JPH08249251A - Document distribution device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a document distribution device capable of quickly setting appropriate retrieval conditions and informing a user of the distribution destinations of the same information. CONSTITUTION: This document distribution device for retrieving retrieval object data corresponding to set retrieval conditions and transmitting the data of a retrieved result to a storage means 12 on a reception side is provided with a trial retrieval means 4 for retrieving the retrieval object data by tentatively set retrieval conditions, a retrieved result data storage means 6 for storing the retrieved result by the set retrieval conditions and a transmission means 7 for preparing distribution data to be transmitted to the reception side and a distribution destination list for which all the distribution destinations of the distribution data are listed up based on the retrieved result stored in the retrieved result data storage means 6 and distributing the distribution data and the distribution destination list to the respective reception sides. Since the propriety is evaluated as required at the time of setting the retrieval conditions, the appropriate retrieval conditions can be quickly set. Also, by the distribution destination list, the user can recognize where the same information is distributed to.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a document distribution device for distributing search results of a database by electronic mail, and more particularly, it enables processing such as organizing and distributing documents.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, an information service has been popularized which uses a computer to retroactively search for a necessary patent or technical document from a patent database or a technical document database.
An information service called DI (Selective Dissemination of Information), which selectively distributes only the desired information, has been started.

In this SDI, if a keyword of information that the user wants to obtain is registered in the system in advance, a search is performed periodically or whenever new information is input to the system, and the user needs it. Only the information to be distributed will be distributed.

[0006] A document distribution device that provides such a search result distribution service includes a sender that executes a search and sends the search results by electronic mail, and a receiver that receives and stores the electronic mail. Retrieves the accumulated search results using the terminal device. Most of this document distribution device
As shown in FIG. 23, condition setting means for setting search conditions
21, a search condition storage unit 22 that stores the search conditions, a search target data storage unit 24 that stores the search target, and a search unit 23 that searches the search targets that match the search conditions, Sending means for sending search results by e-mail 25
A reception data storage unit 32 for storing the received search result; and a terminal 33 for displaying the stored search result on the screen and printing it out.

In this apparatus, the condition setting means 21 sets the search condition for obtaining desired information and the distribution destination of the search result, and the set search condition and distribution destination are stored in the search result storage section 22. It

The search means 23 starts the search operation by a periodic start command by a timer or a manual start command when new information is generated, and the search condition is stored in the search condition storage unit 22 one by one. And take out the distribution destination,
Collation processing with individual information stored in the search target data storage unit 24 is performed. If there is information that meets the search conditions,
It is distributed to the specified distribution destination using the transmission means 25.

Such search processing is performed by the search condition storage unit 22.
This is performed for all the search conditions therein and all the information in the search target data storage unit 24.

The information distributed by the transmitting means 25 is stored in the received data storage section 32 via the receiving means 31,
It is displayed and printed according to the instructions from 33.

The information distributed to users is generally
It is composed of information satisfying the search condition, the search condition for obtaining the information, the number of search results, and the like. When a plurality of pieces of information are distributed, their arrangement is random.

[0010]

However, the conventional document delivering apparatus has the following problems.

First, it takes a lot of work to set an appropriate search condition. If the search condition is not appropriate, too much information may be extracted without sufficiently narrowing down the search target, or conversely, the search target may be too narrow down to extract one piece of information. In the conventional device, the information extracted under the set search condition cannot be known when the search condition is set, and can be known only after the information is distributed. Therefore, it is necessary to correct the search condition again by looking at the distributed information, and in the case of a service having a long distribution cycle, it takes time to set the appropriate search condition.

Second, when it is necessary to deal with information distributed like patent information, it is necessary to know the person who received the same document for consultation by all parties concerned. However, in the conventional device, the user cannot know the person to whom the same information is distributed.

Thirdly, when a plurality of pieces of information are distributed, the pieces of information are randomly arranged and distributed, so that the user is
It is difficult to distinguish important information or similar information from the received information.

Fourthly, since the management of the distributed information is left to the user on the receiving side, if the user neglects to delete unnecessary information, the information is stored in the received data storage section and new information is distributed. Becomes impossible.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and it is possible to quickly set an appropriate search condition, and inform the user of the distribution destination of the same information.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a document distribution device that can organize and distribute search results and delete unnecessary information accumulated in a storage unit, in consideration of user convenience.

[0016]

Therefore, according to the present invention, in a document distributing apparatus for searching the search target data according to the set search conditions and transmitting the search result data to the receiving side storage means, Based on the search result stored in the search result data storage means, the trial search means for performing a search based on the temporarily set search condition, the search result data storage means for storing the search result under the set search condition, and the receiving side The distribution data to be transmitted to each of the distribution data and the distribution destination list in which all the distribution destinations of the distribution data are listed are created, and each receiving side is provided with a transmission means for distributing the distribution data and the distribution destination list.

Further, there is provided an importance evaluation means for calculating the importance of each data of the search result with respect to the search condition and obtaining the order according to the magnitude of the importance of each data.

Further, the importance level evaluation means is configured to obtain the order according to the importance level of each data stored in the storage means on the receiving side.

