JP2010073012A - Document management apparatus, document management system and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an apparatus capable of recording also a related document registered in past operation when the document is derived from operation. <P>SOLUTION: In each operation to a document, operation ID unique for the operation is given and registered in an attribute DB. When a document corresponding to operation ID "ID1" is operated, the "ID1" is registered as the master operation ID of operation ID "ID2" applied to the operation. When operation is performed to the document, a related document related to the document can be set. The related document is set as a form of operation ID registered in the attribute DB. If the set related document is not registered in the attribute DB, the related document is registered and the operation ID is obtained and registered in related document information. Thus, the identification information (operation ID) of the related document set by each operation is stored in the attribute DB by being associated with the operation ID of the operation. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a document management apparatus, a document management system, and a program.

  In the system disclosed in Patent Literature 1, when a request with a duplicate ID is received from a user for an electronic document, the document management server executes an operation indicated by the request and returns a new duplicate ID to the user. Then, the derivation relationship that records the new duplicate ID as a child of the duplicate ID is recorded. When there is an update request from the user, the update content indicated by the request is recorded in association with the duplicate ID. When an electronic document browsing request is received from a user, the derivation relationship is traced starting from the duplicate ID associated with the browsing request, and document data reflecting the update content found in the retroactive process is provided.

  Patent Document 2 discloses an information processing apparatus that can be included in a related document information list displayed when a document is called if the related document information is recorded when the document is stored.

  Patent Document 3 provides a common index management table for associating files managed in different tables, and when a certain file is updated or deleted, the common index management table is examined, and the corresponding part is identified. There has been disclosed a data management apparatus that keeps link relations consistent by updating or deleting.

  Patent Document 4 records the correspondence relationship between documents together with the document name and version relationship, and when a certain document is updated, the data version management that updates the reference relationship with the related document as necessary. A system is disclosed.

JP 2008-003846 A JP-A-8-335221 JP 9-305462 A JP-A-7-110759

  In the method of recording related document information for a document, for example, when the document is revised many times, the related document of the latest version of the document can be known from the related document information, but the related document of the past version is known. I can't.

  The present invention provides an apparatus capable of recording a related document registered in a past operation while a document is derived from the operation.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, when a new registration operation for a document is performed, a first operation unit that registers a unique operation identifier assigned to the new registration operation in the storage device in association with the document. When the operation is performed on the first document corresponding to the first operation identifier registered in the storage device, the unique second operation identifier assigned to the operation is the first document. When a second document different from the first document is generated as a result of the operation, a derivation relationship indicating that the operation is derived from one operation identifier is registered in the storage device, and the second operation is performed. A second registration unit for registering an identifier in the storage device in association with the second document, and an operation for the first document corresponding to the first operation identifier is a related document for the first document When the setting operation is Related document registration means for registering a third operation identifier registered in the storage device in association with a document in the storage device as a related document attribute of the second operation identifier assigned to the setting operation And a document management apparatus.

  According to a second aspect of the invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the related document attribute of the fourth operation identifier or the fourth operation identifier in response to the related document search request including the fourth operation identifier. The related document search means for searching for the sixth operation identifier set in the related document attribute of the fifth operation identifier that reaches the derivation relationship group in the direction of the derivation source starting from the origin, and the related document search means Providing means for providing the operation identifier retrieved by or the document registered in association with the operation identifier to the request source of the related document retrieval request.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, when the related document is not registered in the storage device, the related document registration unit performs a new registration operation of the related document, and Registering the third operation identifier assigned by the first registration unit in response to a new registration operation in the storage device as a related document attribute of the second operation identifier assigned to the setting operation; It is characterized by that.

  The invention according to claim 4 is the invention according to claim 2, wherein the related document search means arrives at the derivation relation group stored in the storage device by tracing from the sixth operation identifier to a derivation destination direction. The seventh operation identifier to be searched is further searched.

  The invention according to claim 5 is the invention according to claim 2, wherein the related document registration unit accepts designation of an inheritance attribute indicating presence / absence of inheritance in association with a setting operation of the related document. Is registered in the storage device as an inheritance attribute of the second operation identifier given to the setting operation, and the related document search means responds to the related document search request including the fourth operation identifier. In the process of tracing the derivation relation group starting from the fourth operation identifier in the direction of derivation, the operation attribute is traced back to the first operation identifier for which the inheritance attribute is not inherited, and the operation identifier is traced back. It is characterized by not.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, when a new document registration operation is performed, the computer registers a unique operation identifier assigned to the new registration operation in the storage device in association with the document. When an operation is performed on the first document corresponding to the first operation identifier registered in the storage device, a unique second operation identifier assigned to the operation is obtained. A derivation relationship indicating that the first operation identifier is derived is registered in the storage device, and when a second document different from the first document is generated as a result of the operation, the second A second registration unit for registering the operation identifier in the storage device in association with the second document, and an operation on the first document corresponding to the first operation identifier is related to the first document. If it is a document setting operation In addition, the third operation identifier registered in the storage device in association with the related document is registered in the storage device as the related document attribute of the second operation identifier assigned to the setting operation. It is a program for functioning as related document registration means.

  The invention according to claim 7 includes an information processing device and a document management device, and when the information processing device receives a new registration operation for a document, the information identifier assigned to the new registration operation is assigned to the document. When the operation is performed on the first document associated with the first operation identifier and the first transmission means for transmitting to the document management apparatus in association with Derivation relationship information indicating that the second operation identifier is derived from the first operation identifier is transmitted to the document management apparatus, and a second document different from the first document is generated as a result of the operation. If so, second transmission means for transmitting the second operation identifier to the document management apparatus in association with the second document, and the first document corresponding to the first operation identifier. The operation on the first In the case of a related document setting operation for a document, the document management is performed using a third operation identifier associated with the related document as a related document attribute of the second operation identifier assigned to the setting operation. Related document attribute transmission means for transmitting to the device, and the document management device receives, from the information processing device, an operation identifier assigned to the document new registration operation in association with the document, First registration means for registering the operation identifier in the storage device in association with the document, and information of a derivation relationship indicating that the second operation identifier is derived from the first operation identifier from the information processing device. When received, the derivation relation information is registered in the storage device, and when the second operation identifier is received in association with the second document, the second operation identifier is registered with the second operation identifier. The second registration means for registering in the storage device in association with the document and the operation for the first document corresponding to the first operation identifier are operations for setting the related document for the first document. In this case, when the third operation identifier associated with the related document is received as the related document attribute of the second operation identifier given to the setting operation from the information processing apparatus, Related document registration means for registering the operation identifier in the storage device as the related document attribute of the second operation identifier.

