Information retrieval system, information retrieval device, information retrieval method, and program

Abstract

To provide an information retrieval system for retrieving and presenting further useful information.SOLUTION: An information retrieval system includes: a finance information acquisition unit for acquiring finance information concerning finance retrieved based on prescribed conditions; a technical information acquisition unit for acquiring technical information related to finance information by conducting retrieval from a technical information database in which technical information is stored using information based on the finance information acquired by the finance information acquisition unit; and a report generation unit for generating a report based on the technical information acquired by the technical information acquisition unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an information retrieval system, an information retrieval device, an information retrieval method, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] Digitalization such as AI (Artificial Intelligence) and IoT (Internet of Things) has been progressing, and how to utilize such information has become important in the business activities of companies. Information analysis itself has come to be linked to the competitiveness of companies. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for collecting or retrieving information such as trends of the company's own business schedule and development schedule, market size, profit and sales of each of the company's products, and patent information (registration results of patents, etc.) of the company and other companies for a period desired by the user, and arranging and displaying them on a time axis.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, the technique described in Patent Document 1 collects or retrieves information based on the trends and products of the company itself. On the other hand, the market has undergone a paradigm shift, and user interests, desires, expectations, etc. are also diverse. Therefore, with the technique described in Patent Document 1, useful information may not be obtained when looking at the entire market. Furthermore, with the development of digitalization and communication infrastructure, there is an overflow of a large amount of information, and it is not easy to find useful information from among them.

[0005] This invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and one of its objectives is to provide an information retrieval system, information retrieval device, information retrieval method, and program that can easily search for and present more useful information. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an information retrieval system according to one aspect of the present invention comprises: a finance information acquisition unit that acquires finance information related to finance retrieved based on predetermined conditions; a technical information acquisition unit that acquires technical information related to the finance information by searching a technical information database in which technical information is stored using information based on the finance information acquired by the finance information acquisition unit; and a report generation unit that generates a report based on the technical information acquired by the technical information acquisition unit.

[0007] Furthermore, an information retrieval device according to one aspect of the present invention includes: a finance information acquisition unit that acquires finance information related to finance retrieved based on predetermined conditions; a technical information acquisition unit that acquires technical information related to the finance information by searching a technical information database in which technical information is stored using information based on the finance information acquired by the finance information acquisition unit; and a report generation unit that generates a report based on the technical information acquired by the technical information acquisition unit.

[0008] Furthermore, an information retrieval method in an information retrieval device according to one aspect of the present invention includes the steps of: a finance information acquisition unit acquiring finance information related to finance retrieved based on predetermined conditions; a technical information acquisition unit acquiring technical information related to the finance information by searching a technical information database where technical information is stored using information based on the finance information acquired by the finance information acquisition unit; and a report generation unit generating a report based on the technical information acquired by the technical information acquisition unit.

[0009] Furthermore, a program according to one aspect of the present invention causes a computer, which serves as an information retrieval device, to perform the following steps: acquire financial information relating to finance that has been retrieved based on predetermined conditions; acquire technical information related to the financial information by searching a technical information database in which technical information is stored using the acquired financial information; and generate a report based on the acquired technical information. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the above-described aspect of the present invention, more useful information can be searched for and presented. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] A schematic block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information retrieval system according to the embodiment. [Figure 2] A diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a terminal according to this embodiment. [Figure 3] A diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of an information retrieval device according to the present invention. [Figure 4] A diagram illustrating the overview of the information retrieval process according to the embodiment. [Figure 5] A block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of an information retrieval device according to this embodiment. [Figure 6] A figure showing a detailed example of the first part of the information retrieval process according to the embodiment. [Figure 7] A diagram showing a detailed example of the second part of the information retrieval process according to the embodiment. [Figure 8] A diagram showing a detailed example of the third part of the information retrieval process according to the embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0012] Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. (System Configuration) Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the information retrieval system 1 according to this embodiment. The information retrieval system 1 comprises a plurality of terminals 10 (10-1, 10-2, ...) and an information retrieval device 20. Each of the plurality of terminals 10 is connected to the information retrieval device 20 via a network NW. The information retrieval system 1 also communicates with external devices such as a finance information provision server 30, a search server 40, a corporate information provision server 50 (50-1, 50-2, ...), and a patent search server 60 via a network NW. The network NW is a communication network such as a WAN (Wide Area Network) including the Internet or a mobile phone communication network, or a wired or wireless LAN (Local Area Network).

[0013] The finance information server 30 extracts finance information stored in the finance information database 31 according to search conditions and transmits the extracted finance information to the terminal 10 or information retrieval device 20 via the network NW. The finance information database 31 stores publicly available finance information such as stock information. For example, the finance information server 30 extracts and transmits stock information ranked based on the input search conditions (hereinafter referred to as "stock information ranking").

[0014] The search server 40 provides a search service using a search engine that searches for information obtainable via a network (such as the internet). For example, the search server 40 searches for information obtainable via the network (such as websites and web pages) according to the entered search words and outputs the search results. The search server 40 also stores the history of entered search words (phrases). For example, the search server 40 has a suggestion function that outputs words closely related to the entered search words based on the history of previous search words. Words closely related to the entered search words are words that have been searched together with the entered search words. The more times they have been searched together, the more related the words are.

[0015] The enterprise information providing server 50 stores data of enterprise websites, and in response to requests from the terminal 10 or the information search device 20, transmits data such as enterprise information included in the enterprise websites to the requester via the network NW. For example, the enterprise information includes IR (Investor Relations) information and the like. Note that the enterprise information providing server 50 may store data of websites of a plurality of enterprises. Also, in the illustrated example, one enterprise information providing server 50 is shown, but a plurality of enterprise information providing servers 50 may each store data of websites of one or a plurality of enterprises.

