JPH01162980A - Document file device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To effectively retrieve necessary documents by securing such a constitution where an operator selects a header related to a desired document out of those headers displayed in a list and then selects a conceivable name of the desired document based on the document names and the document guides displayed in a list. CONSTITUTION:When the retrieval of a document is instructed by an operator, the character strings of plural headers are displayed on a display device 2 in the form of a list by reference to a header file memory 9. Then the character strings of the stored documents corresponding to the headers selected by the operator in a list display mode are displayed in a list on the device 2 together with the information on the document guides. The picture information on the corresponding stored document is taken out of the memory 9 based on the retrieving information on the document name selected by the operator in a list display mode and then displayed on the device 2. Thus the effective retrieval of documents is carried out without performing the troublesome registration of key words for each document nor increasing the memory space for retrieval.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a document file device that stores documents as image information in a mass storage device such as an optical disk storage device or a magnetic disk storage device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Conventionally, most document file devices of this type have a system in which a search keyword is registered when a document is registered, the keyword is input when searching for a document, and the target document is searched based on this keyword. It was configured to do so.

In addition, when registering a document, images of specific areas of each page or some pages of the document are cut out as heading images, and a heading page consisting of one or more heading images is created and stored for each document. A similar device is also known in which, when searching for a required page, the target document is specified, its index page is displayed, and the user searches for the target page using the index image as a guide. Kaisho 62-107
No. 72).

In addition, "
A similar device is also known (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-36867) in which a bookmark name is registered, and by specifying the bookmark name, the page of the corresponding document is searched and displayed.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, each of the above configurations has the following problems.

First, in a configuration that searches documents using keywords,
Depending on how keywords are added, it may be difficult to find the desired document, or in the worst case, it may become impossible to search. Since it is still extremely difficult to assign unique keywords to each of a large number of documents, it is necessary to increase the number of keyword items in order to improve search performance. However, if the number of keyword items increases, the search performance will greatly change depending on what kind of keyword items are set, so it is recommended that someone who is familiar with the content of the document to be registered carefully consider the keyword items and keywords. Must be set. Moreover, inputting keywords takes time. From such a thing,
Document registration work is troublesome and time-consuming, and the work must be performed by a person who is familiar with the document contents.

Next, a configuration that uses a heading image cut out from a document is effective for searching for a necessary document and then searching for a necessary page. However, the content of the heading page for page search is a collection of partial images of pages of a specific document, and it is fixed for each individual document, so you can use one heading page to search for images from many documents. It would be impossible to search for a specific document, and furthermore, it would be impossible to prepare an arbitrary heading page that differs from the actual content of the document. Therefore, it is necessary to separately search for a necessary document using keywords, and it is not possible to expect a particular increase in the efficiency of finding a necessary document from a large number of documents. Furthermore, since the headline page contains image information, its storage space becomes large.

Finally, in a configuration that uses bookmark names, there is no list of documents corresponding to the bookmark name, and if one bookmark name is associated with pages of many documents, the pages of those documents are displayed in order. This is not efficient as you have to check the contents one by one and search for the desired document page. In other words, multiple types of "bookmarks" are manually inserted into a stack of paper documents stored in a document cabinet, and whenever a page of a certain document is searched, the pages with "bookmarks" inserted are manually examined in order. to search for the desired document page,
Similar work is required.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and enables easy and efficient document searching without the need for troublesome keyword registration for each document and without increasing the search storage space. The purpose is to provide a document file device with

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention uses character strings of a plurality of headings arbitrarily designated by the operator, and one or more character strings arbitrarily associated with each heading by the operator. Creates a heading file consisting of the character string of the document name of the stored document, search information, and information on the document bookmark attached to the stored document arbitrarily specified by the operator in the stored document associated with the heading. means for storing the same; and a means for storing the same; when an operator instructs document retrieval, a heading file stored in the storage means is referred to, a list of character strings of a plurality of headings is displayed on a display device; The character strings of the document names of the stored documents associated with the headings selected by the operator during list display are displayed in a list together with document bookmark information on the display device, and the document names selected by the operator during list display are displayed. and a means for retrieving the image information of the corresponding stored document from the storage device based on the search information and displaying it on the display device.

