JP2005284872A - Information sharing system and information sharing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information sharing system which enables information to be quickly transmitted and efficiently shared via a network. <P>SOLUTION: The information sharing system 1 has a reporter terminal 15 used by a reporter who originates information, a manager terminal 16 used by a person in charge who has authority to approve a report from the reporter, and an information referrer terminal 17 used by an information referrer who references the report from the reporter, the terminals 15, 16 and 17 being connected to a data center 10 via a network 14, wherein image data is acquired by the mail server 11 and is stored in a database 13 when the reporter transmits image data photographed by a digital camera 151 from the reporter terminal 15 to a main server 11 by e-mail. When publication of the above stored image data is approved by the operation of the manager terminal 16, the image data is published by a web server 12 and can be browsed by the information referrer terminal 17. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an information sharing system and an information sharing method for sharing information among a plurality of people.

  In recent years, the rapid spread of the Internet has made it possible for individuals to easily send information. As information transmission means via the Internet, a method of publishing a web page using WWW (World Wide Web) and a method of using e-mail are mainly known. The method of publishing a web page has the advantage that information sent by an individual can be viewed by many people and can be easily shared. There is an advantage that information can be transmitted in a short time.

By the way, when trying to transmit information using a web page, there has been a problem that the work load for creating the web page is large. That is, in order to create a web page on which images and sentences are posted, it is necessary to acquire knowledge about the Internet, and it is difficult for beginners to create and publish web pages. For this reason, various proposals have been made to enable easy creation of a web page (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP2003-141030A

  Patent Document 1 discloses a business method for supporting creation and update of a homepage (web page) on the Internet. According to this method, a user creates and updates a homepage by specifying a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) on the Internet from a mobile phone, connecting to the homepage, and entering text in a template of the homepage prepared in advance. It is supposed to be possible.

However, in general, a person who creates a web page tries to improve originality by devising a design such as a layout and a background at the time of completion. Therefore, when various proposals for easily creating a web page such as the method disclosed in Patent Document 1 are used, the operation can be performed without technical knowledge. Still takes a lot of time and effort. In other words, it has been common sense that a certain amount of time and effort is required when creating a web page.
Therefore, web pages as information dissemination means are time-consuming and labor-intensive, and are designed to effectively disseminate information, and are not suitable for use in transmitting information in a short time. It was.

  On the other hand, e-mail is a means for transmitting information after identifying a partner, and is not suitable as a means for sharing information with many people. Also, because information is transmitted by text, it may be confusing if the text is inappropriate. For this reason, when trying to transmit important information, it took time to scrutinize the text, and information could not be transmitted so quickly.

  As described above, when information is transmitted using the Internet, it can be said that it is more efficient than the conventional methods (telephone, fax, etc.), but information cannot be transmitted so quickly and efficiently.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an information sharing system that can quickly transmit information via a network and share it efficiently.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has the following features. In the following description, a configuration corresponding to the embodiment is shown as an example in parentheses. Reference numerals and the like are reference numerals for drawings to be described later.

  The invention according to claim 1 is an information transmission terminal (for example, a reporter) provided with an e-mail including predetermined information to be shared or an e-mail attached with the predetermined information. Terminal 15) and an information acquisition means for receiving the e-mail transmitted from the information transmitting terminal and acquiring the predetermined information included in the e-mail or the predetermined information attached to the e-mail. For example, an information center including a mail server 11) and information sharing means (for example, a web server 12) that holds the predetermined information acquired by the information acquisition means in a state where it can be provided via a communication line. And a device (for example, the data center 10).

  The invention according to claim 2 further includes an approval terminal (for example, an administrator terminal 16) for outputting an instruction as to whether or not to approve sharing of the predetermined information in the information sharing system according to claim 1, The information sharing unit included in the information center apparatus is configured to output the predetermined information only when an instruction to approve sharing is output by the approval terminal for the predetermined information acquired by the information acquisition unit. It is characterized in that it is held in a state where it can be provided via a communication line.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the information sharing system according to the first or second aspect, the information center device holds the predetermined information in a state where the predetermined information can be provided by the information sharing means via the communication line. It is further characterized by further comprising notification means for creating and sending an e-mail for notifying that.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the information sharing system according to any one of the first to third aspects, the information transmission terminal further includes a digital camera (for example, the digital camera 151), and the mail transmission means An e-mail attached with image data captured by a digital camera is created and transmitted.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the information sharing system according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the information sharing means included in the information center device creates a web page including the predetermined information, and the communication The web page is made public through a line.