[0016] The patent search server 60 extracts patent information stored in the patent information database 61 according to search conditions, and transmits the extracted patent information to the terminal 10 or the information search device 20 via the network NW. The patent information database 61 accumulates information on intellectual property such as patents, utility models, designs, trademarks, etc. filed in the past. The above patent information may be only information related to patents, or may be information including any one or more of patents, utility models, designs, and / or trademarks.

[0017] The terminal 10 is a terminal device used by the user. For example, the terminal 10 is a personal computer, a tablet terminal, a smartphone, etc. The terminal 10 is configured as an input terminal operated by the user and an output terminal for displaying search results in the information search system 1 according to the present embodiment.

[0018] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the terminal 10 according to the present embodiment. The terminal 10 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a communication unit 12, an input unit 13, a display unit 14, and a storage unit 15. These components are connected to be communicable with each other via a bus. The CPU 11 executes a program stored in the storage unit 15 and controls each part of the terminal 10.

[0019] The communication unit 12 communicates with the information search device 20, various servers, etc. via the network NW. The input unit 13 includes, for example, any one or more of a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, a touch pad, etc. The input unit 13 receives various instructions by a user's operation and outputs an operation signal corresponding to the input. Note that the input unit 13 may be a microphone or the like capable of inputting various instructions by voice. The display unit 14 is a display that displays information such as images and texts, and includes, for example, a liquid crystal display panel, an organic EL (ElectroLuminescence) display panel, etc.

[0020] The storage unit 15 includes, for example, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), an SSD (Solid State Drive), an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), a ROM (Read-Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), etc., and stores programs, data, etc. Note that the storage unit 15 is not limited to being built into the terminal 10, and may be an external storage device connected by an input / output port such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus). Also, the terminal 10 may include a hardware configuration such as a speaker (not shown), an audio output terminal, a camera, a gyro sensor, a GPS (Global Positioning System) reception module, etc.

[0021] Returning to FIG. 1, the information search device 20 searches for information via the network NW in response to a user's operation instruction for the terminal 10, and transmits a report based on the search result to the terminal 10. For example, the information search device 20 searches the patent information database 61 using information based on financial information to obtain patent information related to the financial information. Then, the information search device 20 generates and transmits a report based on the obtained patent information.

[0022] Figure 3 shows an example of the hardware configuration of the information retrieval device 20 according to this embodiment. The information retrieval device 20 includes, for example, a CPU 21, a communication unit 22, an input unit 23, and a storage unit 24. These components are connected to each other so as to be able to communicate via a bus. The CPU 21 executes a program stored in the storage unit 24 and controls each part of the information retrieval device 20. The CPU 21 also performs information retrieval processing based on the program stored in the storage unit 24.

[0023] The communication unit 22 communicates with multiple terminals 10 and various servers via the network NW. The input unit 23 may include, for example, a keyboard, mouse, touchpad, or microphone that receives various instructions via voice.

[0024] The storage unit 24 includes, for example, an HDD, EEPROM, RAM, etc., and stores programs, data, etc. The storage unit 24 is not limited to being built into the information retrieval device 20; it may also be an external storage device connected via an input / output port such as USB. Furthermore, the storage unit 24 may be a storage device located in a separate location (an external facility) from the information retrieval device 20, and may be connected to the information retrieval device 20 via a network NW. The information retrieval device 20 may also include hardware components such as a display unit (not shown), a speaker, and an audio output terminal.

[0025] (Overview of information retrieval process) Next, with reference to Figure 4, an overview of the information retrieval process by the information retrieval system 1 will be explained. Figure 4 shows an overview of the information retrieval process according to this embodiment. The information retrieval system 1 extracts specific companies of interest (hereinafter referred to as "interested companies") from financial information of interest to investors, searches for information related to these interested companies such as IR information and patent information, and finally generates a report summarizing trends related to the interested companies based on the retrieved information. Here, the information retrieval by the information retrieval system 1 is referred to as "trend search," and the report summarizing trends of the interested companies is referred to as the "trend search report." The overview of the information retrieval process will be explained below in the order of (1) to (7) shown in the figure.

[0026] (1) On terminal 10, the user enters the search criteria for trend search. Search screen G10 shows an example of the trend search screen displayed on the display unit 14 of terminal 10. The search criteria for trend search are the search conditions used when searching from the information stored in the finance information database 31. For example, the search criteria for trend search include conditions such as the search period, field / industry, search target country, and market. In this case, the finance information obtained as a search result is a stock information ranking. Ranking items for the stock information ranking can be set as search criteria, such as rate of price increase, trading volume, limit up, market capitalization, PER (Price Earnings Ratio), and PBR (Price Book-value Ratio). On search screen G10, when the user sets each item of the search criteria and operates the search button B10, terminal 10 sends the set search criteria to the information retrieval device 20. The information retrieval device 20 comprises a search processing unit 210, a report generation unit 216, and the aforementioned storage unit 24. The search processing unit 210 acquires the search conditions for trend search transmitted from the terminal 10.

[0027] (2) The search processing unit 210 transmits the search conditions for trend search obtained from the terminal 10 to the finance information server 30. The finance information server 30 extracts finance information stored in the finance information database 31 based on the search conditions obtained from the search processing unit 210 and generates a stock information ranking. The finance information server 30 transmits the generated stock information ranking to the information retrieval device 20. The search processing unit 210 extracts companies of interest from the stock information ranking and stores them in the storage unit 24.

[0028] (3) The search processing unit 210 obtains words related to the company of interest using the suggestion function of the search server 40's search engine. Hereinafter, words related to the company of interest will be referred to as "related keywords". The search processing unit 210 stores the obtained related keywords in the storage unit 24.

[0029] (4) The search processing unit 210 accesses the websites of companies of interest provided by the corporate information server 50 and obtains IR information from the web pages of the companies of interest. For example, the search processing unit 210 stores the obtained IR information and related keywords contained in the IR information as impact words in the storage unit 24.

