JP2000123034A - Electronic catalog utilization device and electronic catalog system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To share and reuse product data on an electronic catalog by flexibly and efficiently retrieving desired catalog contents on the electronic catalog from the point of view of a user from a user system in an arbitrary data structure. SOLUTION: This device is provided with a data mapping part 4 for making product data in a user system 2 based on an arbitrary data structure correspond to each element of dictionary information 81 in an electronic catalog 8 and a user catalog generating part 6 for generating a user catalog 7 by extracting catalog data 82 instructed from the corresponding dictionary information according to be result of the correspondence. In this case, the data mapping part operates the mapping of terms on a data system used by the user system to each element in the dictionary information of the electronic catalog, and the user catalog generating part generates the user catalog by reconstituting only product data necessitated by the user system from the classification structure and catalog contents of the electronic catalog. Thus, the user system and electronic catalog whose data structures are different can be linked without any sense of incompatibility, and the catalog contents (product data) can easily be shared and utilized.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an electronic catalog utilizing apparatus and an electronic catalog system. In particular, in electronic commerce between departments or companies, flexible and efficient search of desired catalog content in an electronic catalog from the user's point of view from a user system with an arbitrary data structure enables the product data in the electronic catalog to be retrieved. The present invention relates to a technology for realizing sharing and reuse and improving availability of an electronic catalog.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, an electronic catalog has been developed which provides various types of product information in an electronic form on the Internet.
Electronic commerce based on this electronic catalog (Electronic Com
merce) was realized. FIG. 33 shows an example of a screen in which the contents of the electronic catalog are displayed by a generally known browser or the like. As shown in FIG. 33, the electronic catalog includes a dictionary part 30 indicating a classification structure of products, code information 40 of product data, and image information 50 of product data. The dictionary part 30 shows the hierarchical tree structure of the product classification, and the lowest layers 31, 32, 33, 34, and 35 of the tree structure correspond to each product group. In FIG. 33, "TIKK-DCK2
The product group of “1” is selected. This “TIKK-DC”
K21 ″ product data (content) is code information 40
Is shown in This product data generally includes data such as the product name, model number, price, specifications, and manufacturer name of each product.

In this electronic commerce, a manufacturer (hereinafter referred to as a “supplier”) that supplies products such as parts provides product information (contents) as an electronic catalog. The user searches this electronic catalog on the Internet, and purchases and uses a desired product.

[0004] Here, users of electronic catalogs are roughly classified into general consumers and business users. Hereinafter, a usage form of the electronic catalog according to the two user types will be described.

[0005] The first consumer-oriented e-commerce (B2C
In EC: Business to Consumer Electronic Commerce, electronic catalogs are mainly used for purchasing products. The process of purchasing goods between the general consumer side (buyer) and the electronic catalog information provider side (seller) is, for example, “information acquisition / order” (buyer) → “goods dispatch” (seller) → “payment of money”. Simple as "(buyer). For this reason,
The functions required of the electronic catalog system are also relatively simple. Further, the product information, which is the content of the electronic catalog, is only viewed and rarely reused. Therefore, it is possible to express product data with a simple data structure. Therefore, there is a simple electronic catalog search (browsing) system for a simple data structure based on a WWW (World Wide Web) browser implemented in languages such as HTML, SGML, and XML.

[0006] Business-to-business electronic commerce (B2B EC: Business) of a second business user (hereinafter simply referred to as a "user")
In Business to Business Elecctronic Commerce), electronic catalogs are mainly used for designing, verifying, and maintaining the products on the user's system, using parts from the catalogs. The part procurement process between the user (buyer) and the electronic catalog information provider side (supplier, seller) includes, for example, “information acquisition” (buyer) → “specification inquiry” (buyer) → “parts evaluation” ( (Buyer) → “Specification change” (both sides) → “Sample transfer” (both sides) → “Prototype”
(Buyer) → “Price and delivery terms negotiation” (both sides) → “Recruitment decision / order” (Buyer) → “Manufacturing / Shipping” (Seller) →
It is very complicated such as "delivery and payment". Therefore, the functions required for the electronic catalog system are also complicated. Further, product (parts) information, which is the content of the electronic catalog, is frequently reused every time specifications are changed or prototypes are designed in product design. Therefore, it is necessary to unify the data structure of the component information so that the expression of the component information can be shared between the user and the information providing side.

[0007] In response to a request for standardization of this data structure, ISO 13584, which is a standard for electronic catalog data, has been set as an international standard (however, ISO 13584 includes a draft stage in part). The terms of the component information are standardized by, for example, IEC61360. Parts databases based on these international standards are being developed among European companies.

[0008]

However, the conventional electronic catalog system has the following problems.

That is, first, when using an electronic catalog for business-to-business transactions, each user (business user)
CAE (Computer Aided Engineeri), which already designs and verifies parts using its own data structure in the company
ng) systems and user systems such as PDM (Product Data Management) systems that manage designed products as deliverables.

The data structure used by these user systems and the data structure on the electronic catalog often differ. The reason will be described below.

First, the main part of the data structure on the electronic catalog specified by ISO13584 will be described with reference to FIG. The electronic catalog includes a hierarchical tree structure class and contents 82 pointed to the lowest class. Each class (A0, B0, B1, C0, C1,
C2, C3) have attributes (V1 to V6), respectively. As shown in FIG. 2, each class has a single inheritance (single inheritance) structure that inherits only the attributes of one super class. Specifically, in FIG. 2, for example, the class of C0 is a class B0 which is a super class.
Inherits only the attributes V0 and V1 of
There is a restriction that one attribute V4 cannot be inherited. Each content 21, 22, 23, 24 is 1
Or it has a plurality of attribute values.