Further, the importance evaluation means is configured to obtain the order of the importance of each data to be transmitted.

Further, the similarity evaluation means for calculating the similarity between the respective data of the search results and obtaining the order according to the magnitude of the similarity of each data is provided.

Further, the similarity evaluation means is configured to obtain the order according to the degree of similarity of each data stored in the storage means on the receiving side.

Further, the similarity evaluation means is configured to obtain the order according to the degree of similarity of each transmitted data.

Further, there is provided data deleting means for deleting the data accumulated in the receiving side storage means according to the setting conditions.

Further, there is provided data compression means for compressing / decompressing the data accumulated in the receiving side storage means in accordance with the setting conditions.

Further, as a means for conducting a search, there is provided an importance evaluation means for calculating the importance of the search target data with respect to the search condition and obtaining the data whose calculated value is equal to or more than the threshold value.

[0026]

Therefore, in the apparatus provided with the trial search means, the validity of the search condition can be evaluated at any time when the search condition is set, so that the appropriate search condition can be set quickly. Further, by attaching the distribution destination list to the information and distributing it to the designated distribution destination, the user can know where the same information is distributed.

Further, in the device provided with the importance evaluation means,
It is possible to retrieve or display the search result data in descending order of importance.

Further, in the device provided with the similarity evaluation means,
Data with high similarity can be fetched or displayed side by side.

In the device provided with the data deleting means,
Unnecessary data corresponding to the setting conditions can be automatically deleted from the data stored in the storage means, and the storage capacity of the storage means can be effectively used.

Further, even in a device provided with data compression means,
Similarly, the storage capacity of the storage means can be effectively used. In addition, this device can restore compressed data as needed.

Further, in the apparatus using the importance evaluation means as the search means, it is possible to obtain, as the search result data, only the data of high importance as the search result arranged in the order of importance.

[0032]

【Example】

(First Embodiment) The document distribution apparatus according to the first embodiment can perform a trial search for finding an appropriate search condition when setting search conditions, and when distributing information, a distribution destination list of the information. Can be distributed together.

This document delivering device, as shown in FIG.
A search condition setting means 1 for setting search conditions, a search condition storage part 2 for storing the set search conditions, a trial search means 3 for trying a search to check whether the search conditions are appropriate, and a search target A search target data storage unit 5 that stores data, a search unit 4 that searches for a search target that satisfies a set search condition from the search target data storage unit 5, and a search result that stores a search result. The data storage unit 6 and the transmission means 7 for transmitting the search result by e-mail.
And a distribution data storage unit 8 for storing data to be transmitted,
It is provided with a receiving means 11 for receiving an electronic mail, a received data storage section 12 for storing the received search result, and a terminal 13 for displaying the stored search result on a screen or printing it out.

The search target data in the apparatus of this embodiment is a document and is stored in the search target data storage unit 5. One piece of document data is composed of text and images representing the content of the document, index data used at the time of search, and the like.

The search condition is composed of a pair of a matching condition at the time of document search and a distribution destination of the search result. The matching condition is represented by a keyword, a classification symbol, and the like, and a logical symbol that represents a logical relationship such as a sum, a product, and a negation. The distribution destination is an email address of an email that specifies the destination of the search result.

The search condition is created by the search condition setting means 1, and one search condition is stored in one file and stored in the search condition storage unit 2. Therefore, there are as many files as the search conditions in the search condition storage unit 2.

At the time of setting the search conditions, the trial search means 3 is used to search the data in the search target data storage section 5 with the temporarily set search conditions, and the search results are referred to via the search condition setting means 1. , Modify the search conditions and enable the setting of appropriate search conditions. The search method used by the trial search means 3 is the same as the search method used by the search means 4.

Further, the search result data storage section 6 is provided with a set of files (search result files) which correspond one-to-one to each document which is the search target data.

The search operation of this document delivering apparatus will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

Step 1: The search means 4 activated by a timer or manually checks whether or not there is a search condition to be matched in the search condition storage unit 2, and if there is a search condition, Step 2: Match one of them. Take out the conditions, Step 3: Check whether there is search target data to be collated in the search target data storage unit 5, and if there is search target data, Step 4: retrieve one search target data, Step 5: retrieve The matching process between the matching condition and the search target data is performed.

Step 6: If the collation is successful, Step 7: The delivery destination and the collation condition, that is, the retrieval condition are recorded in the corresponding retrieval result file in the retrieval result data storage unit 6.

After the collation of one retrieved collation condition with all the retrieval target data stored in the retrieval target data storage unit 5, the collation condition included in the next retrieval condition is retrieved from the retrieval condition storage unit 2. Similarly, all the search target data are collated, and when the collation processing for all the retrieval conditions is completed in this way, step 8: The transmission means 7 of the next stage is activated.

As a collation processing method, a keyword search for searching for a match between the keyword of the collation condition and the keyword added to the index data of the retrieval target data, or
It is possible to use a full-text search that uses the document (text) itself as a search target.

The activated transmitting means 7 performs the transmitting process in the procedure shown in FIG.