[0030] (5) The search processing unit 210 transmits patent search conditions based on IR information and impact words of companies of interest to the patent search server 60. When the patent search server 60 receives the patent search conditions transmitted from the search processing unit 210, it searches for patent information based on the obtained patent search conditions. The search processing unit 210 retrieves the retrieved patent information from the patent search server 60. As a result, the search processing unit 210 obtains patent information related to finance information. The search processing unit 210 stores the obtained patent information in the storage unit 24.

[0031] (6) The report generation unit 216 generates a trend search report based on the financial information, companies of interest, IR information, impact words, and patent information stored in the memory unit 24. The report generation unit 216 then sends the generated trend search report data file to the terminal 10.

[0032] (Functional configuration of the information retrieval device 20) Next, with reference to Figure 5, the details of the functional configuration of the information retrieval device 20 will be described. Figure 5 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the information retrieval device 20 according to this embodiment. In this figure, the same reference numerals are used for the components corresponding to each part in Figures 1 to 4. The search processing unit 210 and the report generation unit 216 are functional configurations realized by the CPU 21 executing a program related to the search process. The search processing unit 210 includes a search condition acquisition unit 211, a finance information acquisition unit 212, a company-related word acquisition unit 213, an IR information retrieval unit 214, and a technical information acquisition unit 215.

[0033] The search condition acquisition unit 211 acquires the search conditions for trend search from terminal 10. The search conditions for trend search include conditions such as the search period, field / industry, search target country, and market. In addition, the search conditions for trend search include items set as ranking items for stock information ranking, such as price increase rate, trading volume, limit up, market capitalization, PER, and PBR.

[0034] The finance information acquisition unit 212 transmits the search conditions for trend search acquired by the search condition acquisition unit 211 to the finance information provision server 30, and acquires finance information retrieved based on the search conditions for trend search from the finance information provision server 30. For example, the finance information acquisition unit 212 acquires stock information rankings ranked based on the search conditions for trend search, the period covered by the ranking, stock charts, etc., as finance information from the finance information provision server 30. The finance information acquisition unit 212 also extracts companies of interest from the acquired stock information rankings. For example, companies of interest are the top 10 companies in the stock information ranking. Note that companies of interest are not limited to the top 10 in the stock information ranking, but may be the top 3, top 5, or top 15, etc. Note that as finance information, financial information from information sites (e.g., Yahoo Finance) or securities company sites may be used. The finance information acquisition unit 212 stores information such as stock information rankings, the period covered by the rankings, stock charts, and companies of interest in the memory unit 24, associating these information with each other.

[0035] The company-related keyword acquisition unit 213 uses the search engine suggestion function of the search server 40 to acquire words related to the company of interest as "related keywords." For example, when the name of the company of interest is used as the search term, the company-related keyword acquisition unit 213 acquires words that have been searched together with that search term (the name of the company of interest) from the search server 40 as related keywords. The company-related keyword acquisition unit 213 may also acquire information such as the search volume or cost per click for the related keywords from the search server 40. Any search engine used on search sites, video streaming sites, e-commerce (Electronic Commerce) sites, etc., can be used as the search engine. The company-related keyword acquisition unit 213 stores the acquired related keywords, search volume, cost per click, etc., in the storage unit 24 in association with the company of interest.

[0036] The IR information search unit 214 accesses the websites of companies of interest provided by the corporate information server 50 and searches for and retrieves IR information containing relevant keywords from the IR information on the companies' web pages. The IR information search unit 214 then retrieves the relevant keywords contained in the retrieved IR information as "impact words." The IR information search unit 214 also retrieves the release date information of the IR information containing the impact words. Hereafter, the release date of the IR information containing the impact words will be referred to as the "impact date." The IR information search unit 214 stores the retrieved IR information, impact words, impact date, and other information in the storage unit 24, associating them with the companies of interest.

[0037] The IR information retrieval unit 214 may also acquire frequently occurring words among the words included in the IR information along with the impact word as "important words." For example, important words may be the most frequently occurring words among the words included with the impact word, or a predetermined number of words (e.g., the top 3) in order of frequency. The IR information retrieval unit 214 may then store the acquired IR information, impact word, impact date, important words, etc., in the storage unit 24 in association with the company of interest.

[0038] The technical information acquisition unit 215 acquires patent information related to financial information. For example, the technical information acquisition unit 215 searches the patent information database 61 where patent information is stored by accessing the patent search server 60 using information based on financial information acquired by the financial information acquisition unit 212. Information based on financial information is, for example, information based on related keywords acquired by the company-related word acquisition unit 213. More specifically, as an example, it is impact words acquired by the IR information search unit 214. The technical information acquisition unit 215 acquires patent information related to financial information by searching the patent information database 61 using impact words acquired by the IR information search unit 214.

[0039] For example, the technical information acquisition unit 215 uses the impact word acquired by the IR information retrieval unit 214 to search for patent information stored in the patent information database 61 that corresponds to the period based on the impact date. As a result, the technical information acquisition unit 215 acquires patent information corresponding to the period based on the impact date. The period based on the impact date is a predetermined past period based on the impact date (for example, the past 5 years or the past 10 years from the impact date). This period based on the impact date will be referred to as the "impact period" below.

[0040] For example, the technical information acquisition unit 215 sends patent search conditions to the patent search server 60, specifying the company of interest as the applicant, the impact word as the search term, and the impact period as the search period. The patent search server 60 then searches the patent information stored in the patent information database 61 using the above patent search conditions. The technical information acquisition unit 215 then acquires the patent information retrieved by the patent search server 60 as technical information related to the finance information.

[0041] Furthermore, the technical information acquisition unit 215 may use the impact words and important words as search terms when searching for patent information stored in the patent information database 61. That is, the technical information acquisition unit 215 may use the company of interest as the applicant, the impact words and important words as search terms, and the impact period as the search period as patent search conditions.

