JP2006260478A - Distributed coordination work support system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a distributed coordination work support system for preventing the interacting performance degradation of distributed coordination work when there is a great amount of common data. <P>SOLUTION: A client device 100 has a selecting condition input part 105, and a server device 110 has a selecting condition storage part 114. Selecting conditions input from the selecting condition input part 105 are transmitted from the client device 100 to the server device 110 and stored in the selecting condition storage part 114. The server device 110 determines and transmits common data to be supplied to the client device 100 in accordance with the selecting conditions stored in the selecting condition storage part 114. Thus, the common data to be transmitted from the server device 110 to the client device 100 is limited only to that which corresponds to the selecting conditions transmitted from the client device 100 to the server device 110. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a distributed collaborative work support system, and more particularly to a distributed collaborative work support system capable of performing distributed collaborative work on a large amount of shared data.

  An example of a conventional distributed cooperative work support system is described in Patent Document 1. As shown in FIG. 8, this conventional distributed cooperative work support system includes a client device 800 and a server device 810. The client device 800 includes a user interface unit 801, a data management unit 802, and a data storage unit 803. The server device 810 includes a data transfer unit 811, a shared data management unit 812, and a shared data storage unit 813.

  The conventional distributed cooperative work support system having such a configuration operates as follows. First, the operation of the client device 800 will be described. The user interface unit 801 converts input from the user into data operation information and transmits it to the data management unit 802, and also receives data stored in the data storage unit 803 via the data management unit 802 and presents it to the user. To do.

  The data management unit 802 refers to and updates the data stored in the data storage unit 803 based on the data operation information received from the user interface unit 801 and the data received from the data transfer unit 804, and transmits the data to the server device 810. The data operation information to be transferred is passed to the data transfer unit 804, and the data transferred from the server device 810 is received from the data transfer unit 804.

  The data storage unit 803 updates or outputs data stored in accordance with the data operation information passed from the data management unit 802 to the data management unit 802, and stores the data passed from the data management unit 802.

  The data transfer unit 804 transmits the data passed from the data management unit 802 to the server device 810 and passes the data received from the server device 810 to the data management unit 802.

  Next, the operation of the server device 810 will be described. The data transfer unit 811 passes the data operation information received from the client device 800 to the shared data management unit 812, and transmits the data passed from the shared data management unit 812 to the client device 800.

  The shared data management unit 812 refers to and updates the shared data stored in the shared data storage unit 813 based on the data operation information passed from the data transfer unit 811, and transmits the data to be transmitted to the client device 800 to the data transfer unit 811.

The shared data storage unit 813 updates or outputs the stored data to the shared data management unit 812 in accordance with the data operation information passed from the shared data management unit 812.
JP-A-6-250907

However, the prior art has the following problems. The problem is that when there is a large amount of shared data, the interactivity of distributed collaborative work decreases. The reason is that when the shared data is held in each client device, it takes time to download the shared data from the server device to the client device, and the amount of data that must be processed on the client device also increases. In addition, when the shared data is held only on the server device, it takes time until the operation on the client device is reflected in the shared data on the server device.
An object of the present invention is to provide a distributed cooperative work support system that can maintain interactivity even when there is a large amount of shared data.

