JPH11195060A - Procedure management system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To immediately display and confirm the contents of a file used for a procedure by calling a relative external document file by item specification on the basis of a storage position and a file name and displaying its contents on the display screen of a data base. SOLUTION: An external file specified with the items of a path name and a file name recorded corresponding to a procedure name and a submitting day is read in clicking double a procedure name displayed in a window 110 where a list of procedures sorted by submitting days is displayed with a mouse or selecting it and pressing a call button 112. In this case, document names included by the kinds of the respective procedures are known in advance, so when the procedure is selected, a list of included document names is displayed. The path name and file name of the file corresponding to the selected procedure name and submitting day are displayed in the window 111. The contents of the read-in file are displayed in a file display window displayed before the display window of the data base.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to a procedure management system using a database such as a patent management database. More specifically, the present invention relates to a procedure management system in a patent management database or the like that can reduce the operation of an operator.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, procedures for various organizations and government agencies have tended to be digitized. The present applicant has previously proposed a data display input method for inputting management data to a database electronically while confirming data from a file or the like used in a computerized procedure (Japanese Patent Application No. Hei 9-1997). No. 21885). However, the management data database does not manage all the contents used in the procedure. Therefore, there is a need for a procedure management system that uses a database of procedures that can display and confirm management data and all or similar contents used in the procedure in association with each other.

In particular, in a database relating to a patent procedure such as a patent application management system, various necessary procedures are sequentially and repeatedly generated. In addition, contents such as drawings that require a large capacity of the medium when digitized are included. For this reason, it is desirable to store only management data such as bibliographic items in the management database, and to construct a database that can immediately display and confirm drawings and the like as needed. Particularly in the field of patents, at the time of filing a patent application, an application, a specification, a drawing, an abstract, and the like are prepared and stored in a file. A system that records basic data such as bibliographic items or bibliographic items and abstracts from applications, specifications, and abstracts in the management database, and can immediately display drawings, full-text specifications, etc. as needed is desired. It is rare. Generally, the unit in which all procedures are recorded and stored is called a zipper, but if this unit is registered in the database as it is and a database is constructed so that it can be entered and exited for each unit, the data of the zipper etc. Is constrained, the management system and the software are both large-scale, and it takes a lot of man-hours for development, and also tends to cause problems in reliability.

In general, a file management system and a management system such as a due date have different characteristics, and a management system such as a due date is a system that simply and quickly manages an examination request date, a pension payment date, and the like. The file management system manages the history of all procedures. In these systems, it is necessary to make the management method and the data structure suitable for each of them because of the difference in the amount of data to be handled. However, it is desirable that the date management system and the file management system operate simultaneously. For example, a request for confirming detailed contents arises from a file management system that stores all the contents of a procedure after extracting an examination request deadline by a due date management system. Building a dedicated wrapper management system is not a good idea as the system will be bloated,
Further, the date management system alone cannot provide sufficient management. In addition, a database for comprehensive management such as date management and file management is enormous in both system and program volume, and has problems in terms of cost, development time, and the like.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art. That is, an object of the present invention is to provide a procedure management system that can immediately display and confirm the contents of a file used in a procedure when displaying data in a database that manages the procedure. . It is another object of the present invention to provide a procedure management system using a database that can efficiently and uniformly manage procedures such as due dates and zipper management and economically construct the entire system. .

[0006]

Means for Solving the Problems The present invention (claim 1) provides:
Holding records consisting of various items related to procedures, for example, procedures performed by various organizations, government agencies, private institutions, etc.
In a procedure management system using a database for managing procedures, etc., the database stores a storage location and a file name where an external document file related to the procedure is stored in association with an item of the record. , A related external document file is called based on the storage location and the file name, and the contents are displayed on a display screen of the database.

According to another aspect of the present invention (claim 2), in the above invention, the database is provided with a display window for displaying one or more types of procedures, and the procedure displayed in the display window is designated. Thus, an external document file corresponding to the designated procedure is read and displayed. In another aspect of the present invention (claim 3),
In the above invention (claim 1), the database is provided with a display window for displaying one or more types of procedures, and by specifying and editing the procedure displayed on the display window, the specified procedure can be specified. It is characterized in that a copy of the corresponding external document file is created, the copied file is read into editing software and edited, and a new procedural document is created. In another aspect of the present invention (claim 4), a procedure name and a submission date of the procedure are displayed as a pair on the display window, and when a call instruction is given, the data is used for data storage. The contents of the external document file are displayed.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a procedure management system using a database for holding a record including various items related to a procedure and for managing the procedure. Means for specifying as an input file, means for extracting a record item of a database from the external document file, and registering the extracted item,
The storage location and file name of the external document file are
There is provided a means for registering in association with an item indicating a procedure type, and a means for calling and displaying a related external document file by designating the item indicating the registered procedure type.