Step 10: The transmitting means 7 checks whether or not there is a search condition in the search condition storage unit 2, and if there is a search condition, Step 11: extracts one distribution destination from the search condition, and Step 12: search From the search result data in the result data storage unit 6, search for search result data having the distribution destination,
Count that number.

Step 13: If the counting result is zero, Step 24: A message indicating that there is no search result is sent to the designated distribution destination, and the process returns to Step 10 to check the presence or absence of the next search condition.

In step 13, if the counting result is not zero, that is, if there is a search result to be distributed, step 14: distribution with a list of document names (distribution data names) to be distributed to the distribution destination Create a data list, Step 15: If there are documents in this distribution data list that have not been distributed to the distribution destination (all are undistributed documents at the first stage), Step 16: Undistributed Take out one distribution data name of the document, Step 17: If the document is not distributed to other distribution destinations (the document in the distribution data list of the first distribution destination is naturally distributed to other distribution destinations) Step 20: Create a distribution destination list that lists all distribution destinations listed in the search result file of the document in the search result data storage unit 6, and Step 21: Creating a header portion of the distribution data to be distributed to distribution destination. This distribution data consists of a header part and a data part.
The header section stores a collation condition, the total number of documents (total number of results) that match the collation condition, and a distribution destination list.

Step 22: Next, the data part of the distribution data is created. The data section includes a search target data storage section 5
All or part of the corresponding data of is stored.

Step 23: After saving the created distribution data in the distribution data storage unit 8, Step 19: distribute the distribution data to the designated distribution destination by electronic mail.

Next, returning to step 15, distribution data is created for the next undistributed document in the distribution data list by the same procedure, stored in the distribution data storage unit 8, and then distributed to the same distribution destination. When there are no undelivered documents in the distributed data list, the process returns to step 10 and the search condition storage unit 2
If the following search conditions are stored in, the distribution destination is taken out (step 11) and the procedure from step 12 to step 16 is executed.

Step 17: If the undelivered document extracted from the distribution data list has already been distributed to another distribution destination, Step 18: The distribution data of the document is extracted from the distribution data storage unit 8, and Step 19 : Distribute the distribution data to the specified distribution destination.

When the transmission process for all the search conditions is completed in this way, step 25: The search result data storage unit 6 and the distribution data storage unit 8 are cleared and the process ends.

The receiving means 11 sequentially stores the data sent from the sending means 7 in the received data storage section 12.

The received data storage unit 12 displays a list of data, contents of data, etc. on the terminal 13 according to an instruction from the terminal 13.

As described above, in the document delivering apparatus of the first embodiment, when the search condition is set, what kind of search result can be obtained under the search condition to be set by using the trial search means. If you are not satisfied with the search results, you can immediately modify the search criteria and change it to the appropriate one.

Since the distribution data sent to each distribution destination is accompanied by a distribution destination list indicating where the same distribution data is distributed, the user can know the distribution data transmission destination. .

Although as many files as search conditions are provided in the search condition storage unit 2, a plurality of search conditions may be put in one file.

Although the trial search means 3 uses the same search method as the search means 4, the trial search requires high speed. Therefore, a different index from the search means 4, such as an index, is used. A search method may be used.

Further, by sending detailed data such as a keyword attached to a document from the search target data storage section 5 to the search condition setting means 1, convenience in setting the search condition may be given.

In the file corresponding to the search target data in the search result data storage unit 6, the search result data is 1
If there is a file that is not stored at all, those file names can be collected to create an undistributed data list. By excluding the files listed in this list from the targets of the search in step 12, this search can be performed efficiently.

(Second Embodiment) The document distribution apparatus of the second embodiment can automatically rearrange and display distributed data in descending order of importance.

As shown in FIG. 4, this apparatus is provided with an importance evaluation means 14 for automatically checking the importance of the received search result data. The other structure is the same as that of the device of the first embodiment (FIG. 1).

As shown in FIG. 5, the importance evaluation means 14 includes a keyword extraction means 141 for extracting words from data, an unnecessary word list storage section 142 for storing a list of words not suitable for the keywords, and a keyword. Weighting means 143 for weighting and the importance degree calculating means 14 for calculating the importance degree of each data using the weighted keyword
4 and the evaluation result storage unit 145 that stores the order of importance of each data
Is provided.

The search operation and the transmission operation in this apparatus are the same as the procedure of FIGS. 2 and 3 described in the first embodiment.

However, when a keyword is previously attached to the data to be searched and the searching means 3 carries out the search by this keyword, the transmitting means 7 creates the header part of the distribution data (step 21). The keyword of each data is stored together with the matching condition, the total number of results, and the distribution destination list.

The receiving means 11 sequentially stores the data sent from the transmitting means 7 in the received data storage section 12, and the importance degree evaluating means
14 examines the order of importance of the stored data according to the procedure of FIG.

Step 30: The keyword extracting means 141 of the importance evaluation means 14 checks whether or not the keyword is stored in the header portion of the data stored in the received data storage portion 12, and if the keyword is not stored, step 31 : Cut out a word from each data stored in the received data storage unit 12, Step 32: The cut out word is an unnecessary word list storage unit 14
It is checked whether or not the unnecessary word stored in 2 corresponds to Step 33: When it does not correspond to the unnecessary word, Step 34: Use it as a keyword.

