JPH09198399A - Information retrieval supporting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily and properly comprehend contents and to provide exact information even concerning any technical inquiry by extracting a designated word and presenting data for supplementarily explaining its contents when there is a technically difficult word, etc. SOLUTION: When guidance data are received from a guidance I/F device J1, a supplementary explanation extracting/presenting device G2-1 extracts the word for which a supplementary explanation is required. Concretely, words registered in a supplementary explanation word dictionary G2-2 are successively read and text matching is performed to show whether such a word is contained in the guidance data or not. When that word is contained, it is outputted as a word requiring the supplementary explanation. Then, guidance data and supplementary exaplanation data related to the extracted word are finally presented from the guidance I/F device J1 to a user. Thus, even the inquiry from an ordinary client, who does not have a through knowledge of technique, can be dealt with.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This patent relates to an apparatus for outputting answer information by presenting a question to an inquiry from a customer or the like and inputting the answer by the customer or the like. The present invention relates to an information search support device that can respond to inquiries from ordinary customers.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 54 shows a conventional inquiry support device. For example, a sky-touch phone that can connect to a computer center of an aircraft company with a touch-tone phone and receive various services such as reservation will be described. In FIG. 54, J1 is a user guidance I / F device used for communication between the user and the guidance device of J2 and the information search support device of J3, and in this example, it is a touch-tone phone. J2 is guidance I /
For users who make inquiries using F device J1,
To provide services such as seat reservation / cancellation and vacant seat information, or to present operation guidance information to the user, or information to be presented to the user after input from the user. It is a guidance device that determines search conditions. J3 refers to the specified information from the user who uses the guidance I / F device J1 based on the search condition given from the guidance device J2, and refers to the information DB J
5 is an information retrieval support unit that retrieves information required from 5. J4 retrieves the inquiry procedure DB J6 from the inquiry procedure DB J6 in accordance with the service that should provide the inquiry procedure that defines how the guidance apparatus J2 should proceed with the process according to the response from the user, and sends the inquiry to the guidance apparatus J2. It is a procedure search device. J5 is an information DB that stores information to be provided, and J6 is an inquiry procedure DB that stores inquiry procedures.

FIG. 55 is a diagram showing an example of inquiry procedure selection criteria, which is provided in the inquiry procedure retrieval device J4. Figure 56
Is a diagram showing an example of procedure data and is stored in the inquiry procedure database J6. FIG. 57 is a guide on how to use the sky touch phone. FIG. 58 shows the processing procedure by taking as an example the case where the user operates the vacant seat schedule guidance among the services provided according to the description of FIG. 57. First, when the user presses a predetermined telephone number and the telephone line is connected, the guidance device uses the guidance I / F device to inform the user, "1 for reservation, 2 for cancellation, vacant seat guidance In case 3 and press 4 for departure / arrival information. " The guidance I / F device outputs the specified message by voice, obtains the input value of the user, and sends it to the guidance device (step J51). The guidance device obtains the input value of the user, “3” in this example, and sends the value to the inquiry procedure search device. The inquiry procedure search device follows the judgment criteria shown in FIG.
Inquiry procedure data 3 shown in FIG. 56 is returned to the guidance device (step J52). As shown in FIG. 56, the procedure data is, for example, a “procedure number”, a “guidance message” presented to the user, a response of the user, that is, a value of “input value” received from the guidance I / F device. It is represented by a set of a pair of "condition" based on the "condition", "process" selected and executed according to the condition, and a procedure number to be followed after the process is executed.

Thereafter, the process proceeds according to the description of the procedure data (steps J54 to J57). In the case of procedure data 3, the guidance device sends a guidance message “Please use the month” to the user via J1 according to the procedure data, receives the response via J1, and receives the value as M. To the internal variable and proceed to step 2. In the procedure 2, as in the case of the procedure 1, this time, the guidance message “Please use the date of use” is presented, the answer is substituted into the variable D, and the procedure proceeds to the procedure 3. In step 3, present the message "Enter flight number if flight number is specified, and enter 0 if route is specified." If the input is 0, proceed to step 5 and input 0 Otherwise,
Substitute the input value for B and proceed to step 4. If the procedure proceeds to step 4, a pair of M, D, and B values as search conditions is sent to the information search support device J3. The information retrieval procedure device is M,
Using the values of D and B, the corresponding data in the vacant seat information table is searched from the information DB as shown in FIG. 59, and the value is substituted for S. There are seats available ”(step J59). In this case, the guidance message and the search result information presented to the user by the guidance I / F device are presented as voice data using a voice synthesizer or the like. The guidance message stored in the database or the search result information itself may be voice data. In addition, the content of the response such as the guidance message may differ depending on the case, or there may be no response.

As another conventional example, "Information Processing Society of Japan No. 49
I will explain the window work dialogue support system shown in "The 2nd Annual Conference of Japan 2J-7". In the case of this system, in FIG. 54, J1 is a user guidance I / F device used for communication between the user who is the person in charge of the window work and the guidance device J2 and the information search support unit J3. In the case of, it is a computer screen and its control device. The guidance device J2 presents operation guidance information to the user in order to provide services such as provision of information that should be answered to the customer, or retrieves information to be presented to the user after input from the user. Determine the conditions. Information Search Support Department J3
Refers to the specified information from the user based on the search condition given from the guidance device J2,
Search the required information from J5. The inquiry procedure search device J4 searches the inquiry procedure DB J6 for an inquiry procedure (referred to as “dialogue flow” in the literature).

This window work dialogue support system obtains input information from a user, such as a customer's request for electric power, which is given via the guidance I / F device J1, and inputs the input, similarly to the sky touch phone. According to the information
Execute the guidance as specified in the inquiry procedure called "Dialogue Flow". However, as shown in FIG. 60, the window work dialogue support system uses the user guidance I
/ F device J1 displays the next question to be processed on the computer screen, and on that screen, not only the content of the question answer but also the inquiry procedure that defines the process, that is, the "dialogue flow" is displayed. It is different from the sky touch-tone phone in that it is displayed as a graph connecting nodes expressed by letters and supports guidance.

As another conventional example, a help desk system for responding to a failure inquiry of a device exemplified by a help disk construction shell (CBR Express) will be described. In the case of this system, in FIG. 54, the guidance I / F device J1 is the computer screen and its control device in this example. The guidance device J2 presents a question such as the state of the equipment to be confirmed to the customer in order to provide the customer with information such as the estimated failure location to be answered and countermeasures against it.
Alternatively, an answer to the question is obtained, and a search condition for the information such as the estimated failure location to be presented to the user and its countermeasure is determined. Information search support unit J3, inquiry procedure search device J4, information DB J5, inquiry procedure DB J6
Is equivalent to other conventional examples.

This help desk system, similar to the sky touch phone, searches the guidance device J2 for information necessary for a reply based on the input information from the user obtained via the guidance I / F device J1. Information search support unit J3 searches the information DB J5 for information necessary for a reply based on the search condition.
Present information to the user. However, the help desk system stores past cases (device state and presumed cause / countermeasure combinations) in the information DB J5, and is similar to the search condition (device state confirmed by the customer). This is different from the sky touchphone in that an information group (probability cause group) necessary for an answer is searched by searching for cases, and information is displayed in a list in descending order of similarity according to the similarity. In this method, the weight of the data is the similarity 1
In addition, as shown in FIG. 61, the display method can only display the list in descending order of similarity.

