JP2004357058A - Electronic document authentication processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To transmit and receive an electronic document attached with electronic authentication at low cost between client devices operating in different types of environments. <P>SOLUTION: Visible data are automatically generated from printed data on the basis of preset template data. When a seal is attached to an electronic document specified by the visible data in accordance with an ID number given beforehand, the seal is authenticated by an authentication server. Then, XML (extensible markup language) data are generated in accordance with data for XML definition defined by the template data, the XML data are attached to the authenticated visible data to the opposite party as an electronic document. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an electronic document authentication processing system having an electronic authentication function for processing and sending and receiving electronic documents between different applications.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Generally, when data such as an electronic document (hereinafter, referred to as an electronic document) is transmitted / received between a plurality of applications, it is necessary for the transmitting application to match the rules such as the data format with the receiving application.
[0003]
Further, when the digitized document is, for example, a document such as a quote, an order, or a receipt, it is necessary to authenticate whether or not the document has been issued by a person having authorized authority. That is, in electronic commerce, it is necessary to authenticate a digitized document such as a receipt using electronic authentication instead of a normal seal. When authenticating a digitized document, so-called electronic seal stamp data is often used.
[0004]
When authenticating a digitized document using the digital seal data, a client terminal connected to the server via a network requests a seal to the electronic document displayed on the display screen of the terminal or a predetermined sealed electronic document. When there is a transfer request, the server refers to the seal information table and the document information table of the management database, and stores the electronic seal stamp data of the sealer for each seal field of the electronic document for which the seal request or the transfer request has been made. Read from data file.
[0005]
The imprint image data registered in the read electronic seal stamp data is combined with a predetermined seal field of the electronic document for which the seal request or the transfer request has been made, and display data of the sealed electronic document is generated. There is one that transfers the data to a client terminal (see Patent Document 1 (paragraphs (0020) to (0036), FIGS. 1 to 6)).
[0006]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2001-229323 A
By the way, when a document system or the like is different, that is, when the document system operates in a heterogeneous environment (for example, when an application is different), it is difficult to transmit and receive an electronic document between companies, and a document system operating in a heterogeneous environment If an attempt is made to send and receive digitized documents between them, it is necessary to change the document system and the like, including the operation process, which results in large costs.
[0008]
For this reason, at present, when a document is transmitted and received by an organization such as a company operating a document system operating in a heterogeneous environment or by an individual, the document once printed out is transmitted and received by mail or the like.
[0009]
For example, when performing ordering processing, first, the ordering party requests a quote from the ordering party, and the ordering party creates, prints, and seals the quote, and then places the order by fax or mail. To the recipient. After examining the quote, the ordering party prepares, prints, and seals the order, and sends it to the ordering party by fax or mail. Then, the contractor sends out the merchandise. At this time, the delivery note / inspection note is printed and sent.
[0010]
The orderer receives the product, performs acceptance, seals the receipt, and sends the receipt to the orderer. Upon receiving the receipt, the contractor prints the invoice, seals it, and sends it to the orderer. The orderer performs payment processing according to the bill.
[0011]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the document processing system described in Patent Document 1, from a client terminal connected to a server via a network, a request for sealing an electronic document displayed on a display screen of the terminal or a predetermined stamped electronic document is sent. Although a process when a transfer request is made is shown, there is no description about sending and receiving an electronic document between systems (document systems) operating in different environments, but is described in Patent Document 1. In such a system, there is a problem that it is difficult to authenticate an electronic document between systems operating in different environments and to transmit and receive the electronic document.
[0012]
On the other hand, as described above, if various documents are printed and stamped once and sent by facsimile or postal mail, expenses such as printing and postage are required each time they are sent.
[0013]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic document authentication processing system capable of transmitting and receiving an electronic document with electronic authentication at low cost between devices operating in different environments.
[0014]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to the present invention, it is used when transmitting and receiving an electronic document between client devices operating in different heterogeneous environments from each other, processing the electronic document into a format that can be transmitted and received between the clients, and processing the electronic document into the electronic document. An electronic document authentication processing system configured to perform transmission and reception with authentication, comprising: a visible data generating unit configured to generate visible data from print data based on preset template data; and a pre-assigned ID number. When an electronic document specified by the visible data is stamped according to the authentication server, an authentication server that authenticates the stamp, and XML data generation that generates XML data according to the XML definition data defined in the template data Means, and transmitting means for attaching the XML data to the authenticated visible data and transmitting the XML data to the other party. Electronic document authentication system that is obtained.
[0015]
In this way, when sending and receiving an electronic document between client devices operating in different environments different from each other, visible data is generated from print data based on preset template data, and an ID number assigned in advance is used. When the electronic document specified by the visible data is stamped, the authentication server authenticates the stamp, and further, generates XML data according to the XML definition data defined in the template data, and generates the authenticated visible data. If the XML data is attached to the data and transmitted to the other party, the electronic document can be sent and received at low cost between the apparatuses operating in different environments and with the electronic authentication. The visible data and the XML data can be properly used as needed.
[0016]
In the present invention, in the client device, specific information for specifying the template data is registered in the authentication server for each form, and, for example, a ruled line, a predetermined pattern, or a logo is used as the specific information.