  The invention according to claim 6 is an information transmission terminal (for example, the reporter terminal 15) that transmits information and an information center apparatus (for example, a data center) that receives and shares information transmitted by the information transmission terminal. 10) is a method of sharing information in a system including the information transmission terminal that acquires predetermined information to be shared and transmits the information from the information transmission terminal to the information center device. The information center device transmits mail information for creating an electronic mail to the information transmission terminal in response to a request from the information transmission terminal, and the information transmission terminal transmits the information Based on the mail information transmitted from the center device, an e-mail including the predetermined information or an e-mail attached with the predetermined information is created, and the information center The information center device receives the e-mail transmitted from the information transmission terminal, and receives the predetermined information included in the received e-mail or the predetermined information attached to the e-mail. It is acquired and held in a state where it can be provided via a communication line.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the e-mail including the predetermined information to be shared or the e-mail attached with the predetermined information is created and transmitted by the mail transmitting means included in the information transmission terminal, and the information center In the apparatus, the information acquisition means receives the e-mail transmitted from the information transmission terminal, acquires the predetermined information included in the e-mail or the predetermined information attached to the e-mail, and acquires the predetermined information Is held in a state that can be provided via a communication line by an information sharing means, so that information can be transmitted and information can be shared with others via a communication line simply by sending an e-mail from an information transmission terminal. can do. Therefore, it is possible to share information in a much wider range and efficiently than in the case of directly sending an electronic mail to another person. Moreover, information can be quickly shared by a very simple method compared to the case where a web page is created by an information transmission terminal. In particular, when the predetermined information to be shared is composed of, for example, one or a small number of files such as image data, the information transmission terminal only needs to transmit the file attached to an e-mail. Therefore, information can be widely shared via the communication line by performing a very simple and small number of operations at the information transmission terminal.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the information sharing means included in the information center device is configured to obtain the predetermined information acquired by the information acquisition means by the approval terminal that outputs an instruction as to whether or not to approve sharing of the predetermined information. Only when an instruction to approve the sharing is output by the approval terminal, the predetermined information is held in a state where it can be provided via the communication line. It can be determined by the person using the approval terminal before sharing the information whether or not it is worthy. Thereby, information can be shared accurately and appropriately.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the information center apparatus creates an e-mail for notifying that predetermined information is held in a state that can be provided via the communication line by the information sharing means by the communication means. Since the information is transmitted, the information can be shared efficiently by notifying the other party sharing the information that the information can be shared. In particular, an electronic mail can be transmitted to a plurality of other parties at the same time, and further, communication means for transmitting the electronic mail is provided in the information center device. Therefore, information can be efficiently shared simply by transmitting information from the information transmission terminal by electronic mail.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the information transmission terminal further includes a digital camera, and the e-mail attached with the image data photographed by the digital camera is created and transmitted by the mail transmission means. Easy to share. Image data has an extremely large amount of information compared to characters, and is optimal for the purpose of communicating a specific situation to others. In addition, the information transmission terminal only needs to take an image with a digital camera and send the captured image data by attaching it to an e-mail. can do.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the information sharing means provided in the information center device creates a web page including predetermined information and publishes the web page via the communication line. The information can be easily viewed with a web browser. Web browsers are installed in a wide variety of devices such as personal computers, mobile phones, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistance), and are widely used. Also, the method of publishing a web page via a communication line is optimal as a means for providing information to many people. Therefore, according to the present invention, there is an effect that information can be easily and easily shared among many people.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, in a system configured to include an information transmission terminal that transmits information and an information center apparatus that receives and shares information transmitted by the information transmission terminal, The credit terminal acquires predetermined information to be shared, requests information transmission from the information transmission terminal to the information center apparatus, and sends an e-mail according to the request from the information transmission terminal by the information center apparatus. E-mail information to be created is transmitted to an information transmission terminal, and an e-mail including predetermined information or an electronic device to which predetermined information is attached based on the e-mail information transmitted from the information center device by the information transmission terminal A mail is created and transmitted to the information center apparatus, and the information center apparatus receives an e-mail transmitted from the information transmission terminal, and the predetermined e-mail included in the received e-mail The information or the predetermined information attached to the e-mail is acquired, and the acquired predetermined information is held in a state where it can be provided via the communication line. Can share information with others via a communication line. Therefore, it is possible to share information efficiently in a much wider range than in the case of directly sending electronic mail to others. Also, information can be quickly shared by a very simple method as compared with the case where a web page is created by an information transmission terminal. In particular, when the predetermined information to be shared is composed of, for example, one or a small number of files such as image data, the information transmission terminal only needs to transmit the file attached to an e-mail. In this case, information can be widely shared through the communication line by performing a very simple and small number of operations at the information transmission terminal. Further, when creating an e-mail at the information transmission terminal, after making a request to the information center apparatus, the e-mail may be created based on the mail information transmitted from the information center apparatus. Therefore, if the information center device includes the information necessary for creating the e-mail in the e-mail information, it is possible to save the trouble of inputting a large amount of information at the information transmission terminal, and to quickly create the e-mail. Predetermined information can be transmitted. Furthermore, since the information transmission terminal creates the electronic mail based on the mail information transmitted from the information center apparatus, it is possible to prevent the information from being transmitted without permission from an apparatus that does not receive the mail information. For this reason, since it is impossible to impersonate an information transmission terminal using a device that does not have proper authority, it is possible to prevent unauthorized use of the system and to share only appropriate information.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an information sharing system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the information sharing system 1 includes a data center 10 for transmitting and sharing information. The data center 10 includes a mail server 11, a web server 12, and a database 13.
Further, the information sharing system 1 includes a reporter terminal 15 used by a reporter who transmits information, an administrator terminal 16 used by a responsible person who has the authority of responsibility and approval for information transmission by the reporter, and a reporter. An information referer terminal 17 used by an information referer who refers to the transmitted information is included. The reporter terminal 15, the administrator terminal 16, and the information reference terminal 17 can access the mail server 11, the web server 12, and the database 13 of the data center 10 through the network 14, respectively.

  The mail server 11 is a server device that transmits and receives data to and from the reporter terminal 15, the administrator terminal 16, and the information reference terminal 17 via the network 14 according to various protocols. The mail server 11 automatically creates an e-mail according to specified conditions in an information sharing process (FIG. 2), a comment editing process (FIG. 3), and a disclosure state change process (FIG. 4), which will be described later. The data is transmitted to the terminal 15, the administrator terminal 16, or the information reference terminal 17. Further, the mail server 11 receives the electronic mail transmitted from the reporter terminal 15 in the information sharing process (FIG. 2), and receives the header and body data of the received electronic mail and the image attached to the electronic mail. Data is acquired, and the acquired data is stored in the database 13.

  The web server 12 is a server device that transmits and receives data to and from the reporter terminal 15, the administrator terminal 16, and the information reference terminal 17 via the network 14 according to various protocols. The web server 12 transmits web page data stored in a built-in storage device (not shown) via the network 14 in response to a request from the reporter terminal 15, the administrator terminal 16, or the information reference terminal 17. To do. In addition, the web server 12 statically or dynamically creates a web page including data stored in the database 13 in response to a request from the reporter terminal 15, the administrator terminal 16, or the information reference person terminal 17. Sent to the device that issued the request.