[0009]

In the conventional inquiry support device, since the questions and answer options presented by the system are mainly character and numerical data, they are expressed by technical technical terms that are difficult to understand and characters and numerical values. There was a problem that the troublesome machine startup sound was forcibly displayed as character information, and the contents of the question and answer options could not be correctly understood.

Furthermore, the answer to the question can be performed only by designating a menu item or inputting a character. For example, in the case of a technical inquiry, a menu such as an abnormal sound of a machine is presented. There is also a problem that it is not possible to properly answer the question presented by the system if it is not known which of the simulated sounds corresponds to this.

Furthermore, the guidance data in which a plurality of questions up to the answer are expressed on the network can be simply displayed according to the order of the options, etc.
When the guidance data is large, there is a problem in that simply displaying the network on the screen causes the nodes of current interest and nodes along the route that has been followed to overflow from the screen.

[0012] In addition, inquiries that can be processed only for one topic at a time, change to another topic in the middle, and return to the original, such that the topic changes depending on the flow of handling the question. There was a problem that we could not respond.

Furthermore, inquiries about equipment failure, etc.
If the inquirer himself / herself is not familiar with the device, there is a problem that the information necessary for the reply cannot be narrowed down sufficiently if the information obtained from the customer is very small.

[0014]

An information retrieval support apparatus according to the present invention subdivides a guidance unit for displaying guidance data composed of a question / selection answer and a necessary portion in the question / selection answer. Data, voice, images,
Based on the multimedia database stored as multimedia data represented by moving images and the inquiry procedure database based on the selected answer of the guidance data, the subsequent steps are searched and the guidance means is searched from the multimedia database. An inquiry procedure search device for instructing output to the device, a supplementary explanation word dictionary containing detailed explanation information corresponding to a predetermined word / phrase in the question / selection answer, and a predetermined word / phrase in the question / selection answer are specified. Then,
The supplementary explanation extracting device is provided for referring to the supplementary explanation word dictionary and, if necessary, the multimedia database and outputting it to the guidance means.

In addition to the basic configuration, a guidance net presenting device for displaying the stack of questions / selection answers in cascade connection in a tree format is added. When the above answer is selected, the guidance is provided by referring to the multimedia data. -A guidance net based on the selected tree of data is output in cascade display in the center if necessary.

[0016] Furthermore, the multimedia data for referring to the multimedia data for the selected answer and outputting corresponding
A data presentation device was added, and when the above answer was selected, the corresponding multimedia data was output.

Furthermore, a multimedia data answering device for inputting multimedia data including audio / video from the outside as the answer data for selection is added, and the input to the multimedia data answering device is multimedia data.
The query procedure is determined by comparing with the corresponding data in the database.

Furthermore, each procedure data string prepared for each answer for selecting guidance data is stored in the context buffer, and when the answer is selected, the context switching device for outputting the corresponding procedure from the context buffer to the guidance net. Was added, and a guidance net was displayed for the selection of the above answers up to a certain stage.

Further, an information narrowing device for searching narrowing information including either maintenance information or technical information and sending it to the inquiry procedure searching device is added, and the subsequent procedure is selected by referring to this narrowing information. .

Furthermore, necessary narrowed-down information is displayed,
A narrowing function selecting device for fetching the narrowing down information selected from the above is added, and the subsequent steps are selected with reference to the selected narrowing down information.

Further, a surrogate function determining device is added to supplement the search of the narrowing information by the information narrowing device, and the subsequent procedure is selected by also referring to the information of the surrogate function determining device.

[0022]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Embodiment 1. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a first embodiment of an information search support device of the invention. In the figure, J1, J
2, J3, J4, J5, and J6 are the same as the conventional example of FIG. 54, but among the guidance data such as question sentences sent from the guidance device J2 and presented to the user by the guidance I / F device J1. If the user does not understand the contents, or if there is a word that requires supplementary explanation, the voice specified by the user as a key, the image, the video, etc. that supplements the explanation Is newly provided with a multimedia guidance message device G1-1 for searching and presenting the multimedia data to the user and a multimedia guidance database G1-2 for storing these multimedia data.

Next, the operation will be described. In addition, J
For the operation of 1, J2, J3, J4, J5, J6,
Since it is the same as the conventional one, it is omitted here, and the operation of the multimedia guidance message device G1-1 will be mainly described. As a specific example, a case where guidance data for asking the user about the state of the device as shown in FIG. 2A is displayed by the guidance I / F device J1 is taken as an example. In the example of the figure, for example, when the user does not know where the "warning lamp" in the question sentence is in the "driver's seat panel", or what state is "short blinking" in the answer options (that is, The user cannot answer the question presented by the system unless it is possible to determine how often the light is turned on or off is described as a short blink. In this case, in this system, as shown in FIG. 2B, the user can specify a word for which supplementary explanation is required by a device such as a mouse. In this case, the words "warning lamp" and "short flashing" designated by the user are input from the guidance I / F device J1 and sent to the multimedia guidance message device G1-1. Multimedia guidance message device G1-
In FIG. 1, the received words are used as search conditions, and FIG.
Multimedia guidance database G as shown in
The supplementary explanation data is retrieved from 1-2, and the retrieved data is sent to the guidance I / F device J1 and presented to the user as shown in FIG. That is, the actual position of the warning lamp is displayed as an image data on a part of the guidance screen, and the warning lamp displayed on the image blinks according to the moving image data from the multimedia guidance database G1-2. Clarify. By referring to the presented multimedia data, the user can understand the contents of the question presented by the system and can input the correct answer.

In the present embodiment, as the multimedia data for the supplementary explanation, the case of the image and the moving image has been described, but the type of the supplementary explanation data is other data such as a character string (description) and voice. It may be a type. Also, the multimedia guidance database G
The file system 1-2 may be an indexed file system as long as it can output corresponding data by using a specified keyword such as a relational database as a search condition.

Embodiment 2 FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the configuration of the information search support device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 5, J1, J2, J3, J4, J5 and J6 are shown in FIG.
Same as the conventional example, but the supplementary explanation extraction / presentation device G2
As -1, if the user does not understand the content of the guidance data or if the guidance data contains a word that requires supplementary explanation, the word requiring supplementary explanation is selected from the guidance data. A device for extracting and presenting to the user multimedia data such as voice, image, and moving image for supplementary explanation of the contents and multimedia guidance database G1-2, which stores multimedia data for supplementary explanation Database and
As the supplementary explanation word dictionary G2-2, a dictionary that stores a word that requires supplementary explanation and is referred to when extracting a word is newly provided.