That is, since the data structure on the electronic catalog is a single inherited structure, the attributes of a certain class, for example, either a high-voltage motor or a low-voltage motor, and the attributes of another class, for example, an explosion-proof motor or Subclasses and contents cannot be configured by combining with any of the general-purpose motors. In other words, a hierarchical tree structure ISO
The data structure based on 13584 results in a very redundant class system, and the classification is unnatural and difficult to use.

On the other hand, the user system combines different attributes according to the user's viewpoint, such as high-voltage motors and explosion-proof motors, for example, and provides search conditions from various viewpoints to extract product data. There is a need to do. For this reason, in a normal user system, multi-inheritance (multiple inheritance) is used in which attributes of each class are combined to search for a corresponding content as one viewpoint (view).

Therefore, conventionally, it has been extremely difficult to retrieve and use component data on an electronic catalog from a user system. For this reason, it was necessary to duplicately retain the component data in the user system.

As described above, the present invention has been made to solve the above problems.

The object is to share product data in the electronic catalog by flexibly and efficiently searching for desired catalog contents in the electronic catalog from the user's viewpoint from a user system having an arbitrary data structure. An object is to provide an electronic catalog using device and an electronic catalog system that enable reuse.

Another object of the present invention is to display the correspondence between the data structure on the user system and the data structure on the electronic catalog, thereby utilizing and processing the product data on the electronic catalog without a sense of incongruity in the difference in the data structure. It is to realize.

[0018]

A feature of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problem is that a term in a data system used in a user system is flexibly mapped to dictionary information of an electronic catalog and catalog contents. In addition, a desired catalog content of the user system is searched and extracted to create a customized catalog.

In order to realize such a function, the invention according to claim 1 provides catalog data in which each product data is digitized,
An electronic catalog using apparatus that performs processing using an electronic catalog composed of dictionary information indicating a classification structure of the catalog data, and a data mapping unit that associates input data based on an arbitrary data structure with the dictionary information. And a user catalog generation unit that generates a user catalog by extracting catalog data specified from the associated dictionary information according to the result of the association.

According to the above configuration, the data mapping unit maps terms in the data system used in the user system to each element in the dictionary information of the electronic catalog. Reconstruct and catalog only the product data that the user system needs from the taxonomy structure and catalog contents. As a result, the user system and the electronic catalog having different data structures can be linked with each other without discomfort, and the catalog content (product data) can be easily shared and used.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the dictionary information of the electronic catalog includes at least a class indicating a classification structure by a tree structure and an attribute of the class, and the attribute of each class corresponds to each class. By inheriting the attributes of only one superclass among the superclasses, flexible data mapping between user system terms having an arbitrary data structure and dictionary information on an electronic catalog having a hierarchical tree structure is enabled. .

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the user catalog generation unit includes a branch that does not include catalog data corresponding to the attribute value indicated by the input data and catalog data corresponding to the attribute value on the tree structure. By generating a user catalog that extracts dictionary information obtained by trimming the user catalog, only the catalog contents that the user system wants to reuse and the dictionary information related to this catalog content are extracted, and the user catalog that is optimally customized for each user system Can be generated. Therefore, a high-speed search can be performed using this user catalog.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the data mapping section, the given input data is at least one of the class name of the dictionary information, the attribute name, and the attribute value indicated by the catalog data. It is determined whether or not any of the elements match, and if any of the elements match, the input data is associated with the matching element, so that the given user system term and the literal match. Flexible search for classes, attributes, and attribute values to be performed enables flexible data mapping to any term data.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the dictionary information of the electronic catalog is configured based on a classification structure defined by ISO13584, so that terms of a user system having an arbitrary data structure and internationally standardized electronic systems can be used. Enables flexible data mapping with dictionary information in catalogs.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the data mapping unit further includes a conversion history storage unit for storing history data for associating the input data with the dictionary information on the electronic catalog. If the history data corresponding to the data exists, the association is performed using the history data, so that the same mapping request can be performed at high speed using the data of the previous mapping history for the same search request. It is possible to search for contents.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the data mapping section further includes a display control means for displaying an association between the input data and the matched element on the electronic catalog in an electronic catalog browser in an interlocked manner. By
Corresponding term data is displayed in conjunction with different data structures between the user system and the electronic catalog on a browser, so that catalog contents can be easily searched without a sense of incongruity between the data structures.

The invention according to claim 8 is constituted by a server, a client connected to the server via a network, and shows catalog data obtained by digitizing each product data, and a classification structure of the catalog data. An electronic catalog system comprising dictionary information and performing processing using an electronic catalog arranged on the server, wherein the client associates input data based on an arbitrary data structure with the dictionary information. A mapping unit; a user catalog generation unit configured to generate a user catalog by extracting catalog data specified from the associated dictionary information in accordance with a result of the association; and the generated user catalog.

According to the above configuration, it is possible to use the electronic catalog while minimizing the network cost by utilizing the computer resources on the user side.

The invention according to claim 9 comprises a server, a client connected to the server via a network, and shows catalog data obtained by digitizing each product data, and a classification structure of the catalog data. An electronic catalog system comprising dictionary information and performing processing using an electronic catalog arranged on the server, wherein the client associates input data based on an arbitrary data structure with the dictionary information. A mapping unit, wherein the server includes a user catalog generation unit configured to generate a user catalog by extracting catalog data indicated from the associated dictionary information in accordance with a result of the association, The user catalog generated by the department is located on the client. The features.

According to the above configuration, it is possible to use the electronic catalog while reducing the load on the system on the user side.

