JP2000148564A - Method and device for exclusively controlling digital edition system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the generation of illegal data updating due to simultaneous accesses from a plurality of workers at the time of executing divided work by the plurality of workes in a digital edition system. SOLUTION: The exclusive control method manages real data by successively hierarchizing information related to customers, information related to articles, information related to working units, and information related to materials so that identical items each of which indicates the unity of hierarchical management information in each hierarchy can not be simultaneously changed in the same hierarchy, the customer information and the material information can be changed without exerting influence up other hierarchies, the working unit information and the material information can not be changed during the change of the article information, and the material information can not be changed during the change of working unit information.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an exclusive control method and apparatus for a digital editing system, and more particularly, to a method for simultaneous access by a plurality of workers, which is suitable for use in a DTP (Desk Top Publishing) system using a computer. The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for exclusive control of a digital editing system for preventing unauthorized data update.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Due to the development of computer-related technology, the DTP method has rapidly spread in recent years, and plate collection processing has become difficult.
It is becoming mainstream to use computers. General plate collection processing includes file input (also referred to as image input) processing in which a material such as an image is input as digital data with a scanner or the like, cutout processing of the material (image),
The processing includes file editing (also referred to as image editing) processing for performing color tone change processing, synthesis processing, and the like, page editing (also referred to as document editing) processing for arranging edited materials on a document to form a page, and the like. For this reason, printing companies are increasingly connecting a plurality of stations each including an independent computer via a network, and causing a plurality of operators to perform various tasks.

In this type of DTP system, generally, a general-purpose workstation or a general-purpose personal computer is used as each station.
The required application software is activated for each station, and the task of handling the task is advanced. Material data and layout data to be processed are handled in file units and exchanged via a network. In this manner, the plate collection process for the ordered item proceeds by the joint work of the plurality of operators. As described above, material data and layout data shared by a plurality of stations are often stored in a removable medium such as a plate making data server or a magneto-optical (MO) disk. When the work is completed, an operation of storing the processed data in a server or the like is performed.

At this time, it is conceivable to perform centralized file management based on a hierarchical structure so as to be able to perform overall management of individual material files suitable for plate collection processing by division of work of a plurality of operators. Can be

[0005]

However, in the case of division of labor by a plurality of workers, if a plurality of workers access the same file at the same time, there is a problem that the data may be updated improperly. I was

In order to solve such problems, it is conceivable to limit the worker group for each application such as item registration, school entry, submission, work instruction, disassembly, server registration, image editing, document editing, and the like. However, it is not possible to prevent inconvenience caused by simultaneous access of workers in the same group.

Further, in order to log in to the system, it is necessary to input a password. However, if a password for using the application is set for each application, the operator is required to enter all the applications to be used. The password must be memorized, and in order to restrict the use of the application, the password must be changed on the system side every time, which is not only very complicated but also complicated on the system. The response was not easy.

[0008] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems. For example, by increasing the number of passwords,
It is an object to surely prevent unauthorized data update due to simultaneous access by a plurality of workers without complicating the system.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an exclusive control method of a digital editing system for preventing unauthorized data updating due to simultaneous access by a plurality of workers. The information relating to the work unit and the information relating to the material are hierarchized and managed in this order, and the items indicating the unity of the hierarchized management information in each hierarchy cannot be changed simultaneously with the same item in the same hierarchy. Changes to information about the destination and information about the material will not affect other levels,
During the change of the information on the item, the information on the work unit and the information on the material cannot be changed, and during the change of the information on the work unit, the information on the material cannot be changed. It is a solution.

According to the present invention, there is also provided an exclusive control apparatus for a digital editing system, which manages actual data in a hierarchical manner in the order of information on customers, information on items, information on work units, and information on materials. Part and the item indicating the unity of the layered management information in each layer, the same item in the same layer is
It cannot be changed at the same time, and the change of the information on the customer and the information on the material does not affect other layers, and during the change of the information on the item, the information on the work unit and the information on the material cannot be changed. The present invention has also solved the above-mentioned problem by providing an accelerator tool for preventing the information on the material from being changed while the information on the work unit is being changed.

[0011]

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

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of a digital editing system using a computer network according to one embodiment of the present invention. This system includes a file input unit 10, a file editing unit 20, a page editing unit 3
0, a page output unit 40, for example, a file storage unit 50 composed of a plate making data server, for example, a file management unit 60 composed of a data management server, and a hierarchical structure setting unit 70.

Each of these units is actually composed of an independent computer. Specifically, a general-purpose workstation or a general-purpose personal computer is used. Necessary application software is installed in each computer, and a predetermined operation can be performed using each computer by activating these application software. Each computer is connected to the network 100, and can proceed with the plate collection process by the cooperation of a plurality of operators.