Step 35: The weighting means 143, if the data is keyword-assigned, that is, if the header stores the keyword, if the keyword is not assigned to the data For each of the keywords extracted by the keyword extracting means 141, a weighting indicating the importance of the keyword is performed. There are various weighting methods, such as those using frequency information, but they are omitted here because they are explained in detail in the literature ("Information Retrieval" Shokoido by Tetsuro Ito).

Step 36: When the keywords are weighted, the importance calculating means 144 calculates the sum of the weights of the keywords included in each data based on the appearance frequency of the keywords in each data. Calculate importance. When the calculation of the degree of importance is completed for all the data, step 37: The information of the order of the data sorted in the order of the size of the calculated value is stored in the evaluation result storage unit 145.

When there is a command to display the received data from the terminal 13, the received data storage unit 12 refers to the information stored in the evaluation result storage unit 145 of the importance evaluation unit 14 and arranges them in descending order of importance. The changed data list and data contents are displayed on the terminal 13.

As described above, the document delivering apparatus of the second embodiment can show the data of the retrieval result to the user in the order of importance.

When the keyword extracting means is configured as a means for counting the number of matching character string keywords in the data, the importance of each data can be obtained only from the matching condition keywords. .

(Third Embodiment) The document distributing apparatus of the third embodiment can automatically rearrange the distributed data in descending order of similarity.

As shown in FIG. 7, this apparatus is equipped with a similarity evaluation means 15 for automatically checking the similarity of the search result data. The other structure is the device of the first embodiment (FIG. 1).
There is no change.

This similarity evaluation means 15, as shown in FIG. 8, is similar to the importance evaluation means 14 of the second embodiment, and is a keyword extraction means 151, an unnecessary word list storage section 152, a weighting means 153 and an evaluation. The result storage unit 155 is provided, and the similarity calculation unit 154 for calculating the similarity of each data using the weighted keyword is provided.

The operation of this device is almost the same as that of the device of the second embodiment. However, in the apparatus of the second embodiment, the importance calculation means 144 of the importance evaluation means 14 calculates the importance of each data using the weighted keyword, and the order of the data in the order of magnitude of importance is calculated. While stored in the evaluation result storage unit 145, in this device, as shown in FIG. 9, the similarity calculation unit 154 of the similarity evaluation unit 15 uses the weighted keyword to calculate the step 46: A keyword vector of each data (a vector representing the appearance frequency of each keyword in a multidimensional space having the keyword as a coordinate axis) is created, and step 47: the similarity between the data represented by the distance between the vectors is calculated. There are several methods for calculating the similarity, for example, taking the cosine function of a vector, but since it is explained in detail in the literature ("Information Retrieval" Shokoido by Tetsuro Ito), it is omitted here. . When the calculation of the similarity for all the data is completed, step 48: The information of the order of the data rearranged in the order of the similarity is stored in the evaluation result storage unit 155.

When the received data storage unit 12 receives a command to display the received data from the terminal 13, the received data storage unit 12 refers to the information stored in the evaluation result storage unit 155 of the similarity evaluation unit 15, and arranges the data in descending order of similarity. The changed data list and data contents are displayed on the terminal 13.

Since the keyword extracting means 151, the unnecessary word list storage section 152 and the weighting means 153 of the similarity evaluating means 15 of this apparatus are the same as the constituent elements of the importance evaluating means 14 of the second embodiment, these are omitted. By sharing, it is possible to realize a document management device capable of selecting importance evaluation and similarity evaluation.

(Fourth Embodiment) The document delivering apparatus of the fourth embodiment can automatically delete the accumulated unnecessary data.

As shown in FIG. 10, this apparatus is provided with a data deleting means 16 for deleting the search result data saved on the receiving side according to the set deletion condition / method. The other structure is the same as that of the device of the first embodiment (FIG. 1).

As shown in FIG. 11, the data deleting means 16 monitors the data stored in the setting registration section 161 for registering the data deleting condition and the received data storing section 12, and deletes the data according to the deleting condition. 162 and.

The deletion method and conditions are selected and set in advance by the user using the terminal 13 and registered in the setting registration unit 161. As shown in FIG. 12, when the deletion by the automatic setting is selected as the deletion method, the deletion condition regarding the data retention days or the data storage amount is set. If you select manual deletion as the deletion method, specify the data to be deleted.

In this apparatus, the distribution data is stored in the reception data storage section 12 in the same procedure as in the first embodiment, and the data deleting means 16 deletes the data in the order shown in FIG.

Step 50: The user selects either automatic setting or manual setting. Step 51: In the case of automatic setting, delete conditions relating to the number of days of data storage or the amount of data storage are set. Setting registration section
161 holds the set deletion condition.

Step 52: When automatic deletion is activated by the user, Step 53: The deleting means 162 periodically sets the date of the data stored in the received data storage unit 12 when the number of data storage days is set. Check to see if there is data that exceeds the set number of days to save, and if the data storage amount is set, monitor the amount of data stored in the received data storage unit 12 It is checked whether or not the storage amount exceeds the set value. Step 54: When the data retention days are set, all the data exceeding the set retention days are deleted. When the data storage amount is set, the oldest received data is deleted, and data up to and below the set data storage amount is deleted.

