Electronic document creation support device, method, and program

Abstract

To provide an electronic document creation support technique reduces artificial operations and contributes to reduction of human labor and cost.SOLUTION: An electronic document creation support device 10 comprises: an acquisition unit 11 that acquires a document form 25 from a plurality of document forms stored in a first database 31; an extraction unit 12 that extracts an input cell 26 of input data 23 from the document form 25; a setting unit 15 that sets attribute information 27 of the input data 23 to the input cell 26; a definition unit 16 that defines the attribute information 27 in the input cell 26 to convert the document form 25 into a defined document 28; and a registration unit 18 that registers the input data 23 input to the defined document 28 in linkage with the attribution information 27 corresponding to the input cell 26.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present invention relate to a technology for assisting in the creation of electronic forms.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, instead of paper forms, the use of electronic forms (hereinafter referred to as "electronic forms") for data management using electronic terminals such as tablets has been increasing. Here, forms include, for example, application forms used in desk work, inspection sheets used in inspection work at power plants and factories, and the like. Companies utilize the data input into these forms for customer trend analysis and equipment maintenance management.

[0003] In electronic forms managed by an electronic terminal, attribute information is set for each data input field (hereinafter referred to as an "input cell"). Here, examples of the attribute information include the input method when inputting data on the electronic terminal and label information necessary for registering the input data in a database for management and operation.

[0004] Normally, such setting of attribute information is performed manually by identifying the positions of the input cells included in the electronic form and setting the attribute information for each input cell. In order to reduce such human labor and costs, technologies for promoting the automation of the work of setting attribute information for the input cells of electronic forms have been studied.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] In the above patent document, information processing technologies related to personnel and labor management and customer management in enterprises are disclosed. And the above-known technology utilizes employee information such as personal information, employment contracts, and wages that have already been input in a plurality of different forms of templates, automatically extracts and combines parts of these, or changes the display method, with the aim of automatically creating employee information in a desired format that meets the purpose.

[0007] For this reason, the above-known technology does not come to mind for application to forms such as inspection sheets with a wide variety of styles ranging from several hundred to several thousand used in inspection work at power plants and factories. Therefore, in the above-known technology, there is no mention of the extraction operation of input cells arranged in electronic forms, and rather, it can be said that it is reasonable to perform it manually.

[0008] An embodiment of the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide an electronic form creation support technology that reduces manual work and contributes to the reduction of human labor and costs.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0009] In an electronic form creation support device according to an embodiment, an acquisition unit that acquires a form template from a plurality of them, an extraction unit that extracts input cells of input data from the form template, a setting unit that sets attribute information of the input data to the input cells, a definition unit that defines the attribute information in the input cells and makes the form template into a defined form, and a registration unit that associates and registers the input data input to the defined form with the attribute information corresponding to the input cells, are provided. The setting unit sets the attribute information based on a second feature analysis of surrounding cells located around the input cells, and the attribute information is defined by a combination of an input method to the input cells and an input label of management information.

Effects of the Invention

[0010] According to an embodiment of the present invention, an electronic form creation support technology that reduces manual work and contributes to the reduction of human labor and costs is provided.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0011]

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Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0012] (First Embodiment) Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an electronic form creation support device 10A (10) according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As such, the electronic form creation support device 10 includes an acquisition unit 11 that acquires a form 25 from among a plurality stored in a first database 31, an extraction unit 12 that extracts input cells 26 (see FIG. 6) of input data 23 from the form 25, a setting unit 15 that sets attribute information 27 (27a, 27b) of the input data 23 in the input cells 26, a definition unit 16 that defines the attribute information 27 in the input cells 26 and converts the form 25 into a defined form 28, and a registration unit 18 that associates and registers the input data 23 input to the defined form 28 with the attribute information 27 corresponding to the input cells 26.

[0013] In on-site inspections of nuclear facilities, an electronic inspection report (defined form 28) is displayed on the display unit 22 of an external terminal 20 such as a tablet terminal (see FIG. 6). Then, input data 23 of the inspection results is input from the input unit 21 of the external terminal 20 into the input cells 26.