The distributed collaborative work support system according to claim 1 is a distributed collaborative work support system comprising a server that holds shared data and a plurality of clients that receive provision of the shared data from the server via a network. A selection condition input means for inputting a selection condition for the server to select shared data transferred from the server to the client, and a transmission means for transmitting the selection condition input by the selection condition input means to the server, The server determines the storage unit that stores the selection condition transmitted from the client, the shared data to be transferred to the client based on the selection condition stored by the storage unit, and determines that the transfer should be performed Transfer means for transferring the shared data to the client.
Further, the selection condition can include a latitude and a longitude representing the position of the client.
The selection condition can include data representing the size of an area centered on the position of the client.
The client according to claim 4 is a client that receives provision of shared data from a server holding shared data via a network, and inputs a selection condition for the server to select shared data transferred from the server. It comprises a selection condition input means and a transmission means for transmitting the selection condition input by the selection condition input means to the server.
The server according to claim 5 is a server that provides shared data to each client connected via a network, and stores a selection condition for selecting shared data transmitted from the client. And means for determining shared data to be transferred to the client based on the selection condition stored by the storage means, and a transfer means for transferring the shared data determined by the determining means to the client. It is characterized by.
The distributed collaborative work support method according to claim 6 is a distributed collaborative work support method in a distributed collaborative work support system comprising a server holding shared data and a plurality of clients receiving shared data from the server via a network. Then, the client transmits to the server the selection condition input step for inputting the selection condition for the server to select the shared data transferred from the server to the client, and the selection condition input in the selection condition input step. A transmission step, wherein the server determines shared data to be transferred to the client based on the selection condition transmitted from the client, and transfers the shared data determined to be transferred to the client A transfer step is provided.
The client program according to claim 7 is a client program for controlling a client that receives provision of shared data from a server that holds shared data via a network, so that the server selects shared data transferred from the server. The selection condition input step for inputting the selection condition and the transmission step for transmitting the selection condition input in the selection condition input step to the server are executed by the client.
The server program according to claim 8 is a server program for controlling a server that provides shared data to each client connected via a network, and for selecting shared data transmitted from the client. Based on the storage step for storing the selection condition and the selection condition stored in the storage step, the shared data to be transferred to the client is determined, and the shared data determined to be transferred is transferred to the client The transfer step is executed by a server.

  According to the distributed cooperative work support system of the present invention, the selection condition input at each client is transmitted to the server, the server stores the selection condition, and the server sets the selection condition for each client from the shared data. Since only matching data is provided, only the shared data required by each client required for distributed cooperative work can be transferred to each client, and even if there is a large amount of shared data, the server The amount of data transmitted and received between the client and the client can be suppressed to the minimum necessary, and distributed cooperative work can be performed without reducing interactivity.

  Next, the best mode for carrying out the invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Referring to FIG. 1, the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a client device 100 and a server device 110.

  The client device 100 includes a user interface unit 101, a data management unit 102, a data storage unit 103, a data transfer unit 104, and a selection condition input unit 105. Each of these means generally operates as follows.

  The user interface unit 101 converts the input from the user into data operation information and transmits it to the data management unit 102, and also receives the data stored in the data storage unit 103 via the data management unit 102 and presents it to the user To do.

  The data management unit 102 refers to and updates the data stored in the data storage unit 103 based on the data operation information received from the user interface unit 101 and the data received from the data transfer unit 104, and transmits the data to the server device 110. The data operation information to be transferred is passed to the data transfer unit 104, and the data transferred from the server device 110 is received from the data transfer unit 104.

  The data storage unit 103 updates or outputs stored data to the data management unit 102 according to the data operation information passed from the data management unit 102, and stores the data passed from the data management unit 102.

  The data transfer unit 104 transmits the data selection condition passed from the selection condition input unit 105 and the data passed from the data management unit 102 to the server device 110, and the data received from the server device 110 is sent to the data management unit 102. To pass.

  The selection condition input unit 105 inputs selection conditions for shared data to be downloaded from the server apparatus 110 and supplies the selection conditions to the data transfer unit 104.

  Server device 110 includes a data transfer unit 111, a shared data management unit 112, a shared data storage unit 113, and a selection condition storage unit 114.

  Each of these units generally operates as follows. The data transfer unit 111 passes the data operation information received from the client device 100 to the shared data management unit 112, writes the data selection condition received from the client device 100 to the selection condition storage unit 114, and passes it from the shared data management unit 112. The shared data is selected according to the selection condition stored in the selection condition storage unit 114 and transmitted to the client apparatus 100.

  The shared data management unit 112 refers to and updates the shared data stored in the shared data storage unit 113 based on the data operation information passed from the data transfer unit 111, and transfers the shared data to be transmitted to the client device 100. To the unit 111.

  The shared data storage unit 113 updates or outputs the stored shared data to the shared data management unit 112 according to the data operation information passed from the shared data management unit 112. The selection condition storage unit 114 stores data selection conditions passed from the data transfer unit 111.

  Next, the overall operation of the present exemplary embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the flowchart referred to in the following description, the flow of the client device 100 is described on the left side, the flow of the server device 110 is described on the right side, and data communication is performed between the client device 100 and the server device 110. It shall be shown by the dotted line with the arrow which connects a flow.