[0009]

[Action] Documents related to various notices such as a patent application, a written amendment to the proceedings, a request for examination, or a notice of reasons for refusal received from the JPO in the proceedings are stored in an appropriate medium as an external document file. ing. In the procedure management system of the present invention, the database is
The storage locations (file path names) and file names of various external document files relating to the procedure are stored as one of the items of the record. During a search operation of the database storing such data, the operator designates a desired item of the displayed record, and the external document file related to the item is stored in the storage location and the file name. And display it on the screen. The specification of the external document file can be performed by, for example, providing a display window for displaying the type of the procedure and specifying the procedure displayed in the display window. According to the present invention, when displaying data in a database, an external document file related to a procedure can be easily called, displayed, and confirmed. An extremely effective system can be constructed as a management system for the system.

In the procedure management system of the present invention (claim 5), first, an external document file created for the procedure or received in the procedure is designated as an input file of the database. As a designation method, for example, it is preferable to use a graphical and easy-to-understand interface of dragging and dropping an icon of an external document file to an icon or a window of a database. Next, input items such as a document name, a submission date, a serial number, and an application number are extracted from the designated document file. These input items are stored in the database together with the path name and file name of the document file. It is assumed that the file name stored in the database can be changed in case the path name and file name of the document file are changed after the input. When searching a database stored in this way, if a certain record is displayed as a result of the search, if you want to check the underlying document file for the specific procedure being displayed, you need to specify the path name and file name. Call a document file based on It is good to have a button for that. But,
The call of the document file is not limited to the button, but may be any method that can give an instruction. For example, the mouse may be double-clicked on a list of item names or document names. For the designated document file, for example, if it is a file for a personal computer application, use an HTML format file.
Loaded and displayed on the browser. According to the present invention, the management of bibliographic items in the management of procedures such as patent management and the management of documents such as zipper management can be performed efficiently on the same platform. Further, since it is not necessary to write many program codes for the management of the wrapper, the entire system can be constructed economically.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a patent procedure database according to an embodiment of the present invention. A reference number S100 in the figure indicates a step of designating reading of the external file 10. Although there are various reading designation methods, as shown in FIG. 2, an icon 21 indicating a file is replaced with an icon 2 of an application such as database management software.
2, a method of dragging and dropping an icon 31 representing a file onto the form 32 of the activated application as shown in FIG. 3, and a method of displaying a file list 41 from the application menu as shown in FIG. There is a method to make the selection.

The selected file is stored in step S101.
Is read by the application. The read file is checked for the file format or the like by a check routine (not shown), and the file format is converted if necessary.
For example, when the internal processing is performed in a text format, if the input file is a file in an HTML format or a format unique to a word processor, the input file is converted to a text format and then processed. Although the conversion of the file format does not particularly constitute the present invention, it is more convenient to prepare a conversion routine for a file whose format is expected in advance as a selected file.

If the contents of a file to be read are related to, for example, a patent procedure, there is an example as shown in FIG.
FIG. 5 shows the format of a patent application, in which the title of each item is enclosed by an identifier in square brackets, followed immediately by the content of the title. The application assigns data to the data items of the database according to the contents identified by the identifiers with the brackets. The document name is a required item, so it must be in the input file. In addition, since the submission date or the shipping date is described in most documents, the document name and date indicate the process of the procedure. If the date is not in the process, the date of the system managed by the personal computer can be assigned.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the structure of a record in the database according to this embodiment. The record 60 has a configuration in which the items are arranged in a predetermined order. In particular, corresponding to the procedure name / submission date item 62, an external file path name / file name item 66 used for the procedure is provided. Is provided. If you file a patent application with the JPO, you will have an external file in the format shown in Figure 5, for example.
When records of the database are extracted from this file, as shown in FIG. 6, reference number 611, procedure name / submission date 6
2. Data such as classification (international patent classification) 63, title of invention 64, applicant 65 and the like can be registered. In the description so far, what is described as an external file means a file separated from a database, and may be present on the same hard disk, or may be a storage area of a server connected to a network. May be present.