[0042] Here, the population of multiple patent information retrieved using the above patent search conditions is referred to as the "entire patent group." That is, the entire patent group refers to all the patent information included in that population. The technical information acquisition unit 215 stores the patent information of the entire patent group obtained using the above patent search conditions in the storage unit 24.

[0043] Furthermore, the technical information acquisition unit 215 ranks all patents using predetermined indicators and classifies patent information of a predetermined rank or higher as "patents of interest." The predetermined indicators are indicators that evaluate the value of a patent based on one or more of the following: the breadth of the rights, whether it is a basic patent or an improvement patent, whether infringement detection is easy or difficult, the number of cited documents, applicant information (company capital, management status, etc.), and information on competitors. These indicators will be referred to as "patent value indicators" below. For example, the technical information acquisition unit 215 ranks multiple retrieved patent information using the patent value indicators and classifies the top-ranking (e.g., top 10) patent information as patents of interest. The technical information acquisition unit 215 adds flag information indicating that the patent is a patent of interest to the patent information classified as a patent of interest and stores it in the storage unit 24.

[0044] Furthermore, the technical information acquisition unit 215 classifies the retrieved patent information by technical field using the patent classification associated with the retrieved patent information. For example, the patent classification can be IPC (International Patent Classification), CPC (Cooperative Patent Classification), etc. Alternatively, FI or F-terms from the Japan Patent Office may be used as patent classifications. Classifications other than those specified by the Japan Patent Office may also be used.

[0045] The technical information acquisition unit 215 then ranks the technical fields by comparing patent information classified by technical field using a patent value index, and acquires the top three technical fields as "technical fields of interest." For example, the technical information acquisition unit 215 generates a population of patent information for each technical field using patent classification, and calculates the average value of the patent value index (average value per patent) for each population. Next, the technical information acquisition unit 215 ranks the populations for each technical field based on the average value calculated for each population, and acquires the top three technical fields as "technical fields of interest."

[0046] Furthermore, the technical information acquisition unit 215 classifies patent information included in the area of ​​interest as a "group of patents in the area of ​​interest." In addition, the technical information acquisition unit 215 ranks the patent information in the area of ​​interest using a patent value index and classifies the top-ranked (for example, the top 3) patent information as "promising technologies." For example, the technical information acquisition unit 215 adds flag information indicating that the patent information classified as a promising technology is a promising technology and stores it in the storage unit 24.

[0047] The report generation unit 216 generates a trend search report based on the finance information, IR information, and patent information acquired by the search processing unit 210. For example, the report generation unit 216 generates a trend search report based on information such as stock information, companies of interest, impact words, important words, IR information containing impact words, patents of interest, patent information in technology fields of interest, and promising technologies. The report generation unit 216 sends the generated trend search report data file to the terminal 10.

[0048] (Details of the information retrieval process) Next, the details of the information retrieval process by the information retrieval system 1 will be described with reference to Figures 6 to 8. Figures 6 to 8 are diagrams showing an example of the details of the information retrieval process according to this embodiment. Figure 6 corresponds to processes (1), (2), and (3) whose outline was described with reference to Figure 4. Figure 7 corresponds to processes (4) and (5) whose outline was described with reference to Figure 4. Figure 8 corresponds to process (6) whose outline was described with reference to Figure 4.

[0049] First, referring to Figure 6, the processes executed by the search processing unit 210 of the information retrieval device 20 in (1), (2), and (3) will be explained. (Step S101) The search processing unit 210 obtains the search conditions for trend search from the terminal 10. The search conditions for trend search include conditions such as the search period, field / industry, search country, and market. In addition, the search conditions for trend search include items set as ranking items for stock information ranking, such as price increase rate, trading volume, limit up, market capitalization, PER, and PBR.

[0050] (Step S102) The search processing unit 210 transmits the search conditions for the trend search obtained from the terminal 10 in step S101 to the finance information provision server 30.

[0051] (Step S103) The search processing unit 210 retrieves financial information retrieved from the financial information server 30 based on the search conditions of the trend search transmitted in step S102. For example, the search processing unit 210 retrieves information such as stock information rankings, the period covered by the rankings, and stock charts as financial information.

[0052] (Step S104) The search processing unit 210 extracts companies of interest from the stock information ranking obtained in step S103. The search processing unit 210 then stores the stock information ranking, the period covered by the ranking, the stock chart, the companies of interest, and other related information in the storage unit 24.

[0053] (Step S105) The search processing unit 210 reads information about the company of interest from the storage unit 24. (Step S106) The search processing unit 210 sends the information of the company of interest (name of the company of interest) read in step S105 to the search server 40 as a search word.

[0054] (Step S107) The search processing unit 210 uses the search engine suggestion function of the search server 40 to obtain related keywords associated with the company of interest. The search processing unit 210 also obtains information such as the search volume and cost per click for the related keywords from the search server 40.

[0055] (Step S108) The search processing unit 210 stores the information obtained in step S107, such as related keywords, search volume, and cost per click, in the storage unit 24.

[0056] Next, referring to Figure 7, we will explain the processes in (4) and (5). (Step S111) The search processing unit 210 reads information such as featured companies, related keywords, search volume, and cost per click from the storage unit 24.

[0057] (Step S112) The search processing unit 210 transmits information about the company of interest to the company information provision server 50 and accesses the company's website to obtain its IR information. The search processing unit 210 also transmits information such as relevant keywords, search volume, and cost per click to be used when obtaining the IR information.