[0031] The invention according to claim 10 is a server,
An electronic catalog, which is composed of the server and a client connected via a network, and includes catalog data obtained by digitizing each product data and dictionary information indicating a classification structure of the catalog data, and is arranged on the server. An electronic catalog system that performs processing by using a data mapping unit that associates input data based on an arbitrary data structure with the dictionary information, according to a result of the association, A user catalog generation unit that generates a user catalog by extracting catalog data specified from the dictionary information; and the generated user catalog, wherein the client matches the input data with a matching element on the electronic catalog. Display control method for displaying the correspondence of the items in the electronic catalog browser Characterized by including the.

According to the above configuration, it is possible to speed up the display and search of the user catalog and quickly reuse the electronic catalog content.

[0033] The invention according to claim 11 comprises a plurality of servers, a client connected to the server via a network, and an agent which moves on the network and executes a processing request from the client. An electronic catalog system comprising catalog data obtained by digitizing each product data, and dictionary information indicating a classification structure of the catalog data, and performing processing using an electronic catalog arranged on the server. The client includes a data mapping unit for associating input data based on an arbitrary data structure with the dictionary information, and the agent according to a result of the association, a catalog indicated from the associated dictionary information. A user catalog generator that generates a user catalog with extracted data And Bei, the user catalog user catalog generation unit generates are characterized by being disposed on said client.

According to the above configuration, even when the servers are distributed at a plurality of locations, the agent moves as needed on the network and executes necessary processing, so that the user system is aware of the location of the catalog content. Without this, data mapping and search processing can be easily performed. Note that other functions such as a data mapping unit may be appropriately arranged in the agent.

Further, according to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, the client further comprises dictionary information that matches the dictionary information on the electronic catalog, thereby enabling data mapping and cataloging without depending on the state of the server. It becomes possible to start and process both content searches by the user system alone.

[0036]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

This embodiment provides a platform for sharing and reusing product data between a user system and an electronic catalog having different data structures.

As shown in FIG. 1, an electronic catalog system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an electronic catalog browser 1 for searching and displaying product data on an electronic catalog, and various types of design and maintenance using the product data. A user system 2 that performs processing, a user library 3 that holds terms (data structure) unique to the user system 2,
A data mapping unit 4 for associating a data structure between the user system 2 and the electronic catalog 8, and mapping history data 5 for holding a history of data mapping
And a user catalog generation unit 6 for generating a user catalog in which the electronic catalog 8 is customized based on the user's viewpoint, a user catalog 7, and an electronic catalog 8 for storing catalog information of digitized products.

First, the structure of the electronic catalog 8 will be described.
In the present embodiment, the electronic catalog 8 is based on ISO13584.
It is configured according to.

The electronic catalog 8 is managed by being divided into dictionary information 81 and catalog data (contents) 82. The dictionary information 81 includes a “catalog class name” including hierarchical classification information of a catalog, a “catalog attribute name” for each catalog class, and a selector describing conditions for selecting content having a predetermined attribute value. , The list of "selector names" and the "synonym" of the class or attribute name
And information such as "short name". On the other hand, the catalog data 82 expresses actual product information as content pointed to from the dictionary information 81. The catalog data 82 is, for example, a plurality of databases configured for each component manufacturer and for each component category. The catalog data 82 may be located either locally or remotely with respect to the dictionary information 81.

Next, the data structure of the electronic catalog 8 will be described.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the data structure of dictionary information 81 and catalog content 82 described in the electronic catalog. In FIG. 2, the portions of the tree structure from A0 to C0 to C3 represent information including the classification hierarchy of the catalog. The part of this tree structure is stored in the dictionary information 81 as a term system of the catalog. Here, as a catalog terminology, A0 has subclasses of B0 and B1. B0
Has subclasses C0, C1 and B1 and C2 and C3, respectively. Each class has attributes, which are inherited by subclasses. The structure of the dictionary information 81 is based on the I
In accordance with SO13584, a certain class (for example, C
0) is a single inheritance (single inheritance) structure that inherits only the attribute of one superclass (B0).

Also, the tables 21, 22, 2 in FIG.
Reference numerals 3 and 24 describe catalog information of actual products as attribute values. For example, the table 21 is a product of the type C0, and the value of the attribute of the type V0 is x1 to x2,
The value of the attribute of V1 is y1 to y2, and the value of the attribute of V2 is z1 to
z2. Table 21 shows catalog data for four models. The tables 21, 22, 23, and 24 are stored in the catalog data 82.

In FIG. 1, the electronic catalog browser 1 accesses the dictionary information 81 and the catalog data 82 via the data mapping unit 4 in accordance with an input from a user's input device (not shown) or the like. Search and display various product data. This electronic catalog browser 1
Can be realized by a generally known tool such as a WWW browser.

The user system 2 appropriately displays and outputs a user library 3 having a data structure unique to the user. The user system 2 also accesses the dictionary information 81 and the catalog data 82 through the data mapping unit 4 using these user-specific vocabulary as search terms.

The data mapping unit 4 is a user system 2
With reference to the dictionary information 81 using the search terms received from the user, matching is performed with terms in an electronic catalog having a different data system to derive corresponding contents (suitable names). The obtained content is transmitted to the user system 2 as a result or the mapping display control unit 4
1 is displayed on the electronic catalog browser 1 via the electronic catalog browser 1.

The data mapping unit 4 includes a mapping display control unit 41. Mapping display section control section 41
Edits display data in response to a command from the electronic catalog browser 1 or a search result from the data mapping unit 4. Specifically, the mapping display control unit 41
Correspondence between the search terms (that is, user specific terms) of the user system 2 obtained by the data mapping unit 4 and terms such as class names and attribute names in the dictionary information 81 of the electronic catalog 8 or attribute values in the catalog data 82 , And the product data obtained as a result of the search are transmitted to the electronic catalog browser 1 as display data so as to be displayed in conjunction with the electronic catalog browser 1.