  First, a connection operation from the client apparatus 100 to the server apparatus 110 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 1 and 2.

  First, the client device 100 requests connection to the server device 110 (step 201 in FIG. 2). Next, the server apparatus 110 receives a connection request from the client apparatus 100 (step 202), assigns an ID to the client apparatus 100, and notifies the client apparatus 100 of this ID as a client ID (step 203).

  The client device 100 receives and holds the client ID notified from the server device 110 (step 204). Further, the server device 110 secures a communication data area for the client device 100 in the shared data storage unit 113 and creates the selection condition storage unit 114 (step 205). Finally, the server device 110 activates the data transfer unit 111 (step 206).

  Next, a connection disconnection operation from the client apparatus 100 to the server apparatus 110 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 1 and 3.

  First, the client device 100 requests the server device 110 to disconnect (step 301 in FIG. 3). Next, the server device 110 receives the disconnection request from the client device 100 (step 302), stops the data transfer unit 111 (step 304), and selects the communication data area secured in the shared data storage unit 113. The condition storage unit 114 is released (step 305), and the client ID assigned to the client device 100 is cleared (step 306). The client device 100 also clears the client ID (step 303).

  Next, the shared data transfer operation from the server apparatus 110 to the client apparatus 100 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 1 and 4. This operation is executed after the connection operation from the client device 100 to the server device 110 is performed, and is executed at the time of the initial connection and when the selection condition is changed.

  First, the selection condition input to the selection condition input unit 105 of the client device 100 is transmitted from the data transfer unit 104 to the server device 110 (step 401 in FIG. 4). The transmitted selection condition is received by the data transfer unit 111 of the server apparatus 110 (step 402). The data transfer unit 111 writes the received selection condition in the selection condition storage unit 114 (step 403).

  Next, the data transfer unit 111 reads the shared data that matches the selection condition stored in the selection condition storage unit 114 from the shared data storage unit 113 through the shared data management unit 112, and transmits it to the client device 110 (step). 404). In the client device 110, the data transfer unit 104 receives the shared data transmitted from the server device 110, and writes it in the data storage unit 103 through the data management unit 102 (step 405).

  Next, a data update operation from the client device 100 to the server device 110 will be described. The data update operation is divided into three steps: acquisition of operation right, data operation, and release of operation right, and each step operates as follows.

  First, the operation right acquisition will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 1 and 5. When the user interface unit 101 receives an update request for the shared data from the user, the user interface unit 101 refers to the operation right for the shared data stored in the data storage unit 103 through the data management unit 102 (step 501 in FIG. 5), and obtains the operation right. It is determined whether or not it has been acquired (step 502). As a result, if it is determined that the operation right is acquired, the process proceeds to data operation in step 513. On the other hand, when it is determined that the operation right has not been acquired, the data transfer unit 104 requests the server device 110 to acquire the operation right (step 503).

  In the server apparatus 110, the shared data management unit 112 refers to the operation right of the shared data stored in the shared data storage unit 113 in response to the operation right acquisition request received by the data transfer unit 111 (step 504). Then, it is determined whether or not another client device holds the operation right (step 505).

  As a result, when it is determined that another client device holds the operation right, the client device 100 is notified of the operation right acquisition non-permission (step 506), and the process is terminated. On the other hand, if it is determined that the other client device does not have the operation right, the client ID information for locking the operation right is written in the shared data storage unit 113 (step 507), and the client is passed through the data transfer unit 111. The operation right acquisition permission is notified to the apparatus 100 (step 508), and the process is terminated.

  The client device 100 receives the response of the server 110 (notification of permission to acquire the operation right or notification of permission to acquire the operation right) by the data transfer unit 104 (step 509). It is determined whether or not the right has been acquired (step 510).

  As a result, when it is determined that the operation right can be acquired, the operation right is set in the data storage unit 103 (step 511), and the process proceeds to the data operation in step 513. On the other hand, when it is determined that the operation right cannot be acquired, the operation right acquisition impossibility information is passed to the user interface unit 101 to notify the user that the user interface unit 101 has not acquired the operation right. (Step 512), the process is terminated.

