Information processing equipment, data management methods, programs, information processing systems

Abstract

To provide an information processing device that associates identification information of electronic data in an external service system with identification information of electronic data in an information processing device. [Solution] The present invention relates to an information processing device connected via a network to a terminal device, an external service system that performs predetermined processing on electronic data, and an information processing device comprising: a communication unit that receives first electronic data and a processing request from the terminal device; an identification information management unit that assigns first identification information for managing the first electronic data; and a processing request unit that transmits a processing request for the first electronic data to the external service system and obtains second identification information for managing the first electronic data from the external service system, wherein the identification information management unit manages the second identification information obtained by the processing request unit in association with the first identification information.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, a data management method, a program, and an information processing system.

Background Art

[0002] There is known a method for managing electronic data by attaching identification information to the electronic data. There is also known a processing method in which an information processing apparatus that manages electronic data transmits the electronic data to an external service system for processing.

[0003] A technique for registering an electronic document in a server based on identification information has been devised (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Patent Document 1 discloses a system in which an image forming apparatus acquires identification information of read document data, determines the propriety of the read document data based on information corresponding to the identification information, and when it is appropriate, the server registers the electronic document corresponding to the read document data as approved.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in the conventional technology, there is a problem that the identification information of the electronic data in the external service system is not associated with the identification information of the electronic data in the information processing apparatus. For example, when a request for processing electronic data is made from the information processing apparatus to the external service system, the management of the electronic data in the information processing apparatus is not coordinated with the management of the electronic data in the external service system. That is, the electronic data before processing and the electronic data after processing are not associated with each other in the information processing apparatus. For this reason, the user has to use different systems for managing the electronic data before processing and the electronic data after processing, respectively.

[0005] In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus that associates the identification information of electronic data in an external service system with the identification information of electronic data in an information processing apparatus. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In view of the above problems, the present invention provides an information processing device connected via a network to a terminal device, an external service system that performs predetermined processing on electronic data, and an information processing device comprising: a communication unit that receives first electronic data and a processing request from the terminal device; an identification information management unit that assigns first identification information for managing the first electronic data; and a processing request unit that transmits a processing request for the first electronic data to the external service system and obtains second identification information for managing the first electronic data from the external service system, wherein the identification information management unit manages the second identification information obtained by the processing request unit in association with the first identification information. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an information processing device that associates identification information of electronic data in an external service system with identification information of electronic data in an information processing device. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This diagram outlines how a document management system manages electronic data. [Figure 2] This is a system configuration diagram of an example of an information processing system. [Figure 3] This is a hardware configuration diagram of an example computer. [Figure 4] This is an example of a functional block diagram that explains the functions of a document management system, an electronic contract system, and terminal devices by dividing them into blocks. [Figure 5] This figure shows an example of document information stored in the document information storage unit. [Figure 6] This figure shows an example of metadata stored in the metadata storage unit. [Figure 7]This figure shows an example of workflow information stored in the workflow information storage unit. [Figure 8] This figure shows an example of identifier information stored in the identifier information storage unit 25. [Figure 9] This is an example sequence diagram illustrating the procedure by which a document management system assigns and manages identification information to documents. [Figure 10] This figure shows an example of identifier information generated during the workflow processing. [Figure 11] This figure shows an example of identifier information generated after workflow processing. [Figure 12] This figure shows an example of merging two documents. [Figure 13] This is an example sequence diagram showing the steps a user takes to search for a document. [Figure 14] This figure shows examples of document registration screens and metadata setting screens displayed by a terminal device. [Figure 15] This figure shows an example of a search screen displayed by a terminal device. [Figure 16] This figure shows an example of a document list screen displayed by a terminal device. [Figure 17] This figure shows an example of a document display screen displayed by a terminal device. [Figure 18] This figure shows an example of a document display screen displayed by a terminal device. [Figure 19] This diagram (Example 2) outlines how a document management system manages electronic data. [Figure 20] This is a system configuration diagram of an example of an information processing system (Example 2). [Figure 21] This is an example of a functional block diagram (Example 2) that explains the functions of a document management system, an electronic contract system, and terminal devices by dividing them into blocks. [Figure 22] This diagram schematically shows the identifier information stored in the identifier information storage unit (Example 2). [Figure 23]This is a diagram schematically showing the processed document information stored in the processed document information storage unit (Example 2). [Figure 24] This is an example of a sequence diagram explaining the procedure for the document management system to store the document ID of the document management system and the document ID of the external service system in association with each other (Example 2). [Figure 25] This is an example of a sequence diagram explaining the procedure for a user to search for a document (Example 2). [Figure 26] This is a diagram showing an example of a document display screen (Example 2).

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] Hereinafter, as an example of an embodiment for carrying out the present invention, a document management system and a data management method performed by the document management system will be described with reference to the drawings.

Examples

[0010] <Overview of Operations> FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an overview of a method for managing electronic data performed by the document management system 10. The document management system 10 stores and processes various documents. Further, the document management system 10 may execute a series of processes (workflow) on a document and may request a part of the process to the electronic contract system 30 at that time. The electronic contract system 30 conducts contract transactions with business partners and assigns electronic signatures. In such a system configuration, the document management system 10 of the present embodiment manages the document before being processed by the electronic contract system 30 and the document after being processed by the electronic contract system 30 in association with each other.

[0011] (1) The user operates the terminal device 50 to create a contract as an example of a document and uploads it to the document management system 10. The document management system 10 stores the contract and manages it by assigning a document ID = "A" (an example of the first identification information).