When the matching between the search term and the dictionary information 81 fails or when the search term matches the element of the “selector name” list in the dictionary information 81, the data mapping unit 4 The control is passed to a user catalog generation process 5 in order to generate a user catalog 7 in which the user catalog 8 is customized. At the same time, the data mapping unit 4
Stores the history of these mappings in the history data 5.

The user catalog generator 6 receives control from the data mapping unit 4 and generates a user catalog 7 for each user as a subset of the catalog data 2.

Next, a network configuration according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. An optimal network configuration may be appropriately selected according to the structure of the industry in which the electronic catalog is used and the scale of the user system.

FIG. 24 shows an example of a system configuration when the configuration of FIG. 1 is implemented on a network. In FIG. 24, an electronic catalog 8, a data mapping unit 4, a history data 5, a user catalog generation unit 6, and a user catalog 7 are arranged on an electronic catalog server 11 on a network 10 such as the Internet. Alternatively, based on a request from the electronic catalog browser 1, all processing is performed on the server. In this configuration, since all processing is performed on the server, the load on the system on the user side is minimized, and this configuration is suitable for small-scale users.

FIG. 25 shows another example of the system configuration when the configuration of FIG. 1 is implemented on a network. FIG.
In the embodiment, an electronic catalog 8, a data mapping unit 4, a history data 5, and a user catalog generation unit 6 are arranged on an electronic catalog server 11 on a network 10. On the other hand, the user catalog 7 and the mapping display control unit 41 are provided on the electronic catalog client 12 on the user system 2 side.
Is arranged. This configuration can speed up the search and display of the user catalog, and is suitable for a case where product data is frequently reused.

FIG. 26 shows another example of the system configuration when the configuration of FIG. 1 is implemented on a network. FIG.
In the embodiment, an electronic catalog 8 and a user catalog generation unit 6 are arranged on an electronic catalog server 11 on a network 10. On the other hand, a user catalog 7, a data mapping unit 4, and history data 5 are arranged on an electronic catalog client 12 on the user system 2 side. This configuration is designed to distribute the load on the server.

FIG. 27 shows another example of the system configuration when the configuration of FIG. 1 is implemented on a network. FIG.
Then, only the electronic catalog 8 is arranged on the electronic catalog server 11 on the network 10. On the other hand, all other components are arranged on the electronic catalog client 12 on the user system 2 side. This configuration is used when the processing capacity of the user system 2 is high.
This is a form that can reduce the load on the server and minimize the network cost.

FIG. 28 shows another example of the system configuration when the configuration of FIG. 1 is implemented on a network. FIG.
Then, only the electronic catalog 8 is arranged on the electronic catalog server 11 on the network 10. The user catalog 7, the data mapping unit 4, and the history data 5 are arranged on the electronic catalog client 12 on the user system 2 side. On the other hand, the user catalog generation unit 6 is arranged on a catalog generation agent that executes processing from the client 12 by moving over the network. This configuration has a high processing efficiency when a large number of electronic catalog servers 11 or catalog data 82 are distributed on the network 10.

FIGS. 29 to 32 show a configuration in which the system configuration shown in FIGS. 25 to 28 further has dictionary information 81 on the electronic catalog client 12, and the catalog dictionary information 81 is multiplexed. In this configuration, the data mapping process and the display of the catalog contents can be performed by the client 12 without depending on the state of the electronic catalog server 11.
It can be started by itself.

Next, the hardware configuration of each system on the network will be described. The electronic catalog client 12 and the electronic catalog server 11 according to the present invention are implemented in a single computer such as a general-purpose machine, a workstation, a PC, a network terminal, or a system in which the computers are interconnected. The hardware of each computer system used in the embodiment of the present invention includes a CPU for performing various processes, a memory such as a program memory / data memory, an external storage device such as an FD / CD, and an input device such as a keyboard / mouse. And an output device such as a display printer.

A program for implementing the data mapping process, the user catalog generation process, and the search process of the electronic catalog system of the present invention can be stored in various recording media. The present invention is implemented by reading out such a recording medium by a computer having the above hardware and executing the program. Here, the recording medium includes, for example, a memory, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, and any device capable of recording a program.

The embodiment of the present invention is configured as described above, and the processing flow will be described below in order.

(1) Data Mapping Processing The processing procedure of data mapping processing of terms in the user system and terms in the electronic catalog performed by the data mapping unit 4 will be described below with reference to the flowchart in FIG.

At S1, a search term for searching for product data in the electronic catalog 8 defined in the user library 3 is received from the user system.

At S 2, prior to searching the electronic catalog 8, it is determined whether or not the input search term exists in the mapping history data 5. If the entered search term is a search term used in a previous data mapping process,
When the mapping history data 5 exists in the mapping history data 5, the mapping efficiency can be improved by using the mapping history data 5 as a cache. If the search term exists in the mapping history data 5, S3 returns data that matches the search term.

On the other hand, if it does not exist in the mapping history data 5, a search based on the class name is first performed in S4 to S9. FIG. 4 shows processing start conditions and processing contents in S4 to S9. Each processing start condition and processing contents are defined according to a matching method between the search term and the term in the dictionary information 81.

Specifically, if the input search term is a catalog class name in the dictionary information 81 in S4 (condition 1), the tree structure of the class in the dictionary information 81 is searched in S5. To find a class name that matches the search term (process 1). In the search of the class name in the processes 1 to 8, the desired catalog content is specified at the stage when one class name is obtained, so that one result is returned to the user system 2. After returning one result, the user can directly start the electronic catalog browser 1 or the like as needed to search for another part of the classification structure using the class name obtained as a clue.

At S 6, the input search term is the dictionary information 8
If it is a synonym of the catalog class name in No. 1 (condition 4), in step S7, the tree structure of the class in the dictionary information 81 is searched to find a class name corresponding to the synonym matching the search term. (Process 4).