Next, the operation will be described. here,
Supplementary explanation The operation of the extraction / presentation device G2-1 will be mainly described. As a specific example, a case where guidance data for asking the user about the state of the device as shown in FIG. 2 of the first embodiment is displayed is taken as an example. Supplementary explanation extraction / presentation device G2
When -1 receives the guidance data as shown in FIG. 6 from the guidance I / F device J1, the word -1 extracts a word requiring supplementary explanation by the processing shown in FIG. Specifically, the words registered in the supplementary explanation word dictionary G2-2 are sequentially read (step G2-3), and text matching is performed to see if the word is included in the guidance data (step G2-4). ), If the word is included, it is output as a word requiring supplementary explanation (step G2-5). The subsequent processing is the same as that of the multimedia guidance message device G1-1 of the first embodiment. Finally, as shown in FIG. 4, the guidance I / F device J1 presents the guidance data and supplemental explanation data related to the extracted words to the user. In the present embodiment, the text matching method is used to extract words that require supplementary explanation, but the guidance data (character string) is divided into words using a syntax analysis method, and particles such as particles are unnecessary. After removing the words, each word is a supplementary explanation word dictionary G
There is no problem even if the method of judging whether or not it is registered in 2-2 and extracting the registered one as a word requiring supplementary explanation is used.

Embodiment 3 FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the configuration of the information search support device according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In the figure,
As a new one, G3-1 guidance I / F device
In accordance with the description of the inquiry procedure, (J1) displays the inquiry procedure on the computer screen (hereinafter referred to as a guidance net), based on the information described in the inquiry procedure data, the multimedia data And a multimedia guidance net presenting device for displaying an icon for outputting the same, and a file group of multimedia data such as video and audio output in the guidance net displayed by the multimedia guidance net of G3-2.

Next, the operation of the multimedia guidance net presenting apparatus will be described. For example, FIG. 9 shows an example of inquiry procedure data for making an inquiry about a failure state of an elevator door, but the notation #MM (X) in the data in the figure should be displayed on the guidance net. This is data for instructing the file name X of the multimedia data file. When displaying the guidance net, the guidance I / F device analyzes the inquiry procedure data in order and, when encountering the notation #MM (X), uses the display position and icon on the screen of the node currently displayed. Whether or not to do so, the file name X of the multimedia data is sent to the multimedia guidance net presentation device G3-1. In the present embodiment, the #MM (X) notation in the “guidance message” column of the inquiry procedure is distinguished from the designation not using the icon, and the “condition” column is distinguished from the designation using the icon. . The multimedia guidance net presenting device G3-1 has a guidance I /
According to the request sent from the F device, the designated multimedia data is presented at the designated position by displaying the icon or the data itself according to the designation.

FIG. 10 shows the guidance I / I of this embodiment.
It is a figure showing the example of the screen display of the guidance net which F device displays. G3-3 specifies #MM (do) specified in the "guidance message" column of the data of number n in FIG.
or. img). The image data is stored under the file name img. G3-4
Similarly, 6 to 6 are icon displays of the audio data designated in the “condition” column, and by selecting these icons, s1. snd, s2. snd, s3. s
nd voice data is output. G3-7 is designated by # in the "guidance message" column of number m in FIG.
But displayed by MM (button.img)
ton. The video data G3-8 to 10 stored in the file name of "img" are icon displays of the video data specified in the "condition" column. By selecting these icons, i1. img, i2. img, i3. im
g video data is output.

The operation flow for displaying the screen of FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. The multimedia guidance net presentation device G3-1 specifies the drawing position of the guidance net n in step G3-21, and determines the positions G3-4 to G3-6 of the door sound in FIG. Then, in G3-22, the procedure data in the memory is read, first, in step G3-23, drawing is performed at the position of G3-4, and the condition in the procedure data is read in G3-24. In this case, G3- Two
5, the voice data is taken out, and s1. Output snd sound. Furthermore, step G3-
27, the drawing position is moved to the next G3-5 position, and in step G3-28, s2. Knowing the designation of the snd sound, G3-29 extracts that sound and G3-30 outputs it. Specifically, this is the position G3 corresponding to the input value 3
6 in s3. Output up to snd and perform the next step G3-
In step 31, the operation of the next number represented by n + 1 in the procedure data is started. Here, although the description is omitted, in the drawing operation of the push button of the procedure data m, similarly to the above-described sound extraction, the image data is extracted by the icon in the condition column.

The user refers to the guidance net shown in FIG. 10, and matches the sound of the opening and closing of the door with the sound of the icon, and the state of the push button with the image of the icon. Whether or not to do so, the result of presenting the data by clicking the icon is compared with the actual situation, and the guidance I / F device is operated in the same manner as in the conventional case, for example, 1, 2,
Enter an answer value such as 3. In this way, inquiries are made using multimedia data such as still images, voices, and videos to display places that are difficult to explain in sentences, express sounds that are difficult to express in onomatopoeia, and explain operations that are difficult to explain in sentences. Guidance can be given. In addition,
In the present embodiment, an example of the guidance net using only still images and voices has been described, but other types of multimedia data such as moving images and sentences may be used. Also, the icon display and the display of the data itself are determined by the field type of the inquiry procedure data. However, for example, the icon display is used for moving images and audio, the data itself is displayed for still images, or all multimedia data is displayed. May be determined using other criteria such as displaying an icon. In addition, in FIG. 10, character information such as "door opening / closing sound" and G3
Although an example in which multimedia information such as video data of No. -3 is described together is shown, a guidance net that presents only multimedia information may be used. The display method of the guidance net is determined depending on the guidance I / F device, and the graph structure shown in FIG. 10 shows only one example.

Embodiment 4 FIG. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the configuration of the information search support device according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, there is a new G4-1 multimedia data attachment / presentation device. This is to attach the multimedia data stored in G3-2 to the question to the user,
It is a device for presenting. Next, the operation of the multimedia data attaching / presenting apparatus G4-1 will be described. For example, FIG. 9 shows an example of inquiry procedure data for making an inquiry about the failure state of the elevator door, which has been described in the third embodiment, but the notation #MM (X) is used in the data in the figure. , Data indicating a file name X of a multimedia data file to be attached / displayed in a question. The guidance I / F device analyzes the inquiry procedure data order when presenting a question message to the user, and encounters the notation #MM (X),
After displaying the guidance message, an appropriate display position on the guidance message window, designation of whether to use the icon, and file name X of the multimedia data are sent to the multimedia data attachment / presentation device G3-1. In the present embodiment, the icons are not used for the #MM (X) notation in the “guidance message” column of the inquiry procedure, the designation to be displayed next to the guidance message, and the icons are used for those in the “condition” column. , It should be distinguished from the designation displayed below the guidance message. The multimedia data attaching / presenting device G4-1 presents the multimedia data designated at the designated position by displaying the icon or the data itself according to the designation in accordance with the request sent from the guidance I / F device.

FIG. 13 shows the guidance I / I of this embodiment.
It is an example of a question screen display for dialogue with the user displayed by the F device J1. G4-2 message window, G4
The -3 input window is similar to the prior art. The G4-4 uses the designated #MM (door.
img). The image data is stored under the file name img. G4-5-7
Is an icon display of voice data similarly designated in the “condition” column, and by selecting these icons, s1. snd, s2. snd, s3. sn
The audio data of d is output. G4-8 is designated by # in the "guidance message" column of number m in FIG.
But displayed by MM (button.img)
ton. The video data G4-9 to G11 stored under the file name “img” are icon displays of the video data specified in the “condition” column. By selecting these icons, i1. img, i2. img, i3. i
Video data of mg is output.