  Next, the data operation in step 513 in FIG. 5 will be described with reference to the flowcharts in FIGS. In the client device 100, the user data update request received by the user interface unit 101 is transmitted from the data transfer unit 104 to the server device 110 through the data management unit 102 (step 601 in FIG. 6).

  In the server device 110, the data transfer unit 111 receives the data update request (step 602), and the shared data management unit 112 updates the shared data stored in the shared data storage unit 113 (step 603).

  In addition, data update information is transmitted from the corresponding data transfer unit 111 to each client device 100 (step 604). In each client device 100, the data transfer unit 104 receives the data update information, and the data management unit 102 updates the data in the data storage unit 103 based on the data update information (step 605).

  Finally, the operation right release will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 1 and 7. First, in the client device 100, the data management unit 102 releases the operation right set in the data storage unit 103 in accordance with the operation right release request from the user received by the user interface unit 101 (step 701).

  Next, the data management unit 102 notifies the server apparatus 110 of the release of the operation right of the shared data through the data transfer unit 104 (step 702). In the server device 110, the data transfer unit 111 receives the operation right release notification from the client device 100 (step 703), and the client ID and the operation right of the client to which the shared data management unit 112 has transmitted the release notification are set. The client ID is compared (step 704), and it is determined whether or not they match (step 705).

  If it is determined that they do not match, the client device 100 is notified of the inability to release the operation right through the data transfer unit 111 (step 706). On the other hand, if it is determined that the two match, the operation right set in the shared data storage unit 113 is released (step 707), and the operation right release is notified from the data transfer unit 111 to the client device 100. (Step 708).

  The client device 100 receives the response from the server device 110 (notification of operation right release impossible or operation right release notification) by the data transfer unit 104 (step 709), and the data management unit 102 receives the data transfer unit 104 from the data transfer unit 104. Based on the received response from the server 110, it is determined whether or not the operation right has been released (step 710). As a result, if it is determined that the operation right can be released, the process is terminated. On the other hand, when it is determined that the operation right cannot be released, the operation right release operation (step 701) performed by the data management unit 102 on the data storage unit 103 is canceled (step 711), and the process is performed. finish.

  Next, the effect of this embodiment will be described. In the present embodiment, the client device 100 includes a selection condition input unit 105, the server device 110 includes a selection condition storage unit 114, and the selection condition input from the selection condition input unit 105 is held in the selection condition storage unit 114. Therefore, when the server device 110 transfers the shared data to the client device 100, the data transfer unit 111 refers to the selection condition held in the selection condition storage unit 114, and the shared data Only the shared data necessary for the client device 100 can be transferred from the shared data stored in the storage unit 113.

(Example)
Next, the operation of the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described using a specific embodiment with reference to FIG.

  The present embodiment is a system for jointly producing one electronic map content by accessing the server device 110 from a plurality of client devices 100 and adding / editing data having latitude / longitude information.

  The system configuration of this embodiment is as shown in FIG. The client device 100 and the server device 110 are personal computers, respectively. The data storage unit 103, the shared data storage unit 113, and the selection condition storage unit 114 are areas secured on the main memory of the personal computer. Each unit is implemented as software that operates on a personal computer. The client device 100 and the server device 110 are connected by a wired or wireless LAN (Local Area Network). As a communication protocol, TCP / IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol) is used.

  The user interface unit 101 of the client device 100 receives input from a user from a keyboard, mouse, or the like (not shown), converts it into data operation information, passes it to the data management unit 102, and receives the data received from the data management unit 102 as a personal computer Is displayed on the screen of a display device (not shown) of the client device 100.

  The selection condition input unit 105 generates a selection condition from data (latitude and longitude indicating the current position) supplied from a GPS (Global Positioning System) unit (not shown) attached to the client device 100 and sends it to the data transfer unit 104. hand over. In this example, the selection condition is set to be within a radius Xkm (specific values of X are specified by the user interface unit 101) centered on the latitude and longitude of the current position supplied from the GPS unit. The selection condition input unit 105 updates the selection condition only when there is a change in at least one of the latitude / longitude information and the value of X, and transmits it to the server device 110 through the data transfer unit 104.