[0017]
In this way, if the specific information for specifying the template data for each form is registered in the authentication server, the visible data and the XML data can be easily generated from the template data.
[0018]
In the present invention, the client device registers the stamp object and the XML definition data as the template data.
[0019]
In the present invention, when performing the sealing, an electronic seal that transmits the ID number to the client device in which the ID number information is stored is used. In the authentication server, the ID number is stored as original data. The authentication server performs the authentication by comparing the ID number received from the client device with the original data.
[0020]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. With reference to FIG. 1, here, a description will be given by taking a quote, an order, a purchase order, a delivery note, and the like as an example of an electronic document. Can be applied.
[0021]
As shown in FIG. 1, client devices 11-1 to 11-N (N is an integer of 2 or more) operating in different environments different from each other (for example, different applications) are connected to a network (for example, the Internet) via a communication device. The authentication server 13 is also connected to the Internet 12 via a communication device.
[0022]
As shown in FIG. 2, in the client device 11-n (n is an integer from 1 to N), a plurality of business applications (business APs) 21-1 to 21-M (M is 2 or more). An application group 21 having an integer is accessed to execute processing according to a desired business AP.
[0023]
The storage device of the authentication server 13 is provided with a document template file (not shown) in which templates of various electronic documents (for example, a quote, an order, an order, a delivery note, etc.) are stored. An electronic seal data file (not shown) storing electronic seal data of all users who use the application is provided, and an application, its phase, and the like are registered for each stamp location in the template. That is, in the authentication server 13, the seal information in the template identified by the application name (= form name) / phase name is registered.
[0024]
Functions realized by the CPU of the authentication server 13 executing the program include, for example, a seal ID / imprint registration / deletion function, an AP (application) authentication control function, an audit logging function, an access authority function, and an authentication history management function. And manages personal information such as an electronic seal ID, a seal imprint, a company name, a name, a post, access authority information, a registration date and time, an expiration date, and an access history. As described later, the authentication server 13 Authentication is performed for the client devices 11-1 to 11-N.
[0025]
Here, an electronic seal is used to seal an electronic document. The electronic seal stamp has a unique ID number as an identification mark for authentication, and the ID number is stored in the main body of the electronic seal stamp. The electronic seal stamp has, for example, a wireless communication function for wirelessly transmitting ID number information to and from a client device (note that the client device also has a wireless communication function, needless to say). Absent).
[0026]
The electronic seal stamp is formed into, for example, a column or a prism, and a name or the like is engraved on one end surface thereof. Each time an electronic seal is issued, its ID number (seal ID) and seal are registered in the authentication server 13 as original data. When the electronic seal is abolished, the authentication server 13 deletes the corresponding seal ID and seal.
[0027]
Note that the authentication server 13 registers company names, names, personnel information such as job titles, registration dates and times, and expiration dates along with the seal IDs and seals. The authentication server 13 can access the application group 21. Authority is registered as access authority information.
[0028]
Now, a description will be given of a case where the orderer places an order for a product from the orderer with the client device 11-1 as the orderer side and the client device 11-2 as the orderer side. When accessing the application server 21, the access request is requested to the authentication server 13.
[0029]
If the access authority information is registered for the client device 11-1, the authentication server 13 authenticates the access, and notifies the client device 11-1 and the application server 21 to that effect.
[0030]
As a result, the client device 11-1 can access the application server 21. Note that DLLs or OCXs (custom controls created using OLE (Object Linking Embedding), which is an inter-object linkage mechanism of Windows (registered trademark)) are plugged into the business applications 21-1 to 21-M. ing.
[0031]
Here, referring to FIG. 3, the user now executes a process according to the application using the client device 11-1 (step S1), and when a print button is clicked, a print setting screen is displayed on the client device 11-. Appear in 1. Then, a preview is created according to the print setting screen (step S2), and the print data is temporarily stored on the disk (step S3). Thereafter, image data (visible data) is generated from the print data using template data described later (step S4). Then, the image data is temporarily stored on the disk.
[0032]
Next, the print data is analyzed based on the XML (Extensible Markup Language) definition data defined in the template to generate XML data (step S5), and stored in the disk. Then, a seal is requested for the electronic document corresponding to the image data, and the seal is performed using the above-described electronic seal stamp.
[0033]
Specifically, the ID number is transmitted from the electronic seal stamp to the client device 11-1. Further, the ID number is transmitted from the client device 11-1 to the authentication server 13 via the Internet 12, and the authentication server 13 transmits the original ID number. The data and the transmitted ID number are collated to check the validity of the ID number, and the result is returned to the client device 11-1. At this time, the imprint data corresponding to the ID number is sent to the client device 11-1, and the imprint is applied to a predetermined column of the image data.
[0034]
In this manner, when the seal is authenticated (step S6), the client device 11-1 requests the archive server 31 to save the image data and the XML data (step S7), and then sends the mail address (here, The client device 11-2) is designated, the XML data is attached to the image data, and a mail transfer is requested to the mail server 32 (step S8).