[0014] Inspection reports (forms) used in on-site inspections of nuclear facilities vary for each piece of equipment to be inspected and are on the order of thousands of sheets. Furthermore, even for inspection reports of the same piece of equipment, the version of the inspection report (form) may be updated over time, and there may be multiple formats. Additionally, going back in the past, inspection reports (forms) from the era when they were operated on paper are managed as scan data.

[0015] As described above, the first database 31 stores a plurality of form 25 with different formats. This form 25 means that the input data 23 in its input cell 26 is not input (blank).

[0016] In the acquisition unit 11, any one of the plurality of form 25 stored in the first database 31 is acquired by arbitrary selection of a user operation. In this form 25 (see FIG. 6), input cells 26, which are input areas for the input data 23, are defined by coordinate information in the coordinate system of the form 25.

[0017] The extraction unit 12 automatically extracts the input cell 26 after determining each of a plurality of divided cells (not shown) formed by dividing the form 25 based on the first feature analysis. This first feature analysis determines whether the divided cell (not shown) is the input cell 26 based on at least one of the conditions of the presence or absence of an input value, background color, grid line, and specific character string. The conditions for this first feature analysis are described in the determination model 35 that can be internally modified, changed, added, or deleted.

[0018] The routine of the extraction unit 12 will be described based on the flowchart of FIG. 2. First, the form 25 is read (S11), and its area is divided into a plurality of divided cells (S12). Then, any one of the divided cells is selected and the first feature analysis (see the subroutine of FIG. 3) is executed (S13), and it is determined whether the selected divided cell is the input cell 26 (S14).

[0019] And when it is determined that the divided cell is the input cell 26 (S14; Yes), the position information in the form 25 is output (S15). On the other hand, when it is determined that the divided cell is not the input cell 26 (S14; No), the position information is not output. Then, the flow of (S12) to (S15) is repeated until the first feature analysis (S13) for all the divided cells is completed (S16; No, Yes, END).

[0020] The subroutine in the first feature analysis of the extraction unit 12 will be described based on the flowchart of FIG. 3. First, when it is determined that the selected divided cell (S21) has an input value, diagonal lines, etc. set and is not blank (S22; No), it is denied that it is the input cell 26 (S26; RETURN). On the other hand, when it is determined that it is blank (S22; Yes), it is determined whether the background color of this divided cell allows the input of the input data 23 (S23). And when it is determined that it does not allow the input (S23; No), it is denied that it is the input cell 26 (S26; RETURN).

[0021] On the one hand, if it is determined that the input is allowed (S23; Yes), it is determined whether or not this divided cell is surrounded by gridlines on all four sides (S24). And if it is determined that it is surrounded by gridlines on all four sides (S24; Yes), it is affirmed that it is the input cell 26 (S27; RETURN).

[0022] On the other hand, even if it is determined that it is not surrounded by gridlines on all four sides (S24; No), if it is determined that it is adjacent to a specific character string (S25; Yes), it is affirmed that it is the input cell 26 (S27; RETURN). On the other hand, if it is determined that it is not adjacent to a specific character string (S25; No), it is negated that it is the input cell 26 (S26; RETURN).

[0023] Returning to FIG. 1, the description will be continued. The setting unit 15 determines the divided cells (referred to as "surrounding cells") located around the input cell 26 based on the second feature analysis, and then automatically sets the attribute information 27 of this input cell 26. This second feature analysis sets the attribute information 27 of the input cell 26 based on whether or not the input value obtained from the surrounding cells matches a registered value (not shown) registered in advance. These registered values in the second feature analysis are described in the setting model 36 that allows internal modification, change, addition, and deletion.

[0024] Based on the flowchart of FIG. 4, the routine of the setting unit 15 in each embodiment will be described. First, any one input cell 26 extracted from the read form 25 (S31) is selected (S32). Then, the second feature analysis (see the subroutine of FIG. 5) is executed on the surrounding cells of the selected input cell 26 (S33), and the attribute information 27 of the input cell 26 is set (S34). Then, the flow of (S32) to (S34) is repeated until the setting of the attribute information 27 of all the input cells 26 is completed (S35; No, Yes, END).