The user refers to the message window shown in FIG. 13, and matches the sound of opening and closing the door with the sound presented with the icon and the state of the push button with the image presented with the icon. Whether or not to do so, the result of presenting the data by clicking the icon is compared with the actual situation, and the guidance I / F device, for example,
Input answer values such as 1, 2, and 3.

Embodiment 5 FIG. FIG. 14 shows the configuration of the information search support device according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, there is a new G5-1 multimedia data response device. This is a device that accepts multimedia data as a user's answer to a question. G
There are 5-2 multimedia data input devices. This generates multimedia data by shooting, recording, and recording with a video camera, a microphone, a digital camera, etc., and inputs the multimedia data to the multimedia answering device G5-1. Next, the operation of the multimedia data response device G5-1 will be described. For example, FIG. 15 shows an example of inquiry procedure data for making an inquiry about the failure state of the elevator door.
The notation MM (X) is data indicating the file name X of the multimedia data file to be collated with the multimedia data given as the user's answer. The guidance I / F device presents a question message to the user and, when requesting a reply, analyzes the inquiry procedure data order, and asks? When encountering the notation MM (X), after displaying the guidance message, the file name X
To start the multimedia data response device. In the multimedia data response device, the extension of X represents voice data, for example, in the data example of the present embodiment,
If it is "snd", as shown in "Multimedia input window" G5-3 of FIG. 16A, a window for prompting recording of sound is displayed to represent video data, for example, data example of the present embodiment. If it is “img”, then FIG.
As shown in “Multimedia input window” G5-4 in (b), a window prompting to capture an image is displayed.

As shown in FIG. 16, the user presses the button "start" in response to the request of the input window displayed by the multimedia data response device, and then uses the multimedia input device G5-2 to output the voice data. , Input the video data, and press the button "stop" to notify the completion of the input. The multimedia data response device G5-1 sends the multimedia data input as a response to the guidance device J2 via the guidance I / F device J1.
The guidance device J2 uses the multimedia data input as described above to determine which of the conditions shown in the procedure data is satisfied during the process. MM
The collation determination is performed with the data of the multimedia file designated by the notation (X) and stored in G3-2, but the determination method differs depending on the guidance device. For example, as an example thereof, there is a method of comparing whether the multimedia file of the answer input and the file of X are the same with the file comparison command. In the present embodiment,
Although the example of the answer using only the still image and the sound has been described, other types of multimedia data such as a moving image may be used.
The display method of the dialogue window and the input window is determined depending on the guidance I / F device.
What is shown in (1) is only an example.

Embodiment 6 FIG. FIG. 17 is a diagram showing the structure of the information search support device according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, a new one is a guidance net shaping presentation device of G6-1. This is a guidance I / F device
When (J1) displays the guidance net (in this example, it has a tree structure for simplification) on the computer screen according to the description of the inquiry procedure, the user may A process for displaying the selected result in the center is performed.

Next, the guidance net shaping presentation device G6
The operation of -1 will be described with reference to FIGS. When displaying the options, each option has a width BoxW
It shall be displayed as a box of idth and BoxHeight, and those shall be displayed in the horizontal direction with MarginWidth.
h, arranged in the vertical direction at an interval of MarginHeight. The values of these parameters are set in advance. In order to display the Nth box in FIG. 19,
As shown in the 6th line, the Offset algorithm shown in FIG. 18 is called, and as shown in FIG. 20, the drawing start reference point of the box is shifted to the left side of the screen by the amount calculated by Offset. In the Offset algorithm, if the option selected by the user is the Kth option, the drawing start position (coordinates) of the Kth option box is (X-BoxW).
Since the drawing start reference point is calculated so that idth / 2, Y + MarginHeight), the box corresponding to the option selected by the user is always arranged at the center of the screen.

FIG. 21 is an example of a graph display. As shown in this figure, even if the screen display area that is displayed on the computer screen is not wide enough to display the entire graph written in the graph drawing area, it is selected by the user. The choices can be placed in the center and the other choices can be scrolled out on either side, and the result of the choice can be seen without performing a horizontal scroll of the screen. Note that, in the present embodiment, an example is used in which the options are arranged side by side and the steps progress as they move downward. However, for example, the options are arranged vertically and the steps progress as they move to the right, top, bottom, left, and right. The same effect can be obtained by replacing. Also,
Although the description has been given in the case where the guidance net has a tree structure, the same processing can be used to place the selection result of the user in the center of the screen for graphs other than the tree structure. Further, in the present embodiment, the restricted tree structure in which the branch of the next stage is displayed only for the option selected by the user in each stage is used. However, for the option not selected, the next stage is also used. The same idea can be applied to the case where the notation for displaying the branch of is taken.

Embodiment 7 FIG. 22 is a diagram showing the configuration of the information search support device according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, a G7-1 context switching device is new. This is a device for switching the context of interaction with the user. FIG. 23 is a screen example of the inquiry support device according to the present embodiment. In the figure, G7-2 is displayed by the guidance I / F device J1, and is referred to as a guidance window here. G7-3 is displayed by the context switching device G7-1 and is called a context switching window. The context switching window includes a context expansion button G7-31 and a context selection list G7-32.

Next, the operation of the context switching device G7-1 will be described. FIG. 27 (a) shows the processing when the user selects the context expansion button in the context switching window as the context switching related processing, and FIG. 27 (b) shows that the user subsequently selects from the context selection list. The processing when the context is selected is shown. First, the processing when the user selects the context expansion button G7-31 will be described. FIG.
3, the user has already selected "Door failure" G7-11 and "Does not close" G7-12, as indicated by hatching in the guidance net of the guidance window. Expand button G7-3
Suppose 1 is selected as input. According to the process of FIG. 27A, the context switching device prepares the necessary number of context buffers. For example, if the inquiry procedure data in this case is as shown in FIG. 26, the input value candidates for the n-th procedure that is currently being processed are “closed by manual operation” and “manual operation”. You can't close it with G.
And two context buffers G7-52 are prepared, and the # 1 G7-51 and # 2 G7-52 are associated with the respective candidates. Next, the pairs of these numbers and candidates are shown in FIG.
4, a list of context selections G7-32
To be displayed. Further, as shown in FIG. 28, in the context buffers # 1 G7-51 and # 2 G7-52, "door failure", which is the user's past input value,
"Do not close" is recorded, and "# 1" means "can be closed manually" and "# 2" means "cannot be closed manually". As a result, two contexts are created when the user selects each of the option candidates.

