JP2010026750A - Automatic definition system for data retrieval item information in electronic business form system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technology for automating item definition for data retrieval in a system which stores and manages an electronic document, and allows a browser to browse the document from a terminal and to retrieve data arranged with a rule on layout such as a table in the document or various data types of data such as dates. <P>SOLUTION: Document data as the original data of a document and format data including the data type and position information of each item in the document are input, and a general-purpose electronic document file is generated from those data. The general-purpose electronic document file and the format data are input, and document data for retrieval are generated so as to be retrieved while the layout of the document is maintained, and registered in a document database. Also, the format data are analyzed so that retrieval under the consideration of the layout and data type of each item of the document can be achieved, and the information of the item as the object of retrieval is extracted, and registered in the retrieval information database as data retrieval item information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a technology of an electronic form system that saves and manages a form in a general-purpose electronic format and performs browsing and data search from a browser terminal.

  As general-purpose electronic document formats such as PDF (Portable Document Format) become widespread, forms such as national tax-related books are legally required to be stored in electronic data instead of paper. It has become to. However, in order to do so, it is necessary to satisfy a plurality of requirements, and one of them is a form layout structure that allows a search considering a data type such as date for a plurality of specific items in a form table. There is a requirement that the target data can be found by a search that is conscious of.

  Recently, electronic form system products that can retrieve items in a form while retaining the appearance of the form by importing a general-purpose electronic document file and making the form reference and data available in the form available. Exists. FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing an outline of such a conventional electronic form system. This system includes a database 1202 that stores data in a general-purpose electronic document file 1201, an electronic form system 1204 that includes a data processing unit 1203 that performs overall control, and a viewer that defines search items and search conditions. The browser terminal 1207 includes an input unit 1205 for setting and a display unit 1206 for displaying processing results.

  According to the system as shown in FIG. 12, a general-purpose electronic document file 1201 having no layout information is browsed on the viewer terminal 1207, and items to be searched by the viewer while being aware of the form layout are manually defined. The layout information can be mapped to the form data, and the search can be performed in consideration of the data type and layout structure of the items in the form.

As known technical documents related to the present invention, there are Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 listed below as techniques for specifying the layout of a document image. As a technique for performing a search in consideration of the data type, the following Patent Document 3 is cited.
JP-A-8-279019 JP 2003-187217 A JP 2000-76256 A

  A general-purpose electronic document format form is generally used for browsing and is easy to handle, but has attribute information such as what data type the item is in and coordinate information such as position and range. Absent. Further, even when a table format is included, there is no information for determining whether a row in the table format is a header row that is not a search target or a detail row that is a search target. For this reason, when searching for a document in the general-purpose electronic document format, a full-text search is performed, and it is not possible to perform a search by specifying an item in the document.

  In order to perform a search for an item, a form file in a general-purpose electronic document format is registered in advance in an electronic form system that stores and manages it. For example, as in Patent Document 3, the position and data type of an item to be searched are manually set to 1. There is a way to define each one.

  However, this method can recognize date type data, but there are many other data types such as numeric and character types in the actual data type. It needs to be able to recognize all of the data types. Furthermore, in order to manually define these items, it is necessary to understand the data type and layout structure of the form in advance, but it is possible to accurately grasp the intention of the form designer just by looking at the form. It is difficult. In addition, a shift or the like occurs due to human judgment or manual work, which is a factor that impairs the reliability of search.

  Although the method of detecting a layout format by image recognition is also conceivable as in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, troubles caused by making a general purpose electronic document format holding character data into an image format, It becomes necessary to consider the implementation of the character recognition mechanism of the image format and the accuracy of recognition, and this becomes a detour approach method.

  An object of the present invention is to store and manage a form by digitizing the form, and a viewer browses the form from a terminal, and various data types such as arrangement data and date with a rule on a layout such as a table in the form It is an object of the present invention to provide a technology for automating item definitions for such data retrieval in a system for performing retrieval on such data.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is an automatic definition system that automatically defines data search item information of a form in an electronic form system, the form data serving as the original data of the form, and the form A means to input the format data including the data type and position information of each item in the form, and a general-purpose electronic document file that does not have the data type and position information of each item in the form from the entered form data and format data Create the form data, input the general-purpose electronic document file and the format data, and create search form data in such a format that can be searched while maintaining the layout of the form, and register it in the form database In order to enable a search that takes into account the layout of the form and the data type of the items in the form. Analyzing the data, characterized in that it comprises a means for registering the search information database to extract the data type and position information of the item to be searched for as a data retrieval item information.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, in response to a request from the viewer terminal, the search form data registered in the form database is displayed on the viewer terminal, and the search form A search processing means for executing a search process according to a search condition specifying a layout of each item of the form and a data type of each item transmitted from the viewer terminal for the data, and a result of the search process And a means for returning to the viewer terminal for display.

