Search Device Substring Similarity Evaluation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing search systems have low accuracy in finding desired documents due to the ambiguity in search results, as they calculate the same degree of similarity for search target character strings with errors within a prescribed range from the search keyword positions, leading to inclusion of irrelevant results.
Innovation Solution
A search device that appends delimiting characters to search keywords, extracts partial strings, determines their frequency and positional relationship in the search target character strings, and evaluates similarity based on these factors, along with character length differences, to output relevant search results.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the same degree of similarity is calculated for search target character strings having the same number of characters appearing in the search keyword within a prescribed range, then the ambiguous search function is provided, but the search accuracy deteriorates because character strings that are extremely close to keywords and character strings with scattered matching characters receive the same similarity score
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the search target character string into multiple substrings and calculates the degree of similarity for each substring separately. By dividing the comparison into smaller units (substrings), the system can evaluate the density and distribution of matching characters more precisely, rather than treating the entire string as a single unit. This segmentation allows the system to distinguish between character strings with concentrated matches versus scattered matches, thereby improving search accuracy while maintaining the ambiguous search function.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by evaluating different regions of the search target character string with different weights based on their matching characteristics. By calculating substring similarity scores locally and then aggregating them, the system can highlight regions with high concentration of matching characters versus regions with scattered matches. This local evaluation approach enables the system to provide differentiated similarity scores that reflect the actual quality of matches in different parts of the string, resolving the contradiction between ambiguous search and search accuracy.
2Measurement precision
If delimiting characters are appended to search keywords and partial strings are extracted to determine frequency and positional relationships, then search accuracy is improved, but the computational complexity and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-processing the search target character strings into substrings and storing them in an index structure before the actual search operation. By preparing the substring index in advance, the system avoids the need to perform complex substring extraction and comparison operations during the search phase. This pre-computation significantly reduces the computational complexity during search operations while maintaining high search accuracy through the use of pre-organized substring data with positional information.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses copying by creating substring representations of the search target character strings and storing these copies in an index structure. Instead of repeatedly extracting and comparing substrings during each search operation, the system creates copy versions of the substrings in advance and stores them with their positional information. This copying approach eliminates the need for repeated string manipulation operations during search, thereby reducing computational complexity while preserving the ability to perform accurate similarity comparisons.
3Measurement precision
If character length differences are considered in the similarity evaluation, then the precision of finding desired documents is improved, but the complexity of the evaluation process increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by incorporating character length difference as an additional parameter in the similarity evaluation formula. The evaluation function is modified to include a term that penalizes or rewards based on the length difference between the search keyword and the matched substring. By changing the evaluation parameters to include length considerations, the system can more accurately assess the quality of matches without requiring fundamentally new evaluation mechanisms, thus improving precision while keeping the complexity increase manageable through mathematical formulation.
Data Source
AI summary
A search device comprises a memory device for storing document data containing search target character strings to which delimiting characters are appended at both ends; an acquirer for acquiring keywords; a generator for generating a search character string by appending delimiting characters to both ends of the keywords; a designator for designating appearance positions where those extracted partial strings from the search character string appear in the search target character string of the document data; a determiner for determining the frequency with which partial strings common to the partial strings of the search character string appear with a positional relationship similar to the search character string in the search target character string; an evaluator for evaluating the degree of similarity between the search target character string and the search character string; and an output device for outputting the search target character string.