When the manual setting is selected in step 50, step 55: The user specifies the data to be deleted from the terminal 13, and the setting registration section 161 holds the address of the specified data.

Step 56: When the designation of all the deleted data is completed, Step 57: The deleting means 162 deletes the specified data.

In the case of automatic setting, the number of days of data storage and the amount of data storage can be set in combination, and
It is also possible to set one condition so that it takes precedence.

As described above, the document delivering apparatus of the fourth embodiment can automatically delete the unnecessary data accumulated in the received data storage unit 12, so that even if the user neglects to organize the received data. The storage capacity necessary for receiving a new electronic mail can be always secured in the received data storage unit 12.

The data deleting means 16 may be added to the document delivering apparatus having the importance evaluating means 14 of the second embodiment so that the data is deleted in the order of decreasing importance of the data.

Further, the data deleting means 16 can be added to the document distributing apparatus having the similarity evaluating means 15 of the third embodiment.

(Fifth Embodiment) The document delivery apparatus of the fifth embodiment automatically compresses the accumulated data in order from the oldest one so that it can be stored in another storage area.

As shown in FIG. 14, this apparatus comprises a data compression means 17 for compressing the search result data stored on the receiving side according to a set compression condition / method, and a compression means for storing the compressed data. And a data storage unit 18. The other structure is the same as that of the device of the first embodiment (FIG. 1).

As shown in FIG. 15, the data compression means 17 monitors the data stored in the setting registration unit 171 for registering the data compression condition and the received data storage unit 12, and compresses the data according to the compression condition. A compression unit 172 and a decompression unit 173 that decompresses the compressed data are provided.

The setting method of compressed data and the compression condition are selected and set in advance by the user using the terminal 13.
It is registered in the setting registration unit 171. As shown in FIG. 16, when the automatic setting of compressed data is selected, the number of days of data storage or the amount of data storage, the compression method, and the compression rate are set as compression conditions. If you select manual setting of compressed data, specify the data to be compressed individually.

In this apparatus, the distribution data is stored in the received data storage unit 12 in the same procedure as in the first embodiment, and the data compression means 17 executes the data compression in the procedure shown in FIG.

The procedure of FIG. 17 is almost the same as the procedure of the data deleting means 16 of the fourth embodiment (FIG. 13), and when the user selects the automatic setting and sets the number of data storage days as the compression condition. The compression means 172 is the reception data storage unit 1
The date of the data stored in 2 is periodically checked, and if there is data that exceeds the set retention days, the data is compressed by the set compression method and compression rate, and the compressed data storage unit 18 To store.

Further, when the data storage amount is set as the compression condition, the compression means 172 determines that the received data storage unit 12
The amount of data stored in is monitored, and when the total amount of data stored exceeds the set value, the oldest received data is compressed, and the set amount of data storage is set according to the set data compression method and data compression rate. The data up to and below is compressed and stored in the compressed data storage unit 18.

In the case of manual setting, when the user specifies the data to be compressed from the terminal 13, the setting registration section 171
Holds the address of each of these data areas, and when the user inputs a compression instruction from the terminal 13, the compression means 172
Compresses the designated data and stores it in the compressed data storage unit 18.

Further, the decompression means 173 of the data compression means 17
Upon receiving a compressed data decompression command from the terminal 13, the device reads out and decompresses specified data from the data stored in the compressed data storage unit 18, and stores the decompressed data in the received data storage unit 12. To be done.

In the case of automatic setting, the compression condition can be set by combining the number of days of data storage and the data storage amount, or one condition can be set to have priority.

When setting the data compression method, the image data and the text can be set to be compressed by different compression methods.

As described above, since the document delivering apparatus of the fifth embodiment can automatically or manually compress unnecessary data accumulated in the received data storage section 12 and store it, In the unit 12, it is possible to always secure a storage capacity for accepting new e-mail.
In addition, the compressed data can be read when the need arises.

The data compressing means 17 and the compressed data storage section 18 are added to the document delivering device having the importance evaluating means 14 of the second embodiment so that the data is compressed in the order of decreasing importance. It can also be configured.

Further, the data compressing means 17 and the compressed data storing section 18 can be combined with the document delivering device having the similarity evaluating means 15 and the deleting means 16 of the third or fourth embodiment.

(Sixth Embodiment) In the document distributing apparatus of the sixth embodiment, the search results are rearranged and distributed at the transmitting side in the order of importance.

As shown in FIG. 18, this apparatus is provided with an importance degree evaluation means 14 for checking the importance degree of the search result data provided from the transmission means 7. Further, the transmission means 7 collects and provides the search result data under the same search condition to the importance evaluation means 14, and arranges the search result data in the order of magnitude of the importance evaluated by the importance evaluation means 14. Change and deliver together. The other structure is the same as that of the device of the first embodiment (FIG. 1).