  According to the automatic definition system for data search item information in the electronic form system of the present invention, data, date, characters, and numerical values with layout rules such as tables for the form stored and managed as electronic data. It is possible to automate the definition for searching for data types such as. As a result, the viewer browses the form from the terminal and is conscious of the layout and data type of the item for various data types such as layout data and dates with a rule on the layout of the table in the form. Will be able to perform the search.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a method for automating item definitions for data search in an electronic form system to which the present invention is applied will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an example of an embodiment of the present invention. The system shown in the figure includes a form design system 102, a form generation system 105, an electronic form system 108, and a viewer terminal 117.

  The form data 101 is data that is the original data of a form output from a business system or the like. The form design system 102 includes a form data creation unit 103 for defining a form format. Using the form data creation unit 103, the user can create format data 104 including design information related to the form structure such as the range of data items and the relationship between items.

  The form generation system 105 includes a form generation unit 106 for generating a general-purpose electronic document file 107. The general-purpose electronic document file 107 is an electronic document file that does not have design information regarding the form structure such as the range of data items and the relationship between items as a general-purpose electronic format of the form. The form generation definition database 118 stores the correspondence between the form data 101, the format data 104, and the general-purpose electronic document file 107.

  The electronic form system 108 includes a form registration unit 110, a search information mapping unit 112, and a form data search processing unit 113. The form registration unit 110 performs a process of creating search form data in a format that allows the general-purpose electronic document file 107 to be searched while retaining the appearance (form layout) and registering it in the form database 109. The search information mapping unit 112 performs a process of analyzing the format data 104 and registering necessary information in the search information database 111 in order to enable search in consideration of the form layout and the data type of items in the form. . The form data search processing unit 113 performs a form search process in response to a search request from the browser terminal 117, and performs a process of returning an execution result to the browser terminal 117.

  The browser terminal 117 includes a search information definition unit 114, a form data search condition setting unit 115, and a display unit 116. The search information definition unit 114 defines and edits a search target data range for the viewer to search for each data item of the form. The form data search condition setting unit 115 performs a process of setting a search condition and executing a search. The display unit 116 displays a form screen, a dialog screen for search setting, and a search result screen.

  FIG. 2 is an example of a form of the general-purpose electronic document file 107. The general-purpose electronic document file 107 is a file in a format that is generally widely used for browsing, and does not have attribute information such as the data type of each item or coordinate information such as the position and range of each item. . It is difficult to accurately determine which data is fixed or variable only by looking at this form. Actually, there is format data 104 including form design information for generating the general-purpose electronic document file 107. The format data 104 is created by the form data creation unit 103 of the form design system 102.

  FIG. 3 shows a format example of the format data 104 in which only main information is picked up in the case of the form of FIG. The format data 104 includes a data type 301 that represents the type of data, an item name 302 that is uniquely defined in the form, and data attributes that are format information such as data type, number of digits, position information, and font information for each data. 303. Reference numeral 304 denotes data in the format of the item whose data type is “fixed character”, reference numeral 305 denotes data in the format of the item whose data type is “field”, and reference numeral 306 denotes data in the format of the item whose data type is “table format”. Fixed character format data 304 defines a fixed character format such as “Account Ledger”. The field format data 305 defines the format of variable individual data items such as “company name”. The tabular format data 306 defines a tabular format in which record rows of the same format are repeated within a certain range.

  The tabular format data 306 has lower format data 307. The format data 307 defines the data type, item name, and data attribute of the data in the table. In the tabular format data 307, data whose data type is “fixed character” is data that defines a fixed character corresponding to a heading or the like in the table. Data whose data type is “record” is data that defines the format of a variable detail line that is repeatedly displayed.

  Each “record” has record field information 308 which is lower format data. The record field information 308 defines the data type, item name, and data attribute of each field in the detail line of the record.

  In the general-purpose electronic document file 107 in FIG. 2, the fixed data common to each page is a portion indicated by numbers 201 and 202, and variable individual data items are indicated by numbers 203, 204, and 205 in the general-purpose electronic document file 107 in FIG. It turns out that it is. Further, the repetition position range of the record line in the table form 206 is known, and in the table form 206, the heading fixed data item of the table is a part indicated by the number 207, and the data item of the variable detail line is the number 208. It turns out that it is a part to show.