At S8, the input search term is set to the dictionary information 8
If it is the short name of the catalog class name in (1) (condition 5), in step S9, the tree structure of the class in the dictionary information 81 is searched to correspond to the short word that matches the search term. A class name is obtained (process 5).

Next, a search based on the attribute name is performed in S10 to S15. FIG. 4 shows processing start conditions and processing contents in S10 to S15.

Specifically, if the input search term is a catalog attribute name in the dictionary information 81 in S10 (condition 2), the tree structure of the class in the dictionary information 81 is searched in S11. To find a class name that defines a catalog attribute that matches the search term (process 2).

If the input search term is a synonym of the catalog attribute in the dictionary information 81 in S12 (condition 6), the tree structure of the class in the dictionary information 81 is searched and searched in S13. A class name defining a synonym of the catalog attribute that matches the term is obtained (process 6).

In S14, if the input search term is a shortened term of the catalog attribute in the dictionary information 81 (condition 7), the tree structure of the class in the dictionary information 81 is searched and searched in S15. A class name that defines a catalog attribute abbreviation that matches the term is determined (process 7).

If no matching class name is obtained in S4 to S15, S16 determines whether or not the input search term is a selector of the catalog attribute value in the dictionary information 81. Here, if the search term is a selector (condition 8), the tree structure of the class in the dictionary information 81 is searched in S17 to define a catalog attribute having a selector matching the search term. A class name is found (process 8).

In step S20, it is determined whether or not catalog data satisfying condition 8 is reconstructed to generate a user catalog based on a user input or an input from a program. If the user catalog generation is selected, S21 activates the user catalog generation unit 6 to extract the tree structure of the class having the selector matching the search term and the catalog data 82. Details of the user catalog generation unit 6 will be described later.

On the other hand, if the search term is not a selector in S16 (condition 8), the input search term is held in the catalog data 82 by user input or program input in S18. It is determined whether or not the catalog data that matches the catalog attribute value (condition 3) is reconstructed to generate a user catalog. If the user catalog generation is selected, S19 activates the user catalog generation unit 6 to extract the tree structure of the class having the attribute value that matches the search term and the user catalog data 82.

In step S22, the result of the above-described mapping process shown in FIG. The mapping history data 5 is referred to at the beginning of the matching process (S2). If the same case occurs, the matching process is speeded up by using the past result.

(2) User Catalog Generation Processing Next, the procedure of the user catalog generation processing performed by the user catalog generation unit 6 will be described with reference to FIGS.

First, the user catalog generation processing in the case where the search term performed in S21 of FIG. 3 is a selector of the catalog attribute value (condition 8) will be described with reference to FIG.

In step S211, all the subclasses (lower classes) of the class obtained in step 8 are extracted to create a list. In step S212, a list is created in which catalog content existing in each element (class) of the list created in step S211 is used as an element. In step S213, for each element of the catalog content list obtained in step S212, only data whose catalog attribute value obtained in step 8 matches the input search term is selected, and a subset of the catalog content is created. .

In step S214, the dictionary information 81 having the entire hierarchical structure including the class name obtained in the processing 8 is extracted. The dictionary information 81 extracted here is extracted over the entire hierarchical structure, but the branches on the tree structure that do not include the class name obtained in process 8 are deleted (trimmed). In step S214, an electronic catalog is generated by linking the extracted dictionary information (classification structure) with the subset of the catalog contents extracted in step S213. In step S215, a subset of the electronic catalog generated in step S214 is stored in the user catalog 7.

Second, a description will be given of the user catalog generation processing in the case where the search term performed in S19 of FIG. 3 does not match any of the dictionary information 81 (that is, the matching has failed) (condition 3) with reference to FIG. I do.

In step S191, all classes of the catalog classification defined in the dictionary information 81 are extracted. S192 is
A list is created in which catalog contents existing in each class obtained in S191 are elements. S193 is S1
For each element of the catalog content list obtained at 92, only data whose input search term matches the attribute value in the catalog content is selected, and a subset of the catalog content is created.

In step S194, the dictionary information 81 including only the class defining the attribute value in the catalog content that matches the search term is extracted. Dictionary information 8 extracted here
In 1, a branch on the tree structure including only classes that are extracted over the entire hierarchical structure but do not include a matched attribute value is deleted (trimmed). In step S194, an electronic catalog is generated by linking the extracted dictionary information (classification structure) with a subset of the catalog contents extracted in step S193. S
In step 195, the subset of the electronic catalog generated in step S194 is stored in the user catalog 7.

(3) Data Mapping Linked Display Processing Next, an example of linked display processing between the user system and the electronic catalog performed by the mapping display control unit 41 and the electronic catalog browser 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 7 and the screens of FIGS. It will be described based on.

First, the generation processing of the display data performed by the mapping display control section 41 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

At S30, it is determined whether or not the activation of the mapping display control section 41 is based on a request from the electronic catalog browser 1. Here, if the activation is from the electronic catalog browser, S36 further requests a user input as to whether to display and search the user catalog. If the display of the user catalog is requested in S36, S38 checks whether there is a corresponding user catalog, and if the user catalog exists, searches the user catalog 7 for catalog contents. The user catalog is a subset of the electronic catalog 8, and details of the search process are the same as those in the matching process (1). On the other hand, S3
If the display of the user catalog is not requested in S6, S37 directly searches the electronic catalog 8 according to the request from the electronic catalog browser 1.