[0058] (Step S113) The search processing unit 210 accesses the website of the company of interest and searches for IR information containing the relevant keywords from the IR information on the company's webpage. The search processing unit 210 then retrieves the retrieved IR information. The search processing unit 210 also retrieves the relevant keywords contained in the retrieved IR information as impact words, as well as the impact date and impact period. If there are multiple impact words, they may be given priority. The ranking may be done by multiplying the frequency of occurrence on the company's webpage, the search volume, and the cost per click to obtain a numerical value. In this case, for example, a gradient coefficient is set according to importance such that frequency of occurrence > search volume > cost per click. Impact words with higher numerical values ​​are given higher priority. Furthermore, the search processing unit 210 retrieves words that appear frequently among the words included in the IR information along with the impact words as "important words".

[0059] (Step S114) The search processing unit 210 stores the information obtained in step S113, such as IR information, impact words, impact dates, impact periods, and important words, in the storage unit 24 in association with the companies of interest. For example, for IR information, the search processing unit 210 converts the IR information into a data file (PDF file, image file, etc.) and stores it in the storage unit 24 in association with the URL of the web page of the IR information.

[0060] (Step S115) The search processing unit 210 reads information such as companies of interest, impact words, impact dates, impact periods, and important words from the storage unit 24.

[0061] (Step S116) The search processing unit 210 sends patent search conditions to the patent search server 60 based on the companies of interest, impact words, impact dates, impact periods, important words, etc., that were read in step S115. Specifically, the search processing unit 210 sends patent search conditions to the patent search server 60 with the companies of interest as applicants, the impact words and important words as search terms, and the impact period as the search period.

[0062] (Step S117) The search processing unit 210 acquires the entire set of patent information retrieved by the patent search server 60 using the above patent search conditions as the total patent group.

[0063] (Step S118) The search processing unit 210 stores the patent information of the entire group of patents obtained from the patent search server 60 in the storage unit 24. The search processing unit 210 also ranks the entire group of patents using a patent value index and classifies the top-ranking (e.g., top 10) patent information as patents of interest. The search processing unit 210 adds flag information indicating that the patents of interest are patents to the patent information classified as patents of interest and stores it in the storage unit 24. Furthermore, the search processing unit 210 classifies the multiple patent information obtained by each technical field using the patent classification (IPC, CPC, FI, F-term, etc.) associated with the multiple patent information. The search processing unit 210 then ranks the technical fields by comparing the patent information classified by each technical field using a patent value index and obtains the top-ranking (e.g., top 3) technical fields as patents of interest. The search processing unit 210 also classifies the patent information included in the patents of interest as a group of patents in the patents of interest. Furthermore, the search processing unit 210 ranks patent information in the area of ​​interest using a patent value index and classifies the top-ranking (e.g., top 3) patent information as promising technologies. For example, the search processing unit 210 adds flag information indicating that the patent information is a promising technology to the patent information it has classified as a promising technology and stores it in the storage unit 24.

[0064] Next, referring to Figure 8, we will explain the process in (6). First, let's explain an example of the data stored in the memory unit 24. The search data 241 is data associated with the information stored in the memory unit 24 in steps S104, S108, and S114 described above by the search processing unit 210. For example, the search data 241 may be associated with companies of interest, stock information (ranking, ranking period, stock chart, etc.), related keywords, search volume, cost per click, IR information, impact words, impact date, impact period, important words, etc. At least a portion of this search data 241 is used to search for patent information.

[0065] The total patent data 242 is data on patent information for the entire patent group obtained from the patent search server 60. For example, the total patent data 242 is associated with information such as a featured patent flag, application number, application date, applicant, patent classification, patent value index, inventor, etc.

[0066] The patent group data for the featured technology field, 243 and 244, are data on patent information within the patent group for the featured technology field, which is obtained by classifying multiple patent information included in the entire patent group by technology field. For example, the patent group data for the featured technology field, 243 and 244 are associated with information such as a promising technology flag, application number, application date, applicant, patent classification, patent value index, inventor, etc. The patent group data for the featured technology field is associated with each featured technology field. In the illustrated example, the patent group data for the featured technology field, 243, is an example of data for the featured technology field, which is pharmaceuticals. The patent group data for the featured technology field, 244, is an example of data for the featured technology field, which is supplements.

[0067] (Step S121) The report generation unit 216 reads the search data 241, the total patent group data 242, the patent group data 243, 244 of interest technologies, etc., stored in the storage unit 24, and generates a trend search report based on the stock information, IR information, and patent information, etc., contained in this data. For example, the report generation unit 216 generates a trend search report based on information such as stock information, companies of interest, impact words, important words, IR information containing impact words, patents of interest, patent information in the technology field of interest, and promising technologies. Any analysis tool may be used to generate the trend search report. For example, Microsoft Power BI or Dynamics AX may be used as analysis tools.

[0068] (Step S122) The report generation unit 216 stores the generated trend search report as a data file in the storage unit 24. The report generation unit 216 also sends the generated trend search report data file to the terminal 10.

[0069] As described above, in the information retrieval system 1 according to this embodiment, the information retrieval device 20 acquires finance information related to finance that has been retrieved based on the search conditions of the trend search (an example of predetermined conditions). The information retrieval device 20 also acquires patent information related to the finance information by searching the patent information database 61 (an example of a technical information database) in which patent information (an example of technical information) is stored, using the information based on the acquired finance information. The information retrieval device 20 then generates a report (for example, a trend search report) based on the acquired patent information.

[0070] As a result, the information retrieval system 1 (information retrieval device 20) can easily retrieve and present useful technical information in line with market trends by utilizing financial information. Therefore, according to this embodiment, more useful information can be easily retrieved and presented.

[0071] For example, the information retrieval device 20 acquires stock information rankings, which are ranked based on the search criteria of the trend search, as financial information.

[0072] As a result, the information retrieval system 1 (information retrieval device 20) can easily search for and present useful information in line with market trends by utilizing stock information rankings. For example, the information retrieval system 1 (information retrieval device 20) can easily search for and present useful information by focusing its search on companies that are highly ranked in stock information rankings.

