Patent ID: 7493364
Filing Date: 2009-02-17
Classification: H04L,Y10S

Abstract:
1. A service retrieval apparatus which retrieves, from a plurality of service functions of a plurality of appliances, a service function identical or similar to a first function requested from a first appliance which is one of the appliances, comprising: a first storing unit configured to store a plurality of service data items corresponding to the service functions respectively, each of the service data items including a word corresponding to an input item of corresponding one of the service functions, a word corresponding to an output item of the corresponding one of the service functions, and a condition including or not including a numerical range; a second storing unit configured to store a plurality of words and information representing correlations among the words on the basis of meanings of the words; a first receiving unit configured to receive a request data item which is transmitted from the first appliance and includes a word corresponding to the input item of the first function, and a condition including or not including a numerical range; an acquiring unit configured to acquire, from the words stored in the second storing unit, a first word set which is a set of words having meanings identical or similar to a meaning of the word corresponding to the input item in the request data item; a retrieving unit configured to retrieve, from the service data items, a group of service data items in each of which one word of the first word set is included as the input item; a first calculating unit configured to calculate a condition similarity between the condition in each service data item of the group and the condition in the request data item, to set the condition similarity to a maximum value (1) in a first case where the condition in the request data item and the condition in the service data item of the group coincide with each other, (2) in a second case where the numerical range in the service data item of the group is included in the numerical range in the request data item, and (3) in a third case where one of the condition in the request data item and the condition in the service data item of the group can be converted to the other, and to set the condition similarity to a value near zero in a case other than the first case, the second case and the third case; a second calculating unit configured to calculate a priority of each service data item of the group on the basis of a first similarity between the word corresponding to the input item in the service data item and the word corresponding to the input item in the request data item and the condition similarity; and a first transmitting unit configured to transmit a list to the first appliance, the list including at least the priority and an address of an appliance of the appliances which correspond to the each service data item of the group.