The structure and operation of this importance evaluation means 14 are as follows.
This is the same as the configuration (FIG. 5) and operation (FIG. 6) of the importance evaluation means 14 of the second embodiment.

The search operation of this device is the same as that of the device of the first embodiment (FIG. 2). Also, the transmission means 7 of this device
Performs the transmission operation in the procedure shown in FIG.

Step 70: The transmitting means 7 checks whether or not there is a search condition in the search condition storage unit 2, and if there is a search condition, Step 71: retrieves one search condition, Step 72: stores the search result data From the search result data in the unit 6, search result data having the same search condition, that is, the distribution destination and the matching condition are the same, and the number thereof is counted.

Step 73: If the result of counting is zero, Step 84: Send a message indicating that there is no search result to the specified distribution destination, and return to Step 10 to check the presence or absence of the next search condition.

In step 73, if the counting result is not zero, that is, if there are search results to be distributed, step 74: create a distribution data list that lists distribution data names representing the data of those search results. Step 75: Send this distribution data list and the matching conditions corresponding to it to the importance evaluation means 14.

Step 76: Similar to the importance level evaluation means 14 of the second embodiment, the importance level evaluation means 14 retrieves the keyword of the matching condition and the distribution data list from the search target data storage section 5 for reference. Using the data keywords and
The importance of each data is calculated. If the search target data does not have a keyword, the unnecessary word list 142 is used to extract the keyword as in the second embodiment, and if a keyword is added in advance, it is used. . After calculating the importance of each data, the information of the order of the data arranged in the order of the value is stored in the evaluation result storage unit.
Store in 145.

Step 76: The transmitting means 7 rearranges the order of the data in the distribution data list in the order of importance according to the information stored in the evaluation result storage section 145 of the importance evaluating means 14. In this way, the data sorted in the distribution data list in order of importance (may be one)
Will be collectively treated as one distribution data hereinafter.

Step 77: The transmitting means 7 refers to the collation condition corresponding to the distribution data list to check whether the distribution data is the data transmitted in the past, and if it is not the data transmitted, step 80: Create a distribution destination list that lists distribution destinations that have the same matching condition of the search condition, and step 81: matching condition, total number of documents that match the matching condition (total number of results), and distribution data header including the distribution list Step 82: Next, the data section of the distribution data is created. This data part is composed of all data parts of the distribution data list arranged in the order of importance, and takes in all or part of the corresponding data in the search target data storage part 5.

Step 83: After storing the created distribution data in the distribution data storage unit 8, Step 79: Distribute the distribution data to the designated distribution destination by electronic mail.

If the distribution data has been transmitted in the past in step 77, step 78: the corresponding distribution data is retrieved from the distribution data storage unit 8 and step 79: distribution to the designated distribution destination.

This transmission process is performed for all the search conditions, and when the process ends, step 85: The search result data storage unit 6 and the distribution data storage unit 8 are cleared and the process ends.

The reception means 11 sequentially stores the data sent from the transmission means 7 in the reception data storage section 12, and the reception data storage section 12 stores the data arranged in the order of importance in accordance with an instruction from the terminal 13. A list and data contents are displayed on the terminal 13.

(Seventh Embodiment) The document distributing apparatus of the seventh embodiment arranges and distributes search results in a similar order on the transmitting side.

As shown in FIG. 20, this apparatus has a similarity evaluation means 15 for checking the similarity between the search result data instead of the importance evaluation means 14 of the apparatus of the sixth embodiment (FIG. 18). It is provided. The configuration and operation of this similarity evaluation means 15 is as follows.
This is the same as the similarity evaluation means 15 (FIG. 8) in the third embodiment.

The operation of this apparatus is as shown in FIG.
The similarity evaluation means calculates the similarity between each data and stores the information of the order of the data arranged in the order of magnitude of the similarity in the evaluation result storage unit 155, except that the apparatus of the sixth embodiment has This is the same as the operation (FIG. 19). The transmitting means 7 rearranges the data of the distribution data list in order of the degree of similarity based on the information stored in the evaluation result storage unit 155 of the similarity evaluating means 15.

Therefore, when the user uses the terminal 13 to instruct the display of the data stored in the received data storage unit 12, a list of data arranged in order of similarity and data contents are displayed on the terminal 13.
Is displayed in.

By sharing the keyword extraction means, the unnecessary word list storage section and the weighting means of the similarity evaluation means 15 with the importance evaluation means 14, a document management apparatus capable of selecting importance evaluation and similarity evaluation is provided. Can be realized.

(Eighth Embodiment) In the document distribution apparatus of the eighth embodiment, instead of the retrieval means, the importance evaluation means is used to retrieve the retrieval target data that matches the collation condition.

As shown in FIG. 22, this apparatus comprises an importance degree evaluation means 10 which replaces the search means and a trial importance degree evaluation means 9 which replaces the trial search means. The other structure is the same as that of the device of the first embodiment (FIG. 1).