Next, the processing when the user specifies the context switching processing will be described. FIG. 24 is an example of a screen display output when the user selects 1 “closed by manual operation” G7-13 from the context selection list. This will be described with reference to FIG. When the user selects 1 to be closed by manual operation from the selection list, the context switching device G7-1 selects the corresponding context buffer # 1 G7-51. As shown in FIG. 28, context buffer # 1 G7
Since the input values of "door failure", "does not close", and "closed by manual operation" are lined up at -51, the user sends it to the guidance device J2 via the guidance I / F device J1. Instead of the input value that is input, the context switching device sends the guidance buffer # to the guidance device J2.
By giving an input value of 1, the guidance screen as shown in the guidance window of FIG. 24 is output. After that, the user said, "A foreign object is stuck in the door rail."
When an input such as G7-15 or "door machine failure" G7-16 is made, or further, an input corresponding to the guidance beyond that is made, the context switching device sequentially stores the input values in the context buffer # 1. go. As a result, in the context buffer, the value input by the user in each context created according to the expansion of the context,
All of them are stored in the context buffer, so when the user selects one context from the context selection list of the context switching window in the same manner, the continuation of the context is continued based on all the input made in the context of the dialogue. The guidance window can be displayed.

Similarly, in FIG. 25, the user selects from the context selection list 2 "Cannot be closed even by manual operation" G7.
It is an example of a screen display output when -14 is selected. The processing performed here is similar to that described above. In this embodiment, after context expansion is performed once, in each context,
Although the description has been given by using the example in which the context expansion is not performed, the context expansion can be performed in multiple stages by using the same mechanism. Further, in the present embodiment, a method of recording all past input values in all context buffers for simplification is shown, but past input values common to these previous contexts are recorded separately from each context buffer. However, it may be shared from all contexts. Further, although the button and the selection list are used to display the context switching window, expressions other than those may be used. The display of the guidance window has been described with an example of displaying the guidance net and the question message. However, the guidance I / F device J1 and the guidance device J are displayed.
Other displays may be used depending on 2.

Embodiment 8 FIG. FIG. 29 is a diagram showing the configuration of the information search support device according to the eighth embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, there is a G8-1 information narrowing device as a new device. This is because the information retrieval support unit J3 inputs the information retrieved from the information DB J5 according to the retrieval condition determined by the guidance device J2 from the information confirmed by the customer, and further narrows down the range of information based on this information. It is a device. In contrast to the conventional inquiry support device that uses only the information obtained from the inquirer such as the customer to retrieve the information necessary for the reply, this device uses the information narrowing device G8- 1 is newly provided, it is possible to further narrow down the range of information necessary for reply by using information other than information obtained from inquirers such as customers, such as technical information such as equipment failure and maintenance. . For this reason, when inquiring about equipment failure, etc., when the inquirer such as the customer does not know the device well and cannot obtain enough information to narrow down the range of information required for reply, the information narrowing device By using G8-1, it is possible to narrow down the information required for the reply.

Next, the operation will be described. This will be described focusing on the operation of the information narrowing device G8-1. As a specific example, in the case of an elevator failure inquiry, the guidance device J2 confirms the symptom as shown in FIG. 30, and the information retrieval support unit J3 uses the similar case as in the help desk system of the conventional example. It is assumed that the “car door opening / closing device” G8-13 is searched as a failure target part by the search. "Car door opening and closing device" G8-13
Actually, it is an assembled part, and is composed of a large number of constituent parts as shown in FIG. If the customer can further confirm the symptom of the device, it is possible to further narrow down the failure target component, but if it cannot be confirmed further, it cannot be further narrowed down. in this case,
When the failure target part is input to the information narrowing device G8-1, the technical information such as the failure information is used to narrow down the input assembly parts at the component level according to the processing procedure as shown in FIG. To do. In FIG. 32, the information retrieval unit J3 indicates "car door opening / closing device" as a failure target part.
When G8-13 is input, the component is searched from the component configuration table of the device (stored in the information DB J5) as shown in FIG. 33 (step G8-2). next,
For each retrieved component, the number of past failures of the same type of component is retrieved from the component failure information (stored in the information DB J5) as shown in FIG. 34 (step G8).
-3). Finally, for example, the one having the number of failures of 5 or more is determined as the failure target part and is output (step G8-4).
The output information is sent to the information search support unit J3 and presented to the user by the guidance I / F device J1. In this example, the case in which the fault information is used for narrowing down has been described, but the information used for narrowing down may be other information such as maintenance information or defect information of parts.

Embodiment 9 FIG. FIG. 35 is a diagram showing the structure of the information search support device according to the ninth embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, there is a new G9-1 multi-level information narrowing device. This depends on the search conditions.
3 inputs the information retrieved from the information DB J5, and based on this information, the range of the information is further narrowed down by a plurality of steps. The function database of G9-3 is also new. It accumulates different refinement functions. Also, the function management device of G9-2 is new, which manages those functions. The multi-level information narrowing device G9-1, the narrowing function database G9-3, and the function management device G9-2 are
28 shows a more detailed structure of an information narrowing function G8-1 according to the eighth embodiment. In the apparatus according to the present embodiment, the function management apparatus G9-2 determines an appropriate function group for performing information narrowing down and the execution order thereof from the narrowing down functions stored in the narrowing down function database G9-3. The multi-level information narrowing device G9-1 is characterized in that it is possible to perform multi-level narrowing down using a plurality of different functions.

Next, the operation will be described. here,
Multi-level information narrowing device G9-1, function management device G9-
2. The operation of the narrowing function database G9-3 will be mainly described. Note that, as a specific example, as in the case of the eighth embodiment, the example of the inquiry about the failure of the elevator shown in FIG. 30 is used. In the information narrowing device G8-1 according to the eighth embodiment, the processing for narrowing down the information range can be performed only once, which is defined in advance. On the other hand, in the search support apparatus according to the present embodiment, a plurality of processes for narrowing down information are registered as functions in the narrowing function database G9-3, and the search is performed via the function management apparatus G9-2. By doing so, the multistage information narrowing device G9-1 can perform the multistage narrowing down in the designated order.

First, the multi-step information narrowing device G9-1
When the "car door opening / closing device" is input as the failure target component, the multi-level information narrowing device G9-1 instructs the function managing device G9-2 to narrow down the function database G9-.
A request for determining which of the narrowing functions stored in 3 and which order to execute should be made. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the number of executions in multiple stages is designated in advance as three stages. Function management device G9-
2 refers to the information in the function database G9-2 as shown in FIG. 39, and determines which function should be executed in which order in the designated three stages of narrowing and in which order. Specifically, first, the narrowing function use record information (G9-
Referring to 10), when the function is used in the past, the top three functions having a high success rate of whether or not narrowing down is performed are selected. In this case, the functions 4, 1, and 3 in the function ID column are selected in descending order of success rate. Next, it is determined in what order the three selected functions should be executed. In this case, referring to the case of three stages of the use result information for each narrowing function combination (G9-11) in FIG. 39, the order with the highest success count expected value is selected. In this example, the order of functions 4 → 3 → 1 is selected because the expected value of the number of successes is the highest. In addition, as the expected value of the number of successes in this use result information by function combination (G9-11), FIG.
As shown in FIG. 9, a value is used that calculates how many stages of success can be expected from the past performance of the combination of the functions.

