Patent Document ID: 8645184
Application ID: 12118182

Base Claim:
1. A future technology projection supporting apparatus for supporting the projection of a future technological trend by analyzing a plurality of technical documents, comprising: a technical literature storage unit for storing a plurality of technical documents each having a problem describing section in which a problem to be solved is described, and an effect describing section in which an effect to be achieved by proposed solving means is described; a describing section extracting unit for automatically identifying and extracting the problem describing section and the effect describing section from each of the plurality of technical literatures; a keyword storage unit for storing a plurality of keywords that are used as keys to extract technical phrases each indicating a matter to be achieved by a technology described in each of the plurality of technical documents; a technical phrase extraction unit for extracting at least one technical phrase from each of the problem describing section and the effect describing section by referring to the plurality of keywords and for automatically determining and assigning a first attribute to each technical phrase extracted from the problem describing section, the first attribute indicating that the technical phrase represents a matter to be achieved in a near future, and a second attribute to each technical phrase extracted from the effect describing section, the second attribute indicating that the technical phrase represents a matter to be achieved in a far future; and an analyzed data storage unit for storing the technical phrases extracted from the problem describing section in association with the first attribute indicating that the technical phrase represents a matter to be achieved in a near future, and for storing the technical phrases extracted from the effect describing section in association with the second attribute indicating that the technical phrase represents a matter to be achieved in a far future; an input unit for receiving a designation of a technical field as a survey target; a field-by-field frequently-appearing word storage unit for storing words each having a high correlation value in technical documents in each of technical fields; and a specific field selection unit for extracting technical phrases belonging to the survey-target technical field, from the plurality of technical phrases stored in the analyzed data storage unit, in reference to frequently-appearing words in the technical field designated as the survey target through the input unit; a field-by-field noteworthy word storage unit for collecting and storing words each having a low correlation value in technical literatures in each of technical fields; and an impact determination unit for automatically determining a business impact in reference to noteworthy words in the technical field designated as a survey target through the input unit, the business impact expected when a matter indicated by each of the selected technical phrases is put into practice, for automatically determining and giving a selected technical phrase a third attribute indicating a high business impact, on condition that the selected technical phrase contains at least one of the noteworthy words in the technical field designated as the survey target through the input unit, and a fourth attribute indicating a low business impact, on condition that the selected technical phrase contains no noteworthy words in the technical field designated as the survey target through the input unit; a technology map generation unit for generating a two-dimensional technology map having a temporal axis indicating time to be required to implement technology, and an impact axis indicating business impact, by arranging each of a plurality of selected technical phrases on the two-dimensional map, according to any one of the first and second attributes and any one of the third and fourth attributes associated with each technical phrase; and an output unit for outputting the one-dimensional map thus generated.

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Claim 4:
4. The future technology projection supporting apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the output unit is configured to automatically join the technical phrase having the first attribute to the technical phrase having the second attribute with an arrow, both of the technical phrases extracted from the same one of the technical documents, and the arrow pointing from the technical phrase having the first attribute to the technical phrase having the second attribute, and to further output the arrow on the technology map.