The importance level evaluation means 10 includes a keyword extraction means 145, an unnecessary word list storage part 142, which is obtained by removing only the evaluation result storage part 145 from the importance level evaluation part 14 (FIG. 5) of the second embodiment.
The weighting means 143 and the importance calculation means 144 are provided. Further, the operation is the importance degree evaluation means 14 of the second embodiment.
The operation is the same as the operation from step 30 to step 37 except step 38 (the information in the order of importance is stored in the evaluation result storage unit 145) of the operation (FIG. 6).

In the apparatus of this embodiment, importance evaluation is performed instead of retrieval, but in the sense that data matching the set conditions is retrieved, it is the same as retrieval, and data of high importance is used as the retrieval result. Will be treated.

The search target data stored in the search target data storage unit 5 of this apparatus is the same as that in the first embodiment.

The search condition stored in the search condition storage unit 2 is composed of a combination of a collation condition, a delivery destination, and an importance threshold value. This threshold value is the lowest value in the range that is determined to be important data based on the calculated importance level, and values above this threshold value are treated as distribution data.

When setting the search condition with this apparatus, first, the trial importance level evaluation means 9 is used to calculate the importance level of the data stored in the search target data storage section 5 according to the temporarily set search condition, The retrieval condition setting means 1 is used to refer to how much data having an importance value equal to or higher than a threshold value is extracted. Based on the result, necessary corrections are made to the matching condition and the threshold value, and an appropriate search condition is set. The importance evaluation method used by the trial importance evaluation means 9 is the same as the method used by the importance evaluation means 10.

Unlike the case of the first embodiment, the search result data storage section 6 stores a set of search results, collation conditions, and distribution destinations as search result data.

The operation of this device will be described.

The importance evaluation means 10 activated by a timer or manually takes out the matching conditions of the searching conditions stored in the searching condition storage unit 1 one by one, and the keyword of the matching condition and the search target data storage unit 5 The importance of each data is calculated by using the keywords extracted and weighted from the individual data of. Next, when the threshold value stored together with the used matching condition is retrieved from the search condition storage unit 2, the data whose importance is equal to or more than that value is selected, and the selected data is arranged in the order of the importance value. Ask for turn. Then, the obtained order information is stored in the search result data storage unit 5 as a search result, together with the distribution destination and the matching condition used.

After performing such processing for all the search conditions in the search condition storage unit 2, the importance level evaluation means 10
The transmission means 7 in the next stage is activated.

The transmitting means 7 retrieves the retrieval conditions one by one from the retrieval condition storage unit 2, retrieves the retrieval result having the same retrieval condition from the retrieval result data stored in the retrieval result data storage unit 6, and retrieves the retrieval result. The data contained in is counted. If the count result is zero, a message indicating that there is no search result is sent to the designated distribution destination, and the process proceeds to the next step. If the count result is not zero and the search result is not the data sent in the past, create the distribution destination list, create the distribution data header part, create the distribution data data part, and create The distributed data stored in the distributed data storage unit 8
After saving it to, distribute it to the designated recipient.

When the distribution data name is the data transmitted in the past, the distribution data is extracted from the distribution data storage unit 8 and distributed to the designated distribution destination. When the processing for all the search conditions is completed, the search result data storage unit 6
And the distribution data storage unit 8 are cleared, and the process ends.

As in the case of the first embodiment, the distribution data is composed of two parts, a header part and a data part. The header section stores the matching condition, the total number of results, and the distribution destination list, and the data section stores all or a part of one or more data corresponding to the search result in the search target data storage section 5.

The receiving means 11 successively stores the data sent from the transmitting means 7 in the received data storage section 12, and the received data storage section 12 receives a command from the terminal 13 to list the data,
The contents of data and the like are displayed on the terminal 13.

As described above, the document delivering apparatus of the eighth embodiment can show the data arranged in the order of importance to the user with a simple structure in which the retrieval means is replaced by the importance evaluation means.

It is also possible to provide the similarity evaluation means instead of the importance evaluation means, obtain the similarity between the collation character string and the search target data, and arrange the data in descending order of the similarity to create the delivery data.

A document management apparatus capable of selecting the importance evaluation and the similarity evaluation by sharing the keyword extracting means 141, the unnecessary word list storage section 142, and the weighting means 143 with the importance evaluation means and the similarity evaluation means. It can also be realized.

[0143]

As is apparent from the above description of the embodiments, the document distributing apparatus of the present invention is provided with the trial search means, so that the validity of the search conditions can be evaluated at any time when the search conditions are set. Therefore, appropriate search conditions can be set quickly.

Since a distribution destination list can be generated and attached to information, the individual users can know who has received the same document, and all parties concerned can handle the document. Can be performed quickly.

Further, in the device provided with the importance evaluation means,
Since the data can be sorted and presented in the order of importance, the user can quickly and easily obtain important information from the search results.

Further, in the apparatus provided with the similarity evaluation means,
Since the data can be sorted and presented in descending order of similarity, the user can quickly collect similar information and obtain similar information at one time.

In the device provided with the importance evaluation means and the similarity evaluation means on the transmission side, it is not necessary to use special equipment on the reception side, and a normal personal computer or the like can be used as it is.

Further, in the device in which the importance degree evaluation means and the similarity degree evaluation means are provided on the receiving side, it is possible to reduce the load on the transmitting side which handles a large amount of data.