Next, the processing in the case where the multi-step information narrowing device G9-1 narrows down information based on this result will be described. The multi-step information narrowing device G9-1 is
Based on the result received from the function management device G9-2, the "car door opening / closing device" is narrowed down according to the order of the narrowing function as shown in FIG. The narrowing down of the first stage (step G9-4) is the same as the processing of FIG. 32 described in the eighth embodiment. FIG. 37 shows the processing of the narrowing down (step G9-5) in the second stage.
As the inputs, the failure target parts “door shoe”, “safety shoe”, “interlocking rope”, “hanger roller”, and “up thrust roller” that have been narrowed down in the first stage of narrowing down are input. Note that the process of searching for the component in step G9-7 has already been executed in the narrowing down of the first stage, and since the above-mentioned component has no component, this process is not executed. in this case,
With respect to the above-mentioned parts, the number of days until the predetermined regular maintenance deadline is retrieved from the part maintenance information (stored in the information DB J5) as shown in FIG. 38 (step G9-8). Lastly, a component whose number of days is within 90 days is determined as a failure target component and output (step G9-9). Although detailed description of the third-stage narrowing (step G9-6) is omitted, the same narrowing is performed using the result of the second-stage narrowing as an input, and the finally output information is the information search support unit. It is sent to J3 and the guidance I / F device J1
Presented to the user.

In this embodiment, the case where the narrowing down is performed in three stages has been described, but the number of narrowing down (stages) may be n times. Further, in the present embodiment, the number of narrowing steps specified is used in advance, but this number of steps may be specified by the user when executing the narrowing down. Further, in the present embodiment, the case where the narrowing function use result information and the use result information for each combination of the narrowing down functions are used to determine the narrowing down function and the execution order has been described. It is also possible to determine the function by using information such as the success rate for each stage when used.

Embodiment 10. FIG. 40 is a diagram showing the structure of the information search support device according to the tenth embodiment of the present invention.
In the figure, there is a new G10-1 function selection device. This is a narrowing device that presents a list of narrowing functions registered in a narrowing function database to a user and allows the user to specify the type and order of functions to be used for narrowing down. In the search support apparatus of the ninth embodiment, the type of function used for narrowing down and the execution order are automatically determined by the system, but the feature of this apparatus is that the user can directly specify the function. Is.

The narrowing function selecting device G10-1 presents a list of the narrowing functions registered in the narrowing function database G9-3 to the user when the multi-stage information narrowing device G9-1 executes the narrowing down, The type and order of the narrowing function specified by the user can be instructed to the multi-stage information narrowing device G9-1 to execute the narrowing. Since the specific narrowing-down process is the same as that of the ninth embodiment, the operation of the narrowing-function selecting device G10-1 will be described in detail here. When the user specifies a function, first, the narrowing-down function selecting device G10
-1 displays a list of available narrowing-down functions on the screen, as shown in a of FIG. 41, so that the user can determine the first-stage function. In this case, the narrowing function selection device G10-1 uses the narrowing function use record information (G
9-10), the functions are displayed in descending order of the success rate of narrowing down. Therefore, the user can easily determine which function should be designated by referring to the narrow-down success rate presented by this system.

Here, for example, when the user selects the function 4, the narrowing-down function selecting device G10-1 has the function shown in FIG.
A screen such as b) is presented to the user. In this case, the narrowing-down function selecting device G10-1 uses the 2 as shown in FIG.
The expected number of successes when the function of the second stage is combined with the narrowing function (function 4) specified by the user in the first stage is large by referring to the use result information by the narrowing function combination in the case of the stage A list of narrowing-down functions that can be specified in the second stage is presented in order. Similarly, when the user selects the function 3 here, similarly, the use result information for each combination of the narrowing functions (G9 in the case of the three stages shown in FIG. 39).
-11), referring to the narrowing-down function (function 4 → 3) specified by the user in the first and second steps, the success count expectation value when the function in the third step is combined is the third in descending order.
A list of narrowing-down functions that can be specified in stages is presented (Fig. 4
1c). After that, the operations in the fourth and subsequent steps are similarly performed. Thus, the narrowing function selecting device G10-1
Can present an appropriate function according to the situation for each step with priorities, so that the user can easily determine which function to select in that situation. . Note that, at any stage, the user specifies the search execution, and the narrowing is executed.

Embodiment 11 FIG. FIG. 43 is a diagram showing the structure of the information search support device according to the eleventh embodiment of the present invention.
In the figure, a G11-2 surrogate function determination device is new. In the multi-step information narrowing device G9-1, when the narrowing down by the designated narrowing down function cannot be performed, it is determined which other function should be used as a substitute. The operation of the surrogate function determination device G11-2 will be described by taking as an example the case where the multi-stage information narrowing device G9-1 specifies three stages of narrowing functions as shown in FIG. Note that, as a specific example, as in the case of the ninth embodiment, the example of the inquiry about the failure of the elevator shown in FIG. 30 is used.

FIG. 45 shows the processing procedure. When the “car door opening / closing device” is input to the multi-stage information narrowing device G9-1 as an input, first, the “narrowing function based on the number of failures” is executed as the designated first stage narrowing (step G11). -6). The contents of this processing are the same as those in FIG. Next, G11-
At 7, it is determined whether or not the narrowing down by the above function is successful. In this case, the narrowing down is successful, so
Proceeding to the next second-stage narrowing processing, the "narrowing function based on failure statistics" is executed (step G11-8).
Here, the specific processing contents of this function are omitted,
It is assumed that the refinement by this function could not be performed.
In this case, since the narrowing down by the specified function has failed, the proxy function determining apparatus G11-2 is requested to determine the proxy function. Upon receiving the request, the proxy function determination device G11-2
Referring to the usage record for each combination of the narrowing functions in the case of the two stages of FIG. 42 stored in the narrowing function database G9-3, the second function is used for the function 4 (the narrowing function based on the number of failures) executed in the first stage. It is determined which function should be used as a proxy for the function 2 (narrowing function based on the failure statistics) that has failed to be narrowed down at the stage. In this case, since the combination of function 4 → function 3 has the largest expected value of the number of successes, function 3 (a function narrowed down by the number of days until the maintenance date) is returned as a proxy function (step G11-11). .

In step G11-12, it is judged whether or not the surrogate function can be determined. If the surrogate function cannot be determined, "no surrogate function" is set and the narrowing down of the second stage is completed. , And proceeds to the processing of the third stage. In this case, since the "narrowing function based on the number of days until the maintenance date" is determined as a substitute for the "narrowing function based on failure statistics", the narrowing down by this function is executed (step G11-13). The contents of this process are shown in FIG.
Is the same as In Step G11-14, it is determined whether or not the narrowing down has succeeded. If the narrowing down by the proxy function also fails, the next surrogate function is further determined and executed (Step G11-14 → G11-). Repeat 11). In this case, since the narrowing down by the proxy function “narrowing function by the number of days until the maintenance date” has succeeded, the process proceeds to the third stage of narrowing down. Hereinafter, although the processing from the third stage onward will be omitted, the same processing is performed even when the narrowing down in the third stage fails. in this way,
In the proxy function determination device G11-2, even when the narrowing function specified by the multi-step information narrowing device G9-1 fails to narrow down, the proxy function can be determined and the narrowing down can be executed, so that the user selects the narrowing function. Device G10-1
Even if the narrowing function specified by is not effective for narrowing down, it is possible to perform efficient narrowing down.