In addition, when an operation on the web page transmitted from the web server 12 is performed at the reporter terminal 15, the administrator terminal 16, or the information referrer terminal 17, the web server 12 executes various processes according to the operation.
For example, in the information sharing process (FIG. 2), when information on a new case is input by an operation on the reporter terminal 15, a new case is registered in the database 13 based on the input information. Further, for example, in the information sharing process (FIG. 2), the comment editing process (FIG. 3), and the disclosure state changing process (FIG. 4), the web server 12 responds to operations at the reporter terminal 15 and the administrator terminal 16. Then, a process for changing the information stored in the database 13 or a process for changing the status of the report registered in the database 13 is performed.

  The database 13 stores various data according to the control of the mail server 11 and the web server 12. For example, in the information sharing process (FIG. 2) described later, the case is registered in the database 13. A status indicating the processing status of the case is set for the registered case. In addition, when information is transmitted from the reporter terminal 15 with respect to the registered case, the transmitted information is stored in the database 13 as the content of the report regarding the case. The report contents stored in the database 13 are added, changed, and deleted as needed.

  The network 14 is configured to include various communication lines such as a dedicated line, a public telephone line, a satellite communication line, and various servers (not shown), and a specific aspect thereof is not particularly limited. Further, between the data center 10, the reporter terminal 15, the administrator terminal 16, and the information reference terminal 17 and the network 14, an ISP (Internet Service Provider), an NSP (Network Service Provider), a mobile phone business Various devices such as servers, firewalls, gateway devices, and the like provided by the user may be included, but they are not shown here. A typical example of the network 14 is the Internet, but it may be a LAN (Local Area Network) or another network.

  The reporter terminal 15 is a terminal device including a web browser for browsing web pages and a mailer capable of creating, editing, transmitting, and receiving e-mails, and more specifically a mobile phone. The reporter terminal 15 includes a communication function unit for transmitting and receiving various data via the network 14, one or more display screens for displaying an operation screen of a web page or a mailer, a key operation unit for performing an input operation, and the like. Is provided. The web browser and mailer provided in the reporter terminal 15 can be operated by an operation in the key operation unit or by a predetermined command.

Here, HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language), Compact HTML, DHTML (Dynamic HTML), WML (Wireless Markup Language L), HDML (Handheld DeviceL) These are described in an extended language, but are not particularly limited. For example, GIF (Graphics Interchange Format), JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group), TIFF (Tagged Image File Format), Bit Including image data files conforming to various standards such as maps), including audio data files, provided by external programs such as CGI (Common Gateway Interface) and ASP (Active Server Pages), and script language It may include a description.
It should be noted that the various standards described above are merely examples, and the scope of application of the present invention naturally includes standards compliant with standards other than the above and standards that are expanded from the above standards in the present and future.

  Further, the reporter terminal 15 includes a digital camera 151 and a storage device that stores image data of an image captured by the digital camera 151.

As described above, the administrator terminal 16 is a terminal device used by the responsible person, and the responsible person may use either the mobile phone 161 or the computer 162.
A cellular phone 161 is a cellular phone including the web browser and mailer, and includes a communication function unit for transmitting and receiving various data via the network 14, a display screen, a key operation unit, and the like. The web browser and mailer included in the mobile phone 161 can be operated by an operation in the key operation unit or by inputting a predetermined command. The computer 162 is a desktop or notebook personal computer, and includes a web browser capable of browsing the web page, and a mailer capable of creating, editing, transmitting, and receiving e-mail. The computer 162 includes a communication function unit for transmitting and receiving various data via the network 14, an input device such as a keyboard, a mouse, and a touch pad, a display including a display screen, and the like. The web browser and mailer provided in the computer 162 can be operated by an operation on the input device or by inputting a predetermined command.

The information referrer terminal 17 is a terminal device used by the information referer as described above, and the information referer may use either the mobile phone 171 or the computer 172.
A cellular phone 171 is a cellular phone equipped with the web browser and mailer, and includes a communication function unit for transmitting and receiving various data via the network 14, a display screen, a key operation unit, and the like. The web browser and mailer included in the mobile phone 171 can be operated by an operation in the key operation unit or by inputting a predetermined command. The computer 172 is a desktop or notebook personal computer, and includes a web browser capable of browsing the web page and a mailer capable of creating, editing, transmitting, and receiving e-mail. The computer 172 includes a communication function unit for transmitting and receiving various data via the network 14, an input device such as a keyboard, a mouse, and a touch pad, a display having a display screen, and the like. The web browser and mailer provided in the computer 172 can be operated by an operation on an input device or by inputting a predetermined command.

  Detailed configurations of the reporter terminal 15, the mobile phones 161 and 171, and the computers 162 and 172 are not shown here.

The operation of the information sharing system 1 configured as described above will be described.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing information sharing processing executed in the information sharing system 1.

  An overview of the information sharing process shown in FIG. 2 will be described. First, a reporter who uses the reporter terminal 15 captures an image using the digital camera 151 installed in the reporter terminal 15 and reports using the captured image data as a report item is generated. Subsequently, the person in charge confirms the content of the report, approves it, and gives a comment. Then, after approval by the responsible person is made, the contents of the report are disclosed to the information referring person.

  Therefore, prior to the information sharing process shown in FIG. 2, the reporter using the reporter terminal 15, the person responsible for using the administrator terminal 16 in either the mail server 11, the web server 12, or the database 13, and Information of an information referrer who uses the information referer terminal 17 is registered. This information includes, for example, the e-mail addresses used in the reporter terminal 15, the mobile phones 161 and 171, and the computers 162 and 172, the names of reporters, responsible persons, and information referring persons, reporters, responsible persons, and information referring persons. When the data center 10 is accessed from the reporter terminal 15, the mobile phones 161 and 171, and the computers 162 and 172, the data center 10 is notified to each of these devices. Information etc. are included.