  According to the invention according to claim 1, 6 or 7, in the derivation process in which the document is sequentially derived by receiving the operation, the related document registered in the past operation can be recorded.

  According to the invention which concerns on Claim 2, the related document set in the past operation can be searched.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, when an unregistered related document is set in the storage device, it is automatically registered in the storage device, and the derivation relationship can be managed for the related document.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to retrieve an operation identifier (and corresponding document) obtained by further tracing the derivation relationship in the direction of the derivation destination (that is, the descendant) from the retrieved related document.

  According to the invention of claim 5, it is possible to limit the range of tracing the derivation relationship tree in the search for related documents.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of a document management system. This system includes a document management server 10 and client terminals 20-1, 20-2,... (Hereinafter collectively referred to as client terminal 20) connected via a network 30 such as the Internet or a local area network. Composed.

  An example of the client terminal 20 will be described with reference to FIG. The client terminal is a terminal used by a user to operate a document, such as a personal computer, a digital copying machine, a digital multifunction machine (an apparatus having two or more functions such as a printer, a scanner, a copying machine, and a facsimile). Is one example. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the client terminal 20 includes a document operation unit 200, a registration processing unit 210, a related document registration instruction unit 220, a related document deletion instruction unit 222, and a related document search instruction unit 224.

  The document operation unit 200 is means for executing an operation on a document. Examples of operations on a document include document display (“browsing” from the user's point of view), editing, printout, reading of a paper document, copying of a paper document, and the like. Although only one document operation unit 200 is shown in the figure, each of these operations may be handled by a separate operation unit (for example, an editing application, a reading control application, or the like). For example, if the document operation unit 200 is software for creating and editing an electronic document such as a word processor, the document operation unit 200 displays the electronic document according to a user instruction or edits the electronic document. Or When an operation is performed on a document, the document operation unit 200 outputs an ID-added document 300 that represents the result of the operation.

  The ID-added document 300 is an electronic document including attribute information 310 and document content 320 as shown in FIG. The document content 320 is document content data generated as a result of the operation of the document operation unit 200. If the document operation unit 200 is software for creating and editing an electronic document, the document content 320 is a document file generated as a result of editing by the software. If the document operation unit 200 is an apparatus that prints an electronic document, the document content 320 may be content data of the electronic document to be printed, for example. If the document operation unit 200 is a device that scans a paper document or a device that copies a paper document, the document content 320 may be, for example, image data obtained by reading the paper document.

  The attribute information 310 is information for document management, and includes an operation ID 312, a parent operation ID 314, log information 316, and related document information 318.

  The operation ID 312 is unique identification information of the ID-added document 300 itself. The parent operation ID 314 is an operation ID of the parent ID-added document of the ID-added document 300. That is, in this embodiment, a document with an ID and a new document with an ID obtained as a result of an operation performed on the document with the ID are handled as a relationship between a parent and a child. When the second ID-added document is obtained by operating the first ID-added document, the first ID-added document is the parent of the second ID-added document, and the second ID-added document is the first ID-added document. It is a child of an ID-added document. Therefore, for example, when the document with the operation ID “A” is operated by the document operation unit 200 and the operation ID of the new ID-added document obtained as a result is “B”, the latter attribute information 310 is used. The operation ID 312 is “B”, and the parent operation ID 314 is “A”. Such a parent-child relationship is hereinafter referred to as a “(operation ID) derivation relationship”.

  When an operation for newly registering an unregistered electronic document in this system is performed, or when an operation for scanning or copying an unregistered paper document is performed (in this case, an image obtained by scanning the paper document In the ID-added document 300 that is generated), the parent operation ID 314 is empty (that is, the parent does not exist).

  The log information 316 is information of various log items regarding the operation when the ID-added document is generated. The log item includes, for example, the date and time when the operation was performed, the type of the operation, and the ID (user ID) of the user (operator) who instructed the operation, but of course the present invention is not limited to this. The types of operations include, for example, registration (registering a new document in this system), browsing, editing, updating (registering an updated version), attribute updating (operation for updating attribute information of the document), printing, scanning, There is a copy of a paper document. For example, when the user edits the first ID-added document using the document operation unit 200 and gives an instruction to complete editing, the log information 316 of the second ID-added document generated as a result is as follows. The date and time of editing completion, the identification information of the user who instructed the editing, and “edit” as the type of operation are included.

  Here, the type of operation incorporated in the log information 316 is a type according to the classification for the purpose of log recording, and may not be the type of operation executed by the document operation unit 200 itself. For example, a plurality of types of operations executed by the document operation unit 200 may be associated with the same single log recording purpose operation type. For example, even when an electronic document with an ID is edited on the document editing application and “Register as update” is instructed on the operation menu, the paper document with the operation ID is read by the scanner on the operation menu of the reading control application. Even when “Register the read document as an approved version” is instructed, the value of the operation type incorporated in the log information 316 is “update”.

  Further, the related document information 318 is information on the related document set for the target ID-added document 300. For example, the related document information 318 is identification information on the document management server 10 of the related document set for the ID-added document 300. As such identification information, for example, an operation ID given at the time of a new registration operation of the related document to the document management server 10 may be used. Further, when a related document registered in the document management server 10 (that is, to which an operation ID has been assigned) is subjected to browsing, editing, or other operations, an operation ID assigned to the operation is indicated as such. It may be used as proper identification information. The related document is once registered in the document management server 10 and is given an operation ID to become an ID-added document 300. Thereafter, each time an operation is received, the related document becomes a new ID-added document 300 having a new operation ID. For example, when the user designates a certain ID-added document 300 as a related document of another ID-added document 300, the former operation ID 312 is incorporated in the latter related document information 318.