[0012] (2) When the predetermined conditions for starting the workflow are met, the document management system 10 executes the workflow. The workflow sends the document to the electronic contract system 30 and retrieves the document ID = "B" (an example of second identification information) managed on the electronic contract system 30 as a return value.

[0013] (3) The workflow retrieves the signed document identified by document ID="B" from the electronic contract system 30 at a predetermined time. The document management system 10 assigns document ID="C" (an example of a third identification information) to the signed document and manages it. Therefore, the document management system 10 can link documents by document ID="A" to "C".

[0014] Through the above process, the information processing system 100 can manage the three document IDs "A" to "C" in association. Therefore, if a user searches for a document and identifies the document ID "A" of that document, the document management system 10 can also identify the contracted document identified by document ID "C". Furthermore, the information processing system 100 can also request the contracted document identified by document ID "B" from the electronic contract system 30.

[0015] <About Terminology> Electronic data refers to data processed by a computer. In this embodiment, electronic data includes, as an example, documents. Documents are also referred to as written documents. However, it is not necessary for them to contain text. Furthermore, electronic data may also be image data such as videos or still images.

[0016] Processing refers to information processing, specifically the calculation, classification, matching, and other processing performed by computers on information represented by numbers, characters, physical quantities, etc.

[0017] A workflow refers to a predetermined series of processes that a system applies to data in a specific order, or to the series of processes themselves.

[0018] Linking refers to associating, corresponding to, or connecting multiple things.

[0019] Identification information is information used to identify or specify a particular object from among various objects. Identification information is also called an identifier or ID (Identification). Identification information can be a combination of names, codes, strings, numbers, etc.

[0020] Correspondence refers to establishing some kind of relationship between one thing and another. Correspondence can be achieved, for example, by registering two pieces of identification information in the same row or column in a table, or by having the same information associated with each other.

[0021] <Example System Configuration> Next, the system configuration of the information processing system 100 will be described with reference to Figure 2. Figure 2 is a system configuration diagram of an example of the information processing system 100.

[0022] The information processing system 100 has at least a document management system 10. The information processing system 100 may further have an electronic contract system 30. The document management system 10 and the electronic contract system 30 are connected to each other via a network so as to be communicative. The document management system 10 and the electronic contract system 30 do not need to be constantly connected; they only need to be connected as needed. The document management system 10 also accepts connections from terminal devices 50. The document management system 10 and the terminal devices 50 do not need to be constantly connected; they only need to be connected as needed. The electronic contract system 30 also accepts connections from terminal devices 50. The electronic contract system 30 and the terminal devices 50 do not need to be constantly connected; they only need to be connected as needed.

[0023] The document management system 10 consists of one or more information processing devices. The document management system 10 provides a service for managing documents. The document management system 10 assigns metadata to documents, enabling efficient document searching using that metadata. Furthermore, the document management system 10 provides a service for processing documents using a workflow function before or after document management begins. Metadata is data about a given data; it refers to additional data about the data itself that is associated with that data. Further details will be described later.

[0024] The workflow function also allows processing by the electronic contract system 30. Conventionally, the document management system 10 did not manage document IDs processed by other systems. In this embodiment, as explained in Figure 1, the information processing system 100 manages the document IDs in the information processing system 100 and the electronic contract system 30 in association with each other.

[0025] The document management system 10 may be implemented using cloud computing or by a single information processing device. Cloud computing refers to a form of computing in which network resources are used without being aware of specific hardware resources. The document management system 10 may reside on the internet or on-premises.

[0026] The electronic contract system 30 is one or more information processing devices. The electronic contract system 30 performs processing related to electronic contracts. There is no fixed definition of the electronic contract system 30, but it is a system that allows contracts to be concluded by adding electronic signatures and timestamps to electronic data (contracts in PDF format) over the internet, instead of affixing a seal to a paper contract. In addition to concluding contracts, it can also store concluded contracts, search for contracts, and link with other systems. Some electronic contract systems 30 may also have workflow functions to allow for approval and proposal submission.

[0027] An electronic signature is created as follows, for example: Person A, who wants to sign a document, uses a hash function to create a hash value of the document and encrypts the hash value using their private key. Person A attaches the electronic signature to the document and saves it. Person B, who wants to know whether the document has been tampered with, uses Person A's public key to decrypt the electronic signature, obtains the hash value of the document, and compares the two. If they match, it is proven that the document was created by the owner of the private key corresponding to the public key and has not been tampered with by anyone other than the owner of the private key. Person B can also verify the legitimacy of the public key through certificate verification. Certificate verification involves querying the Certificate Authority (CA) to verify the signature of the CA included in the public key.

[0028] The electronic contract system 30 is used by the document management system 10 in its workflow. The electronic contract system 30 may also be the following: • Timestamp system: A timestamp is a third-party proof of time that electronic data existed at a specific point in time and has remained tamper-free and evidentiary ever since. While electronic certificates guarantee that a document has not been tampered with, timestamps can also guarantee when the electronic data existed. • Noise Reduction System: A noise reduction system is a system that removes noise from a document. Noise refers to unnecessary information other than essential information such as signatures. • Digital watermarking system: A digital watermarking system is a system that adds a digital watermark to a document. Digital watermarking is a technology that embeds related information into data such as images, videos, and audio in a way that is imperceptible to humans. The embedded information can be detected using specialized software.