Operation Since the present invention has the above-described configuration, the operator selects a heading that is considered to be related to the required document from the displayed headings, and then uses the displayed document name and document bookmark as clues. By selecting the name of a document that is considered to be the desired document, the desired document can be searched and displayed. Headings are not restricted to the contents of individual documents, but can be specified arbitrarily for ease of search, and any number of arbitrary documents can be associated with one heading. can. Additionally, there is a list of headings and documents associated with each heading. Therefore, it is possible to efficiently search for a necessary document from among a large number of stored documents. Additionally, if a certain degree of rules are established regarding the relationship between headings and document content, documents can be easily searched even by those who have not specified the correspondence between headings and document contents, and the document can be searched without being searchable. Nothing happens.

In addition, it is easy to register keywords, such as setting headings and associating them with documents. Furthermore, since the index file is code data, it does not require a large storage space to store it.

EXAMPLE An example of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a document file device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in this figure, the document file device functionally includes a document storage device 1, a display device 2,
Printing device 3, information/instruction manual device 4, document input device 5,
Document registration device 6, document search device 7, index file creation device 8, index file storage device 9 threat and control device 1
It consists of 0.

The document input device 5 is for inputting image information of documents (including drawings), and the information/instruction input device 4 is for the operator to input control instructions, characters, and the like. The display device 2 is used to display the image of the document, the contents of the index file, etc. on the screen, and the printing device 3 is used to print the document.

The document registration device 6 cooperates with the control device 10 to store image information of an input document in the document storage device 1, and performs document registration by storing document management information.

The heading file creation device 8 cooperates with the control device 10,
Create a heading file and store the heading file storage device 9
It is for storing in. The document retrieval device 7 reads the contents of the index file at the time of document retrieval, displays the contents as a list on the display device 2 under the control of the control device 10, and displays the image information of the finally selected document in the document storage device 1. It is used to read out and display the data. The control device IO controls input from the information/instruction input device 4 and the document input device 5, controls output to the display device 2 and the printing device 3, and controls the header file creation device 8, document search device 7, and document registration device 6. It is used to control, etc. The control device 10 also includes an encoding/decoding means 11 for encoding and decoding image information of a document. It is transferred to the device 6, and in the case of document retrieval, the image information of the document read from the document storage device 1 is decoded and then output to the display device 2 or the printing device 3.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the structure of the heading file.

As shown in the figure, the heading file 15 includes character strings 16 of an arbitrary number of headings below a certain number, character strings of document names of an arbitrary number of accumulated documents associated with each heading]7, and search information 18 for the headings. , information on document bookmarks 19 (character strings, etc.), search information for each vane of these documents, and page bookmark information (character strings, etc.) 21. A plurality of such index files 15 are created as necessary and stored in the index file storage device 9.

The operation of the document file device configured as described above will be explained below.

First, the operation when registering a document will be explained. When a document registration instruction is input from the information/instruction input device 4, the control device 10 enters the document registration operation mode. When a document is set in the document input device 5 and activated, the control device 10
controls the document input device 5 and causes the image information of the document to be input page by page.

The control device 10 encodes the image information of the input document using the encoding/decoding means 11, transfers it to the document registration device 6, and stores it in the document storage device 1. When the last page of the document is stored, the control device 10 waits for input of a document name. When the operator inputs a document name through the information/instruction input device 4, the control device 10 passes the character string of this document name to the document registration device 6 and instructs document registration. The document registration device 6 is
Management information consisting of this document name, document number, storage start address, storage end address, number of pages, storage address of each page, etc., is created, and the document storage device 1
storage area for management. As a result, one document is registered.

Next, the control device 10 instructs the document search device 7 to read the contents of the first index file from the index file storage device 9. The control device 10 causes the display device 2 to display the character strings of the headings in the read heading file in a list format as shown in the second row of FIG. 2, and waits for an input from the operator.

When the operator finds a desired heading among the displayed headings, the operator inputs an instruction to select the heading using the information/instruction input device 4.

If the desired heading is not found and a new heading is required, the operator inputs the character string of the heading and inputs heading setting instructions. Note that it is also possible to associate a registered document with a plurality of headings, and in this case, the selection or input of the plurality of headings may be performed sequentially.

The control device 10 displays the document name character string and document bookmark information associated with the heading selected by the operator in the heading file in a list format as shown in the third column of FIG. Display on device 2.

Using the information/instruction input device 4, the operator specifies where the registered document name is to be placed on the screen.