  Further, the related document information 318 can include instruction information for making a document set as a related document in a derivation relationship of past operations corresponding to the target ID-added document 300 not a related document. In this case, in the related document information 318, an operation ID corresponding to a document that is no longer a related document and instruction information indicating that it is no longer a related document are associated and incorporated.

  The document operation unit 200 may encrypt the operated document. This encryption can be decrypted by the document operation unit 200 compliant with the present system. In this case, the document content 320 of the ID-added document 300 output from the document operation unit 200 is encrypted, and can be decrypted only by the document operation unit 200 conforming to the present system. Therefore, since the document operation unit 200 is used when the ID-added document 300 is operated, the document operation unit 200 detects the operation, and the content of the operation is notified from the document operation unit 200 to the document management server 10. The Note that encryption may be applied not only to the document content 320 but also to attribute information 310 (or a part thereof) described later.

  In addition, when the performed operation does not change the document content, the document content 320 in the ID-added document 300 generated according to the operation may be empty.

  Returning to the description of FIG. 2, the document operation unit 200 includes an ID assignment unit 202 and an attribute incorporation unit 204 in order to create the ID-added document 300 as described above as an operation result. The ID assigning unit 202 is a unit that assigns a unique operation ID to the operation result ID-added document 300. The operation ID needs to be identification information unique at least in the present system. For example, a hash value of the ID-added document 300 (excluding the operation ID 312) generated as a result of the operation may be obtained, and this hash value may be used as the ID-added document of the document 300. As the hash function, a cryptographic hash function having collision resistance such as SHA-256 (SHA-256 is a cryptographic hash function having a 256-bit hash value defined by NIST in FIPS180-2) is used. For example, an operation ID having a practically sufficient uniqueness can be generated. Of course, the method for generating a unique operation ID in the system at each client terminal 20 is not limited to this. If the operation ID includes identification information unique to the client terminal 20, an operation ID unique in the system can be generated at each client terminal 20.

  The attribute incorporation unit 204 includes a new operation ID 312 assigned by the ID assigning unit 202 to the operation result document, and a parent operation ID 314 that is an operation ID of the parent document that is the source of the operation (in the case of new registration, Attribute information 310 including the parent operation ID is not included) and log information 316 regarding the operation is generated. Here, the attribute incorporation unit 204 holds correspondence information indicating which of the operation types for log recording purposes each operation type executed by the document operation unit 200 corresponds to. By using the information, the value of the operation type incorporated in the log information 316 is obtained. The attribute incorporation unit 204 generates and outputs the post-operation ID-added document 300 by adding the attribute information 310 to the operation result document content.

  When the document operation unit 200 is application software, the ID assignment unit 202 and the attribute incorporation unit 204 may be realized as a so-called plug-in program added to the software.

  The registration processing unit 210 executes processing for registering the ID-added document 300 output from the document operation unit 200 in the document management server 10. In this way, each client terminal 20 registers the ID-added document 300 that is the result of the operation performed by itself, in the document management server 10, so that the document management server 10 grasps the derivation relationship between the ID-added documents 300. Can do.

  The ID-added document 300 output as a result of the operation by the document operation unit 200 may be electronically copied or transmitted to another person by a method such as attaching to an e-mail, like a normal document file. it can. The e-mail transmission software is not compliant with this system in this example, so this transmission operation is not reflected in the ID-added document, and is therefore not recorded in the document management server 10. When a person who has received an ID-added document 300 from another person operates the ID-added document 300 using the document operation unit 200 of his / her client terminal 20, an ID assigned a new operation ID according to the operation. An attached document is generated.

  When the document operation unit 200 prints an electronic document, an operation ID may be generated and the operation ID may be embedded in the print result of the electronic document. The operation ID can be embedded by, for example, a method of superimposing a code image indicating the operation ID on the print image of the electronic document. Further, when the paper has an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tag, an operation ID may be written on the RFID tag. When printing is performed in this way, the document operation unit 200 registers an ID-added document including attribute information such as the operation ID and the operation type “print” in the document management server 10. When an ID-added document is printed, an ID-added document including the operation ID of the ID-added document as a parent operation ID 314 is generated. In the ID-added document corresponding to the print operation, print data such as page description language data indicating a printed image or bitmap image data, or a printed document file may be incorporated as the document content 320.

  When the document operation unit 200 reads a paper document in which an operation ID is embedded, the document operation unit 200 assigns a new operation ID to the read operation and includes an image of the read result as the document content 320. The ID-added document is generated and registered in the document management server 10. The operation ID read from the paper document is set in the parent operation ID 314 of the ID-added document. When copying a paper document in which an operation ID is embedded, the above-described reading and printing processes are executed.

  The related document registration instruction unit 220 receives an instruction to register a related document with respect to the ID-added document 300 (referred to as “target document”). For example, the related document registration instruction unit 220 receives an instruction to register a related document as a part of the attribute information update (“attribute update”) operation of the ID-added document 300. For example, when a cursor is placed on the icon of the ID-added document 300 on the file management screen of the operating system of the client terminal 200 and a menu call operation such as a right click is performed using a pointing device such as a mouse, the related document registration operation is performed. (The user interface for the operation is merely an example). When the user selects a related document registration operation on the menu, the related document registration instruction unit 220 is activated. The related document registration instruction unit 220 generates a related document designation screen. This designation screen is linked with, for example, a file management system of the operating system, displays a directory structure in the file management system, and allows a user to designate a desired document in a desired directory.

  When the document designated by the user on the designation screen is an ID-added document, the related document registration instruction unit 220 extracts the operation ID 312 from the ID-added document, and uses the operation ID 312 as attribute information of the target document. It is incorporated into the related document information 318 in 310 (the incorporation is performed by the attribute incorporation unit 204, and so on).

  On the other hand, if the document specified by the user on the specification screen is not an ID-added document, the related document registration instruction unit 220 may issue a new registration instruction for the document to the document operation unit 200. In this case, the related document registration instruction unit 220 uses the operation ID of the ID-added document 300 returned from the document management server 10 in response to the new registration instruction as the related document information 318 in the attribute information 310 of the target document. Just include it.