[0015] In the external file, 1 such as application number, registration number, etc.
If the application contains only one key, the database is searched using this. A method of searching by designating an external file is described in the above-mentioned application (Japanese Patent Application No. Hei 9
The method shown in FIG. The outline will be described below. If the contents of the file to be read are related to, for example, a patent procedure, there are those shown in FIG. FIG. 5 shows the format of a patent application, in which the title of each item is enclosed by an identifier in square brackets, followed immediately by the content of the title. The patent application 50 has an item “reference number” that can be used as a key that is not changed later. It is clear that the method of the present invention can be applied to any document other than a patent as long as the procedure and the key are paired. If the item “number” is set as a key item on the application side, in step S802, it is determined whether or not there is the same item as the set key item in the read external file 80, that is, the key item “ The item number enclosed by the identifier of the external file is searched for the "number," and the corresponding content is extracted. In the example shown in FIG. 5, the content of the item “number” is “P123456”.

Next, in step S803, the contents "P123456" extracted from the file in the database.
Search for a record that has a “number” that matches The search is usually performed using the index file 81. In step S804, the presence or absence of the corresponding record is checked.
At step 5, it is read from the master file of the database 82. In step S806, the read content is
It is displayed on the screen 83 of the display. In the example, it is indicated that items 1 to 3 on the display 83 have already been input. In this state, data using the same reference number as a key is stored in the database 82,
Indicates that items 1 to 3 have been input. The state of this record is a form of use in which classification numbers are assigned later in patent offices and the like, and reference numbers, names and applicant names are input first.

Then, in step S807, the contents of the file read in step S801 are compared with the contents of the data of the record read using the serial number as a key, and the difference between the two is checked. If there is a difference, the difference is displayed as new input data on the display screen 84 in step S808. In the example of FIG. 8, the contents indicated by items 7 to 9 on the display screen 84 are not present in the data of the record already recorded, that is, the parts to be added are shown. In this way, the external file is read, the database is searched using the key items in the external file, and if there is a corresponding record, this is displayed, and if there is additional data in the external file, this is newly input data. Is displayed on the screen 84 of the display. Of course, the displayed data can be stored in the database 82 by performing an operation such as clicking the icon 85 of the registration button. It is also possible to issue a confirmation message indicating that there is a difference to call attention to the operator, and click the confirmation button to register without displaying the difference.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the point that the path name of the file and the file name 66 are recorded after the procedure name and the submission date are greatly different from the previous application. The file path name may be a network path name, in which case the external file is placed on the network.

A description will be given of how to call an external file using the path name and file name of the external file registered in the database as described above. Reference number 1 in FIG.
Shown at 10 is a window displaying a list of procedures, sorted by submission date. When the procedure name displayed in this window is double-clicked with the mouse or selected and the call button 112 is depressed, the procedure name / submission date 62 in FIG.
66 of the path name and file name recorded corresponding to
The external file specified by is read. According to the specifications of the JPO's PC application, a document file must be created so that one procedure becomes one document file. For example, in the process of filing a patent application, applications, specifications, drawings,
The four documents of the abstract are configured as one HTML document file, and one file name is given. Therefore, by designating a procedure name in a record searched by a keyword, a document related to the procedure can be read and displayed. In other words, when you want to view the drawing of an application with a specific application number, you can search the database for records by application number, and if a record exists, display a list of procedures and select a column where the procedure is a patent application. When the corresponding document file name is known and the corresponding document file is read into the browser, the document including the patent application, the specification, the drawing, and the abstract can be displayed, and the drawing can be searched and viewed on the browser. The names of the documents to be included for each type of procedure are known in advance, so if you select a procedure and display a list of the names of the included documents, the target documents will be included in the document file for that procedure. It is easy to see whether or not it has been done.
The path name and file name of the file corresponding to the selected procedure name / submission date are displayed in the window 111. As shown in FIG. 7, the contents of the read file are displayed in a file display window 72 which is superimposed and displayed in front of a display window 71 of the database.