[0025] Based on the flowchart of FIG. 5, the subroutine of the second feature analysis in the setting unit 15 will be described. First, the input values of the surrounding cells of the input cell 26 are acquired (S41). The registered values registered in advance in association with the attribute information 27 are compared with the input values of the surrounding cells. If there is no match (S42; No), the attribute information 27 is not set for this input cell 26.

[0026] On the other hand, if as a result of the comparison, there is a registered value that matches the input value of the surrounding cell (S42; Yes), the attribute information 27 associated with this registered value is set for the input cell 26. Note that this attribute information 27 is defined by a combination of the input method 27a for the input cell 26 and the input label 27b of the management information, and the input method 27a (S43) and the input label 27b (S44) are set respectively (RETURN).

[0027] Note that the second feature analysis has been exemplified by using registered values (such as words registered in a dictionary) registered in advance in association with the attribute information 27, but any analysis method can be used. For example, when using a machine learning model, not only the input values of the surrounding cells but also the features of the cells such as the grid lines and the cell size can be learned, and the input method 27a and the input label 27b can be set.

[0028] FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the defined form 28 in which the attribute information 27 (input method 27a, input label 27b) is defined for the input cell. In this way, in the definition unit 16 (FIG. 1), the attribute information 27 is defined for each input cell 26. Then, the form 25 for which the attribute information 27 is defined becomes the defined form 28 and is stored in the second database 32 (FIG. 1).

[0029] Among the attribute information 27, examples of the input method 27a for the input cell 26 include selection input, calendar input, text input, numerical input, and check input. And among the attribute information 27, examples of the input label 27b of the management information include location number, date of standing, inspector, inspection result, determination, and remarks.

[0030] Returning to FIG. 1, the description will be continued. In the registration unit 18, the input data 23 input to the defined form 28 is registered in association with the attribute information 27 corresponding to the input cell 26. Thus, the input data 23 input by the external terminal 20 is managed in the registration unit 18 as text data independently from the image data of the defined form 28.

[0031] The allocation unit 17 inputs the input data 23 associated with the attribute information 27 from the registration unit 18 and allocates it to the corresponding input cell 26 of the defined form 28. The defined form 28 to which the input data 23 is allocated in this way is displayed on the display unit 22 of the external terminal 20. Further, the input data 23 input from the input unit 21 of the external terminal 20 is registered in the registration unit 18 together with the attribute information 27 of the input cell 26 of the defined form 28. This external terminal 20 may be directly connected in addition to being connected to the electronic form creation support device 10 via an information network such as the Internet or a LAN.

[0032] (Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 7. FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an electronic form creation support device 10B (10) according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 7, parts having the same configuration or function as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions are omitted.

[0033] The electronic form creation support device 10B of the second embodiment further includes a correction unit 45 that corrects the extraction of the input cell 26 and the setting of the attribute information 27 in the defined form 28, in addition to the configuration of the electronic form creation support device 10A (FIG. 1) of the first embodiment. Further, the electronic form creation support device 10B of the second embodiment includes an update unit 46 that updates the determination model 35 and the setting model 36 based on the difference between the defined form 28 before correction and the defined form 28 after correction.

[0034] Based on the flowchart of FIG. 8, the routine in the update unit 46 of the electronic form creation support device 10B in the second embodiment will be described (refer to FIG. 7 as appropriate). First, if there are errors in the input cells 26 and the attribute information 27 automatically defined in the form template 25 by the extraction unit 12 and the setting unit 15, these errors are manually corrected from the correction terminal 40 (S51). Then, the difference between the defined form 28 before correction and the defined form 28 after correction is detected (S52).

[0035] Then, the input cell 26 in which the difference is detected is specified (S53), and the result of the first feature analysis of this input cell 26 and the set attribute information 27 are collected (S54). Further, the results of the second feature analysis of the surrounding cells located around this input cell 26 are also collected (S55). Then, the determination model 35 and the setting model 36 are collected from the storage unit 37 and corrected (S56). As a result, the accuracy of extraction of the input cell 26 and setting of the attribute information 27 for the form template 25 is improved.

[0036] (Third Embodiment) Next, the third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 9. FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an electronic form creation support device 10C (10) according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 9, parts having the same configuration or function as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions are omitted.