  When a plurality of related documents are designated, the operation ID of each related document may be incorporated into the related document information 318 in the attribute information 310 of the target document.

  The related document deletion instructing unit 222 issues an instruction to remove the document set as the related document in the derivation relation of the past operation corresponding to the target ID-added document 300 (“target document”). Accept. For example, when the user selects deletion of a related document from the menu indicating operation items for the target document, the related document deletion instruction unit 222 includes, for example, the operation ID of the target document with respect to the document management server 10. Send a related document search request. In response to this search request, the document management server 10 changes the tree structure formed by the derivation relation group registered in the attribute DB 110 (details will be described later) from the operation ID toward the derivation source (that is, the parent). (Or retroactive limit specified separately (for example, inheritance attribute “no” described later)). Then, the operation IDs of the related documents set for each operation ID passed through the retroactive process are collected, and a list of these operation IDs is returned to the related document deletion instruction unit 222 of the client terminal 20 as a related document list. The related document deletion instructing unit 222 displays the related document list, and the user designates a deletion target from the list. The related document deletion instruction unit 222 associates the specified operation ID of the related document to be deleted with the instruction information indicating that it is not a related document, and incorporates it in the related document information 318 of the target document.

  The related document search instruction unit 224 receives a search instruction for a related document for the target ID-added document 300 from the user. For example, when the user selects retrieval of a related document from the menu indicating operation items for the target document, the related document search instruction unit 224 includes, for example, the operation ID of the target document with respect to the document management server 10. Send a related document search request. The document management server 10 searches the attribute DB 110 in response to the search request to search for a related document corresponding to the target document, and returns the search result to the related document search instruction unit 224. This search process will be described in detail later. The related document search instruction unit 224 presents the related document of the received search result. The user can open a related document as a search result and perform browsing and other operations.

  Next, the document management server 10 will be described. The document management server 10 accumulates ID-added documents 300 sent from a plurality of client terminals 20 in the system, and provides various services to the user based on the accumulated information. As shown in FIG. 4, the document management server 10 includes a document DB (database) 100, an attribute DB 110, a document registration unit 130, and a request processing unit 140.

  The document DB 100 is a database that stores the document content 320 of the ID-added document 300 sent from the client terminal 20. Each document content 320 stored in the document DB 100 may be managed by a unique content ID. As the content ID, for example, a hash value by a cryptographic hash function of the document content may be used, but the content ID is not limited to this. The client terminal 20 may give the content ID, and in this case, the client terminal 20 may incorporate the content ID into the attribute information 310. Further, instead of the content ID, the document content 320 may be stored in the document DB 100 in association with the operation ID of the ID-added document 300 corresponding to the document content.

  The document registration unit 130 registers the document content 320 in the ID-added document received from the client terminal 20 in the document DB 100 and the attribute information 310 in the attribute DB 110, respectively. Among them, the attribute registration unit 132 is in charge of registering attribute information.

  The attribute DB 110 is a database that accumulates attribute information 310 including derivation relationship information in the ID-added document 300. FIG. 5 shows an example of data contents of the attribute DB 110. One line of information in the table shown in FIG. 5 is an attribute information record corresponding to one ID-added document 300. In this example, items of parent operation ID, operation type, operator user ID, related document information, and access right information (ACL_read, ACL_write) are registered in association with the operation ID of each ID-added document 300. . Each of these items is obtained from the attribute information 310 of the ID-added document 300 received from the client terminal 20. The access right information is information representing the access right to the document content 320 of the ID-added document 300. The access right information is an attribute item incorporated in the attribute information 310 when the access right is set when the user operates the document on the client terminal 20. The ACL is an access control list, the attribute ACL_read is a list of IDs of users or user groups to which viewing authority is given to the operation result ID-added document 300, and ACL_write assigns write authority to the ID-added document 300. It is a list of IDs of registered users or user groups. The viewing authority and editing authority are merely examples, and other types of access rights may be set.

  Note that the attribute information items illustrated in FIG. 5 are merely examples. For example, although omitted in FIG. 5, values of other attribute items such as the operation date and time when the operation is performed may be recorded in the attribute DB 110. In addition, a path name indicating the storage location in the document DB 100 that stores the document content 320 in the ID-added document may be registered in the attribute DB 110. If the document DB 100 has a function of searching the document content 320 by the content ID, the content ID may be registered in the attribute information record instead of the document storage path.

  Note that FIG. 5 is merely a representation of the data managed by the attribute DB 110 in terms of content, and does not define a specific representation format or database format. For example, the attribute DB 110 can be constructed as a general relational database, or an XML (eXtensible Markup Language) document describing attribute information excluding the operation ID can be constructed as a database in which the operation ID is registered as a key. it can.

  The related document registration unit 134 in the attribute registration unit 132 registers the related document information 318 in the attribute information 310 of the ID-added document 300 in the attribute DB 110 in association with the operation ID 312 of the ID-added document 300. As described above, the related document information 318 may include the operation ID of the related document to be registered and the operation ID of the related document to be deleted. The related document registration unit 134 registers the information included in the related document information 318 in the related document information column of the record corresponding to the operation ID of the ID-added document in the attribute DB 110.

  The request processing unit 140 provides a service using the attribute DB 110 in response to a service request including an operation ID from the client terminal 20. As a service provided by the request processing unit 140, for example, there is a service for searching for the latest version of a document corresponding to the operation ID in the service request. As another example, a service that provides log information about the founder (root) document corresponding to the operation ID in the service request or the founder can be cited. As another example, there is a service that provides a history of the operation ID, that is, a history of operations that the document has passed from the founder to the operation ID (for example, a list of information indicating who performed what operation when). There is also a service that accepts specification of search conditions for attribute items registered in the attribute DB 110 and provides a list of ID-added documents that satisfy the search conditions. Accompanying this service, the request processing unit 140 may accept selection of an ID-added document desired by the user from the list, and provide the selected ID-added document. The service for searching for the latest version described above can also be regarded as a service for providing a search result for a search condition “the operation date is the latest”. In addition, the service that provides information on the original document described above can be regarded as a service that provides a search result for the condition “document corresponding to the root of the tree structure”. As another example, a display screen having a tree structure representing a derivation relationship of ID-added document groups based on the attribute DB 110 is provided, and selection of a document with ID desired by the user is accepted on the display screen, and the selected ID Some services provide attached documents.