[0073] Furthermore, the information retrieval device 20 uses the suggestion function of a search engine that searches for information obtainable via the Internet to acquire words related to a company of interest (an example of a specific company) included in the financial information as related keywords (an example of the first word). Then, the information retrieval device 20 uses the information based on the acquired related keywords to search the patent information database 61 and acquire patent information related to the financial information.

[0074] As a result, the information retrieval system 1 (information retrieval device 20) can easily search for and present useful information using relevant keywords related to the company of interest.

[0075] Furthermore, the information retrieval device 20 searches for IR information containing relevant keywords from among the IR information of companies of interest, and acquires the relevant keywords contained in the retrieved IR information as impact words (an example of a second word). Then, the information retrieval device 20 uses the acquired impact words to search the patent information database 61 and acquire patent information related to the finance information.

[0076] As a result, the information retrieval system 1 (information retrieval device 20) can easily retrieve and present useful information by searching using keywords related to the company of interest that are included in the company's IR information (impact words).

[0077] Furthermore, the information retrieval device 20 acquires information on the date (impact date) when IR information containing the impact word was released. Then, using the acquired impact word, the information retrieval device 20 retrieves patent information related to finance information by searching for patent information in the patent information database 61 that corresponds to the impact period based on the impact date.

[0078] As a result, the information retrieval system 1 (information retrieval device 20) can efficiently retrieve useful information by narrowing the search period to the period related to the impact word.

[0079] Furthermore, the information retrieval device 20 searches for patent information stored in the patent information database 61 using patent search conditions where the company of interest is the applicant, the impact word is the search word, and the impact period is the search period, and obtains the retrieved patent information as patent information related to finance information.

[0080] As a result, the information retrieval system 1 (information retrieval device 20) can easily search for and present useful patent information that corresponds to market trends.

[0081] Furthermore, the information retrieval device 20 acquires frequently occurring words among the words included in the retrieved IR information along with the impact word as important words (an example of a third word). The information retrieval device 20 then uses the impact word and important words as search words for the patent search conditions described above.

[0082] As a result, the information retrieval system 1 (information retrieval device 20) can search for useful information more broadly by using not only impact words but also frequently occurring words that are included along with impact words in the IR information of companies of interest.

[0083] Furthermore, the information retrieval device 20 ranks the multiple patent information retrieved using the above patent search conditions using a patent value index (an example of a predetermined index), and classifies the patent information ranked above a predetermined rank (for example, the top 10) as patents of interest.

[0084] As a result, the information retrieval system 1 (information retrieval device 20) can present more useful patent information from among the retrieved patent information.

[0085] Furthermore, the information retrieval device 20 classifies the multiple patent information retrieved using the above patent search conditions into each technical field using the patent classification associated with the multiple patent information. The information retrieval device 20 also ranks the technical fields by comparing the patent information classified into each technical field with each other using a patent value index (an example of a predetermined index), and classifies the patent information included in the technical fields of a predetermined rank or higher (for example, the top 3) as a group of patents in a particular technical field (patent information in a particular technical field).

[0086] This allows the information retrieval system 1 (information retrieval device 20) to present patent information in more useful technical fields from among the retrieved patent information.

[0087] Furthermore, the information retrieval device 20 ranks patent groups in areas of interest using a patent value index (an example of a predetermined index), and classifies patent information of a predetermined rank or higher (for example, the top 3) as promising technologies.

[0088] As a result, the information retrieval system 1 (information retrieval device 20) can present promising technical information in more useful technical fields from among the retrieved patent information.

[0089] Furthermore, the information retrieval device 20 generates a trend search report based on information from one of the following: companies of interest, impact words, important words, IR information containing impact words, patents of interest, patent information in a field of interest technology, and promising technologies.

[0090] As a result, the information retrieval system 1 (information retrieval device 20) can easily and clearly present reports that summarize useful information in line with market trends.

[0091] Furthermore, the information retrieval method in the information retrieval device 20 according to this embodiment includes the steps of: acquiring financial information relating to finance retrieved based on search conditions for trend search (an example of predetermined conditions); acquiring patent information related to the financial information by searching a patent information database 61 (an example of a technical information database) where patent information (an example of technical information) is stored using the acquired financial information; and generating a report (for example, a trend search report) based on the acquired patent information.

[0092] As a result, the information retrieval device 20 can easily retrieve and present useful technical information in line with market trends by utilizing financial information. Therefore, according to this embodiment, more useful information can be easily retrieved and presented.

[0093] Furthermore, the program according to this embodiment causes a computer, which serves as an information retrieval device 20, to perform the following steps: acquire financial information related to finance retrieved based on search conditions for trend search (an example of predetermined conditions); acquire patent information related to the financial information by searching a patent information database 61 (an example of a technical information database) where patent information (an example of technical information) is stored, using the information based on the acquired financial information; and generate a report (for example, a trend search report) based on the acquired patent information.

[0094] As a result, the information retrieval device 20 can easily retrieve and present useful technical information in line with market trends by utilizing financial information. Therefore, according to this embodiment, more useful information can be easily retrieved and presented.

[0095] Although embodiments of this invention have been described in detail above with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to those described above, and various design changes can be made without departing from the spirit of this invention. For example, the configurations described in the above embodiments may be combined in any way.

[0096] In the above embodiment, an example was described in which the information retrieval device 20 searches for and obtains patent information using information based on financial information. However, it is not limited to patent information, and other technical information may also be searched for and obtained. For example, the information retrieval device 20 may search databases of technical information other than patents, not limited to the patent information database 61. Other technical information includes, for example, information on academic papers, information on corporate research and development, technical information collected by private organizations, and technical information held by research institutes. Furthermore, in the above embodiment, an example was described in which stock information was used as financial information, but other financial information may also be used. For example, information such as sales, operating profit, operating profit margin, net profit, M&A (Mergers and Acquisitions) transaction amount, and cash inflows and outflows may be used as financial information.