  FIG. 4 shows a format example of the form data 101 that is the basis of the form. The form data 101 is data necessary for generating the form of the general-purpose electronic document file 107 of FIG. 2 together with the format data of FIG. In the present embodiment, the form data 101 includes individual data item 404 data and variable detail line 411 data in a tabular format, each of which includes an item name and actual data corresponding thereto. Consists of. In this form example, the individual data item 404 includes a company name 401, a page number 402, and a form date 403. Each data of these individual data items 404 is associated with each field 305 which is a variable individual data item of the format data 104 of FIG. The variable detail line 411 includes a date 405, a slip 406, a counterpart subject 407, a debit 408, a credit 409, and a balance 410. Each data of the variable detail line 411 is associated with each field in the record field information 308 of the variable detail line displayed repeatedly in the format data 104 of FIG. As a result, by referring to the format data 104 in FIG. 3, it is possible to recognize a field for setting each data in the form data 101 in FIG.

  FIG. 5 shows information stored in the form generation definition database 118. In the form generation definition database 118, the file name 501 of the form data 101, the file name 502 of the format data 104 corresponding to the form data 101, and the file name 503 of the general-purpose electronic document file 107 generated therefrom are stored in the full path. . When the form generation unit 106 of the form generation system 105 generates the general-purpose electronic document file 107 from the form data 101 and the format data 104, the form generation unit 106 sets these data 501 to 503 in order to indicate the position and correspondence of each file. To do.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an outline of a process for automating the definition for searching the general-purpose electronic document file 107 by the electronic form system 108. By executing this processing in the electronic form system 108 and registering the general-purpose electronic document file 107 in the form database 109 or the search information database 111, the general-purpose electronic document file 107 has a layout rule such as a table. Definitions can be automatically made to perform searches on data types such as placement data and dates, characters, and numbers.

  First, the path of the general-purpose electronic document file 107 to be read is acquired (step 601). Next, the path of the format data 104 corresponding to the general-purpose electronic document file 107 is acquired from the form generation definition database 118 (step 602). The general-purpose electronic document file 107 is read and converted into data information and format information (step 603). As will be described later, the data information and the format information are information for enabling a search from the browser terminal 117. Data information and format information will be described in detail with reference to FIG. Next, the converted data information and format information (collectively referred to as search form data) are registered in the form database 109 (step 604). The contents of the format data 104 are read, and the format information of the search target item is extracted (step 605). Finally, the format information of the extracted item to be searched is registered in the search information database 111 as data search item information (step 606). Information registered in the search information database 111 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

  The steps 601 to 604 are mainly executed by the form registration unit 110, and the steps 605 and 606 are executed by the search information mapping unit 112.

  FIG. 7 shows search form data stored in the form database 109. The search form data is composed of data information 701 having character information and position information created based on the general-purpose electronic document file 107 of FIG. 2, and format information 702 such as ruled lines.

  FIG. 8 shows data search item information stored in the search information database 111. In the data retrieval item information, only data necessary for retrieval is extracted from the format data 104 of FIG. 3 and stored. Specifically, in addition to field information 801 that is a variable item to be searched, table format information 802, record information 803, and record field information 804 constituting a table are stored.

  The user can display the search form data registered in the form database 109 using the browser terminal 117 connected to the electronic form system 108 via the network. As described with reference to FIG. 7, the search form data registered in the form database 109 has data information 701 and format information 702, so the appearance of the form displayed on the viewer terminal 117 is the same as the appearance at the time of creation. It is. Furthermore, since the data search item information of FIG. 8 described above is automatically generated, a search that is conscious of the layout structure and a search that is conscious of the data type can be performed.

  FIG. 9 shows an example of a screen display of a form on the browser terminal 117. In particular, a display example of a state in which a specific item is selected from the search target data items defined in the data search item information of FIG.

  Since the item name and search range to be searched are automatically defined by the processing of FIG. In that case, when the user selects an arbitrary item name of the form displayed on the screen, if the item with the item name is within the searchable range, the color of the item portion is changed and displayed. The search information definition unit 114 performs this process. That is, if the item name selected by the user is in the information shown in FIG. 8, the search information defining unit 114 displays the item in the searchable range by changing the color of the item. In FIG. 9, the company name is selected, and since this item is within the searchable range, it is displayed in a different color as indicated by 901. Similarly, for example, when the item name “year / month / day” is selected on the screen of FIG. 9, it can be understood from the information of FIG. The "day" column is displayed in a different color. In this way, the searchable range can be confirmed.

  Also, the search information definition unit 114 can manually change the defined item names and search ranges on the screen of FIG. It is also possible to manually register new search items. For example, the item name or the like can be input by selecting the item or the search range that is currently selected and displayed in a different color. In addition, an editing button may be separately provided in FIG. 9, and a selected item name or the like may be manually edited by pressing the editing button.

  FIG. 10 is an example in which search is performed by setting search conditions in the form data search condition setting unit 115 on the screen of the browser terminal 117. As types of search screens, there are an individual item search screen 1001 for searching by individual items, a record item search screen 1002 for searching for items in records in a table format, and the like. The search is performed by displaying any one of the search screens by a predetermined operation.