  The shared data storage unit 113 stores map data serving as a base of content and material data having latitude / longitude information. Examples of the material data include an Exif JPEG file in which GPS information (latitude / longitude information indicating the current position) is written, store information with latitude / longitude information, and the like.

  In the client device 100, the data management unit 102 reads the Exif JPEG file taken by the user himself / herself through the user interface unit 101 or writes information on the store found by the user himself / herself. The information can be written into the storage unit 103 and the information (material data) can be uploaded to the server device 110 through the data transfer unit 104.

  In the server device 110, the material data received by the data transfer unit 111 is written into the shared data storage unit 113 by the shared data management unit 112. Thereby, another user can access the material data uploaded to the server device 110 from another client device 100 to view or edit the content data. Control of the operation right between users at that time is as described in the embodiment of the present invention.

  It should be noted that the configuration and operation of the above-described embodiment are examples, and it goes without saying that they can be changed as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  The present invention can be applied to uses such as a map information system for jointly producing electronic map content, and a program for realizing the map information system on a computer. It can also be applied to applications such as an electronic encyclopedia collaborative editing system that includes materials such as images, video and audio information.

[BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS] It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the best form for implementing 1st invention of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the best form for implementing 1st invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the best form for implementing 1st invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the best form for implementing 1st invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the best form for implementing 1st invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the best form for implementing 1st invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the best form for implementing 1st invention. It is a block diagram for demonstrating the conventional invention.

Explanation of symbols

100, 800 Client device 101, 801 User interface unit 102, 802 Data management unit 103, 803 Data storage unit 104, 804 Data transfer unit 105 Selection condition input unit 110, 810 Server device 111, 811 Data transfer unit 112, 812 Shared data Management unit 113, 813 Shared data storage unit 114 Selection condition storage unit

Claims (8)

A distributed cooperative work support system comprising a server that holds shared data and a plurality of clients that receive provision of the shared data from the server via a network,
The client
A selection condition input means for inputting a selection condition for the server to select the shared data transferred from the server to the client;
Transmission means for transmitting the selection condition input by the selection condition input means to the server,
The server
Storage means for storing the selection condition transmitted from the client;
Transfer means for determining the shared data to be transferred to the client based on the selection condition stored by the storage means, and transferring the shared data determined to be transferred to the client; A distributed collaborative work support system characterized by comprising: The distributed cooperation work support system according to claim 1, wherein the selection condition includes a latitude and a longitude representing the position of the client. The distributed cooperative work support system according to claim 1, wherein the selection condition includes data representing a size of an area centered on a position of the client. A client that receives provision of the shared data from a server holding the shared data via a network;
A selection condition input means for inputting a selection condition for the server to select the shared data transferred from the server;
And a transmission unit configured to transmit the selection condition input by the selection condition input unit to the server. A server that provides shared data to each client connected via a network,
Storage means for storing a selection condition for selecting the shared data transmitted from the client;
Transfer means for determining the shared data to be transferred to the client based on the selection condition stored by the storage means, and transferring the shared data determined to be transferred to the client; A server comprising: A distributed collaborative work support method in a distributed collaborative work support system comprising a server that holds shared data and a plurality of clients that receive provision of the shared data from the server via a network,
The client
A selection condition input step for inputting a selection condition for the server to select the shared data transferred from the server to the client;
A transmission step of transmitting the selection condition input in the selection condition input step to the server,
The server
A transfer step of determining the shared data to be transferred to the client based on the selection condition transmitted from the client, and transferring the shared data determined to be transferred to the client; A distributed cooperative work support method characterized by comprising: A client program for controlling a client that receives provision of the shared data from a server holding shared data via a network,
A selection condition input step of inputting a selection condition for the server to select the shared data transferred from the server;
A client program that causes the client to execute a transmission step of transmitting the selection condition input in the selection condition input step to the server. A server program for controlling a server that provides shared data to each client connected via a network,
Storing a selection condition for selecting the shared data transmitted from the client;
A transfer step of determining the shared data to be transferred to the client based on the selection condition stored in the storing step, and transferring the shared data determined to be transferred to the client; A server program that causes the server to execute.

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