  In addition, the request processing unit 140 includes a related document search unit 142 for providing a related document search service. When the related document search request including the operation ID is received from the client terminal 20, the related document search unit 142 enters the search mode (this is set in the document server 10 or specified in the related document search request). Therefore, the related document is searched with reference to the attribute DB 110, and the search result is returned to the client terminal 20. The search processing and search mode of the related document search unit 142 will be described in detail later.

  The service request is issued based on the ID-added document held in the client terminal 20. For example, when the user opens an ID-added document using the document operation unit 200 of the client terminal 20, the document operation unit 200 provides a service menu using the derivation relationship, and the service desired by the user from the menu is provided. The specification of is accepted. Then, a service request including the operation ID of the document with ID and a code indicating the designated service is transmitted to the request processing unit 140 of the document management server 10. At this time, a user interface screen for designating search conditions for attribute items such as user identification information and operation date / time may be provided, and the search conditions input via this screen may be transmitted to the request processing unit 140 together. . In addition to the operation ID, the code indicating the service, and the search condition, the client terminal 20 transmits other information such as the identification information of the instructing user and the authentication information input by the user to the request processing unit 140. You may do it.

  As another example, it may be considered that the designation of a service by the user is regarded as one “operation” and a new operation ID is given to the “operation”. In this case, an ID-added document including the code of the specified service as the operation type, the operation ID of the original ID-added document used at the time of specification as the parent operation ID is generated, and this ID-added document is used as the service. It may be sent to the document management server 10 as a request. In this case, the request processing unit 140 determines a service to be provided based on the operation type information in the received ID-added document, and the parent operation ID in the ID-added document is used as the starting point of the process of tracing the derivation relationship. That's fine.

  When the request processing unit 140 receives a service request from the client terminal 20, the derivation relationship between the operation ID registered in the attribute DB 110 and the parent operation ID is configured from the operation ID specified in the service request. The tree traverses the tree and uses the information obtained as a result of the scan to execute the service requested by the user. Similarly, if the set or designated search mode is a mode in which the tree of the derivation relationship is retroactive, the related document search unit 142 searches for the related document while going back in the direction of the derivation source.

  Next, an example of related document registration and search processing will be described using specific examples shown in FIGS. In this example, an attribute record group of operations derived from the operation ID “ID1” shown in FIG. 5 and an attribute record group of operations with the operation ID “ID100” shown in FIG. 6 are registered in the attribute DB 110. The operation “ID100” is an operation for newly registering a document in the document management server 10, and the registered document is designated as a related document for the document newly registered by the operation “ID1” (operation “ID2”). ).

  The attribute record group shown in FIG. 5 has a tree structure as shown in FIG. This is a tree structure with operation IDs as nodes and parent-child relationships between operation IDs as edges.

  Hereinafter, the history of operations shown in the examples of FIGS. 5 to 7 will be described in chronological order.

  Operation of ID1: User “userA” newly registers a document (referred to as “document 1” for distinction from other documents) in the document management server 10. At this time, it was set to give viewing authority and editing authority for this document to groupA.

  Operation of ID2: For document 1 registered by user “userB” with operation “ID1”, “document 2” (document registered with operation ID = ID100) already registered in the document management server 10 is related document. (The operation type is “update attribute”). Here, it is assumed that viewing authority for the user group groupB is set in the “document 2” in the operation “ID100”. Here, it is assumed that the members of groupB are included in the members of groupA. In this example, as the access right attribute of the operation “ID2”, the viewing right for groupB is set in accordance with the access right attribute of the operation ID “ID100” of the document 2 designated as the related document. Thus, if the access right attribute of the operation ID corresponding to the attribute update operation is matched with the access right attribute of the related document set corresponding to the operation ID, the ID-added document created according to the attribute update operation The user (or group) who can access the document content (in this example, “Document 1”) also accesses the document content (“Document 2” in this example) of the related document set for the document with the ID. it can.

  Note that the automatic setting of the access right attribute of the operation ID corresponding to the attribute update operation according to the access right attribute of the related document is merely an example. Instead, a user interface screen for setting access rights may be provided to the client terminal 20 and the user who has instructed the attribute update operation may specify the access right attribute of the operation ID corresponding to the attribute update operation.

  In this case, for example, the user interface screen may guide the access right attribute of the operation ID corresponding to the attribute update operation to be narrower than the access right attribute of the related document (for example, when the former is wider than the latter). Does not accept the access rights entered and issues a warning, etc.). In this way, acquisition of the related document by a user who cannot access (for example, browse) the related document is prevented. That is, the user who has received the ID-added document 300 as the result of the attribute update operation tries to acquire the related document by requesting the related document search using the ID-added document 300. When the user does not have the access right to the related document, the user does not necessarily have the access right to the ID-added document 300, and therefore, an operation for issuing a related document search request using the ID-added document 300 is prohibited.

  Operation of ID3: The user “userC” performs an operation (operation type is “attribute acquisition”) for requesting a related document of the ID-added document registered by the operation “ID1”. In this case, the related document search request issued by the related document search instruction unit 224 includes the operation ID “ID1” as a search condition.

  ID4 operation: The user “userD” performs an operation (operation type is “attribute acquisition”) for requesting a related document of an ID-added document registered by the operation “ID2”. In this case, the related document search request issued by the related document search instruction unit 224 includes the operation ID “ID2” as a search condition.

  With the operations “ID3” and “ID4”, a related document search request is issued from the client terminal 20 operated by the user. FIG. 8 shows an example of a search processing procedure performed by the related document search unit 142 of the document management server 10 when this request is received.