[0097] Furthermore, although the above embodiment describes an example in which a user inputs search conditions for trend search at terminal 10, the search conditions for trend search may be set in advance using a batch file or the like, and the search conditions for trend search may be periodically sent from terminal 10 to information retrieval device 20 by batch processing. In this case, information retrieval device 20 may periodically send trend search reports to terminal 10. Alternatively, information retrieval device 20 may periodically execute a batch file in which the search conditions for trend search are pre-set. In this case, information retrieval device 20 may periodically send trend search reports to terminals 10 that have been registered in advance.

[0098] The destination of the trend search report is not limited to terminal 10; it can be any device that can communicate via the network NW. For example, the destination of the trend search report may be a pre-registered device other than terminal 10, where the trend search criteria were entered (e.g., a company server).

[0099] Furthermore, the information retrieval device 20 described above has a computer system inside. Programs for realizing the functions of each configuration of the information retrieval device 20 described above may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the programs recorded on this recording medium may be loaded into the computer system and executed to perform the processing in each configuration of the information retrieval device 20 described above. Here, "loading the programs recorded on the recording medium into the computer system and executing them" includes installing the programs into the computer system. Here, "computer system" includes hardware such as the OS and peripheral devices. Furthermore, "computer system" may include multiple computer devices connected via a network including communication lines such as the Internet, WAN, LAN, and dedicated lines. Furthermore, "computer-readable recording medium" refers to portable media such as flexible disks, magneto-optical disks, ROMs, CD-ROMs, and storage devices such as hard disks built into the computer system. Thus, the recording medium storing the programs may be a non-transient recording medium such as a CD-ROM.

[0100] Furthermore, the recording medium also includes internal or external recording media accessible from the distribution server for distributing the program. The program may be divided into multiple parts, downloaded at different times, and then combined using the various configurations provided by the information retrieval device 20. The distribution servers for each of the divided programs may also be different. Additionally, "computer-readable recording media" includes volatile memory (RAM) within computer systems that act as servers or clients when a program is transmitted over a network, which retains the program for a certain period of time. Moreover, the program may be intended to implement only a portion of the functions described above. Furthermore, the program may be a so-called differential file (differential program) that can implement the functions described above in combination with a program already recorded in the computer system.

[0101] Furthermore, some or all of the functions of the information retrieval device 20 in the above-described embodiment may be implemented as an integrated circuit such as an LSI (Large Scale Integration). Each function may be individually processorized, or some or all of them may be integrated into a single processor. In addition, the method of implementing the integrated circuit is not limited to LSIs; it may also be implemented using dedicated circuits or general-purpose processors. Furthermore, if an integrated circuit technology that can replace LSIs emerges due to advances in semiconductor technology, an integrated circuit using that technology may be used. [Explanation of symbols]

[0102] 1 Information Retrieval System, 10 Terminal, 11 CPU, 12 Communication Unit, 13 Input Unit, 14 Display Unit, 15 Storage Unit, 20 Information Retrieval Device, 21 CPU, 22 Communication Unit, 23 Input Unit, 24 Storage Unit, 30 Finance Information Provision Server, 31 Finance Information Database, 40 Search Server, 50 Corporate Information Provision Server, 60 Patent Search Server, 61 Patent Information Database, NW Network, 210 Search Processing Unit, 211 Search Condition Acquisition Unit, 212 Finance Information Acquisition Unit, 213 Corporate Related Word Acquisition Unit, 214 IR Information Retrieval Unit, 215 Technical Information Acquisition Unit, 216 Report Generation Unit

Claims

1. An information retrieval system comprising an information retrieval device that performs processing based on information obtained via a network from a server that extracts information according to search conditions from a database in which financial information including publicly available stock information is stored, The aforementioned information retrieval device is A finance information acquisition unit retrieves "ranked stock information" from the server based on predetermined search conditions, which include a search period based on a date entered by the user, a field or industry, and a stock ranking item that includes at least one item selected by the user from among price increase rate, trading volume, limit up, market capitalization, PER (Price Earnings Ratio), and PBR (Price Book-value Ratio), and extracts companies ranked above a predetermined rank in the "ranked stock information" as companies of interest to investors. A company-related word acquisition unit that uses the suggestion function of a search engine that searches for information obtainable via the internet to acquire one or more suggested words that are displayed as words related to the company when the company of interest is used as a search term, as the first word; An IR information search unit searches the IR (Investor Relations) information of the aforementioned companies of interest via the network for IR information containing one or more of the first words acquired by the company-related word acquisition unit, and acquires the first words contained in the retrieved IR information as second words. A technical information acquisition unit retrieves the patent information obtained by searching a patent information database via the network, which contains patent information that includes at least information about patents filed in the past, using search conditions where the aforementioned company of interest is the applicant, the second word is the search term, and the past predetermined period based on the date on which IR information containing the second word was released is used as the search period. A report generation unit analyzes, using an analysis tool, at least the aforementioned companies of interest, the second word, IR information containing the second word, and the patent information acquired by the technical information acquisition unit, and generates a data file of a trend search report that includes at least the aforementioned companies of interest, the second word, IR information containing the second word, and the patent information acquired by the technical information acquisition unit. An information retrieval system equipped with the following features.

2. The aforementioned IR information retrieval unit is: Among the "words other than the second word" included in the searched IR information, the most frequently occurring word is obtained as the third word. The aforementioned technical information acquisition unit is: The second word and the third word are the search words. The information retrieval system according to claim 1.

3. An index that evaluates the value of a patent based on one or more of the following: the breadth of the rights, whether it is a basic patent or an improvement patent, whether infringement is easy or difficult to detect, the number of cited documents, applicant information, competitor information, etc., is stored in a memory unit associated with each of the multiple pieces of patent information. The aforementioned technical information acquisition unit is: Multiple patent information retrieved using the aforementioned search criteria is ranked using the aforementioned index for evaluating the value of the patents, and patent information of a predetermined rank or higher is classified as a patent of interest. The information retrieval system according to claim 2.