In the device provided with the data deleting means,
The storage area can be effectively used while suppressing an increase in stored data. If you manually specify the data to be deleted, you can save only the data you need, and when you select automatic deletion, you can delete unnecessary data even if the user is not aware of data management. It is carried out sequentially. At this time, the deletion condition and method can be set by the user in detail, so that data suitable for each individual can be saved.

Further, in the device provided with the data compression means,
By compressing unnecessary data and storing it in another storage area, the storage area can be effectively used. Also,
This data can be reproduced when needed,
Data loss can be prevented. The data to be compressed can be specified manually or automatically selected according to the conditions set by the user, so that data suitable for each individual can be saved.

Further, in the device using the importance evaluation means in place of the search means, it is possible to arrange the data matching the matching conditions in order of importance and deliver them to the user with a simple structure.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a document distribution device according to a first embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of search means in the apparatus of the first embodiment,

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of transmitting means in the device of the first embodiment,

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a document distribution device according to a second embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an importance evaluation means in the apparatus of the second embodiment,

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the importance evaluation means in the apparatus of the second embodiment,

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a document distribution device according to a third embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of similarity evaluation means in the device of the third embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of the similarity evaluation means in the device of the third embodiment,

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a document distribution device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the configuration of data deleting means in the device of the fourth embodiment;

FIG. 12 is a setting content of a setting registration unit of the data deleting means in the device of the fourth embodiment,

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the operation of the data deleting means in the device of the fourth embodiment;

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a document distribution device according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a data compression means in the device of the fifth embodiment;

FIG. 16 is a setting content of a setting registration unit of the data compression unit in the device of the fifth embodiment,

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing the operation of the data compression means in the device of the fifth embodiment;

FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a document delivering device according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 19 is a flowchart of transmitting means in the device of the sixth embodiment;

FIG. 20 is a block diagram showing the arrangement of a document delivering apparatus according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 21 is a flowchart of transmitting means in the device of the seventh embodiment;

FIG. 22 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a document delivering device according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 23 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a conventional document distribution device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 search condition setting means 2 search condition storage section 3 trial search means 4 search means 5 search target data storage section 6 search result data storage section 7 transmission means 8 distribution data storage section 9 trial importance evaluation means 10, 14 importance evaluation means 11 Receiving means 12 Received data storage section 13 Terminal 141, 151 Keyword extracting means 142, 152 Unnecessary word list storage section 143, 153 Weighting means 144 Similarity evaluation means 145, 155 Evaluation result storage section 15 Similarity evaluation means 154 Similarity calculation Means 16 Data deletion means 161, 171 Setting registration section 162 Deletion means 17 Data compression means 172 Compression means 173 Decompression means 18 Compressed data storage section

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A trial search in which a search target data is searched according to a set search condition, and the search target data is searched according to a temporarily set search condition in a document distribution device that transmits the search result data to a storage unit on the receiving side. Means, search result data storage means for storing the search results under the set search conditions, distribution data to be transmitted to the receiving side based on the search results stored in the search result data storage means, and the distribution data A distribution destination list in which all distribution destinations are listed, and a transmission means for distributing the distribution data and the distribution destination list to each receiving side. 2. A document distributing device for searching data to be searched according to a set search condition and transmitting the data of the search result to a storage means on the receiving side, calculating the importance of each data of the search result with respect to the search condition. A document distribution device, further comprising an importance evaluation means for obtaining an order according to the importance of each data. 3. The document delivering device according to claim 2, wherein the importance degree evaluation means obtains an order according to the magnitude of the importance degree of each of the data stored in the receiving side storage means. 4. The document delivering device according to claim 2, wherein the importance degree evaluating means obtains an order according to the importance degree of each of the transmitted data. 5. A document distributing device for searching data to be searched according to a set search condition and transmitting the data of the search result to the storage means on the receiving side, calculating the similarity between each data of the search result, A document distributing device characterized by comprising similarity evaluation means for obtaining an order according to the degree of similarity of each data. 6. The document delivering apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the similarity evaluation unit obtains an order according to the degree of similarity of the data stored in the storage unit on the receiving side. 7. The document delivering device according to claim 5, wherein the similarity evaluation unit obtains an order according to the degree of similarity of each of the transmitted data. 8. A document distributing device for searching data to be searched according to a set search condition and transmitting the data of the search result to a storage means on the receiving side, wherein the data stored in the storage means on the receiving side is set as a setting condition. A document delivering device, characterized in that it is provided with a data erasing means for erasing according to the above. 9. A document delivering device for searching data to be searched according to a set search condition and transmitting the search result data to a storage means on the receiving side, wherein the data stored in the storage means on the receiving side is set as a setting condition. A document delivering device, characterized in that it is provided with a data compressing means for compressing / decompressing according to the above. 10. A document distribution device for searching search target data according to a set search condition and transmitting the search result data to a storage unit on the receiving side, the search target data for the search condition being used as the search unit. A document delivering device, characterized in that an importance evaluation means is provided for calculating the importance and obtaining data whose calculated value is greater than or equal to a threshold value.