  In this procedure, first, the operation ID included in the related document search request is set as the attention ID (S1), and the related document information column of the attribute record of the attention ID in the attribute DB 110 is checked (S2). It is determined whether or not the operation ID of the related document is included in the column (as a registration target instead of a deletion target) (S3). If included, the access right of the attribute record corresponding to the operation ID of the related document is included. The attribute is examined (S4). In step S4, based on the access right attribute, it is determined whether or not the user requesting the related document search request can access (view in this case) the related document. If it is accessible, the related document (document with ID) is transmitted to the requesting client terminal 20 (S5), and the process ends. When a plurality of related documents are registered in the related document information of the attention ID, it is only necessary to transmit those that can be accessed by the request source.

  On the other hand, when the related document is not set for the attention ID (determination result in S3 is negative (No)), or the request source is not accessible even if it is set (determination result in S4 is In the case of (No), it is checked whether or not there is a parent operation ID in the attribute record of the attention ID (S6). If there is a parent operation ID, the parent operation ID is set as a new attention ID (S7), and the processes in and after step S2 are repeated. That is, in steps S6 and S7, the derivation relationship tree is traced back one generation in the direction of the parent, that is, the derivation source. If the determination result in step S6 is negative, the requesting user can access the operation ID itself in the related document search request and the operation IDs of the ancestors up to the root (root). This means that no related document is set. In this case, the related document search unit 142 replies to the client terminal 20 that there is no related document (S8).

  According to the procedure exemplified above, in the attribute acquisition operation of the operation “ID3”, the search is performed with the operation ID “ID1” as the search condition as a starting point, and thus no related document is found. On the other hand, in the attribute acquisition operation of the operation “ID4”, the search is performed with the operation ID “ID2” as a search condition as a starting point, and therefore corresponds to the operation ID “ID100” registered in the related document information column of the operation ID “ID2”. Document 2 is retrieved as a related document.

  In the procedure of this example, even if a user who is included in groupA but not included in groupB performs the same operation as ID4, the user does not have the authority to view the document corresponding to ID2. It is not possible to acquire “Document 2”.

  The document registered with operation "ID1" and the document corresponding to operation "ID2" have the same document content (since the document content was not edited between ID1 and ID2), and in that sense the same version It can be said that this document. Accordingly, the ID-added document registered by the operation “ID1” is distributed to the user who does not have the viewing authority for “Document 2”, and the ID registered by the operation “ID2” for the user who has the viewing authority for “Document 2”. If the attached document is distributed (any user has the authority to view document 1), the user can obtain a related document that the user does not have the authority to browse while distributing the document with the same content to the user. Can avoid inconvenience.

  Next, another specific example will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 9 shows a history of operations as follows.

  Operation of ID1: userA newly registers document 1 in the document management server 10. The viewing authority and the editing authority for this document 1 are given to groupA. Further, userA designates “document 2” as the related document of the document 1 in this new registration operation. Here, it is assumed that “Document 2” set as the related document is not registered in the document management server 10. In this case, the related document registration instruction unit 220 performs an operation of newly registering “document 2” in the document server 10, and sets “ID100” that is an operation ID representing the operation as a related document information column of the operation ID “ID1”. Set to. In this example, the access right attribute of “Document 2” (ID100) is automatically inherited from “Document 1” (ID1). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the access right attribute may be set by other methods such as a user who performs a new registration operation.

  Operation of ID2: UserB edits and registers the document registered with operation "ID1", and at the same time performs an operation to set "Document 3" (document newly registered with operation ID = ID200) as a related document . In this example, since the setting related to the access right is not particularly performed, the same setting as the operation “ID1” is taken over. (The settings related to access rights are the same for the following operations.)

  Operation of ID3: UserC performs an operation of requesting a related document of the document registered by the operation “ID1”.

  Operation of ID4: UserD performs an attribute update operation for setting “document 4” (a document newly registered with operation ID = ID300) as a related document to a document obtained as a result of the operation “ID2”.

  Operation of ID5: UserE performs an operation of requesting a related document of the document obtained as a result of the operation “ID3”.

  Operation of ID6: UserF performs an operation of requesting a related document of the document obtained as a result of the operation “ID4”.

  The attribute record group shown in FIG. 9 has a tree structure as shown in FIG. FIG. 10 shows an attribute record registered in the attribute DB 110 by a new registration operation and a browsing operation of the document 2.

  In this example, the related document search unit 142 has, for example, the following three search modes.

  Search mode 1: The related document registered in the related document information of the attribute record of the operation ID itself specified in the related document search request is returned. When checking access rights, only relevant documents for which the requester has access rights are returned.

  Retrieval mode 2: A related document (a plurality of related documents corresponding to the same operation ID is first found in the process of tracing the derivation relationship tree in the direction of the derivation source, starting from the operation ID specified in the related document search request. Return all of them if set). When checking the access right, the "relevant document for which the request source has the access right" first found in the above process is returned. This mode corresponds to the procedure illustrated in FIG.

  Retrieval mode 3: Starting from the operation ID specified in the related document search request, the derivation relation tree is traced back to the root in the direction of the derivation source, and each operation ID found from the origin to the root (including the origin and root) ) Return all related documents set for.

  In the related document search instruction unit 224 of the client terminal 20, the user designates one of the three search modes and makes a related document search request. FIG. 12 shows related documents that can be acquired as a result of selection in the search mode 1-3 in each of the operations “ID3”, “ID5”, and “ID6”.

  Next, still another specific example will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 13 shows the following operation history. In this example, access right control is not performed. However, it is also possible to combine access right control with the technique of this example.

  Operation of ID1: userA newly registers document 1 in the document management server 10. In this new registration operation, userA designates “document 2” (the document newly registered with operation ID = ID100) as the related document of the document 1.

  Operation of ID2: UserB edits and registers the document registered with operation "ID1", and at the same time performs an operation to set "Document 3" (document newly registered with operation ID = ID200) as a related document . In this example, at the time of setting a related document, designation of an inheritance attribute is received from a user.

  Whether the inheritance attribute inherits the related document set for the ancestor operation ID of the operation ID (that is, the operation ID of the ID-added document generated by the related document setting operation) in the tree formed by the derived relationship group. This attribute indicates whether or not. If the value of this attribute is “yes (with inheritance)”, the related document set for the ancestor is inherited, and if it is “no (no inheritance)”, it is not inherited. In the operation “ID2”, the inheritance attribute is set to “yes”.