In S30, the mapping display control unit 4
If the activation of No. 1 is not based on the request from the electronic catalog browser 1, S31 receives the class name obtained by the mapping process from the data mapping unit 4. In S32, a classification structure including the class of the obtained class name is obtained based on the dictionary information 81. In S33, each data (class attributes, synonyms, abbreviations, selectors, etc.) described in the class dictionary information 81 of the obtained class name is obtained.
Ask for. Further, S34 checks whether there is catalog content of the class having the obtained class name, and if there is catalog content, extracts this content. Finally, in S35, the data obtained in S32, S33, and S34 is transmitted to the electronic catalog browser 1 as display data. The electronic catalog browser 1 displays the data obtained from the user catalog 7 or the electronic catalog 8 as described above.

Next, the user system 2 will be described with reference to the display screen of the electronic catalog browser 1 shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 is an example of a display screen of the user library 3 in the user system 2. The user system 2 is a system for performing an arbitrary task using a user library 3 which is a term system in which the environment of the user is used. In the present embodiment, for simplicity, a browser which is an independent tool for displaying a library will be described as an example, but the user system 2 is not limited to this. The user system 2 includes a data mapping unit 4
May be a user system 2 having an interface with an arbitrary data structure (terminology system), for example, a CAE system, a PDM system, a facility operation support system, a maintenance management system, an EDI system, or the like.

FIG. 9 shows an example of the data structure of the user library 3 used by the user system 2 of FIG. In the present embodiment, an example of the user library 3 is an object-oriented model that allows multiple inheritance. That is, D0 has subclasses of E0 and E0 has subclasses of F0 and F1, while D1 has subclasses of E0, E1, and E1.
1 and F2 as subclasses. For example, E0
Inherits the properties of both D0 and D1. In general, the user's perception of the object is not uniform, but has various aspects such as a functional perception and a structural perception, and it is understood that the multiple inheritance model is suitable.

FIG. 10 shows the electronic catalog browser 1
1 shows an example of an electronic catalog content display screen. In this embodiment, for simplicity, the display screen of the browser 1 is simply composed of a catalog class classification system and a screen for displaying detailed information on the catalog class. When the attribute item 92 is clicked in FIG. 10, the class name B0 (9
The attribute data of 1) is displayed step by step.

Here, the display screens of FIGS. 8 and 10 are merely examples. What is important in the present invention is that the data mapping unit 4 and the mapping display control unit 41 cooperate with each other so that the terms of the user library 3 are used in the electronic catalog 8.
Is that it can display which part of the classification structure matches. With this cooperative display function, it is possible to easily understand the relationship between different data systems, and to easily search for desired catalog content.

Next, the user system 2 of the electronic catalog using apparatus and the electronic catalog system according to the present embodiment.
And the linked display processing on the screen flow of the electronic catalog browser 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. Note that FIG.
23 to 23, the left screen shows the screen of the user system 2 and the right screen shows the screen of the electronic catalog browser 1 corresponding to the screen of the user system 2, respectively.

FIG. 11 shows an initial screen in the cooperative display processing. As shown in the input box 93, the user enters "E0"
Assume that you want to check the position of the user-specific term in the electronic catalog. Hereinafter, "E0" in the screen
The display data such as “B0” is not the class name itself, but an identifier assigned to the class name. Each element of the user system 2 and the electronic catalog 8 is composed of an identifier and an element name.

FIG. 12 is a display screen when the term “E0” matches the class name on the electronic catalog 8 in the data mapping process (condition 1). In the example of FIG. 12, it is understood that it matches the class “B0” (95) on the catalog classification system. As described above, “B0” is the identifier of the class of the electronic catalog, and both “E0” and “B0” have the same character string in the names of the elements (not shown). In the message field 94 of the user system 2, "
The message "Matched with catalog category B0" is displayed to alert the user.

FIG. 13 is a display screen when the term “E0” matches the attribute name of the class on the electronic catalog 8 in the data mapping process (condition 2). In the example of FIG.
It is understood that the attribute matches one of the attributes defined by the class “B0” (97) on the catalog classification system. In the message column 96 of the user system 2, a message "Matched with the attribute defined in the catalog category B0" is displayed to alert the user.

FIG. 14 is a display screen when the term “E0” matches a synonym of a class on the electronic catalog 8 in the data mapping process (condition 4). In the example of FIG.
It is understood that the word matches the synonym 102 of the class “B0” (101) in the catalog classification system. In the message column 100 of the user system 2, a message "Matched with a synonym of catalog category B0" is displayed to alert the user.

FIG. 15 is a display screen when the term “E0” matches the short name of a class on the electronic catalog 8 in the data mapping process (condition 5). In the example of FIG.
It is understood that the word matches the synonym 106 of the class “B0” (105) in the catalog classification system. In the message field 104 of the user system 2, a message "Matched with the short name of the catalog category B0" is displayed to alert the user.

FIG. 16 is a display screen when the term “E0” matches a synonym of a class attribute on the electronic catalog 8 in the data mapping process (condition 6). In the example of FIG. 16, the class “B0” (109) in the catalog classification system
It is understood that the keyword matches a synonym of any of the attributes (110) defined by the above. In the message column 108 of the user system 2, a message "Matched with a synonym of the attribute defined in catalog category B0" is displayed to alert the user.

FIG. 17 is a display screen when the term “E0” matches the attribute name of a class on the electronic catalog 8 in the data mapping process (condition 7). In the example of FIG.
It is understood that the attribute matches the short name of any attribute (114) defined by the class “B0” (113) in the catalog classification system. Message field 1 of user system 2
12, a message "Matched with the short name of the attribute defined in catalog category B0" is displayed to alert the user.