  When performing a search using the individual item search screen 1001, the comparison target item 1003a, the search key 1004a, and the comparison condition 1005a with the search key 1004a in the screen are set, and the search execution button 1006a is pressed. When performing a search using the record item search screen 1002, first, a search target table 1007 and a search target record 1008 are selected. Here, it is assumed that two or more types of records in different formats may be included in one table. Next, when there is one search condition, a search condition item 1003b, a search key 1004b, a comparison condition 1005b with the search key 1004b are set as the search condition, and a search execution button 1006b is pressed. When there are two or more search conditions, the first search condition is set as described above, and the second and subsequent search conditions are set in the same manner with the join condition 1009, and the search execution button 1006b is pressed. To do. A join condition 1009 represents a join condition between the search condition for the row and the search condition for the row above it.

  The search target item 1003a can be set by presenting the item name extracted from the data search item information in FIG. 8 to the user in a list box format and selecting the item name. The search key 1004a is input like a search key 1010 that can be input. That is, the data type of the item set in the search target item 1003a is acquired from the data search item information of FIG. 8, and an arbitrary value corresponding to the data type can be input (conversely, depending on the data type). Other than the specified value). As shown in the selectable comparison condition 1011, the comparison condition 1005 a can be set by presenting options according to the data type to the user in a list box format and selecting them from the list box format. For example, if “year / month / day” is designated in the search target item 1003a, the data type is limited to “date type”, and only “equal, thereafter, before” can be designated. Thereby, a search can be performed from data of a search target data type in the form.

  The search target table 1007 can be set by extracting item names whose data types are in the table format from the data search item information in FIG. 8, presenting them to the user in a list box format, and selecting them. The search target record 1008 can be set by extracting the item name from the lower record information 803 of the table format information 802 of the search target table 1007, presenting it to the user in a list box format, and selecting it from the list information. The join condition 1009 can select either AND or OR as shown in the selectable join condition 1012. The search target item 1003b can be set by extracting the item name from the lower record field information 804 of the search target record 1008, presenting it to the user in a list box format, and selecting the item name. The search key 1004b and the comparison condition 1005b are set as 1010 and 1011 described above.

  FIG. 11 is a display example of a screen when a search is actually performed under the search conditions of the record search 1002 of FIG. In Table 1 to be searched, a record having a date of January 1, 2008 and a slip of 0002 is applicable to the search condition, and is colored and displayed as a search result record 1101. ing.

  The preferred embodiments have been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and appropriate modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the format of format data varies depending on the type of general-purpose file and the type of creation tool, so the definition method may be changed accordingly. Although the GUI is used for setting search conditions and defining / changing item information, other interfaces may be used.

1 is a system configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows an example of general purpose electronic document data. It is a figure which shows an example of the internal structure of format data. It is a figure which shows an example of the internal structure of form data. It is a block diagram of the data stored in the form generation definition database. It is a flowchart which shows the outline | summary of the automatic registration process of a form search item definition. It is a block diagram of the data stored in the form database. It is a block diagram of the data stored in the search information database. It is an example of the display at the time of selection of the search item of the form displayed on the screen. It is an example of operation which sets search conditions on a screen. It is an example of the display of the search result of the form displayed on a screen. It is a schematic block diagram of the conventional electronic form system.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 ... Form data, 102 ... Form design system, 103 ... Form data creation part, 104 ... Format data, 105 ... Form generation system, 106 ... Form generation part, 107 ... General-purpose electronic document file, 108 ... Electronic form system, 109 ... Form database 110 ... Form registration part 111 ... Search information database 112 ... Search information mapping part 113 ... Form data search processing part 114 ... Search information definition part 115 ... Form data search condition setting part 116 ... Display part 117 ... Browser terminal, 118 ... Form generation definition database.

Claims (2)

An automatic definition system that automatically defines data search item information for forms in an electronic form system,
Means for inputting form data as the original data of the form and format data including the data type and position information of each item in the form;
Means for generating a general-purpose electronic document file having no data type and position information of each item in the form from the entered form data and format data;
Means for inputting the general-purpose electronic document file and the format data, and creating search form data in such a form that the search can be performed while maintaining the layout of the form, and registering the form data in the form database;
In order to enable search in consideration of the layout of the form and the data type of the items in the form, the format data is analyzed, and the data type and position information of the items to be searched are extracted as data search item information An automatic definition system for data retrieval item information, comprising: means for registering in a retrieval information database. In the automatic definition system of the data search item information in the electronic form system according to claim 1,
In response to a request from the viewer terminal, means for displaying the search form data registered in the form database on the viewer terminal;
Search processing means for executing a search process according to a search condition specifying a layout of each item of the form transmitted from the viewer terminal and a data type of each item for the search form data;
An automatic definition system for data search item information, further comprising: means for returning the search processing result to the viewer terminal and displaying the result.

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