  Operation of ID3: UserC performs an operation of requesting a related document of an ID-added document as a result of the update operation “ID2”.

  ID4 operation: userD edits the ID-added document obtained as a result of the operation “ID2” and performs update registration, and sets “document 4” (the document newly registered with operation ID = ID300) as the related document. .

  Operation of ID5: UserE performs an operation of requesting a related document of an ID-added document obtained as a result of the operation “ID4”.

  The attribute record group shown in FIG. 13 has a tree structure as shown in FIG.

  Further, it is assumed that the document 3 newly registered by userA with the operation “ID200” is edited and updated by userE with the operation “ID201” (see FIG. 15).

  In this example, for example, when searching for a related document in the search mode 2 or 3 described above, the related document search unit 142 retroactively searches the derivation relation tree in the direction of the derivation starting from the operation ID in the related document search request. When the operation ID reaches the operation ID whose inheritance attribute is set to “no”, the retroactiveness is stopped with the operation ID. When reaching the operation ID whose inheritance attribute is set to “yes”, the retroactivity is further continued.

  In this example, consider a case where a search is performed in search mode 3, for example. In this case, in the attribute acquisition operation “ID3”, a search request is made using a document with an ID of the operation ID “ID2”, and the inheritance attribute of the operation ID “ID2” is “yes”, so the operation ID “ID200” is set. Not only the corresponding related document but also the related document corresponding to the operation ID “ID100” is searched. In the operation “ID5”, a search request is made using an ID-added document with the operation ID “ID4”. In this case, the related document corresponding to the operation ID “ID300” set by the operation corresponding to the operation ID “ID4” is searched, but since the inheritance attribute of the operation ID “ID4” is “no”, the derivation relationship Retroactively stops at “ID4”. Therefore, the related document that can be acquired is only the related document corresponding to the operation ID “ID300”.

  An option for searching for the latest version of the related document may be specified in the related document search request. When the user designates the related document search request, the related document search unit 142 operates the found related document every time the related document set in the related document information of the operation ID is found in the search process. The operation ID of the descendant derived from the ID may be searched from the attribute DB 110, and the latest one of the operation ID of the related document and the operation ID of the descendant may be used as the search result. For example, the latest one may be determined from the value of the operation date attribute. Further, the operation ID of the youngest generation descendant may be determined as the latest one. In this case, the related documents that can be acquired by the operation “ID3” are “ID201” (see FIG. 15) and “ID100”.

  Note that the related document search option is not limited to the above-described option for obtaining the latest version. As another example, there may be various examples such as an option for obtaining all documents derived from related documents and an option for obtaining all documents derived from the related documents as a result of the update operation.

  Next, still another specific example will be described with reference to FIGS. 16 and 17 show the following operation history. In this example, access right control is not performed. However, it is also possible to combine access right control with the technique of this example.

(1) UserA sets the questionnaire form “Document 2” (newly registered with ID100) as “Related Document” to “Document1” and newly registers it (operation of ID1).

(2) UserA distributes “Document 2” (ID100 document) as an e-mail attachment. Since this operation does not use the function of the ID-added document (and the document operation unit 200 that handles this), the history information (attribute information record) of the child operation is not recorded in the document management server 10.

(3) The mail recipient (userB, userC, userD) writes a response on the questionnaire form “Document 2” and performs a “response” operation (operation). The completed questionnaire forms are registered in the document management server 10 in association with ID101 to ID103.

(4) UserA uses an ID-added document with ID1 to search for and retrieve a descendant of the related document ID100 whose operation type is “response” (operation with ID2). In this example, a search condition that “the operation type is“ response ”” is imposed on the related document search request. In response to this search request, the documents with ID 101 to ID 103 are searched as related documents.

(5) UserA aggregates the questionnaire results based on the related documents collected in (4) (this aggregation is manual), creates a document “Document 3” as the aggregation result, and registers it in the document management server 10 (ID200 Operation of). userA sets “Document 3” (document with ID 200) as the related document of the ID-added document with ID 1, and simultaneously deletes “Document 2” (document with ID 100) from the related document of “Document 1”. (ID3 operation). In this example, after the counting result is registered as a related document, “document 2” cannot be accessed via “document 1”.

  In the example of FIG. 16, in the related document information column, the operation ID that is the target of the deletion instruction is indicated with a “−” (minus) sign. The unsigned operation ID in the related document information column indicates the registered related document.

  When the related document search is performed using the descendant ID-added document derived from the operation “ID3”, the ID200 document is acquired, but the deleted ID100 and the derived ID101 to ID103 documents are not acquired.

  The document management server 10 and the client terminal 20 exemplified above are realized, for example, by causing a general-purpose computer to execute a program representing the processing of each functional module described above. Here, for example, as shown in FIG. 18, the computer includes, as hardware, a microprocessor such as a CPU 400, a memory (primary storage) such as a random access memory (RAM) 402 and a read only memory (ROM) 404, an HDD ( HDD controller 408 that controls hard disk drive) 406, various I / O (input / output) interfaces 410, network interface 412 that performs control for connection to a network such as a local area network, and the like via bus 414, for example. Connected to each other. In addition, the bus 414 has various standards such as a disk drive 416 for reading from and / or writing to a portable disk recording medium such as a CD and a DVD and a flash memory via the I / O interface 410, for example. A memory reader / writer 418 for reading from and / or writing to the nonvolatile recording medium may be connected. A program in which the processing contents of each functional module exemplified above are described is stored in a fixed storage device such as a hard disk drive via a recording medium such as a CD or DVD, or via a communication means such as a network, and stored in a computer. Installed. The program stored in the fixed storage device is read into the RAM 402 and executed by a microprocessor such as the CPU 400, whereby the functional module group exemplified above is realized. Some or all of these functional module groups are configured as hardware circuits such as dedicated LSI (Large Scale Integration), ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), or FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). May be.