[0029] The electronic contract system 30 may be implemented by cloud computing or by a single information processing device. The electronic contract system 30 may reside on the internet or on-premises.

[0030] The terminal device 50 is a general-purpose computer that communicates with the document management system 10 and the electronic contract system 30. The terminal device 50 runs a web browser and displays various screens based on screen information received from the document management system 10 or the electronic contract system 30. Users can perform actions such as registering documents, executing workflows, and searching for documents with the document management system 10. Users can also search for and view documents with electronic signatures with the electronic contract system 30.

[0031] The terminal device 50 can be, for example, a PC (Personal Computer), smartphone, tablet, or PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), as long as it can run a web browser. In addition to a web browser, the terminal device 50 may also run dedicated applications for the document management system 10 or the electronic contract system 30.

[0032] Furthermore, the terminal device 50 may also be an electronic device such as a multifunction printer (or MFP (multifunction peripheral / product / printer)) or an electronic whiteboard. For example, the multifunction printer can replace the terminal device 50 by transmitting scanned image data (documents) to the document management system 10. In addition, the terminal device 50 may be a video conferencing terminal, digital signage, projector, etc. In the case of an electronic whiteboard, the terminal device 50 transmits handwritten data to the document management system 10. In the case of a video conferencing terminal, the terminal device 50 transmits audio data to the document management system 10.

[0033] <Hardware Configuration> <<Document management system, electronic contract system, terminal equipment>> The document management system 10, the electronic contract system 30, and the terminal device 50 are implemented by a computer 500 with the hardware configuration shown in Figure 3. Figure 3 is a hardware configuration diagram of an example of computer 500. As shown in Figure 3, computer 500 is built by a computer and includes a CPU 501, ROM 502, RAM 503, HD 504, HDD (Hard Disk Drive) controller 505, display 506, external device connection I / F (Interface) 508, network I / F 509, bus line 510, keyboard 511, pointing device 512, DVD-RW (Digital Versatile Disk Rewritable) drive 514, and media I / F 516.

[0034] Of these, the CPU 501 controls the operation of the entire computer 500. The ROM 502 stores programs used to drive the CPU 501, such as IPL. The RAM 503 is used as the work area for the CPU 501. The HD 504 stores various data such as programs. The HDD controller 505 controls the reading or writing of various data to the HD 504 according to the control of the CPU 501. The display 506 displays various information such as cursors, menus, windows, characters, or images. The external device connection I / F 508 is an interface for connecting various external devices. In this case, external devices include, for example, USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory and image forming apparatus 20. The network I / F 509 is an interface for data communication using a communication network. The bus line 510 is an address bus, data bus, etc., for electrically connecting each component such as the CPU 501 shown in Figure 3.

[0035] The keyboard 511 is a type of input means equipped with multiple keys for inputting characters, numbers, and various instructions. The pointing device 512 is a type of input means for selecting and executing various instructions, selecting processing targets, and moving the cursor. The optical drive 514 controls the reading or writing of various data to the optical storage medium 513, which is an example of a removable recording medium. The optical storage medium is a CD, DVD, Blu-ray (registered trademark), etc. The media interface 516 controls the reading or writing (storage) of data to the recording medium 515, such as flash memory.

[0036] <About the features> Next, with reference to Figure 4, the functions of the document management system 10, the electronic contract system 30, and the terminal device 50 will be explained. Figure 4 is an example of a functional block diagram that explains the functions of the document management system 10, the electronic contract system 30, and the terminal device 50 by dividing them into blocks.

[0037] <<Document Management System>> The document management system 10 includes a communication unit 11, a screen generation unit 12, a data management unit 13, a workflow control unit 14, a processing execution unit 15, an HTML information storage unit 21, a document information storage unit 22, a metadata storage unit 23, a workflow information storage unit 24, and an identifier information storage unit 25. These functions of the document management system 10 are realized by the CPU 501 of the computer 500 shown in Figure 3 executing a program stored in the HD 504. The HTML information storage unit 21, document information storage unit 22, metadata storage unit 23, workflow information storage unit 24, and identifier information storage unit 25 are built on the HD 504, RAM 503, etc., of the computer 500 shown in Figure 3. The HTML information storage unit 21, document information storage unit 22, metadata storage unit 23, workflow information storage unit 24, and identifier information storage unit 25 do not have to be located in the document management system 10; they may be located on a network.

[0038] The communication unit 11 sends and receives various types of information to and from the terminal device 50 or the electronic contract system 30. In this embodiment, the communication unit 11 receives a document from the terminal device 50 and transmits screen information of various screens to the terminal device 50. The communication unit 11 also transmits a document to the electronic contract system 30 and receives the document and its document ID after the electronic contract system 30 has processed it.

[0039] The screen generation unit 12 generates screen information for various screens to be displayed by the terminal device 50 by referring to the HTML information storage unit 21. The HTML information storage unit 21 stores screen templates, and these templates have various tags, script language formats, and formatting for each tag pre-configured. Tags define the placement of titles, text, tables, labels, buttons, etc., displayed on the web page. Formatting defines the color, size, or font of the HTML document using CSS (Cascading Style Sheet). Script language formats define the content of the processing. The screen generation unit 12 uses these templates to generate screen information for displaying the search screen, document list screen, etc., which will be described later. The screen information is a program written in HTML, XML, script language, and CSS, etc., with HTML mainly defining the structure of the web page, the script language defining the operation of the web page, and CSS defining the style of the web page. This mechanism, which enables interactive processing between the server and client by dynamically generating web pages in this way, is called a web application. A web application refers to software or a system that operates through the cooperation of a program written in a programming language (such as JavaScript®) that runs on a web browser and a program on the web server side, and is executed on a web browser.