That is, the display order of document names in the list display can be arbitrarily specified. If the user wishes to attach a document bookmark to a registered document, the user manually enters document bookmark information (for example, operator, department, document field code, etc.) and inputs document bookmark setting instructions. Further, if the operator wants to attach a page bookmark to a specific page of the registered document, the operator inputs a page bookmark setting instruction and inputs the desired page number.

When such manual operation is completed, the operator inputs a termination instruction. When this instruction is input, the control device 10 transfers the operator's input information and the management information of the registered document created by the document registration device 6 to the heading file creation device 8, and instructs the creation of a heading file. The heading file creation device 8 adds a new document name character string, its search information (such as document number), and page search information (such as document number) to the current heading file according to the input information and management information.
(page number, etc.), document bookmark information, page bookmark information, addition of newly set heading character strings, etc., and changing the arrangement order of document names. Rewrite the heading file within.

Note that when the operator instructs the selection of another index file, the control device 10 reads the next index file and performs similar display and input reception.

Next, the operation in case of document search will be explained. When an operator inputs a document search instruction using the information/instruction input device 4, the control device 10 enters a document search operation mode. First, the control device 10 instructs the document search device 7 to read the contents of the first index file from the index file storage device 9, and display a list of the character strings of the index on the display device 2 in the same way as when registering the document. and wait for input from the operator.

If the desired heading is not found among the displayed headings, the operator instructs the display of another heading file.

Upon receiving this instruction, the control device 10 causes the document search device 7 to read the next index file and causes the display device 2 to display a list of the indexes.

When the operator finds a desired heading among the displayed headings, he/she instructs the information/instruction input device 4 to select the heading. When this instruction is input manually, the control device 10 outputs the character string of the document name and document bookmark information associated with the selected heading in the heading file to the display device 2, and displays them at a glance.

The operator selects a document name that is considered to be the target document using the displayed document names, 1, and document bookmarks as clues, and inputs an instruction for the selection into the information/instruction input device 4. Also, if you want to use page bookmarks, enter the instructions. If there is no instruction to use a page bookmark, the control device 10 sends the document search information (document number, etc.) with the selected document name and the search information (page number, etc.) of the first page to the document search device 7. In addition, when the use of a page bookmark is instructed, the search information of the selected document and the search information of the page corresponding to the page bookmark are sent to the document search device 7, and a search is instructed. The document search device 7 refers to the management information of registered documents and obtains the storage address of the page of the document corresponding to the search information input from the control device 10, thereby storing the image information of the page in the document memory. It is read from the device 1 and transferred to the control device 10.

The control device 10 encodes and decodes this image information through the encoding and decoding means 11.
is decoded and output to the display device 2 for display.

When the operator wants to display the contents of another page, he inputs an instruction to change the page. When this instruction is input, the control device 10 sends the search information of the corresponding page to the document search device 7 and instructs the document search device 7 to search. The image information of the corresponding page is read out by the document search device 7, decoded, and displayed.

Further, if the operator needs to print the currently displayed page or any page of the retrieved document, he/she instructs it from the information/instruction input device 4. According to this instruction, the control device 10
causes the document retrieval device 7 to read the image information of the page of the required document, decodes it, and outputs it to the printing device 3.

In addition, as in the case of document registration, you can display the contents of the heading file and change the heading file (add, delete, change headings, change their arrangement order, change the correspondence between document name and heading, document bookmark). You can also delete or add bookmarks, page bookmarks, etc.).

Although the functional configuration and operation of a document file device according to an embodiment of the present invention have been described above, it is generally better to implement such a document file device using software technology because of costs, expansion of functions, changes, etc. practical in terms of

FIG. 3 shows an example of a software configuration when realizing a document file device using such software technology. In this figure, 5 is a central processing unit, 26 is a main memory for storing programs and data for operating the central processing unit 5, 27 is an optical disk device, and 4 is an optical disk control device that controls it. 29 is a hard disk device, and numeral 29 is a disk control device for controlling the hard disk device. Optical disk device n is used as a storage device 1 for documents, and node disk device 4 is used as a storage device 9 for index files. Further, the disk drive 4 is also used to store control programs and other programs for various processing. These programs are
The data is loaded from the hard disk drive into the main memory 26 when the document file device is started up or when necessary.