The file input section 10 is a computer having a function of inputting, as a material file, data to be a material to be allocated on a printed material, and includes an image input device such as an input scanner device. The submitted photograph or film is read as an image file by this scanner device. Also, text data submitted on a storage medium such as a floppy disk is read by the file input unit 10 as a text file. Here, such an image file and a text file are collectively referred to as a material file. The material file input by the file input unit 10 is stored in the file storage unit 50.

The file editing unit 20 is a computer having a function of editing a material file stored in the file storage unit 50. For example, if the material file is an image file, a clipping process, a color tone A change process, a thinning process, and the like can be performed. In the present embodiment, the file editing unit 20 is configured by installing application software for so-called photo retouching on each of a plurality of general-purpose personal computers, so that a plurality of operators can edit a plurality of material files. Can be done in parallel. The operator of the computer that constitutes the file editing unit 20 reads the material file to be edited from the file storage unit 50, performs a predetermined editing process on the material file, and returns the edited material file to the file storage unit again. The operation of storing the data in the storage 50 is performed.

The page editing unit 30 includes a file storage unit 50
Is a computer having a function of performing a page editing process using a material file stored in the computer. In this embodiment,
Also, by installing application software for so-called DTP on each of a plurality of general-purpose personal computers, the page editing unit 30 is configured. it can. The operator of the computer constituting the page editing unit 30 reads out a material file to be allocated to the page to be edited from the file storage unit 50 and performs a predetermined layout operation. The layout file generated as a result of the layout operation using the page editing unit 30 is a file including data indicating a layout mode for each page, and is stored in the file storage unit 50 like the material file. Become.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a page created by the page editing unit 30. In the illustrated example, images 1 to
3 and the text 4 are allocated at predetermined positions in a predetermined manner. Here, the images 1 to 3 are obtained by performing the allocation process using the image file after the predetermined editing process stored in the file storage unit 50, and the text 4 is stored in the file storage unit 50. This is obtained by performing the layout process using the newly input text file in the text file or the page editing unit 30 stored in 50. When such an allocation process is performed, a file including data indicating the allocation mode is created as a layout file, and is stored in the file storage unit 50.
Will be stored.

The page output section 40 is a computer having a function of outputting the page created by the page editing section 30, and includes a film output device, a color printer, and the like. For example, when outputting a page as shown in FIG. 2, a predetermined layout file and a material file stored in the file storage unit 50 are read, and a raster image created based on the data in these files is converted into a film. It has a function of outputting using an output device or a color printer. If an output is made on a film from a film output device, a film original can be obtained, and if an output is made on a paper surface from a color printer, a sample for calibration can be obtained.

The file storage unit 50 is a file server for storing the material file input from the file input unit 10 and the layout file created by the page editing unit 30 as described above. In the present embodiment, the file server configuring the file storage unit 50 includes a plurality of hard disk devices, and a plurality of volumes are set in each hard disk device.

On the other hand, the file management unit 60 is a computer having a function of managing each file stored in the file storage unit 50. As will be described later, information indicating the hierarchical structure set by the hierarchical structure setting unit 70 is stored in the file management unit 60, and file management based on this hierarchical structure is performed.

The hierarchical structure setting section 70 is a computer having a function of setting a hierarchical structure of a material file based on an operator's instruction given for each ordered item. Actually, it is configured by installing application software developed for setting the hierarchical structure on a general-purpose personal computer.

In the case of a general ordered item, the plate collection process of one item is handled by dividing into a plurality of jobs. For example, in the case of a book having a chapter structure, each chapter is often handled as one job, and in the case of a catalog or the like, each job is handled as one job for each product genre. Many. Each job includes one or several pages, and one or a plurality of materials are allocated to each page.

After all, in the case of a general printed matter, as shown in FIG. 3, information on the customer including the customer name, customer address, customer telephone number, etc. Item name, number of pages, finish style (A4 , B4, etc.), delivery date, information on items including item common instructions common to all jobs (eg, image resolution, image format, application used for work, etc.) Job (work unit) number, number of pages of the job, within job Related to the job, including the number of material points and instructions for each material (cropping, color correction, layout correction, etc.) Material file name, location, attributes (image resolution, format, clipping path, layout size) Etc.) (including the actual data hierarchy)
Hierarchical structure can be defined.

The hierarchical structure setting section 70 stores actual data (DTP
In order to hierarchically manage the plate making data), a customer-item, an item-job and the like are defined in a database in association with a code and input. Thus, the management information indicating the hierarchical structure set by the hierarchical structure setting unit 70 is stored in the file management unit 60 as a database.