Details of the information sharing process will be described below.
First, when a report case is generated (step S11), a reporter using the reporter terminal 15 performs photographing with the digital camera 151 and obtains information on the generated case. And in order to input the information regarding a case (step S12), the web server 12 of the data center 10 is accessed, a case information input page is browsed by the web browser of the reporter terminal 15, and information is input (step S13). . The information input here is information indicating the type and name of the case, the reporter name, and the like.

  The web server 12 acquires the information input in step S13, and registers a new case in the database 13 based on the acquired information (step S14). Here, an identification ID for identifying a case is given to the new case by the web server 12 or the database 13, and thereafter, the case is identified and specified by the identification ID. Further, the status of the case newly registered in the database 13 is set to “unreported”.

  After registering a new case in the database 13 in step S <b> 14, the web server 12 creates and transmits a web page for transmission to the reporter terminal 15. On this web page, a link button called “image upload mail creation button” for activating a mailer mounted on the reporter terminal 15 and inputting information related to the image upload mail is arranged. In this “image upload mail creation button”, a command for starting the mailer of the reporter terminal 15 and information to be input to the mailer of the reporter terminal 15 are embedded. The embedded information is, for example, the mail address of the mail server 11 that is the destination of the image upload mail, the identification ID that is the subject of the image upload mail, or the like.

Subsequently, the reporter using the reporter terminal 15 selects and designates the “image upload mail creation button” in the web page displayed by the reporter terminal 15 in order to report on the case (step S15) (step S15). S16).
By this operation, the mailer is started in the reporter terminal 15, and an email creation screen in which the address and subject are already input is displayed on the display screen of the reporter terminal 15 according to the command embedded in the “image upload email creation button”. . The reporter operates the displayed mail creation screen, sets the image data captured in step S11 as an attached file, and transmits an image upload mail to the mail server 11.

  When receiving the image upload mail transmitted from the reporter terminal 15 (step S17), the mail server 11 acquires the attached image data and stores it in the database 13 (step S18). In the process of step S18, the mail server 11 searches and extracts the cases registered in the database 13 based on the identification ID set in the subject of the received image upload mail, and acquires the image acquired as a report regarding the extracted cases. Data is stored in the database 13.

  On the other hand, when the web server 12 creates a web page to be transmitted to the reporter terminal 15 after registering a new case in the database 13 in step S14, the “image upload mail creation button” and “ A link button called “report button” is arranged. In this “report button”, a command for instructing the web server 12 to notify the administrator terminal 16 that a report on the case has been made is embedded.

In the reporter terminal 15, the mailer ends the operation after transmitting the image upload mail in step S16, and the web browser displays the web page again on the display screen. On this web page, the above-mentioned “report button” is arranged together with the above-mentioned “image upload mail creation button”.
Here, the reporter using the reporter terminal 15 performs an operation for notifying the responsible person that the image has been transmitted by the image upload mail (step S19). That is, the reporter selects and designates a “report button” arranged on the web page being displayed on the display screen of the reporter terminal 15 (step S20).
When the “report button” is selected and specified in the reporter terminal 15, a command is transmitted from the reporter terminal 15 to the web server 12 in accordance with the command embedded in the “report button”. Upon receiving this command, the web server 12 changes the status of the case registered in the database 13 from “unreported” to “reported” (step S21).

  In step S21, when the status of the case registered in the database 13 is changed to “reported”, the mail server 11 uses the mail address of the administrator terminal 16 as the destination in response to a request from the web server 12. Then, a report confirmation request mail is created and transmitted (step S22). In the report confirmation request mail, for example, the mail address of the mail server 11 is set as the sender's mail address, the title of the report is set in the subject, and the web for instructing whether or not to approve the report in the text. This is an email containing the URL of the page (approval decision page).

In step S22, the mail server 11 notifies the person in charge of using the administrator terminal 16 that the report confirmation request mail has been transmitted, so that the confirmation request transmission notification mail is sent to the mail address of the reporter terminal 15 as the destination. Create and send.
The reporter who uses the reporter terminal 15 can confirm that the report confirmation request mail has been transmitted to the person responsible for the report he / she has received by receiving the confirmation request transmission notification mail (step S23).

  Further, the administrator terminal 16 receives the report confirmation request mail transmitted from the mail server 11 and displays it on the display screen (step S24). Here, when the person in charge using the administrator terminal 16 operates the administrator terminal 16 to approve the contents of the report (step S25), the administrator terminal 16 accesses the web server 12 in response to this operation. Then, data of a web page (approval decision page) for instructing whether to approve the report is received and the web page is displayed (step S26).

When an instruction to approve the report content is transmitted from the administrator terminal 16 displaying the approval determination page to the web server 12 by the operation of the administrator terminal 16 by the responsible person, the web server 12 And the status of the case registered in the database 13 is changed from “reported” to “approved” (step S27).
Further, the web server 12 creates a web page (public page) for publishing the contents of the report based on the information stored in the database 13, and the web page for the access from the information referer terminal 17. Is set so that can be disclosed (step S28).

In addition, when the status of the case registered in the database 13 is changed to “Approved”, the mail server 11 creates a notification mail notifying that the report content has been released, and the reporter terminal 15 and the information The referrer terminal 17 is transmitted as a destination (step S29).
The notification mail is, for example, a mail in which the mail address of the mail server 11 is set as the sender's mail address, the title of the report is set in the subject, and the URL of the public page related to the report is included in the text. .

  The reporter terminal 15 receives the notification mail and displays it on the display screen (step S30). Thereby, the reporter who uses the reporter terminal 15 can know that the contents reported by himself / herself are approved and published.