31 is a CRT display device used as the display device 2, 32 is a keyboard device, and 33 is a mouse (pointing device). The keyboard device 32 and mouse 33 are used as the information/instruction input device 4. 3
Reference numeral 4 denotes a display/input control circuit for controlling the display of the CRT display device 31 and controlling inputs from the keyboard device 32 and mouse 3:3.

An image scanner 35 reads a document using a line image sensor, and is used as the document input device 5. 36 is a laser beam printer, which is used as the printing device 3. 37 is an input control circuit that controls the input of the image scanner 35 and the output of the laser beam printer 36. A is an image memory for storing image information of a document, and 39 is an encoding/decoding circuit as encoding/decoding means [1].・10 is the system bus, and the old one is the image bus.

The control device 10, the index file creation device 8, the document registration device 6, and the document search device 7 control the central processing unit 5, main memory 26, optical disk control device group, disk control device addition, display/input control circuit, etc. under program control. , the input/output control circuit 37, the image memo I733, and the encoding/decoding circuit 39.

An example of the above-described document registration and document search operations in such a hardware configuration will be described below.

First, an example of the operation in the case of document registration will be described with reference to the schematic flowchart shown in FIG.

When a document registration instruction is input by operating the keyboard device 32 or mouse 33, a program for document registration starts running.

When the start switch of the image scanner is pressed and the signal is input to the central processing unit 5, in step 51 the central processing unit 25 instructs the image scanner Uto to read one page.

One page of the document is read by the image scanner 35, and the image information is transferred to the image memory 38 via the image bus 41.

When the image scanner error page 1 end signal is issued, in step 52, the central processing unit 5 instructs the encoding/decoding circuit 39 to encode, and also specifies a storage address in the optical disk controller path and writes the data. instruct. In addition,
Management information of registered documents is read from the optical disk device r and stored on the main memory 26. Image Memo'J 3
The image information of one page on 8 is encoded (compressed) by the encoding/decoding circuit 39 and transferred to the optical disk controller path, and is transferred to a designated sector of the optical disk in the optical disk device section under the control of the optical disk controller path. recorded.

When the input and storage of image information for one page is completed, in step 53, the central processing unit 25 checks whether a document end signal is issued from the image scanner 35, and if so, the input of one document is completed. It is determined that the

Note that the number of pages of each document may be set in advance, and when the number of input pages reaches the set number of pages, it may be determined that the input of the document is completed.

If there are nine pages remaining, input and storage of the next page is executed from step 51, but if input and storage of one document has been completed, input of a document name is waited for in step 54.

When a document name is input from the keyboard device 32, in step 55, the central processing unit 5 creates management information for the document in the main memory 26, transfers it to the optical disk control device, and instructs writing. . Under the control of the optical disk control device path, this management information is recorded in the management area on the optical disk in the optical disk device 27, and document registration is performed.

In step 56, the central processing unit 25 instructs the disk controller to read the first index file. Under the control of the disk controller, the contents of the first index file are read from the hard disk drive 4 and stored in the main memory 26.

In step 57, the central processing unit 25 stores the main memory 2
Data for displaying a list of character strings of headings is created from the heading file above 6 and transferred to the display/input/output control circuit, thereby causing the list of headings to be displayed on the CRT display device 31.

In step 58, the central processing unit 25 waits for an input from the operator, and when input is received, the content of the input is examined in step 59.

If an instruction for another heading is input, the central processing unit 25 returns to the process from step 56 (9), reads the next heading file, and displays a list of the headings.

If a heading is selected, in step 60 the central processing unit 5 creates data for displaying a list of document names and document bookmarks associated with the selected heading;
It is displayed on the CRT display device 31.

In the next step 61, the central processing unit 25 waits for input regarding headings, document margins 9, page margins, etc. When input, in step 62, the central processing unit 5 updates the index file on the main memory 26 according to the input content, transfers the contents of the updated index file to the disk controller, and updates the index file on the hard disk drive 3. Update the file.

Next, an example of the operation in the case of document retrieval will be described with reference to the schematic flowchart shown in FIG.

When a document search instruction is input by operating the keyboard device 32 or mouse 33, a document search program starts running.

In step 71, the central processing unit 25 stores the first heading file in the main memory 2 via the optical disk controller path.
6 to read out.