It is a figure which shows the example of schematic structure of a document management system. It is a block diagram which shows the example of an internal structure of a client terminal. It is a figure which shows typically the example of the data structure of a document with ID. It is a block diagram which shows the example of an internal structure of a document management server. It is a figure which shows a part of example of the data content of derivation relation DB in one example. It is a figure which shows another part of the example of the data content of derivation relation DB. FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically illustrating a tree structure formed by a management ID group in the data content illustrated in FIG. 5. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process sequence of a related document search part. It is a figure which shows a part of example of the data content of derivation relation DB in a 2nd example. It is a figure which shows another part of the example of the data content of derivation relation DB in a 2nd example. FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically representing a tree structure formed by a management ID group in the data content illustrated in FIG. 9. It is a figure which shows the related document searched in each operation "ID3", "ID5", and "ID6" by three search modes in a 2nd example. It is a figure which shows a part of example of the data content of derivation relation DB in a 3rd example. FIG. 14 is a diagram schematically illustrating a tree structure formed by a management ID group in the data content illustrated in FIG. 13. It is a figure which shows another part of the example of the data content of derivation relation DB in a 3rd example. It is a figure which shows a part of example of the data content of derivation relation DB in a 4th example. It is a figure which shows another part of the example of the data content of derivation relation DB in a 4th example. It is a figure which shows an example of the hardware constitutions of a computer.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Document management server, 20 Client terminal, 30 Network, 100 Document DB, 110 Attribute DB, 130 Document registration part, 132 Attribute registration part, 134 Related document registration part, 140 Request processing part, 142 Related document search part, 200 Document operation , 202 ID allocation unit, 204 attribute incorporation unit, 210 registration processing unit, 220 related document registration instruction unit, 222 related document deletion instruction unit, 224 related document search instruction unit, 300 document, 310 attribute information, 320 document content.

Claims (7)

A first registration unit that registers a unique operation identifier assigned to the new registration operation in the storage device in association with the document when a new document registration operation is performed;
When an operation is performed on the first document corresponding to the first operation identifier registered in the storage device, the unique second operation identifier assigned to the operation is the first document. When a second document different from the first document is generated as a result of the operation, a derivation relationship indicating that the operation identifier is derived from the operation identifier is registered in the storage device. Second registration means for registering in the storage device in association with the second document;
When the operation for the first document corresponding to the first operation identifier is a related document setting operation for the first document, the first document registered in the storage device in association with the related document. A related document registration unit that registers the operation identifier of 3 in the storage device as a related document attribute of the second operation identifier given to the setting operation;
A document management apparatus comprising: In response to a related document search request including the fourth operation identifier, the related document attribute of the fourth operation identifier or the derivation relation group starting from the fourth operation identifier as a starting point is reached. Related document search means for searching for the sixth operation identifier set in the related document attribute of the fifth operation identifier;
Providing means for providing an operation identifier searched by the related document search means or a document registered in association with the operation identifier to a request source of the related document search request;
The document management apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:   The related document registration unit performs a new registration operation of the related document when the related document is not registered in the storage device, and the third registration unit assigned by the first registration unit in response to the new registration operation. The document management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the operation identifier is registered in the storage device as a related document attribute of the second operation identifier assigned to the setting operation.   The related document search means further searches for a seventh operation identifier that reaches the derivation relation group stored in the storage device by tracing from the sixth operation identifier to a derivation destination direction. The document management apparatus according to claim 2. The related document registration unit accepts designation of an inheritance attribute indicating presence / absence of inheritance in association with the setting operation of the related document, and the second operation identifier assigned to the setting operation with the received inheritance attribute Registered in the storage device as inherited attributes of
The related document search means, in response to a related document search request including the fourth operation identifier, in the process of tracing the derivation relation group starting from the fourth operation identifier in the direction of the derivation source, The document management apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the document management apparatus traces back to an operation identifier that is not inherited first, and does not go back beyond the operation identifier. Computer
First registration means for registering a unique operation identifier assigned to the new registration operation in the storage device in association with the document when a new registration operation of the document is performed;
When an operation is performed on the first document corresponding to the first operation identifier registered in the storage device, the unique second operation identifier assigned to the operation is the first document. When a second document different from the first document is generated as a result of the operation, a derivation relationship indicating that the operation identifier is derived from the operation identifier is registered in the storage device. Second registration means for registering in the storage device in association with the second document;
When the operation for the first document corresponding to the first operation identifier is a related document setting operation for the first document, the first document registered in the storage device in association with the related document. A related document registration means for registering the operation identifier of 3 in the storage device as a related document attribute of the second operation identifier given to the setting operation;
Program to function as. Including an information processing device and a document management device,
The information processing apparatus includes:
A first transmission unit configured to transmit an operation identifier assigned to the new registration operation to the document management apparatus in association with the document when a new registration operation is performed on the document;
When an operation is performed on the first document associated with the first operation identifier, the second operation identifier assigned to the operation is derived from the first operation identifier. When the second document different from the first document is generated as a result of the operation, the second operation identifier is transmitted to the second document. Second transmission means for transmitting to the document management apparatus in association with
When the operation for the first document corresponding to the first operation identifier is a setting operation of a related document for the first document, a third operation identifier associated with the related document is Related document attribute transmission means for transmitting to the document management apparatus as a related document attribute of the second operation identifier assigned to the setting operation;
With
The document management apparatus includes:
First registration means for registering the operation identifier in the storage device in association with the document when the operation identifier assigned to the document new registration operation is received from the information processing apparatus in association with the document. When,
When the information on the derivation relationship indicating that the second operation identifier is derived from the first operation identifier is received from the information processing device, the information on the derivation relationship is registered in the storage device, and the second A second registration unit that registers the second operation identifier in the storage device in association with the second document when the operation identifier is received in association with the second document;
When the operation for the first document corresponding to the first operation identifier is a related document setting operation for the first document, the first information given to the setting operation from the information processing apparatus. When the third operation identifier associated with the related document is received as the related document attribute of the second operation identifier, the third operation identifier is stored in the storage device as the related document attribute of the second operation identifier. Related document registration means to be registered;
Comprising
A document management system characterized by that.

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