed the WWW server 22 is that of a registered member and corresponds to the telephone number acquired by the telephone number acquisition unit 12. In order to register the telephone number and the individual identification number in the information search system 1, a web page including a form for inputting the telephone number may be prepared in the WWW server 22 of the information search system 1. Thereby, the WWW server 22 can acquire the telephone number and the individual identification number at the same time if the browser phone 30 takes this Web page, inputs the telephone number into the form of the page and returns it. By setting the information search service as a membership system, if there is a call from a browser phone 30 other than a member or a phone other than the service target (for example, a general subscriber phone), processing related to the information search service is performed. Calls from those phones can be disconnected before execution.

  In some cases, the mobile communication carrier can acquire the telephone number of the browser phone that has been accessed, for example, on the WWW server 22 called “official site” that is directly connected to the mobile communication network 41. obtain. In such a case, if the accessing browser sends a telephone number, the authenticating unit 25 directly compares the telephone number with the telephone number acquired by the telephone number acquiring unit 12 as individual identification information, and has accessed. It is determined whether or not the browser is the browser phone 30 that is the target of sending the search result page. It is technically possible to include an individual identification number in a call signal from the public telephone network 40. In this case, means for acquiring the individual identification number of the calling browser phone is provided in place of the telephone number acquiring unit 12. Then, the authentication unit 25 compares the individual identification number acquired from the browser that has accessed the WWW server 22 with the individual identification number acquired by the means that substitutes for the telephone number acquisition unit 12.

=== About browsing instructions for search results ===
The user may be allowed to specify the number of records to be described on the search result page. For example, after notifying the user of the number of hits by the voice interaction unit 13, the user is prompted to specify the number of records to be described on the search result page. The number of records may be specified in units of one item or a predetermined number of units (for example, unit of five items). Alternatively, the number of cases that can be designated (5 cases, 10 cases, 20 cases, etc.) may be presented and selected. The number of cases may be specified by voice or numeric keypad input. Then, a specified number of records are extracted from all records corresponding to the search keyword to create a search result page.

=== About AND search ===
If the AND search by a plurality of search terms, in the present embodiment, it is assumed that accepts a search keyword again add it notifies the number of hits for a single search keyword. As a result, each time a search keyword is added, the user can check the number of hits, and can gradually narrow down records until the number of items that the target information is likely to be in the search result page for one page. .

In addition, as a result of AND search, there is a possibility that the number of hits may be extremely small or may be zero in some cases. Corresponding to such a case, it is assumed that the search keyword received immediately before the last received search keyword is returned, and the number of hits by the previous search keyword can be notified again. The user may be allowed to specify the number of times of reception to go back.

=== Search keyword presentation function ===
While the AND search can narrow down the information reliably, if the combination of search keywords is wrong, the information intended by the user may not be reflected in the search result search. It is difficult for an unfamiliar person to select a plurality of search keywords appropriately. Therefore, a set of keywords that have been AND-searched in the past is recorded, and based on the record (query log), the search keyword specified by the user and the search keyword that is frequently set are presented by voice. Then, an AND search may be prompted. If the user approves the search using the presented search keyword, an AND search is performed using the search keyword designated by the user and the presented search keyword. This increases the possibility that a person unaccustomed to searching can obtain the target information.

  In addition, the user has a certain degree of directivity in the target information, and the user is highly likely to use the search system again to search for the same information. Therefore, since the search system identifies the user based on the individual identification information, a query log is recorded for each user, and when a certain search keyword is received from a certain user, the same user has previously recorded the query log. If a search keyword is accepted and an AND search has been performed with another search keyword, the other search keyword may be presented to prompt an AND search. As a result, the user can quickly obtain information according to his / her preference based on his / her past search history.

=== About the user's computer ===
The mobile communication network may be an IP telephone network. The user's computer does not have to be a browser phone as long as the telephone system can make a call with the search system and the browser function can browse a search result page prepared by the search system. It may be a personal computer equipped with a handset type peripheral device (handphone, etc.) connected to a headset, USB interface, etc., and mounted with a program for connecting to the IP telephone network by a well-known VoIP procedure. .

It is a block diagram of the information communication network in which the information search service method in the Example of this invention is implemented. It is a functional block diagram of the information search system which implements the said service. It is an implementation procedure figure of the said service.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Information retrieval system 10 Voice recognition / response part 11 Call control part 12 Telephone number acquisition part 13 Voice interaction part 14 Voice recognition part 16 Search number notification control part 20 Search part 21 Search engine 22 WWW server 24 Search result page creation part 30 Browser Phone 40 Public telephone network 41 Mobile communication network 50 Internet

Claims (3)

An information search system for carrying out an information search service for a user of a terminal connected to a communication line and having a browser function as well as a telephone function,
Call means for connecting to the terminal and starting an automatic voice response call;
Speech recognition means for recognizing and converting a search keyword received during a call with the terminal into text;
Search means for referring to the search keyword converted into the text to a database storing records and extracting corresponding records;
Search number acquisition means for acquiring the number of records extracted by the search means;
A hit number notification means for transmitting the number of records to the terminal by an automatic voice response function,
After transmitting the number of records by the hit number notifying means, and receiving an additional search keyword from the terminal, the voice recognition means recognizes the additional search keyword and converts it into text, and the search means Inquires the database for a search keyword already inquired in the database and the additional search keyword converted into the text, extracts a corresponding record by AND search of these search keywords, and notifies the hit number notification means Sends the number of the extracted records to the terminal,
The hit number notifying means sends the number of records extracted by the search means to the terminal using the search keyword received and converted to text before the additional search keyword received and converted to text. Including means,
The information retrieval system further includes:
Telephone terminal individual identification information acquisition means for acquiring individual identification information of the terminal that has accessed by calling a predetermined telephone number by a telephone function;
Search instruction receiving means for receiving a search execution instruction by voice from the terminal that has transmitted the number of records,
A search result page creation means for creating a list of corresponding records searched by the search means on a Web page, and storing the Web page in association with the individual identification information acquired by the telephone terminal individual identification information acquisition means;
Browser terminal individual identification information acquisition means for acquiring individual identification information of a terminal that has accessed a search server by specifying a predetermined URL by a browser function;
Based on the individual identification information acquired by the telephone terminal individual identification information acquisition means and the individual identification information acquired by the browser terminal individual identification information acquisition means, the terminal having the telephone function and the terminal having the browser function are the same terminal An authentication means for determining whether or not
If the authentication means recognizes that the terminal having the telephone function and the terminal having the browser function are the same, the search result page creation means stores the Web page stored in association with the individual identification information. Search result presentation means for returning to the browser of the terminal having the browser function;
An information retrieval system characterized by comprising: In claim 1 ,
A query database storing a history of queries to the database by a set of search keywords;
Candidate search keyword acquisition means for acquiring search keywords as candidates stored in association with the search keywords recognized by the voice recognition means from the query database;
In addition to notifying the terminal of the candidate search keyword, the search keyword and candidate search keyword presenting means for confirming whether or not an AND search using the candidate search keyword is necessary,
The search means executes an AND search based on the search keyword and the candidate search keyword when a message is sent from the terminal that an AND search is executed in response to the necessity confirmation by the candidate search keyword presenting means. An information retrieval system characterized by that. In Claim 2 , in said query database, individual discernment information is matched and memorized by inquiry history by a set of said a plurality of search keywords,
The candidate search keyword acquisition means refers to the query database, and the candidate search keyword associated with the individual identification information acquired by the telephone terminal individual identification information acquisition means and the search keyword recognized by the voice recognition means. To get the
An information retrieval system characterized by that.

Images