In the present embodiment, the method of determining the surrogate function in the case where the function of the second stage among the three stages of narrowing cannot be narrowed down is described. The function is not limited to eyes and may be a function of any round. Further, in order to determine the proxy function, referring to the performance information for each of the narrowing function combinations stored in the narrowing function database G9-3 in the case of the two stages, the first success for the function executed in the first stage. Although an example of selecting a combination of functions with a large expected number of times has been described, this does not always refer to the performance information by narrowing function combination in the case of two stages, but the function that fails to narrow down In the case of the 3rd and 4th steps, even with the method of referring to the performance information for each combination of the narrowing functions in the case of the 2nd step, the 3rd step, and the 4th step, the function with the highest expected number of successes is selected. good. Also, regarding the method of determining the proxy function, the narrowing function database G9 is always used.
39. Instead of referring to the performance information for each narrowing function combination stored in -3, a proxy function of the specified function is defined in advance, and a proxy function is determined according to the definition information, or FIG. It is also possible to refer to the narrowing-down function use record information (G9-10) and select the function with the highest narrowing-down success rate from among them.

Embodiment 12 FIG. FIG. 46 is a diagram showing the structure of the information search support device according to the twelfth embodiment of the present invention.
In the figure, there is a new G12 weighted data display device. This is because there are a plurality of pieces of information retrieved from the information DB J5 by the information retrieval support unit J3 according to the retrieval condition determined by the guidance device J2 from the information confirmed by the customer.
When they have weights based on a plurality of standards, the user can easily understand that the data are weighted. Next, the operation will be described. Here, the operation of the weighted data display device G12-1 will be mainly described. As a specific example, a case where data having three weighting criteria as shown in FIG. 46 is searched and displayed by the guidance I / F device J1 will be described as an example.

First, the case where the "display method by color change" is designated as the display method will be described. When the weighted data display device G12-1 receives the data having a plurality of weight criteria as shown in FIG. 47, the weighted data display apparatus G12-1 determines the weight of the data according to a preset display criterion G12-2 as shown in FIG. Convert to display information on the screen. In this example, as the display standard, the standard 1 is designated as blue, the standard 2 is designated as red, and the standard 3 is designated as green, and the difference in weight is designated so that each color is displayed in 12 shades of gray. Therefore, as shown in the figure, the weight of the input data is converted according to the display standard. Regarding the weight, the maximum value and the minimum value (in this case,
Find the one with the largest weight = 1 and the one with the smallest weight = 6),
The display information is converted by corresponding to 1 and 11 gradations, respectively. FIG. 49 shows an example of a screen when the converted display information is output to the guidance I / F device J1 and presented to the user. When there are a plurality of weight standards, the user can change the type of the standard displayed, as shown in the figure.

Next, a case will be described in which "display method by change in display area" is designated as the display method.
When the weighted data display device G12-1 receives the data having a plurality of weight criteria as shown in FIG. 47, the weight of the data is displayed on the screen according to the preset display criteria G12-3 as shown in FIG. Convert to the information displayed above. In this example, as the display standard, since it is specified that the difference in weight is converted into the size of the display area when the data is displayed on the screen and displayed, as shown in the figure, the input data The weight to be possessed is converted according to the display standard. In this example, the width of both the maximum value / minimum value is the same as 250 dots, so the difference in weight is converted into the difference in height of the display range. FIG. 51 shows an example of a screen when the converted display information is output to the I / F device J1 and presented to the user. When there are a plurality of weight standards, the user can change the type of the standard displayed, as shown in the figure. With this method, in addition to the difference in the display area, there is a large amount of display data and it cannot be displayed on one screen. Therefore, when scrolling the screen at a constant speed, the data with a larger weight takes a longer time. Since it is displayed, there is an effect that the difference in weight can be presented to the user even if the display time is different.

Next, the case where the "display method by change in perspective" is designated as the display method will be described. The operation of the weighted data display device G12-1 is the same as that of the “display method by changing the display area”, and therefore will be omitted here. In this method, the difference in weight is displayed by the perspective method based on certain coordinates, as shown in FIG. That is, if the coordinates of the reference point and the display range (rectangle in the example of the figure) of the data with the maximum weight and the data with the minimum weight are determined as the display reference, then the display area is determined by the relative relationship of the weights. & Position can be determined. FIG. 53 shows an example of a screen when the converted display information is output to the guidance I / F device J1 and presented to the user.

[0062]

The apparatus of the present invention is configured as described above, and when there is a technically difficult term or a content that is difficult to express with letters or numerical values, the designated term is extracted and the content is extracted. Since the data for supplementary explanation is presented, even for a technical inquiry, by referring to the supplementary explanation data presented, the contents can be easily understood correctly and accurate information can be obtained.

Further, since the guidance in which a plurality of questions up to the answer are expressed on the network is presented by the multimedia data, the content thereof is presented in an easy-to-understand manner even for a person who is not a technical expert, so that it is accurate. There is an effect that various information can be obtained.

In addition, when the information that is difficult to be expressed by characters or numerical values is used as the answer option, the multimedia data is attached, so that when the answer is input, it is possible to easily deal with it and obtain accurate information. effective.

Further, since an answer that is difficult to express in characters or numerical values is input by multimedia data such as voice, image, and moving image, even if it is difficult to answer with the pseudo sound presented in the answer options, the system presents it. It has the effect of correctly answering questions and obtaining accurate information.

Further, not only the information confirmed by the inquirer but also the technical information such as maintenance or failure can be utilized to narrow down the information required for the reply, so that the inquiry itself can be done Even if you are not familiar with the equipment, there is an effect that accurate information can be obtained by narrowing down.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an information search support device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a guidance screen and an example of a request for supplementary explanation in the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a multimedia guidance database by the device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for displaying supplementary explanation data and explaining an operation in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of an information search support device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of guidance data by the device according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a processing procedure by the device according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram of an information search support device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of procedure data by the device of the third embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a screen display example of a multimedia guidance net by the device according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an operation flowchart of the apparatus according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a configuration diagram of an information search support device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a dialogue screen for an inquiry made by the device according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a configuration diagram of an information search support device according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of inquiry procedure data according to the device of the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of an inquiry dialogue screen by the device of the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a configuration diagram of an information search support device according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 Offs used in the device of the sixth embodiment
It is a figure showing an et algorithm.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a layout algorithm of a guidance graph used in the device of the sixth embodiment.

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of a guidance graph drawing process performed by the apparatus according to the sixth embodiment.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a screen output example of a guidance graph drawn by the device according to the sixth embodiment.

FIG. 22 is a configuration diagram of an information search support device according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of a screen before context expansion processing by the device according to the seventh embodiment.

FIG. 24 is a context 1 according to the device of the seventh embodiment.
It is a figure of the example of a screen which selected.

FIG. 25 is a context 2 of the device according to the seventh embodiment.
It is a figure of the example of a screen which selected.