[0037] The electronic form creation support device 10C of the third embodiment further includes a reading unit 47 that reads the input data 23 already input from the filled form 49, associates it with the attribute information 27, and registers it, in addition to the configuration of the electronic form creation support device 10A (FIG. 1) of the first embodiment. Here, the filled form 49 is an image data in which the input data 23 is integrated with the form template 25, such as scan data of a form operated on a paper basis.

[0038] The reading unit 47 externally inputs the completed form 49, and acquires the defined form 28 corresponding to the completed form 49 from the second database 32. Then, the description in the area of the completed form 49 corresponding to the input cell 26 of the defined form 28 is recognized by character recognition and output as input data 23. In this way, the input data 23 obtained by character recognition from the paper-based completed form 49 can also be managed by the registration unit 18.

[0039] Furthermore, the electronic form creation support device 10C of the third embodiment includes a history viewing unit 48 that allows viewing of the history of the input data 23 using the attribute information 27 as a key. As a result, it is possible to perform trend analysis regarding maintenance management from a vast amount of electronic forms accumulated over time.

[0040] Based on the flowchart of FIG. 10, the steps of the electronic form creation support method according to each embodiment and the algorithm of the electronic form creation support program will be described (refer to FIGS. 1, 7, and 9 as appropriate). First, a form template 25 is acquired from among a plurality stored in the first database 31 (S11). Then, the input cell 26 (refer to FIG. 6) of the input data 23 is extracted from the form template 25 (S12). Furthermore, the attribute information 27 of the input data 23 is set in the input cell 26 (S13).

[0041] Next, the attribute information 27 is defined in the input cell 26, the form template 25 is made into a defined form 28, and it is stored in the second database 32 (S14). In this way, if the automatically defined defined form 28 contains an error (S15 Yes), the input cell 26 and its attribute information 27 are manually corrected and redefined (S16).

[0042] Then, the defined form 28 is called and displayed on the external terminal 20 (S15 No, S17), and the input data 23 is input from the external terminal 20 (S18). Then, the input data 23 is registered in the registration unit 18 in association with the attribute information 27 corresponding to the input cell 26 (S19).

[0043] Furthermore, when managing the input form 49 that is operated on paper and has been converted into image data (S20 Yes), the corresponding defined form 28 is referred to (S21), the input data 23 is read from the input form 49 (S22), and it is registered by associating it with the attribute information 27 (S23).

[0044] And when browsing the history of the input data 23 (S24 Yes), the attribute information 27 serving as the key is selected (S25), the input data 23 stored in the registration unit 18 is extracted and displayed on the external terminal 20 (S26). Then, until the necessary defined form 28 is generated from the form template 25 stored in the first database 31 and stored in the second database 32, the flow from (S11) to (S26) is repeated (S27 No Yes, END).

[0045] According to the electronic form creation support device of at least one of the embodiments described above, attribute information is automatically set for the input cells automatically extracted from the form template, and the input data is registered by associating it with this attribute information. As a result, when creating an electronic form, it is possible to reduce manual work and reduce human labor and costs.

[0046] Although some embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, changes, and combinations can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are also included in the invention described in the claims and its equivalent scope.

[0047] The electronic form creation support device described above can be realized with a hardware configuration that uses a general computer, and includes a control device with highly integrated processors such as dedicated chips, FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays), GPUs (Graphics Processing Units), or CPUs (Central Processing Units), a storage device such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) or RAM (Random Access Memory), an external storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or SSD (Solid State Drive), a display device such as a display, an input device such as a mouse or keyboard, and a communication I / F. Therefore, the components of the electronic form creation support device can also be realized by a computer processor and can be operated by an electronic form creation support program.

[0048] Also, the electronic form creation support program is provided by being pre-installed in a ROM or the like. Alternatively, this program may be stored and provided in a computer-readable storage medium such as a CD-ROM, CD-R, memory card, DVD, flexible disk (FD), etc. in an installable or executable file format.

[0049] Further, the electronic form creation support program according to this embodiment may be stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and provided by being downloaded via the network. Also, the electronic form creation support device can be configured by connecting and combining separate modules that independently perform each function of the components with a network or a dedicated line.