  The information referer terminal 17 receives the notification mail transmitted from the mail server 11 and displays it on the display screen (step S31). An information referrer who uses the information referrer terminal 17 can view the report contents by using a web browser installed in the information referer terminal 17.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing comment editing processing executed in the information sharing system 1.
The comment editing process is a process for a person in charge of using the administrator terminal 16 to add, change, delete, etc. a case registered in the database 13 in the information sharing process shown in FIG.

  In the comment editing process shown in FIG. 3, the person in charge who uses the administrator terminal 16 operates the administrator terminal 16 to access the web server 12 when editing a comment (Step S41), Are displayed, and an operation for instructing addition, change, deletion, etc. of a comment is performed on the comment edit page (step S42).

  The web server 12 changes the information stored in the database 13 according to the operation on the comment edit page being displayed on the administrator terminal 16 (step S43). Furthermore, the web server 12 updates the public page related to the case based on the changed information in the database 13 (step S44). Specifically, comments in the public page are added, changed, or deleted.

  In addition, when the information stored in the database 13 is changed, the mail server 11 creates a notification mail notifying that the public page has been updated, and uses the reporter terminal 15 and the information reference terminal 17 as destinations. Transmit (step S45).

The reporter terminal 15 receives the notification mail and displays it on the display screen (step S46). As a result, the reporter using the reporter terminal 15 can know that a comment has been added regarding the report he / she has made.
The information referer terminal 17 receives the notification mail transmitted from the mail server 11 and displays it on the display screen (step S47). Thereby, the information reference person who uses the information reference person terminal 17 can browse the updated public page by the web browser installed in the information reference person terminal 17.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a disclosure state change process executed in the information sharing system 1. In the public status change process, the person who uses the administrator terminal 16 cannot view the public page of the case registered in the database 13 by the information sharing process shown in FIG. 2 by anyone other than the reporter and the person in charge. It is a process of making it private, making a public page that has been made private, making it available for viewing only by a specific third party, and changing information to be made public.

In the public status change process shown in FIG. 4, the person in charge who uses the administrator terminal 16 accesses the web server 12 through the administrator terminal 16 to change the public status of the public page (step S51). A release state change page for changing the release state of the matter is received and displayed, and an operation for instructing change of the release state is performed on the release state change page (step S52).
Here, the operation for instructing the change of the public state is, for example, an operation of making the public page itself private, or selecting public / non-public for specific items (images, comments, etc.) included in the public page. is there.

The web server 12 changes the status of the case registered in the database 13 in accordance with the operation on the disclosure state change page being displayed on the administrator terminal 16 (step S53). Here, the status of the case registered in the database 13 can be set not only for public / non-public for all information associated with the case, but also for public / non-public for each information associated with the case. Can be set.
Further, the web server 12 updates the public page related to the matter according to the status change in the database 13 (step S54).

  Further, when the status of the case registered in the database 13 is changed, the mail server 11 creates a notification mail notifying that the public page has been updated, and the reporter terminal 15 and the information referer terminal 17 are updated. It transmits as a destination (step S55).

The reporter terminal 15 receives the notification mail and displays it on the display screen (step S56). Thereby, the reporter who uses the reporter terminal 15 can know that the disclosure state of the case reported by himself / herself has been changed.
The information referer terminal 17 receives the notification mail transmitted from the mail server 11 and displays it on the display screen (step S57). Thereby, the information referrer who uses the information referer terminal 17 can know that the public state of the public page has been changed.

  FIGS. 5A and 5B are diagrams showing an example of the structure of the mail created and transmitted / received in the information sharing process of FIG. 2. FIG. 5A shows an example of the structure of the image upload mail, and FIG. A configuration example is shown, and (c) a configuration example of a notification mail is shown.

  As described above, when the image upload mail creation button is operated in step S <b> 16 of FIG. 2, the mailer is activated on the reporter terminal 15 and the image upload mail creation screen for creating the image upload mail 21 is displayed. Is done. In the image upload mail 21, as illustrated in FIG. 5A, the mail address of the reporter terminal 15 is set as the mail sender (From), and the mail of the receiving system of the mail server 11 is set as the destination (To). An address is set, and a case identification ID is set in the subject (Subject). Also, a message for guiding the reporter to send an image taken by the reporter terminal 15 attached to the image upload mail 21 as a report image is arranged in the field for inputting the text of the mail.

  Further, in the report confirmation request mail 22 created in step S22 of FIG. 2, the mail address of the receiving system of the mail server 11 is set to the mail sender (From), as illustrated in FIG. 5B. The mail address of the administrator terminal 16 is set as the destination (To), and the title of the report is set as the subject (Subject). In addition, the URL of the approval decision page for the report uploaded by the reporter and a message requesting approval for the report are arranged in the body of the mail.

  As shown in FIG. 5C, the notification mail 23 created in step S29 in FIG. 2 is set with the mail address of the receiving system of the mail server 11 as the mail transmission source (From), and the destination (To). Is set to the e-mail address of the information referrer terminal 17, and the title of the report is set to the subject (Subject). Also, the URL of the public page is arranged in the mail text column. 2, a notification mail in which the mail address of the reporter terminal 15 is set as the notification mail destination (To) is also created and transmitted to the reporter terminal 15.

  FIG. 5C shows an example of the notification mail that is created and transmitted in step S29 of FIG. 2, but the notification mail that is generated in step S45 of FIG. 3 and step S55 of FIG. 4 is also shown. The same configuration can be adopted. In this case, the character entered in the text field of the notification mail may be changed as appropriate to make an appropriate message.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of web pages displayed on the reporter terminal 15 and transitions between the web pages.
A reporter top page 31 in FIG. 6 is a top page for the reporter terminal 15 prepared in the web server 12. The reporter top page 31 is displayed first when the reporter terminal 15 is operated to access the web server 12.