When the file is formed in the HTML format, a web browser can be activated and displayed. At this time, it is possible to display and edit the read file using editing software capable of editing an HTML format file. For example, in a patent procedure, when preparing an amendment to respond to the procedure amendment order, the procedure to be amended is displayed in the display window, and the applicable procedure is designated by clicking with a mouse, etc. Click the edit button 114 to the left of the call button 112. As a result, a copy of the file having the file name appearing in the window 111 is created as shown in step S901 in FIG. The file name is, for example, C: \
Zipper bag TEMP01. It looks like an HTM. Next, as shown in step S902, the copied file is read and edited by a preset word processor, HTML file editing software, or the like. That is, a procedure such as an amendment can be immediately created using a duplicate file without affecting the original used in the procedure. The method of specifying the word processor and the HTML file editing software (application) does not particularly constitute the present invention, but may be recorded in a setting file or the like, and the copied file may be specified as a parameter when the application is started. In this way, it is possible to easily view the file wrapper, create a procedure document using the file wrapper, create a communication document to the department in charge, and the like.

According to this embodiment, the path name and the file name of the file are recorded in the management database of the procedure for inputting data by designating the file, so that the original file can be easily read from the management database. Can be called and displayed, so that an extremely effective system can be constructed as a file management system for patent procedures. Also, the procedure is
Since the document name and date are displayed as a set, the background of the application can be easily understood, and the reference to the original document can be easily performed. The drawings do not need to be stored twice in the management database and the application documents, so that an economic effect can be exhibited.
In addition, it is possible to easily view the file wrapper, create a procedure document using the file wrapper, and create a communication document to the department in charge or the like. Furthermore, the procedure documents can be stored separately on separate computers for the statement and the payment slip, and these can be integrated and managed by the path name and file name recorded in the database according to the present invention, The operation of the system can be performed extremely flexibly.

[0022]

As described above, according to the present invention, a file of an original procedure can be easily referred to and confirmed during operation for database management of a procedure, or a new document can be created by using a copy of a file. Can be created, the work for managing the procedure becomes more efficient, and an extremely effective system for managing the procedure can be constructed.

Further, according to the present invention, the management of bibliographic items such as a due date in the procedure to a government agency, a private agency or the like created as a file and the document management of the original procedure file such as the management of a zipper file can be performed in the same manner. It can be performed efficiently and flexibly on the platform. Further, since it is not necessary to write many program codes for the management of the wrapper, the entire system can be constructed economically.

When an external document file is designated as a database input file, an economical, simple, and high-performance database can be constructed without data input errors.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a procedure management system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a reading designation method according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing another example of a reading designation method according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing still another example of the reading designation method according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of an external file according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a record according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a display example of a read file;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a procedure for reading an external file, searching for a corresponding record, and displaying an item including new data;

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a procedure for creating and editing a copy.

[Explanation of symbols]

10: external file, 110: display window, 112: call button, 113: registration button.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A procedure management system using a database that holds records made up of various items related to procedures and manages procedures, etc., wherein the database is a storage location and a file where external document files related to the procedures are stored. A name is stored in association with the item of the record, and by specifying the item, a related external document file is called based on the storage position and the file name, and the content is displayed on a display screen of the database. Procedure management system characterized by the following. 2. A database having a display window for displaying one or more types of procedures, and by specifying a procedure displayed in the display window, an external document file corresponding to the specified procedure is read. 2. The procedure management system according to claim 1, wherein the procedure is displayed. 3. A database is provided with a display window for displaying one or a plurality of types of procedures, and by specifying and editing a procedure displayed in the display window, an external document corresponding to the specified procedure is provided. 2. The procedure management system according to claim 1, wherein a duplicate of the file is created, and the duplicate file is read into editing software and edited to create a new procedure document. 4. A display window displays a procedure name and a submission date of the procedure as a pair, and when a call instruction is given, the contents of the external document file used for storing the data are displayed. Claim 2 or Claim 3
Procedure management system as described. 5. A procedure management system using a database for holding records composed of various items related to procedures and managing procedures, etc., means for designating an external document file related to the procedures as an input file for the database. Means for extracting a database record item from the external document file, registering the extracted item, and registering the storage location and file name of the external document file in association with an item representing a procedure; A procedure management system comprising means for calling up and displaying a related external document file by designating an item representing a registered procedure.