Explanation of Signs

[0050] 10 (10A, 10B, 10C) … Electronic invoice creation support device, 11 … Acquisition unit, 12 … Extraction unit, 15 … Setting unit, 16 … Definition unit, 17 … Allocation unit, 18 … Registration unit, 20 … External terminal, 21 … Input unit, 22 … Display unit, 23 … Input data, 25 … Invoice form, 26 … Input cell, 27 (27a, 27b) … Attribute information, 27a … Input method, 27b … Input label, 28 … Defined invoice, 31 … First database, 32 … Second database, 35 … Judgment model, 36 … Setting model, 37 … Storage unit, 40 … Modification terminal, 45 … Modification unit, 46 … Update unit, 47 … Reading unit, 48 … History browsing unit, 49 … Completed input invoice.

Claims

1. an acquisition unit for acquiring a form from among a plurality of forms; an extraction unit for extracting an input cell of input data from the form; a setting unit for setting attribute information of the input data into the input cell; a definition section for defining the attribute information in the input cells to convert the form into a defined form; a registration unit that registers the input data to be input to the predefined form in association with the attribute information corresponding to the input cell, The setting unit sets the attribute information based on a second feature analysis of neighboring cells located around the input cell; The attribute information is defined by a combination of an input method for the input cell and an input label for management information.

2. 2. The electronic document creation support device according to claim 1, The extraction unit is an electronic form creation support device that extracts the input cell after determining each of a plurality of divided cells formed by dividing the form into areas based on a first feature analysis.

3. 3. The electronic document creation support device according to claim 2, The first feature analysis is based on at least one condition of the presence or absence of an input value, a background color, a ruled line, and a specific character string in the divided cell.

4. 4. The electronic document creation support device according to claim 3, An electronic document creation support device that uses a decision model that describes the conditions in the first feature analysis.

5. 5. The electronic document creation support device according to claim 3, The setting unit sets the attribute information based on a second feature analysis of surrounding cells located around the input cell among the divided cells.

6. 6. The electronic document creation support device according to claim 5, The second feature analysis is based on whether or not the input value acquired from the surrounding cell matches a registered value that has been registered in advance.

7. 7. The electronic document creation support device according to claim 6, An electronic document creation support device that uses a setting model that describes the registered values ​​in the second feature analysis.

8. 8. The electronic document creation support device according to claim 1, The input method is based on at least one of a selection input, a calendar input, a text input, a numerical input, and a check input; The input label is based on at least one of a location number, a date of attendance, an inspector, an inspection result, a judgment, and a remark.

9. 9. The electronic document creation support device according to claim 1, The electronic document creation support device includes a correction unit that extracts the input cells in the defined document and corrects the settings of the attribute information.

10. In the electronic document creation support device according to claim 9, An electronic document creation support device comprising: an update unit that updates the judgment model and the setting model based on a difference between the defined document before modification and the defined document after modification.

11. 11. The electronic document creation support device according to claim 1, An electronic document creation support device comprising a reading unit that reads out the input data that has already been input from an inputted document and registers the data in association with the attribute information.

12. 12. The electronic document creation support device according to claim 11, The electronic document creation support device further comprises a history viewing unit that allows a history of the input data to be viewed using the attribute information as a key.

13. An acquisition unit acquires a form from among a plurality of forms; An extraction unit extracts an input cell of input data from the form; A setting unit sets attribute information of the input data in the input cell; A definition unit defines the attribute information in the input cell and converts the form into a defined form; A registration unit registers the input data to be input to the predefined form by linking the input data to the attribute information corresponding to the input cell, The setting unit sets the attribute information based on a second feature analysis of neighboring cells located around the input cell; The attribute information is defined by a combination of an input method for the input cell and an input label for management information.

14. On the computer, A step to select a report form from multiple options, extracting an input cell for input data from the form; setting attribute information of the input data in the input cell; defining the attribute information in the input cells to make the form a defined form; a step of registering the input data to be input to the predefined form in association with the attribute information corresponding to the input cell; In the setting step, the attribute information is set based on a second feature analysis of neighboring cells located around the input cell; The attribute information is defined by a combination of an input method for the input cell and an input label for management information.

Images