[0040] The data management unit 13 manages documents transmitted from the terminal device 50 in association with metadata. The data management unit 13 stores the document body (file) in the document information storage unit 22 and the metadata in the metadata storage unit 23.

[0041] The workflow control unit 14 accepts the registration of a workflow, and also refers to the workflow information storage unit 24 to monitor the start trigger and control the generation of the processing execution unit 15, etc. Workflow information will be described later.

[0042] The processing execution unit 15 is a module that executes the workflow. The processing execution unit 15 may also be referred to as the workflow itself. The processing execution unit 15 is an instance dynamically generated by the workflow control unit 14. The processing execution unit 15 automatically executes processing according to the processing content of the workflow. The processing execution unit 15 operates independently as a separate module for each document. The processing of the processing execution unit 15 includes task assignment and interaction with external systems.

[0043] Figure 5 shows an example of document information stored in the document information storage unit 22. The document information represents either the document itself or the location where the document is stored.

[0044] The document ID is an identifier that uniquely identifies a document. The document ID can be a file name, file path, or URL, as long as it is unique. Users can access documents using the document ID. This document ID is either assigned by the data management unit 13 before processing, or assigned by the data management unit 13 after processing by the electronic contract system 30.

[0045] • A file path represents either the document itself or the location where the document is saved.

[0046] Figure 6 shows an example of metadata stored in the metadata storage unit 23. Metadata is useful data for managing documents, and is associated with each document. The following describes each item of metadata. Note that metadata is sometimes referred to as data of data.

[0047] The document ID is the same as the document ID in the document information storage unit 22, and is identification information that uniquely identifies the document. • The file name is the file name of the document.

[0048] • The document type indicates how the document will be used for processing. When the electronic contract system 30 processes documents, there will be many contract-related document types as shown in the diagram, but this is just one example. Documents processed by the electronic contract system 30 may be marked accordingly.

[0049] The contract start date is the start date of the contract period, if the document pertains to a contract. The contract end date is also the end date of the contract period. Users can change the contract start and end dates.

[0050] The linking information is identification information used to link documents registered in the document management system 10 with documents processed in the electronic contract system 30. In the example in Figure 6, document ID="A" and document ID="C" are linked by the common linking information "111". The linking information allows the document management system 10 to easily identify which document a document registered in the document management system 10 corresponds to when it is processed in the electronic contract system 30.

[0051] Furthermore, when registering a document, users can edit the file name, document type, contract start date, contract end date, etc., on the web page. In other words, users can register metadata. In addition, users can set what attributes to register in the metadata storage unit 23. In other words, users can register metadata items. This allows users to register the attributes of documents to be used for searching as metadata. Therefore, the items in the metadata storage unit 23 are not limited to those shown in the illustration.

[0052] Furthermore, in Figure 6, the documents registered in the document management system 10 and the documents processed in the electronic contract system 30 are linked by the linking information. However, the documents processed in the electronic contract system 30 may also be directly associated with the documents registered in the document management system 10 in the table.

[0053] Figure 7 shows an example of workflow information stored in the workflow information storage unit 24. Workflow information defines the content of a series of processes to be handled by the workflow. The following describes each item of the workflow information.

[0054] • The workflow ID is the identifier for the workflow. The workflow name can also be used as the identifier, as long as it is unique.

[0055] The start trigger is the condition under which the workflow control unit 14 generates the processing execution unit 15 (i.e., the processing execution unit 15 starts the workflow). When an event that satisfies this start trigger occurs, the processing execution unit 15 automatically starts executing the workflow. Therefore, the user does not need to explicitly specify a workflow to start execution. The start trigger shown in the diagram is just one example; there may be workflows with start triggers for periodic execution, workflows with start triggers for registering file names with fixed file names, etc.

[0056] Flow 1 and Flow 2 show, in order, a series of processes performed by the processing execution unit 15 within the workflow. Flow 1 is the first process, and Flow 2 is the second process. In Figure 7, there are two processes, but the number of processes can be any number and may vary depending on the workflow.

[0057] For example, workflow ID=1 indicates that a change in metadata triggers the review process for person A and the approval process for person B. Workflow ID=2 indicates that a document being saved triggers the sending of the document to the electronic contract system 30, and that the process of retrieving the signed file (the processed file) from the electronic contract system 30 is performed periodically.

[0058] Figure 8 shows an example of identifier information stored in the identifier information storage unit 25. The identifier information is obtained by the processing execution unit 15 through workflow execution and associates the document ID assigned by the document management system 10 (document ID before processing by the electronic contract system 30) with the document ID assigned by the electronic contract system 30. The identifier information in Figure 8 is temporarily generated for setting metadata linking information. The identifier information in Figure 8 is automatically discarded (memory is released) when the workflow is completed. The following describes each item of the workflow information.

[0059] The workflow ID is the same as that of the workflow information storage unit 24. The workflow ID and the document are associated using the identifier information.

[0060] The pre-processing document ID is the document ID in the document management system 10 before the workflow is started. The pre-processing document ID is assigned by the document management system 10.

[0061] The document ID on the electronic contract system 30 is the document ID in the electronic contract system 30 that is returned from the electronic contract system 30 when the workflow registers a document in the electronic contract system 30. The document ID on the electronic contract system 30 is assigned by the electronic contract system 30.