In the next step 72, the central processing unit 25 creates data for displaying a list of headings of the heading file and displays it on the CRT display device 31, and in step 7
At 3, it will wait for input.

When an input is made using the keyboard device 32 or the mouse 33, the central processing unit 5 analyzes the input content in step 74. In the case of a request for another index file, the central processing unit 5 returns to the process from step 71, reads the next index file, and displays a list of the indexes.

If a heading is selected, in step 75 the central processing unit 5 creates data for displaying a list of document names and document bookmarks associated with the selected heading,
It is displayed on the CRT display device 31 and waits for input again (step 76).

When the input is made, the central processing unit 5 analyzes the input content in step 77, and returns to step 71 if a different heading is requested. If a document name is selected, or if a document name is selected and a page bookmark usage instruction is given, the process of step 78 is performed. In this step 2], when only the document name is selected, by checking the document management information in the main memory 36 based on the search information of the document,
The storage address of the first page of the document is determined and sent to the optical disk controller path to instruct reading of the image information of the page. Under the control of the optical disc control device 4, the image information of the first page is read out from the optical disc device and transferred to the image memory. When the use of page bookmarks is instructed, the image information of the page to which the page bookmark is attached in the document is read out.

In step 79, the central processing unit 25 instructs the encoding/decoding circuit 39 to decode, and instructs the trench display/input control circuit 34 to display. The image information of the image memory fatty meat is decoded by the encoding/decoding circuit 39 and displayed on the CRT display device 31.

In step 80, the central processing unit 25 waits for an input, and when the input is made, the input content is analyzed in step 81.

In the case of designating another page, or in the case of designating a page to which another page bookmark is attached, the central processing unit 25 returns to the process from step 78, reads out the image information of the designated other page, and displays it.

If canceled, return to step 76.

If printing of one page, multiple pages, or all pages of a document is instructed, in step 82, the central processing unit 5
The designated one or more pages of image information is read from the optical disk device via the optical disk controller y, decoded by the encoding/decoding circuit 39, and output to the laser beam printer 36 for printing. If the input is a termination instruction, the search operation is terminated.

It should be noted that the operations described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 and the hardware configuration shown in FIG. 3 are examples, and can be changed as necessary. Further, the functional configuration of the document file device shown in FIG. 1, the structure of the index file, etc. can be changed as necessary. Furthermore, it is also possible to omit page bookmarks.

Effects of the Invention As is clear from the above description, in the case of a document search, the present invention displays a list of headings in a heading file and allows the operator to select a heading that is considered to be related to the target document. Next, the document name and document bookmark associated with the selected heading are displayed in a list, and the user selects the document name to search for the desired document, so there is no need for troublesome keyword registration. It is possible to efficiently search for a necessary document from among a large number of stored documents without having to manually search for a document. Furthermore, unlike when using partial images of a document for searching, it does not require a large amount of storage space to store the heading file.
This has the effect of

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a document file device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the structure of a heading file in the document file device, and FIG. 3 is a software technology A block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration realized using the 4th block diagram.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the document registration operation in the configuration shown in FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the document search operation in the configuration shown in FIG. ■...Document storage device, 2...Display device, 4...
Information/instruction input device, 6... Document registration device, 7...
Document search device, 8... Header file creation device, 9.
...Storage device for heading file, 15... Heading file, 16... Heading character string, 17... Document name string, 18... Document search information, 19... Page bookmark information. Name of agent: Patent attorney Toshio Nakao and 1 other person No. 1
Figure 2 [iA Figure 3 2S Figure 4

Claims (1)

[Claims] In a document file device that stores documents as image information in a storage device, character strings of multiple headings arbitrarily specified by an operator, and one or more stored documents that are arbitrarily associated with each of the headings by the operator. means for creating a heading file consisting of a character string of a name, search information, and information of a document bookmark attached to a stored document arbitrarily specified by an operator among stored documents associated with the heading; means for storing the information, and when an operator instructs a document search, refers to a heading file stored in the storage means and displays a list of character strings of a plurality of headings on a display device of the document file device. and displays a list of document names of stored documents that are associated with the heading selected by the operator during the list display, along with document bookmark information, on the display device, and selects the document name by the operator during the list display. A document file device comprising means for retrieving image information of a corresponding stored document from the storage device and displaying it on the display device based on search information of the document name.