4. The aforementioned technical information acquisition unit is: The process involves classifying the multiple patent information retrieved using the search criteria into different technical fields using the associated patent classifications, generating a population of patent information classified by technical field, ranking the technical fields by comparing them using the average value of the indicators calculated for each population, and classifying the patent information included in technical fields of a predetermined rank or higher as the patent information of the technical field of interest. The information retrieval system according to claim 3.

5. The aforementioned technical information acquisition unit is: The patent information in the aforementioned field of interest is ranked using the aforementioned indicator, and patent information of a predetermined rank or higher is classified as promising technology. The information retrieval system according to claim 4.

6. The report generation unit, Based on the aforementioned companies of interest, the second word, the third word, IR information containing the second word, the patents of interest, patent information in the technology field of interest, and information on promising technologies, an analysis tool is used to generate a data file of the trend search report. The information retrieval system according to claim 5.

7. An information retrieval device that performs processing based on information obtained via a network from a server that extracts information according to search conditions from a database in which financial information including publicly available stock information is stored, A finance information acquisition unit retrieves "ranked stock information" from the server based on predetermined search conditions, which include a search period based on a date entered by the user, a field or industry, and a stock ranking item that includes at least one item selected by the user from among price increase rate, trading volume, limit up, market capitalization, PER (Price Earnings Ratio), and PBR (Price Book-value Ratio), and extracts companies ranked above a predetermined rank in the "ranked stock information" as companies of interest to investors. A company-related word acquisition unit that uses the suggestion function of a search engine that searches for information obtainable via the internet to acquire one or more suggested words that are displayed as words related to the company when the company of interest is used as a search term, as the first word; An IR information search unit searches the IR (Investor Relations) information of the aforementioned companies of interest via the network for IR information containing one or more of the first words acquired by the company-related word acquisition unit, and acquires the first words contained in the retrieved IR information as second words. A technical information acquisition unit retrieves the patent information obtained by searching a patent information database via the network, which contains patent information that includes at least information about patents filed in the past, using search conditions where the aforementioned company of interest is the applicant, the second word is the search term, and the past predetermined period based on the date on which IR information containing the second word was released is used as the search period. A report generation unit analyzes, using an analysis tool, at least the aforementioned companies of interest, the second word, IR information containing the second word, and the patent information acquired by the technical information acquisition unit, and generates a data file of a trend search report that includes at least the aforementioned companies of interest, the second word, IR information containing the second word, and the patent information acquired by the technical information acquisition unit. An information retrieval device equipped with the following features.

8. An information retrieval method in an information retrieval device that performs processing based on information obtained via a network from a server that extracts information according to search conditions from a database in which financial information including publicly available stock information is stored, The information retrieval device, The steps include: obtaining "ranked stock information" from the server based on predetermined search conditions, as financial information related to finance searched based on predetermined search conditions, which include a search period based on a date entered by the user, a field or industry, and a stock ranking item that includes at least one item selected by the user from among price increase rate, trading volume, limit up, market capitalization, PER (Price Earnings Ratio), and PBR (Price Book-value Ratio); and extracting companies ranked above a predetermined rank in the "ranked stock information" as noteworthy companies that are attracting the attention of investors; The steps include: obtaining one or more suggested words that appear as words related to the company of interest when the company of interest is used as a search term, using the suggestion function of a search engine that searches for information obtainable via the internet, as the first word; The steps include: searching the IR (Investor Relations) information of the aforementioned company of interest via the network for IR information containing one or more of the first words acquired by the company-related word acquisition unit, and acquiring the first words contained in the retrieved IR information as the second word; The steps include: searching a patent information database via the network, where patent information containing at least information about previously filed patents is stored, using search conditions where the aforementioned company of interest is the applicant, the second word is the search term, and the past predetermined period based on the date on which IR information containing the second word was released is used as the search period, and obtaining the retrieved patent information; The steps include: analyzing at least the aforementioned companies of interest, the second word, IR information containing the second word, and the acquired patent information using an analysis tool, and generating a data file of a trend search report that includes at least the aforementioned companies of interest, the second word, IR information containing the second word, and the patent information obtained by searching the patent information database; Information retrieval methods that include this.

9. A computer, which is an information retrieval device, performs processing based on information obtained via a network from a server that extracts information according to search conditions from a database in which financial information including publicly available stock information is stored, The steps include: obtaining "ranked stock information" from the server based on predetermined search conditions, as financial information related to finance searched based on predetermined search conditions, which include a search period based on a date entered by the user, a field or industry, and a stock ranking item that includes at least one item selected by the user from among price increase rate, trading volume, limit up, market capitalization, PER (Price Earnings Ratio), and PBR (Price Book-value Ratio); and extracting companies ranked above a predetermined rank in the "ranked stock information" as noteworthy companies that are attracting the attention of investors; The steps include: obtaining one or more suggested words that appear as words related to the company of interest when the company of interest is used as a search term, using the suggestion function of a search engine that searches for information obtainable via the internet, as the first word; The steps include: searching the IR (Investor Relations) information of the aforementioned company of interest via the network for IR information containing one or more of the first words acquired by the company-related word acquisition unit, and acquiring the first words contained in the retrieved IR information as the second word; The steps include: searching a patent information database via the network, where patent information containing at least information about previously filed patents is stored, using search conditions where the aforementioned company of interest is the applicant, the second word is the search term, and the past predetermined period based on the date on which IR information containing the second word was released is used as the search period, and obtaining the retrieved patent information; The steps include: analyzing at least the aforementioned companies of interest, the second word, IR information containing the second word, and the acquired patent information using an analysis tool, and generating a data file of a trend search report that includes at least the aforementioned companies of interest, the second word, IR information containing the second word, and the patent information obtained by searching the patent information database; A program to execute.

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