Patent ID: 8180772

Claim:
An electronic data retrieving apparatus comprising a word extracting portion that extracts words from electronic data including word data and having a retrieval word setting function of setting a retrieval word of electronic data based on the numbers of appearances of words extracted by the word extracting portion, the apparatus including a retrieval word setting table having words extracted from electronic data for respective recorded electronic data to be retrieved and the numbers of appearances thereof recorded and correlated thereon, and a retrieval word setting reference table having words extracted from all the recorded electronic data to be retrieved and the numbers of appearances obtained by summing up the number of appearances in each electronic data of words extracted from all electronic data recorded and correlated thereon, the apparatus setting the retrieval words of the electronic data as words appearing on the retrieval word setting table of the recorded electronic data for a predetermined number of times or more and words appearing on the retrieval word setting table and appearing on the retrieval word setting reference table for a predetermined number of times or more, wherein timestamp information is recorded in conjunction with electronic data to indicate the date and time when the electronic data are recorded and/or the latest date and time when the electronic data are viewed, and wherein the record values of the numbers of appearances of words in the retrieval word setting reference table are modified/updated depending on the elapsed time from the date and time when the electronic data are recorded or the latest date and time when the electronic data are viewed wherein for the electronic data having the elapsed time exceeding a predetermined time, the elapsed time being measured from the date and time when the electronic data are recorded or the latest date and time when the electronic data are viewed, corrected numbers of appearances are obtained by multiplying the numbers of appearances of words in the retrieval word setting table by 1/n (n>1) and are added to the record values of the numbers of appearances of the respective words in the modified/updated retrieval word setting reference table, where n is a value representing elapsed time.