Further, a cooperative display process of a screen when a user catalog is generated will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 18 is a display screen when the term “E0” matches the selector of the attribute value of the class on the electronic catalog 8 in the data mapping process 4 (condition 8). FIG.
In the example of the above, the class “B0” (11
It is understood that the attribute value matches the attribute value selector of any attribute (118) defined in 7). In the message field 116 of the user system 2, a message "Matched with the selector name of the attribute value defined in the catalog category B0" is displayed to alert the user. At the time of this matching, as shown in FIG.
A screen 120 for inputting whether to generate a user catalog in a pop-up window or the like is displayed on the screen of FIG. When the user instructs the input screen 120 to generate a user catalog, the user catalog generation processing 6 is started. As shown in FIG. 20, a generated user catalog is displayed on, for example, an electronic catalog browser.
When the user catalog (121) is instructed by clicking or the like, the classification structure of the generated user catalog and detailed information of the class may be displayed.

FIG. 21 is a display screen when the term “E0” does not match any of the dictionary information 81 on the electronic catalog 8 in the data mapping process. In the message field 125 of the user system 2, a message "Could not match catalog dictionary information" is displayed to alert the user. At the time of this matching, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, a screen 130 is displayed on the screen of FIG. 21, for example, to extract catalog content having a term specified in a pop-up window or the like as an attribute value and to input whether to generate a user catalog. Input screen 1
When the user 30 is instructed to generate a user catalog, the user catalog generation processing 6 is started. As shown in FIG. 23, a generated user catalog is displayed on, for example, an electronic catalog browser. When the user catalog (131) is instructed by clicking or the like, the classification structure of the generated user catalog and detailed information of the class may be displayed.

In the present embodiment, a user catalog is created when the electronic catalog and the user system are significantly different from each other in terms of the classification structure. However, the timing of generation of the user catalog is not limited to this, and may be generated as needed at the time of term search / mapping, or the user may be instructed to generate a user catalog each time. By locally searching a desired catalog content (product data) from an electronic catalog browser or the like with the created user catalog as a search target, the catalog content in the electronic catalog can be easily and efficiently reused. According to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

That is, the data mapping unit 4 maps the search terms given from the user system to the class names, attribute names, and attribute values of the electronic catalog 8, and flexibly searches for terms that match in the classification system. Further, the user catalog generation unit 6 arbitrarily generates a user catalog 7 in which catalog contents corresponding to a desired attribute value are extracted from the electronic catalog 8.

As a result, a desired catalog content can be flexibly and quickly searched from the user's viewpoint from a vast amount of catalog information on the electronic catalog 8 having a data system different from that of the user system 2. At the same time, the user system 2 is provided with a user catalog 7 in which the electronic catalog 8 is customized from the viewpoint of the user, and the user catalog 7 can be locally and efficiently searched. Therefore, the electronic catalog 8 can be widely searched, for example, in a design / plant construction stage or the like according to the phase of using the catalog content. In addition, for example, in the maintenance stage or the like, the catalog contents that have already been used can be locally searched and the catalog contents can be reused.

Further, the mapping display control section 41 and the electronic catalog browser 1 display the association of the terms of the mutual data structure obtained from the data mapping section 4 in an interlocked manner. This allows the user to easily search the electronic catalog 8 having a different data structure from the user system 2 without a sense of discomfort due to the difference in the data structure. Therefore,
Product data on the electronic catalog 8 can be easily shared and reused from the user system 2 having an arbitrary data structure.

[0106]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The following effects are obtained.

That is, the present invention provides a function of mapping the data structure of the user system and the product data on the electronic catalog. As a result, it is possible to perform flexible and efficient search and use from the user's viewpoint without duplicating the product data corresponding to the electronic catalog content on the user system.

Also, product data extracted from the user system from the user's point of view is retained as a user catalog, and by accessing this user catalog, data retrieval is made more efficient and data is easily reused. It becomes possible.

Further, by displaying the data structure of the user system and the data structure on the electronic catalog in association with each other, it is possible to easily search for the product data on the electronic catalog without any incongruity of the difference in the data structure. Become.

As described above, according to the present invention, in electronic commerce between departments or companies, sharing and reuse of product information between a user system and an electronic catalog can be easily realized, and furthermore, availability of the electronic catalog can be improved. Improvements are brought.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of an electronic catalog using apparatus and an electronic catalog system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a data structure of an electronic catalog 8;

FIG. 3 is a data mapping unit 4 according to the embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a flowchart showing the processing algorithm of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining conditions for establishing each process on the flowchart in FIG. 3 and the content of the process.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a user catalog generation processing algorithm of a user catalog generation unit 6 for extracting catalog contents satisfying a condition 8 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a user catalog generation processing algorithm of a user catalog generation unit 6 for extracting catalog contents satisfying the condition 3 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a processing algorithm of a mapping display control unit 41;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a search screen of the user system 2.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a data structure of a user library 3;

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a search screen of the electronic catalog browser 1.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a processing screen of the user system 2 and the electronic catalog browser 1.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen when a condition 1 is satisfied in a data mapping process.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen when a condition 2 is satisfied in the data mapping process.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen when a condition 4 is satisfied in the data mapping process.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen when a condition 5 is satisfied in the data mapping process.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen when a condition 6 is satisfied in the data mapping process.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen when a condition 7 is satisfied in the data mapping process.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen when a condition 8 is satisfied in the data mapping process.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example of a window screen instructing generation of a user catalog when a condition 8 is satisfied.

20 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen indicating that a user catalog has been generated when a user catalog generation is instructed in FIG. 19;

FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen when a search term does not match a term in the dictionary information 81 of the electronic catalog 8 in the data mapping process.

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing an example of a window screen for instructing a search from catalog data 82 when a search term does not match a term in dictionary information 81.

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen indicating that a user catalog has been generated when a search from catalog data 82 has been instructed in FIG. 22;

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing an example of a system configuration when the electronic catalog system according to the present embodiment is mounted on a network.