[0062] The processed document ID is the document ID assigned by the document management system 10 after it has retrieved the document processed by the electronic contract system 30. The processed document ID is assigned by the document management system 10.

[0063] In this way, the identifier information assigns three different document IDs to the same document, and these IDs are associated with each other. Note that in Figure 8, the document IDs represent the state immediately after the document is registered in the document management system 10, so only the pre-processing document ID "A" is set.

[0064] <<Electronic Contract System>> Let's return to Figure 4 for explanation. The electronic contract system 30 has a communication unit 31 and an electronic signature unit 32. These functions of the electronic contract system 30 are realized by the CPU 501 of the computer 500 shown in Figure 3 executing a program stored in the HD 504.

[0065] The communication unit 31 primarily transmits and receives various types of information with the terminal device 50. In this embodiment, the communication unit 31 receives documents from the document management system 10 and transmits the documents and their document IDs, after they have been processed by the electronic contract system 30, back to the document management system 10.

[0066] The electronic signature unit 32 handles a series of processes related to the contract and affixes an electronic signature to the document to prove that the contract has been completed. An electronic signature is just one example; the electronic contract system can also add timestamps, remove noise from the document, and create digital watermarks.

[0067] <<Terminal device>> The terminal device 50 includes a communication unit 51, a display control unit 52, and an operation reception unit 53. Each of these functional units is a function or means realized by the CPU 501 shown in Figure 3 executing instructions contained in one or more programs installed on the terminal device 50. This program may be a web browser or a dedicated application.

[0068] The communication unit 51 primarily sends and receives various types of information to and from the document management system 10. In this embodiment, the communication unit 51 receives various screen information and the like from the document management system 10 and transmits documents and user input content to the document management system 10.

[0069] The display control unit 52 interprets screen information from various screens and displays it on the display 506. The operation reception unit 53 receives various user operations on the various screens displayed on the display 506.

[0070] <Registration Process Steps> Next, with reference to Figure 9, the procedure by which the document management system 10 assigns a document ID to a document will be explained. Figure 9 is an example of a sequence diagram showing the procedure by which the document management system 10 assigns and manages three document IDs to a document.

[0071] S1: When the document management system 10 is started or the workflow information in the workflow information storage unit 24 is updated, the workflow control unit 14 retrieves the workflow information from the workflow information storage unit 24. This process may also be performed by an administrator.

[0072] S2: The user operates the terminal device 50 to create a contract, which is an example of a document. The file format is not restricted; it can be a general-purpose format such as PDF or Word (registered trademark), or a format specific to a particular application. The document management system 10 may also assist in the creation of the document. In this case, the terminal device 50 runs a web application provided by the document management system 10, and by entering or selecting text and other elements according to the guidance of the web application, the desired document can be created.

[0073] S3: Next, the terminal device 50 displays the web page for document registration generated by the screen generation unit 12, and the user sends the contract to the information processing system 100 from this web page. The user inputs the operation to send the contract to the information processing system 100 into the terminal device 50. The user also sets the desired metadata items and inputs values. The operation reception unit 53 of the terminal device 50 receives the operation, and the communication unit 51 sends the contract and metadata to the document management system 10. The document management system 10 may extract the metadata without the terminal device 50 sending it (or after sending the metadata).

[0074] S4: The communication unit 11 of the document management system 10 receives the contract and metadata, and the screen generation unit 12 requests the data management unit 13 to save the contract and metadata.

[0075] S5: The data management unit 13 assigns document ID="A" and stores it in the document information storage unit 22, associating it with the contract. In Figure 9, the data management unit 13 obtains document ID="A" as a return value, but in any case, the data management unit 13 can obtain document ID="A".

[0076] S6: The data management unit 13 sets the metadata document ID to "A". The data management unit 13 also saves the metadata to the metadata storage unit 23, associating it with document ID = "A".

[0077] S7: The data management unit 13 specifies document ID = "A" and notifies the workflow control unit 14 that a new document (contract) has been saved. This is so that the workflow control unit 14 can determine whether the workflow start trigger is met.

[0078] S8: The workflow control unit 14 sequentially refers to the start triggers of the workflow information storage unit 24 and determines whether the start triggers are met. For the sake of explanation, we will assume that the start triggers are met. Note that if a document or event satisfies the start triggers of multiple workflows, the workflow control unit 14 may generate the processing execution units 15 simultaneously or sequentially. The following describes the case where the start trigger of workflow ID=2 is met.

[0079] S9: If the start trigger is met, the workflow control unit 14 generates a processing execution unit 15 for processing the contract with document ID = "A". The processing execution unit 15 stores the workflow ID and document ID = "A" in the identifier information storage unit 25. Thus, the workflow and document ID = "A" are associated (see Figure 8).

[0080] S10: The processing execution unit 15 requests the data management unit 13 to retrieve the contract with document ID = "A" in order to execute the first processing step (flow 1) of the workflow information.

[0081] S11: The data management unit 13 retrieves the contract with document ID = "A" from the document information storage unit 22.

[0082] S12: The data management unit 13 notifies the processing execution unit 15 of the contract itself or the location where the contract is stored.

[0083] S13: The processing execution unit 15 performs processing according to the workflow and sends the acquired contract to the electronic contract system 30. The processing execution unit 15 returns the document ID="B" that the electronic contract system 30 assigns and uses for management. The processing execution unit 15 associates document ID="A" with document ID="B" and saves document ID="B" in the identifier information storage unit 25. Since processing takes time in the electronic contract system 30, the processing execution unit 15 first acquires document ID="B", which allows the electronic contract system 30 to retrieve the contract after it has been processed by specifying document ID="B".