  The reporter top page 31 displays a list of the titles and statuses of reports made by the reporter using the reporter terminal 15. The title of each report is a link button, and operations related to each report can be performed by selecting and specifying these link buttons.

For example, the status of the report 1 displayed on the reporter top page 31 is “approved”, indicating that the public page has been released through the information sharing process of FIG. For this reason, when the link button of the report 1 is selected and designated, the post-approval operation page 32 for processing the approved report is displayed.
The post-approval operation page 32 has two link buttons, that is, an [image upload] button and an [add comment] button. When the [Image Upload] button is selected and designated, the mailer is activated to upload the image by adding an image, and a screen for creating the image upload mail 21 is displayed. When the [Add Comment] button is selected and specified, a comment edit page 35 for inputting a comment and instructing addition is displayed. When the reporter performs an operation on the comment edit page 35, information on the case registered in the database 13 by the web server 12 is processed according to the operation content.

Further, the status of the report 2 displayed on the reporter top page 31 is “reported”. This status indicates that the processing up to step S22 in the information sharing processing of FIG. 2 is completed and waiting for the approval of the person in charge who uses the administrator terminal 16.
When the report 2 link button is selected, the post-report operation page 33 is displayed on the display screen of the reporter terminal 15.
On the post-report operation page 33, an [image upload] button and an [add comment] button are arranged. When the [Image Upload] button is selected and designated, the mailer is activated to upload the image by adding an image, and a screen for creating the image upload mail 21 is displayed. When the [Add Comment] button is selected and specified, a comment edit page 35 for inputting a comment and instructing addition is displayed.

Further, the status of the report 3 displayed on the reporter top page 31 is “unreported”. This status is a state from when the case is registered in the database 13 in step S14 in the information sharing process of FIG. 2 until the [report] button is operated by the operation on the reporter terminal 15 in step S20.
When the report 3 link button is selected, an unreported operation page 34 is displayed on the display screen of the reporter terminal 15.

  In the unreported operation page 34, an [image upload] button, an [add comment] button, and a [report] button are arranged. When the [Image Upload] button is selected and designated, the mailer is activated and a screen for creating the image upload mail 21 is displayed. When the [Add Comment] button is selected and specified, a comment edit page 35 for inputting a comment is displayed. When the [Report] button is selected and operated, the processing after Step S20 in FIG. 2 is executed, and a report confirmation page 36 is displayed on the reporter terminal 15. On the report confirmation page 36, a message indicating that the report has been made is displayed, and a [Back] button for moving to the reporter top page 31 is arranged.

  Further, the reporter top page 31 is provided with a link button for a [Create new report] button and a [Delete report] button. When the “Create new report” button is selected and designated, a report on a new case is made, and a case information input page is displayed on the reporter terminal 15 (step S13 in FIG. 2).

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of web pages displayed on the administrator terminal 16 and transitions between the web pages.
The administrator top page 41 of FIG. 7 is a top page for the administrator terminal 16 prepared in the web server 12. The administrator top page 41 is displayed first when the administrator terminal 16 is operated to access the web server 12.

  The manager top page 41 displays a list of report titles and statuses to be managed by the person in charge who uses the administrator terminal 16. The title of each report is a link button, and operations related to each report can be performed by selecting and specifying these link buttons.

For example, the status of the report 1 displayed on the manager top page 41 is “publishing”, which indicates that the public page has been released through the information sharing process of FIG. When the link button of report 1 is selected and designated, a comment edit page 45 for performing processing for editing a comment for the approved report is displayed.
Further, the status of the report 2 displayed on the manager top page 41 is “approved”, indicating that the processing up to step S27 of the information sharing processing of FIG. 2 has been completed. When the report 2 link button is selected and designated, a comment edit page 45 for performing a process of editing a comment for the approved report is displayed.

  On the comment editing page 45, a radio button for selecting one of the two types of comments 1 and 2 is arranged, and further, an [add comment] button, a [change comment] button, and a [comment delete] button are arranged. Yes. By selecting and specifying each link button, the comment editing process shown in FIG. 3 is started, and the case registered in the database 13 by the web server 12 is processed. Note that the radio button in the comment edit page 45 is arranged to select a comment to be operated in a state where comments accumulated in the past are displayed in a list. Therefore, the number of radio buttons increases or decreases depending on the number of comments assigned to the case.

In addition, the status of the report 3 displayed on the manager top page 41 is “unapproved”. This status indicates that the processing up to step S22 in the information sharing processing of FIG. 2 is completed and waiting for the approval of the responsible person. When the link button of report 3 is selected and operated, an approval determination page 46 is displayed on the display screen of the administrator terminal 16.
On the approval decision page 46, the contents of the report are arranged, and an [Approval pending notice] button and an [Approve] button are arranged. The person in charge who uses the administrator terminal 16 selects and designates the [Approval pending notice] button when not approving the contents of the report, and the [Approve] button when approved.

  When the “approval hold notification” button is selected and designated on the approval decision page 46, an approval hold notification creation page 47 is displayed on the display screen of the administrator terminal 16. The approval pending notification creation page 47 includes an input field for inputting a reason for suspending approval, a field for designating a partner to notify that the approval is suspended, and an [approval pending notification] button. In the field for designating a partner to be notified, a plurality of partners are displayed in advance as a list, and a check box corresponding to each person is arranged. When the person in charge of the administrator terminal 16 checks the check box of the other party to be notified and selects and designates the [Approval pending notification] button, the mail server 11 notifies the reason entered in the input field. Is created and sent to the selected person.