FIG. 26 is a diagram showing an example of inquiry procedure data used in the device of the seventh embodiment.

FIG. 27 is a diagram illustrating context switching related processing performed by the device of the seventh embodiment.

FIG. 28 is a diagram of a context buffer used in the device of the seventh embodiment.

[Fig. 29] Fig. 29 is a configuration diagram of an information search support device according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 30 is a diagram showing a specific example for explaining the operation of the device of the eighth embodiment.

FIG. 31 is a diagram showing a specific example of a component configuration of an assembled component.

FIG. 32 is a diagram showing a processing procedure by the device of the eighth embodiment.

FIG. 33 is a diagram showing an example of a parts configuration table in the device according to the eighth embodiment.

FIG. 34 is a diagram showing an example of failure information in the device according to the eighth embodiment.

[Fig. 35] Fig. 35 is a configuration diagram of an information search support device according to a ninth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 36 is a diagram showing an example of the execution order of the narrowing function of the device of the ninth embodiment.

FIG. 37 is a diagram showing a processing procedure by the device of the ninth embodiment.

FIG. 38 is a diagram showing an example of maintenance information in the device according to the ninth embodiment.

FIG. 39 is a diagram showing an example of a narrowing function database in the device of the ninth embodiment.

[Fig. 40] Fig. 40 is a configuration diagram of an information search support device according to a tenth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 41 is a diagram showing an example of a narrowing function selection screen by the device of the tenth embodiment.

FIG. 42 is a diagram showing an example of a narrowing function database in the device of the tenth embodiment.

[Fig. 43] Fig. 43 is a configuration diagram of an information search support device in an eleventh embodiment of the present invention.

[Fig. 44] Fig. 44 is a diagram illustrating an example of the execution order of narrowing functions by the device of the eleventh embodiment.

FIG. 45 is a diagram showing a processing procedure by the device of the eleventh embodiment.

[Fig. 46] Fig. 46 is a configuration diagram of an information search support device according to a twelfth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 47 is a diagram showing a specific example of weighted data in the device of the twelfth embodiment.

FIG. 48 is a diagram showing an example of conversion of weighted data into display information by the device according to the twelfth embodiment.

FIG. 49 is a diagram showing a display example of weighted data by the device according to the twelfth embodiment.

FIG. 50 is a diagram showing an example of conversion of weighted data into display information by the device of the twelfth embodiment.

FIG. 51 is a diagram showing a display example of weighted data by the device according to the twelfth embodiment.

FIG. 52 is a diagram for explaining a display system in a change in perspective due to the device of the twelfth embodiment.

FIG. 53 is a diagram showing another display example of weighted data by the device according to the twelfth embodiment.

FIG. 54 is a diagram showing a configuration of a conventional inquiry support device.

FIG. 55 is a diagram showing an example of conventional inquiry procedure selection reference data.

FIG. 56 is a diagram showing an example of conventional inquiry procedure data.

FIG. 57 is a diagram showing an example of an operation description of a conventional inquiry support device.

FIG. 58 is a diagram showing an example of a processing flow of a conventional inquiry procedure.

FIG. 59 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in a conventional information DB.

FIG. 60 is a diagram showing a display example of a conventional inquiry procedure.

FIG. 61 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen of conventional weighted data.

[Explanation of symbols]

G1-1 multimedia guidance message device,
G1-2 Multimedia guidance database, G
2-1 Supplementary explanation extraction / presentation device, G3-1 multimedia guidance net presentation device, G3-2 multimedia data file group, G4-1 multimedia data attachment / presentation device, G5-1 multimedia data response device, G5 -2 multimedia data input device, G
6-1 Guidance net shaping presentation device, G7-1 context switching device, G7-2 guidance window, G
7-3 Context switching window, G7-4, G
7-5 Guidance window when different contexts are selected, G8-1 Information narrowing device, G8-
2, G8-3 Each block in the processing flow for explaining the information narrowing processing operation, G9-1 multi-level information narrowing apparatus, G9-2 function management apparatus, G9-3 narrowing function database, G9-4 to G9 -6 Blocks at each stage of the flow showing narrowing in 3 stages, G9-7 to
Each block in the processing flow for explaining the processing operation of G9-9 information narrowing-down, G10-1 narrowing-down function selecting device, G11-1 surrogate function database, G11-2
Surrogate function determination device, G11-3 to G11-5 Block of each stage of flow showing narrowing in three stages, G11-6
-G11-14 Each block in the processing flow for explaining the information narrowing processing operation, G12-1 weighted data display device, J1 guidance I / F device, J2
Guidance device, J3 information retrieval support device, J4 inquiry procedure retrieval device, J5 information DB, J6 inquiry procedure DB.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Kenji Kira Kenji Kira 2-3-3 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Sanryo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Satoshi Tanaka 2-3-2 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Inside Ryo Electric Co., Ltd.

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. Guidance means for displaying guidance data composed of a question / selection answer, and a multi-part represented by data, voice, image, and moving picture by subdividing necessary parts in the question / selection answer. Based on the multimedia database stored as media data and the inquiry procedure database based on the selected answer of the guidance data, the subsequent steps are searched, and output from the multimedia database to the guidance means. An inquiry procedure search device for instructing, a supplementary explanation word dictionary accommodating detailed explanation information corresponding to a predetermined word / phrase in the question / selection answer, and a predetermined word / phrase in the question / selection answer are designated. When,
An information retrieval support device comprising the supplementary explanation word dictionary and, if necessary, referring to the multimedia database and outputting to the guidance means. 2. A guidance net presenting device for displaying the cascade of question / selection answers in cascade connection in a tree format is added,
2. When the answer is selected, the guidance net based on the selected tree of the guidance data is output as a cascade display in the center with reference to the multimedia data, if necessary. Information retrieval support device. 3. A multimedia data presenting device for referring to multimedia data and outputting corresponding to the selected answer is added, and when the answer is selected, corresponding multimedia data is output. The information search support device according to claim 1. 4. A multimedia data answering device for inputting multimedia data including audio / video from the outside as the answer data for selection is added, and the input to said multimedia data answering device is multimedia data. The information retrieval support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the inquiry procedure is determined by comparing with corresponding data in the database. 5. A context switching device for storing each procedure data string prepared for each answer for guidance data selection in a context buffer, and for outputting a corresponding procedure from the context buffer when the answer is selected. 3. The information retrieval support apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising: and displaying a guidance net in response to selection of the answer up to a certain stage. 6. An information narrowing device for searching narrowing information including maintenance information or technical information and sending it to an inquiry procedure searching device is added, and the subsequent procedure is selected by referring to the narrowing information. The information search support device according to claim 1, wherein 7. A refinement function selecting device for displaying necessary refinement information and for incorporating the refinement information selected from the information is added, and a subsequent procedure is selected with reference to the selected refinement information. The information search support apparatus according to claim 6, wherein: 8. A proxy function determining device for supplementing the search of the narrowing information by the information narrowing device is added, and the subsequent procedure is selected by also referring to the information of the surrogate function determining device. 6. An information search support device described in 6.