[0084] Figure 10 shows the identifier information after processing in step S13. Note that the explanation of Figure 10 mainly focuses on the differences from Figure 8. In Figure 10, "B" is registered as the document ID on the electronic contract system 30. Thus, the identifier information storage unit 25 can associate document ID = "A" in the document management system 10 with document ID = "B" in the electronic contract system 30.

[0085] S14: Returning to Figure 9, the processing execution unit 15 waits until the scheduled execution time in order to execute the second processing step (flow 2) of the workflow information.

[0086] S15: When it is time for scheduled execution, the processing execution unit 15 specifies document ID = "B" and retrieves the processed (contract concluded) contract from the electronic contract system 30.

[0087] S16: The processing execution unit 15 requests the data management unit 13 to save the processed contract.

[0088] S17: The data management unit 13 assigns a document ID of "C" to the processed contract and stores it in the document information storage unit 22, associating it with the processed contract. In Figure 9, the data management unit 13 obtains the document ID of the processed contract as a return value, but in any case the data management unit 13 can obtain the document ID of "C".

[0089] S18: Since saving is complete, the data management unit 13 notifies the processing execution unit 15 of document ID="C". The processing execution unit 15 associates document ID="A" and "B" with document ID="C" and saves document ID="C" in the identifier information storage unit 25.

[0090] Figure 11 shows the identifier information after processing in step S18. Note that the explanation of Figure 11 mainly describes the differences from Figure 10. In Figure 11, "C" is registered as the document ID after processing. In this way, the identifier information storage unit 25 can associate the document ID = "A" assigned by the document management system 10 (document ID = A before processing by the electronic contract system 30), the document ID = "B" assigned by the electronic contract system 30, and the document ID after processing assigned by the electronic contract system 30.

[0091] S19: Returning to Figure 10, the processing execution unit 15 has obtained three document IDs, "A", "B", and "C", and requests the data management unit 13 to link the documents with document ID "A" and document ID "C". The processing execution unit 15 may also request the linking of document ID "B".

[0092] S20: The data management unit 13 assigns linking information and sets common linking information in the linking information fields for document IDs "A" and "C". In this way, the document management system 10 can store the contract before it is processed by the electronic contract system 30 and the contract after it has been processed by the electronic contract system 30 in association.

[0093] Alternatively, instead of linking them using the linking information, the data management unit 13 may merge the two documents. Merging means creating a single file containing the document with document ID = "A" and the document with document ID = "C".

[0094] Figure 12 shows an example of merging two documents. For the sake of explanation, in Figure 12, we assume that document ID="A" and document ID="C" each represent one page. The two documents 201 and 202 are merged to create a new document 200. In document 200, document 201 (document ID="A") is the first page, and document 203 (document ID="C") is the second page.

[0095] The integrated document 200 is assigned a new document ID, and its metadata is stored in the metadata storage unit 23. In this case, the metadata can be the same as that of the original document 201. Furthermore, since the documents before and after processing by the electronic contract system 30 are integrated, linking information is not required.

[0096] <Steps for processing the search> Next, we will explain the procedure for a user to search for a document, referring to Figure 13. Figure 13 is an example of a sequence diagram showing the procedure for a user to search for a document.

[0097] S31: The user operates the terminal device 50 to connect it to the information processing system 100. The screen generation unit 12 of the information processing system 100 generates a search screen in response to the user's operation, and the communication unit 11 transmits the screen information of the search screen to the terminal device 50. An example of a search screen is shown in Figure 15.

[0098] S32: The communication unit 51 of the terminal device 50 receives screen information of the search screen, and the display control unit 52 displays the search screen generated by the screen generation unit 12. The user enters a search key and instructs the terminal device 50 to perform a search. The search key can be any metadata stored in the metadata storage unit 23. Therefore, it is effective for the user to register the metadata to be used for searching in advance. The operation reception unit 53 accepts the operation, and the communication unit 51 specifies the search key and sends the search request to the document management system 10.

[0099] S33: The communication unit 11 of the document management system 10 receives a search request, and the screen generation unit 12 passes the search request to the data management unit 13.

[0100] S34,35: The data management unit 13 searches the metadata storage unit 23 using the search key and retrieves the search results. The search results are a list of documents (a collection of metadata records) that match the search key. The data management unit 13 may also retrieve a list of documents that are linked to the documents that match the search key by linking information, in addition to the documents that match the search key.

[0101] S36: The data management unit 13 passes the search results to the screen generation unit 12.

[0102] S37: The screen generation unit 12 generates a document list screen (an example of the first screen) using the search results. The communication unit 11 of the document management system 10 transmits the screen information of the document list screen (an example of the first screen information) to the terminal device 50. The communication unit 51 of the terminal device 50 receives the screen information of the document list screen, and the display control unit 52 displays the document list screen generated by the screen generation unit 12. An example of the document list screen is shown in Figure 16.

[0103] S38: The user selects a document from the document list screen and instructs the terminal device 50 to retrieve the document. The operation reception unit 53 receives the operation, and the communication unit 51 specifies the document ID and sends the document request to the document management system 10.

[0104] S39: The communication unit 11 of the document management system 10 receives a document request, and the screen generation unit 12 passes the document request to the data management unit 13.