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing an example of a system configuration when the electronic catalog system according to the present embodiment is mounted on a network.

FIG. 26 is a diagram showing an example of a system configuration when the electronic catalog system according to the present embodiment is mounted on a network.

FIG. 27 is a diagram showing an example of a system configuration when the electronic catalog system according to the present embodiment is mounted on a network.

FIG. 28 is a diagram showing an example of a system configuration when the electronic catalog system according to the present embodiment is mounted on a network.

FIG. 29 is a diagram showing an example of a system configuration when the electronic catalog system according to the present embodiment is mounted on a network.

FIG. 30 is a diagram showing an example of a system configuration when the electronic catalog system according to the present embodiment is mounted on a network.

FIG. 31 is a diagram showing an example of a system configuration when the electronic catalog system according to the present embodiment is mounted on a network.

FIG. 32 is a diagram showing an example of a system configuration when the electronic catalog system according to the present embodiment is mounted on a network.

FIG. 33 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of dictionary information 81 and catalog data 82 on electronic catalog 8;

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 electronic catalog browser 2 user system 3 user library 4 data mapping unit 5 mapping history data 6 user catalog generation unit 7 user catalog 8 electronic catalog 41 mapping display control unit 81 dictionary information 82 catalog data

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Yasutaka Otake 70, Yanagimachi, Saiwai-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture Inside the Toshiba Yanagimachi Plant Co., Ltd. F term (reference) 5B075 ND34 NK04 NK34 NK43 NK46 PQ02 PQ12 PQ42 UU38

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. An electronic catalog utilizing apparatus for processing using an electronic catalog comprising catalog data obtained by digitizing each product data and dictionary information indicating a classification structure of the catalog data, wherein the electronic catalog utilizing apparatus has an arbitrary data structure. A data mapping unit that associates input data based on the dictionary information, and a user catalog generation unit that generates a user catalog that extracts catalog data specified from the associated dictionary information according to the result of the association. An electronic catalog utilization device, comprising: 2. The dictionary information of the electronic catalog includes at least a class indicating a classification structure by a tree structure and an attribute of the class. 2. The electronic catalog using apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the attribute of only the super class is inherited. 3. The user catalog generation unit extracts catalog data corresponding to an attribute value indicated by the input data and dictionary information obtained by trimming a branch not including the catalog data corresponding to the attribute value on the tree structure. The electronic catalog using apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the generated user catalog is generated. 4. The data mapping unit according to claim 1, wherein the given input data matches at least one of the class name, the attribute name, and the attribute value indicated by the catalog data in the dictionary information. 4. The electronic catalog utilization device according to claim 2, wherein it is determined whether or not any one of the elements matches, and the input data is associated with the matching element. 5. 5. The electronic catalog using apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the dictionary information of the electronic catalog is configured based on a classification structure defined by ISO13584. 6. The data mapping unit further comprises mapping history storage means for storing history data of the correspondence between the input data and the dictionary information on the electronic catalog, wherein the history data corresponding to the input data is stored. The electronic catalog using apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when there is an electronic catalog, the association is performed using the history data. 7. The data mapping unit according to claim 1, further comprising display control means for displaying an association between the input data and the matched element on the electronic catalog in an electronic catalog browser in an interlocked manner. 7. The electronic catalog utilization device according to any one of items 6 to 6. 8. A catalog system comprising: a server; a client connected to the server via a network; and catalog data obtained by digitizing each product data; and dictionary information indicating a classification structure of the catalog data. An electronic catalog system that performs processing using an electronic catalog disposed on a server, wherein the client is a data mapping unit that associates input data based on an arbitrary data structure with the dictionary information, An electronic catalog system, comprising: a user catalog generation unit that generates a user catalog by extracting catalog data specified from the associated dictionary information according to the result of the item (1); and the generated user catalog. 9. A system, comprising: a server; a client connected to the server via a network; and catalog data obtained by digitizing each product data; and dictionary information indicating a classification structure of the catalog data. An electronic catalog system that performs processing using an electronic catalog arranged on a server, wherein the client includes a data mapping unit that associates input data based on an arbitrary data structure with the dictionary information, The server includes a user catalog generation unit that generates a user catalog that extracts catalog data indicated from the associated dictionary information in accordance with a result of the association, wherein the user catalog generated by the user catalog generation unit is An electronic catalog arranged on the client. Log system. 10. A server, comprising: a server; a client connected to the server via a network;
An electronic catalog system that includes catalog data obtained by digitizing each product data and dictionary information indicating a classification structure of the catalog data, and performs processing using an electronic catalog arranged on the server. A data mapping unit for associating input data based on an arbitrary data structure with the dictionary information, and generating a user catalog extracting catalog data indicated from the associated dictionary information according to the result of the association A client catalog generating unit, and the generated user catalog, wherein the client includes a display control unit for displaying an association between the input data and a matching element on the electronic catalog in an electronic catalog browser in an interlocked manner. An electronic catalog system characterized by: 11. A server comprising: a plurality of servers; a client connected to the server via a network; and an agent moving on the network and executing a processing request from the client. An electronic catalog system comprising catalog data converted into dictionary data and dictionary information indicating a classification structure of the catalog data, and performing processing using an electronic catalog arranged on the server, wherein the client has an arbitrary data structure. A data mapping unit that associates input data based on the dictionary information with the dictionary information, and the agent extracts a user catalog that extracts catalog data indicated from the associated dictionary information according to the result of the association. A user catalog generation unit for generating the user catalog; An electronic catalog system wherein the user catalog generated by the catalog generation unit is arranged on the client. 12. The electronic catalog system according to claim 8, wherein the client further includes dictionary information that matches the dictionary information on the electronic catalog.