[0035]
The same processing is performed when transmitting an electronic document from the client device 11-2 to the client device 11-1, whereby the electronic document is transmitted between the client devices 11-1 and 11-2 operating in different environments. Sending and receiving can be performed, and quotes, purchase orders, delivery notes, bills, and the like can be easily sent and received in electronic documents.
[0036]
In other words, as described above, the image data is automatically created from the print data using the template, and the seal authentication is performed on the image data. Then, XML data is automatically created individually using the XML definition data of the template, and image data and XML data are sent as a set to the other party. At the other end, since the XML data is attached to the authenticated image data, the XML data is determined to be reliable, and the XML data is imported and used.
[0037]
Here, the XML definition data is based on the print location of each item of the print data, and one location is “order destination”, another location is “total price”, and another location is “product name”. In most applications, the print location of a specific item in a fixed format is almost the same, so the data is defined for each print location according to the XML definition data. You can keep. Then, in accordance with the position of the data to be printed, the XML definition data is used to define the XML meaning of the data to be printed at that position.
[0038]
In XML, based on a general-purpose description language SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language) for exchanging documents electronically, an extended function of SGML can be used on the Web, and a user can use a unique tag to specify data attributes using a unique tag. Information and logical structures can be defined. Therefore, data attributes and data contents can be described in association with each other.
[0039]
Next, creation of template data will be described with reference to FIG. In the client device, template specific information is created in advance for each application name (= form name) and registered as a separately managed file. The template data is created by each client device, and first stores the same form name as that registered in the authentication server 13 (step P1). Then, specific information such as a ruled line, a pattern (filling, etc.), a logo, etc. is stored for each form name (step P2).
[0040]
Thus, in the process of storing the specific information for all the form names, the object of the seal is stored (step P3). For this stamped object, the form name / phase name is stored. Next, the XML definition data is stored for each form name (step P4), and the generation of the template data ends.
[0041]
That is, when creating a template, a headline, ruled line, pattern, logo, and the like are written and registered in the authentication server for each application name and phase name. Then, the OCX for the seal is pasted, and the XML meaning of the data to be printed there is defined according to the position of the data to be printed, and is used as a template. Note that examples of the application name (= form name) include “Order Book of XX Accounting Software” and “Invoice of XX Accounting Software”. Approval seal, department manager approval seal "and the like.
[0042]
In this way, a template is generated for each form name in advance, and the print data is analyzed and converted into XML data according to the template (XML definition data). Since an electronic document can be transmitted and received between the devices and the data is transmitted as a set together with the authenticated image data, the credibility of the XML data can be secured. Further, since the authentication is performed using the electronic seal, there is no need to change the operation process.
[0043]
In addition to the data output from the application, not only information such as characters, logos, and ruled lines printed on special paper, but also objects are defined as templates, so the output results are output on special paper. It can be sent to the other party as being authenticated by the authentication server.
[0044]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, in the present invention, when an electronic document is transmitted and received between client devices operating in different environments different from each other, visible data is generated from print data based on preset template data, and the visible data is generated in advance. When an electronic document specified by visible data is stamped according to the ID number given, the authentication server authenticates the stamp, and further generates XML data according to the XML definition data defined in the template data. Since the XML data is attached to the authenticated visible data and transmitted to the other party, there is an effect that electronic documents can be transmitted and received at low cost and with electronic authentication between devices operating in different environments. .
[0045]
Furthermore, since the XML data is attached to the visible data and transmitted, the other party can use the visible data and the XML data as needed.
[0046]
According to the present invention, since the specific information for specifying the template data is registered in the authentication server for each form name, there is an effect that the XML data can be easily generated from the print data.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration of an electronic document authentication processing system according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a relationship between an authentication server and a client device shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining processing in the electronic document authentication processing system shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining creation of template data in the electronic document authentication processing system shown in FIG. 1;
[Explanation of symbols]
11-11-N Client device 12 Network (Internet)
13 Authentication server 21 Application group (Application server)
21-1 to 21-M Business application 31 Archive server 32 Mail server

Claims (5)

Used for transmitting and receiving an electronic document between client devices operating in different environments different from each other. The electronic document is processed into a format that can be transmitted and received between the clients, and the electronic document is authenticated and transmitted and received. An electronic document authentication processing system adapted to perform
Visible data generating means for generating visible data from print data based on preset template data,
An authentication server that authenticates the stamp when the electronic document specified by the visible data is stamped according to the ID number given in advance;
XML data generating means for generating XML data according to the XML definition data defined in the template data;
Transmission means for attaching the XML data to the authenticated visible data and transmitting the XML data to the other party. 2. The electronic document authentication processing system according to claim 1, wherein the client device registers information for specifying the template data for each form in the authentication server. 3. The electronic document authentication processing system according to claim 2, wherein a ruled line, a predetermined pattern, or a logo is used as the specific information. 4. The electronic document authentication processing system according to claim 3, wherein the client device registers the stamp object and the XML definition data as the template data. 5. When performing the seal, an electronic seal that transmits the ID number to the client device in which the ID number information is stored is used,
The authentication server stores the ID number as original data, and the authentication server performs the authentication by comparing the ID number received from the client device with the original data. The electronic document authentication processing system according to claim 1.

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