[0105] S40,41: The data management unit 13 searches the document information storage unit 22 using the document ID and retrieves the document. The data management unit 13 also identifies the document linked to the document identified by the document ID using the linking information in the metadata storage unit 23 and retrieves that document (which may be just the file name) from the document information storage unit 22.

[0106] S42: The data management unit 13 passes these documents to the screen generation unit 12.

[0107] S43: The screen generation unit 12 generates a document display screen to display the document identified by the document ID and the documents linked to that document by the linking information. The communication unit 11 of the document management system 10 transmits the screen information of the document display screen to the terminal device 50. The communication unit 51 of the terminal device 50 receives the screen information of the document display screen, and the display control unit 52 displays the document display screen generated by the screen generation unit 12. An example of a document display screen is shown in Figures 17 and 18.

[0108] <<Screen example>> Figure 14(a) shows an example of a document registration screen 250 displayed by the terminal device 50. The document registration screen 250 has a file name field 251, a browse button 252, and a save button 253. The user presses the browse button 252 to select a document saved on the HD 504, etc. The file name of the selected document is displayed in the file name field 251. When the user presses the save button 253, the terminal device 50 sends the document in the file name field 251 to the document management system 10.

[0109] Figure 14(b) shows an example of the metadata settings screen 260 displayed by the terminal device 50. The metadata settings screen 260 has a document type field 261, a contract start date field 262, and a contract end date field 263.

[0110] The document type field 261 is a field where the user enters the document type as part of the metadata.

[0111] The contract start date field 262 is a field for the user to enter the contract start date as an item of metadata. The display control unit 52 may display a calendar and the operation reception unit 53 may accept a specific date from the user.

[0112] The contract end date field 263 is a field for the user to enter the contract end date as an item of metadata. The display control unit 52 may display a calendar, and the operation reception unit 53 may accept a specific date or range from the user.

[0113] When the user sets the metadata and presses the confirmation button 264, the terminal device 50 sends the metadata to the document management system 10.

[0114] Figure 15 shows an example of a search screen 210 displayed by the terminal device 50. The search screen 210 has a document type field 211, a contract start date field 212, a contract end date field 213, and a search button 214.

[0115] The Document Type field 211 is a field where the user enters a search key to search for the document type of a metadata item.

[0116] The contract start date field 212 is a field for the user to enter a search key for searching for the contract start date in the metadata items. The display control unit 52 may display a calendar, and the operation reception unit 53 may accept a specific date or range from the user.

[0117] The contract end date field 213 is a field for the user to enter a search key for searching for the contract end date in the metadata items. The display control unit 52 may display a calendar, and the operation reception unit 53 may accept a specific date or range from the user.

[0118] The search button 214 is a button used by the terminal device 50 to send a search request to the document management system 10.

[0119] Note that Figure 15 is merely an example; there may be input fields for file names and free keywords. There may also be an input field for document IDs. When the search button 214 is pressed, the screen transitions to the document list screen 220.

[0120] Figure 16 shows an example of the document list screen 220 displayed by the terminal device 50. The document list screen 220 has the following items: file name 221, document type 222, contract start date 223, and contract end date 224 of the documents that match the search. In other words, the document list screen 220 displays at least a portion of the metadata items of the metadata storage unit 23 for each record (one line) that matches the search. The document list screen 220 can accept user operations. In Figure 16, all the document types are "Basic Contract," so it is thought that the user entered "Basic Contract" as the search key in the document type field on the search screen 210.

[0121] The user selects one or more documents and presses the Open button 225. This allows the terminal device 50 to display the actual files of the selected documents.

[0122] Figure 17 shows an example of a document display screen 230. The document display screen 230 has a document information section 231 and a preview section 232. The document information section 231 has a first document section 233 and a second document section 234. The first document section 233 displays the file name of the document selected by the user on the document list screen 220. The second document section 234 displays the file name of the document linked to the document in the first document section 233 by the linking information.

[0123] Furthermore, the preview area 232 displays a preview of the document selected by the user in the first document area 233 or the second document area 234 in the document information area 231. Immediately after the document is displayed, the preview shown in the preview area 232 may be, for example, the first page of the document. It would be desirable for the user to be able to turn pages forward and backward using buttons.

[0124] Note that although only one file name is displayed in the second document field 234 in Figure 17, there are cases where multiple file names are displayed in the second document field 234. For example, in a workflow, a system other than the electronic contract system 30 may process the same document further.

[0125] Furthermore, in Figure 17, the document selected by the user on the document list screen 220 and the documents linked to that document by the linking information are displayed, but only one of them may be displayed.

[0126] Figure 18 shows another example of the document display screen 240. The document display screen 240 in Figure 18 has a back button 241, a next button 242, and a preview area 243. The preview area 243 displays a preview of the document selected by the user on the document list screen 220, and the documents linked to that document by the linking information. The user can select a page of each document by pressing the back button 241 or the next button 242, and when they reach the end of the page, they can display another document.

[0127] <Main effects> As described above, in the information processing system 100 of this embodiment, the document management system 10 can manage three document IDs = "A", "B", and "C" in association. Therefore, if a user searches for a document and identifies the document with document ID = "A", the document management system 10 can also identify the processed document identified by document ID = "C". Furthermore, the information processing system 100 can also request the contracted document identified by document ID = "B" from the electronic contract system 30. [Examples]

[0128] In this embodiment, we will describe an information processing system 100 that manages document IDs used by the document management system 10 to manage documents and document IDs used by an external service system to manage documents in association with each other.