  When the [Approve] button is selected and specified on the approval determination page 46, an approval notification creation page 48 is displayed on the display screen of the administrator terminal 16. In the approval notification creation page 48, an input field for inputting a comment upon approval, a field for designating a partner to be notified of approval, and an [Approve] button are arranged. In the field for designating a partner to be notified, a plurality of partners are displayed in advance as a list, and a check box corresponding to each person is arranged. When the person in charge who uses the administrator terminal 16 puts a check on the check box of the other party to be notified and selects and designates the [Approve] button, the mail server 11 enters the input field by the process shown in step S29 of FIG. A mail for notifying the input reason is created and sent to the selected partner.

  Further, the administrator top page 41 is provided with a link button for a “change report status” button and a “delete report” button. The responsible person selects and designates the [change report status] button on the administrator terminal 16 when the report content disclosure status is changed by the disclosure status change processing shown in FIG. 4. To delete a report, select and specify the [Delete Report] button.

When the “report status change” button is selected and designated on the administrator top page 41, the disclosure status change page 43 is displayed on the display screen of the administrator terminal 16.
The release state change page 43 is provided with a radio button for designating whether or not to release the report selected by the person in charge among the reports displayed on the manager top page 41. When the radio button is used to specify whether or not to open, and the [Change] button is selected and specified, the processing after step S53 in FIG. 4 is executed, and the status change confirmation page 44 is displayed on the display screen of the administrator terminal 16. Is displayed. On the status change confirmation page 44, a message indicating that the report disclosure status has been changed and a [Back] button for shifting to the administrator top page 41 are arranged.

  When the [Delete Report] button is selected and specified on the administrator top page 41, the report information selected by the person in charge from the reports displayed on the administrator top page 41 is deleted from the database 13. The process can be executed by the web server 12. Thereafter, a deletion confirmation page 42 is displayed on the display screen of the administrator terminal 16. On the deletion confirmation page 42, a message indicating that the report item has been deleted and a [Back] button for shifting to the administrator top page 41 are arranged.

  As described above, according to the information sharing system 1 in the embodiment of the present invention, the reporter transmits information only by transmitting an e-mail from the reporter terminal 15, and the administrator terminal via the network 14. The information can be shared with the person in charge of using 16 or the information referring person using the information referring terminal 17. Therefore, information can be shared in a much wider range and efficiently compared to the case where an e-mail is directly transmitted from the reporter terminal 15 to the manager terminal 16 or the information reference terminal 17. Moreover, compared with the case where a web page is created and published using the reporter terminal 15, information can be quickly shared by a very simple method. In particular, when the information to be shared is composed of one or a small number of files such as image data, the reporter terminal 15 only needs to attach this file to an e-mail and transmit it. In this case, information can be widely shared by performing a very simple and small number of operations at the reporter terminal 15. Further, the reporter terminal 15 can create an e-mail simply by operating the image upload mail creation button in the web page provided by the web server 12. Therefore, if the data center 10 embeds information necessary for creating an e-mail in the image upload e-mail creation button, it is possible to save time and effort to input a large amount of information at the reporter terminal 15 and quickly create an e-mail. Can send information. Further, since the reporter terminal 15 creates an e-mail based on the web page provided by the web server 12, information is transmitted to the mail server 11 without permission from a device that cannot access the web page. It is impossible. For this reason, since it is impossible to impersonate the reporter terminal 15 using an apparatus that does not have proper authority and to transmit information, unauthorized use of the information sharing system 1 can be prevented and information can be shared appropriately. .

  In addition, the information transmitted by e-mail from the reporter terminal 15 to the mail server 11 is released by the web server 12 only when approved by the administrator terminal 16, so the person responsible for using the administrator terminal 16 Can be determined before sharing the information. Thereby, information can be shared accurately and appropriately.

  Further, when the information transmitted from the reporter terminal 15 is made public by the web server 12, a notification mail is transmitted to the information referrer terminal 17, so that the information referrer who uses the information referer terminal 17 Can be informed that new information has been released, and can share information efficiently. In particular, an e-mail can be transmitted to a plurality of other parties at the same time. Further, since a notification mail is transmitted by the mail server 11, the reporter terminal 15 transmits information to be shared to the mail server 11. Just good. In this way, information can be shared very efficiently simply by performing a simple operation on the reporter terminal 15.

  Further, the reporter terminal 15 includes a digital camera 151, and the reporter may transmit image data captured by the digital camera 151 to the mail server 11 by attaching it to an e-mail. Image data has an extremely large amount of information compared to characters, and is optimal for the purpose of communicating a specific situation to others. Therefore, accurate and useful information can be transmitted and shared quickly.

  Further, the information transmitted from the reporter terminal 15 is published in the form of a web page by the web server 12 and can be easily browsed by a web browser. Web browsers are installed in a wide variety of devices such as personal computers, mobile phones, and PDAs, and are widely used. Moreover, the method of publishing a web page is optimal as a means for providing information to a large number of people. Therefore, when a large number of information referrer terminals 17 are installed in the information sharing system 1, it is possible to obtain an effect that information can be easily and extremely easily shared among many people.

  Further, after the public page is created and published by the web server 12, the comment can be edited by the reporter terminal 15 or the administrator terminal 16, or the public state can be changed by the administrator terminal 16. Thereby, it is possible to add necessary information as needed, or to make unnecessary information private, so that only necessary information can be efficiently shared.