As shown in FIG. 4, the exclusive control according to the present embodiment is performed by hierarchically managed data 80 (as shown in FIG. 3) composed of hierarchically managed management information and actual data used in the DTP plate making operation. ), An application 82 for performing the DTP prepress work and a worker 84 performing the DTP prepress work (all belong to any worker group, and who belongs to which group is managed). The worker 84 is configured
Is used to access the DTP plate making data 80.

That is, various applications 82 for the worker group 84 to access the DTP plate making data 80 are prepared and introduced into the work environment. The work group management information indicating the relationship between the application 82 and the worker group 84 is defined, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, and the application 82 and the DTP plate making data 8 to be accessed.
The work process management information indicating the relationship of 0 can be defined, for example, as shown in FIG.

An access tool for managing an access state according to the work group management information and the work process management information performs exclusive control according to the present invention under the following conditions.

The same item at the same level (a group of hierarchically managed information within each level ... for example, FIG. 3
Item A and item B) cannot be changed at the same time in the item hierarchy. The change of "customer" does not affect other hierarchies. "Job" and "Material" cannot be changed while "Item" is being changed. While the “job” is being changed, the information on “material” cannot be changed. Changing the “material” does not affect other layers.

When performing the actual work, the exclusive control described above operates to prevent the data consistency from being broken by carelessness. For example, when the contents of the item A and the job A in FIG. 3 are changed by the “submitting” application of FIG. 6, the change of the contents of the material B by the “image editing” application is prohibited due to the condition of the exclusive control. You.

In the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to a digital editing system that performs a plate collection process by connecting a plurality of computers via a network.
It is apparent that the present invention is not limited to this, and can be similarly applied to an independent digital editing system without using a network.

Although the present invention has been described based on the illustrated embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, but can be implemented in various other modes.
In particular, the block configuration shown in FIG. 1 shows a configuration focusing on the functional aspects of the components according to the present invention, and the actual hardware configuration is not limited to this block configuration. For example, the file storage unit 50 and the file management unit 60 can be configured by the same dual-purpose computer, and the file input unit 10 and the file management unit 60
May be configured by the same dual-purpose computer. In addition, a combined computer can be used in any combination. Further, the hierarchical structure shown in FIG. 3 is an example shown for convenience of description, and the actual hierarchical structure is not limited to this.

[0032]

According to the present invention, when data is accessed by an application, whether or not the data can be updated is determined based on the positional relationship of the hierarchy. No data is updated.

When a new item is added as management information, the item always belongs to one of the layers (or a layer to be newly added) and is added in a state where the item is associated with the layer. There is no useless item that exists but is not accessed by any application.

Further, since the available applications are switched on the system side, the password may be one for connecting to the system, and the mechanism is simple. Also, DT
There are various types of P plate making operations. By switching available applications in accordance with these volumes, it is possible to allow a worker to perform only the operation to be performed now.
It is also possible to limit the work process.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a page created by a page editing unit according to the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a hierarchy of DTP plate making data hierarchized according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a worker group and D according to the embodiment of the present invention.
Block diagram showing the relationship between TP plate making data

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of worker group management information.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of work process management information;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... File input part 20 ... File edit part 30 ... Page edit part 40 ... Page output part 50 ... File storage part 60 ... File management part 70 ... Hierarchical structure setting part 100 ... Network

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Naoki Izumi, 1-1-1, Ichigaya Kagacho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Inside Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Mari Ando 1-chome, Ichigaya-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo No. 1 Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Isao Takeuchi 1-1-1, Ichigaya Kagacho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo F-term (reference) in Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. GA13 GA14

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An exclusive control method for a digital editing system for preventing unauthorized data updating due to simultaneous access by a plurality of workers, comprising the steps of:
The information related to the work unit and the information related to the material are hierarchized and managed in the order, and the items indicating the unity of the hierarchized management information in each hierarchy cannot be changed at the same time in the same item in the same hierarchy. The change of the information on the destination and the information on the material does not affect the other layers. During the change of the information on the item, the information on the work unit and the information on the material cannot be changed. The exclusive control method of the digital editing system, wherein the information on the material cannot be changed during the change of the information. 2. An exclusive control device of a digital editing system for preventing unauthorized data update due to simultaneous access of a plurality of workers, wherein an actual data is converted into information on a customer, information on an item,
A file management unit that manages information in a hierarchical manner in the order of information related to work units and information related to materials, and an item indicating a unit of the hierarchical management information in each hierarchy, the same item in the same hierarchy cannot be changed simultaneously. The change in the information on the customer and the information on the material does not affect the other layers. During the change in the information on the item, the information on the work unit and the information on the material cannot be changed. An exclusive tool for a digital editing system, comprising: an accelerator tool for preventing the information on the material from being changed while the information on the material is being changed.