Patent ID: 6401087
Filing Date: 2002-06-04
Classification: G06F,Y10S

Abstract:
An information retrieval system including a plurality of databases storing information and an information retrieval apparatus, connected via a network to the plurality of databases, for selecting a database from among the plurality of databases, issuing a data-search request via the network to the selected database, and receiving search results in response to the request via the network;wherein the information retrieval apparatus comprises: evaluated value storing means for storing a plurality of terms and related evaluated values, each term corresponding to a plurality of evaluated values assigned to the plurality of databases; evaluated value extracting means for extracting the evaluated values which have been respectively assigned to the plurality of databases and correspond to each of designated retrieval terms; database selecting means for: calculating evaluated values which are respectively assigned to the plurality of databases, each evaluated value being obtained by calculating a total of the relevant evaluated values extracted for each retrieval term by the evaluated value extracting means, and selecting one or more databases to be searched from among the plurality of databases in accordance with the calculated evaluated values for each database; search requesting means for issuing a data-search request based on the retrieval terms to the databases selected by the database selecting means; evaluated value correcting means for correcting the evaluated values which are stored in the evaluated value storing means and correspond to the retrieval terms, in accordance with search results in response to the data-search request; and retrieval term determining means for determining, for each retrieval term, whether a term corresponding to the retrieval term is stored in the evaluated value storing means; and register means for newly registering the retrieval term which was determined by the retrieval term determining means as having no corresponding term stored in the evaluated value storing moans, and related evaluated values to the evaluated value storing means.