  In the above embodiment, when accessing the web server 12 from each of the reporter terminal 15, the administrator terminal 16, and the information referrer terminal 17, the web browser is activated at each terminal and the URL is input. The web server 12 may be accessed by selecting and specifying a URL included in the body of an electronic mail such as a report confirmation request mail or a notification mail. Further, when the web server 12 is accessed from each of the reporter terminal 15, the administrator terminal 16, and the information reference terminal 17, authentication (login) using a user ID, a password, or the like may be performed. In this case, if a URL including a user ID and password is included in the body of an e-mail such as a report confirmation request mail or a notification mail, it is possible to select and specify the URL without entering the user ID and password. (So-called one-click login), the web server 12 can be accessed. In this case, the reporter, the person in charge, and the information referer can quickly access the web server 12 without inputting a user ID or password, so that information can be shared more quickly. Even when the web server 12 automatically performs authentication processing based on information automatically notified from each terminal to the web server 12 when each terminal accesses the web server 12, the same applies. The effect is obtained.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, the reporter who reports using the reporter terminal 15, the person in charge who approves a report and edits a comment using the administrator terminal 16, and the information reference person terminal 17 Information is shared among information referees who are only allowed to view the report contents using. However, other types of users may share information. For example, users who can view only a part of information sent by the reporter to the mail server 11 by image upload email, users who can view all, users who can edit information, etc. It is also possible to share information among these multiple types of users.

In the above embodiment, the reporter terminal 15 is equipped with the digital camera 151. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the reporter terminal 15 itself is equipped with a digital camera. Alternatively, an interface for connecting to a digital camera separate from the reporter terminal 15 may be provided. In this case, if the reporter terminal 15 is used to capture image data captured by a separate digital camera via the interface and store it in the storage area in the reporter terminal 15, then the same as in the above embodiment. Can be processed. As an interface provided in the reporter terminal 15, various serial interfaces connected by wire, or a wireless interface such as an infrared (IR) communication interface or a short-range wireless interface can be used.
Further, the computers 162 and 172 are not limited to general personal computers, and may be PDAs or so-called network terminals as long as they are equipped with a communication function unit, an input device, and a display as described above.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, the information transmitted / received between each apparatus of the mail server 11, the web server 12, the database 13, the reporter terminal 15, the administrator terminal 16, and the information reference terminal 17 is PGP (for example). Reliability can be improved in terms of security by performing appropriate encryption using technologies such as Pretty Good Privacy (SSL) and Secure Socket Layer (SSL).

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the specific implementation form of the web browser included in the reporter terminal 15, the mobile phones 161 and 171, and the computers 162 and 172 is arbitrary. What is necessary is just to display the content of a web page on a display screen. Similarly, the specific implementation form of the mailer included in the reporter terminal 15, the mobile phones 161 and 171, and the computers 162 and 172 is also arbitrary, and performs creation, editing, transmission, and reception of e-mail as described above. At the same time, any information may be used as long as it displays the header, text information, etc. of the e-mail on the display screen.
Of course, other detailed configurations in the above-described embodiment can be arbitrarily changed without departing from the scope of the present invention.

  For example, when the present invention is applied to a project in a specific business, information sharing for sharing information among members including a plurality of reporters who transmit information and a plurality of responsible persons who manage information It can be used as a tool. For example, when applied in a department in a company, it can be used as a reporting tool for transmitting information between members including a large number of reporters who transmit information and a person in charge who manages information. Furthermore, if the information referees who receive the information are not specifically limited and the information can be provided to an unspecified number of people, it can be used as an information disclosure tool for disclosing information to an unspecified number of people. it can.

It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the information sharing system 1 in embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the information sharing process performed by the information sharing system 1 shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the comment edit process performed by the information sharing system 1 shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the open state change process performed by the information sharing system 1 shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a mail created and transmitted / received in the information sharing process of FIG. 2, (a) illustrating a configuration example of an image upload mail, and (b) illustrating a configuration example of a report confirmation request mail. (C) A configuration example of a notification mail is shown. It is a figure which shows the structural example and transition of a web page displayed in the reporter terminal. It is a figure which shows the structural example and transition of a web page displayed in the administrator terminal.

Explanation of symbols

1 Information Sharing System 10 Data Center 11 Mail Server 12 Web Server 13 Database 14 Network 15 Reporter Terminal 16 Administrator Terminal 17 Information Referer Terminal

Claims (6)

An information transmission terminal comprising an e-mail including predetermined information to be shared or an e-mail attached with the predetermined information, and an e-mail transmitting means for transmitting the e-mail;
An information acquisition means for receiving the e-mail transmitted from the information transmission terminal and acquiring the predetermined information included in the e-mail or the predetermined information attached to the e-mail; and
An information center device comprising information sharing means for holding the predetermined information acquired by the information acquisition means in a state where it can be provided via a communication line;
An information sharing system comprising: An approval terminal that outputs an instruction as to whether to approve sharing of the predetermined information;
The information sharing means included in the information center apparatus is configured to output the predetermined information only when an instruction to approve sharing is output by the approval terminal for the predetermined information acquired by the information acquisition means. Holding in a state where it can be provided via the communication line;
The information sharing system according to claim 1.   The information center apparatus further comprises notification means for creating and transmitting an e-mail notifying that the predetermined information is held in a state that can be provided via the communication line by the information sharing means. The information sharing system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that   4. The information transmission terminal further comprises a digital camera, and the e-mail transmission unit creates and transmits an e-mail attached with image data taken by the digital camera. The information sharing system described in Crab.   5. The information sharing unit included in the information center apparatus creates a web page including the predetermined information, and publishes the web page via the communication line. 6. The information sharing system described. An information sharing method in a system configured to include an information transmission terminal for transmitting information and an information center apparatus for receiving and sharing information transmitted by the information transmission terminal,
The information transmission terminal acquires predetermined information to be shared,
Request information transmission from the information transmission terminal to the information center device,
In response to a request from the information transmission terminal, the information center device transmits mail information for creating an e-mail to the information transmission terminal,
Based on the mail information transmitted from the information center apparatus, the information transmission terminal creates an e-mail including the predetermined information or an e-mail attached with the predetermined information, and sends the e-mail to the information center apparatus. Send
The information center device receives an e-mail transmitted from the information transmission terminal, acquires the predetermined information included in the received e-mail or the predetermined information attached to the e-mail, and performs communication. Keep it available on the line,
An information sharing method characterized by

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