[0129] <Outline of operation> Figure 19 is a diagram illustrating the general method of managing electronic data performed by the document management system 10. The explanation of Figure 19 will primarily focus on the differences from Figure 1. In this embodiment, the document management system 10 manages documents by associating them with documents before processing by the external service system 60 and documents after processing by the external service system 60. As described above, two document IDs are used for this association.

[0130] (1) The user operates the terminal device 50 to create a document and uploads it to the document management system 10. The document management system 10 stores the document (an example of the first electronic data) and manages it by assigning a document ID = "A" (an example of the first identification information).

[0131] (2) The document management system 10 requests the external service system 60 to process the document. As will be described later, this processing may vary depending on the external service system 60 and may be any type of processing. The external service system 60 processes the document and sends a document ID = "B" (an example of second identification information) that the external service system 60 assigns and uses for document management to the document management system 10. The external service system 60 stores the processed document (an example of second electronic data) in association with document ID = "B".

[0132] (3) The document management system 10 stores documents with document IDs "A" and "B" associated with each other.

[0133] Through the above process, the document management system 10 can manage documents by associating document ID "A" for the document management system 10 to document ID "B" for the external service system 60 to document management. Therefore, users can manage documents in the document management system 10 and documents in the external service system 60 simply by using the document management system 10.

[0134] <Example System Configuration> Next, the system configuration of the information processing system 100 will be described with reference to Figure 20. Figure 20 is a system configuration diagram of an example of the information processing system 100. Note that the explanation of Figure 20 will mainly focus on the differences from Figure 2. As shown in Figure 2, in this embodiment, the electronic contract system 30 of Example 1 has been replaced by the external service system 60.

[0135] The external service system 60 is one or more information processing devices. The external service system 60 performs predetermined processing on documents received from the document management system 10. For example, processing may include, but is not limited to, OCR (Optical Character Reader) processing, PDF conversion processing, image processing such as video processing, audio processing such as conversion of text data to audio data and processing of audio data, file merging processing, or electronic contract processing.

[0136] The external service system 60 may be integrated with the document management system 10. The external service system 60 may be implemented by cloud computing or by a single information processing device. The external service system 60 may reside on the internet or on-premises.

[0137] <About the features> Figure 21 is an example of a functional block diagram that explains the functions of the document management system 10, the external service system 60, and the terminal device 50 in this embodiment, divided into blocks. Note that the explanation of Figure 21 will mainly focus on the differences from Figure 4. First, the functions of the terminal device can be the same as in Figure 4.

[0138] <<Document Management System>> In this embodiment, the document management system 10 does not need to execute the workflow, and therefore does not have any workflow execution functions. For this reason, there is no workflow control unit 14, processing execution unit 15, and workflow information storage unit 24. However, there is no problem even if a workflow is executed in this embodiment.

[0139] Meanwhile, the data management unit 13 manages the document information stored in the document information storage unit 22 and the metadata stored in the metadata storage unit 23. The configuration of the document information storage unit 22 and the metadata storage unit 23 may be the same as in Embodiment 1.

[0140] In this embodiment, the document management system 10 includes a processing request unit 26 and an identification information management unit 27. The processing request unit 26 requests the external service system 60 to process the document sent by the terminal device 50, and obtains a document ID assigned by the external service system 60 for use in management.

[0141] The identification information management unit 27 assigns a document ID (first identification information) to identify the document transmitted by the terminal device 50, and stores and manages the document ID and the document ID transmitted by the external service system 60 (second identification information) in association with each other in the identifier information storage unit 25.

[0142] Figure 22 is a schematic diagram showing the identifier information stored by the identifier information storage unit 25 in this embodiment. As shown in Figure 22, the identifier information storage unit 25 stores the document ID in the document management system 10 and the document ID in the external service system 60 in association with each other. Note that the document ID for managing documents in the external service system 60 may be assigned before the external service system 60 actually processes the documents.

[0143] <<External Service System>> Let's return to Figure 21 for explanation. The external service system 60 includes a communication unit 61, a processing control unit 62, a processing unit 63, a storage control unit 64, and a post-processed document information storage unit 65. These functions of the external service system 60 are realized by the CPU 501 of the computer 500 shown in Figure 3 executing a program stored in the HD 504.

[0144] The communication unit 61 transmits and receives various types of data with the document management system 10. In this embodiment, the communication unit 61 receives the document to be processed from the document management system 10 and transmits to the document management system 10 a document ID assigned by the external service system 60 and used for managing the document.

[0145] The processing control unit 62 executes a pre-configured process in the external service system 60. This process can be any process, but examples include OCR processing, PDF conversion processing, image processing, audio processing, file merging processing, or electronic contract processing, as described above. The processing control unit 62 may also control the order in which the external service system 60 executes multiple processes. In addition, the processing control unit 62 assigns a document ID from the external service system 60 to the document to be processed.

[0146] The processing unit 63 is the module that actually performs the processing, and the processing control unit 62 calls the processing unit 63 to execute various processes on the document. The processing unit 63 may be provided for each type of processing, such as OCR processing, PDF conversion processing, image processing, audio processing, file merging processing, or electronic contract processing.

[0147] The storage control unit 64 associates the document ID assigned by the processing control unit 62 with the document processed by the processing unit 63 and stores it in the processed document information storage unit 65. Furthermore, when the storage control unit 64 receives a request from the document management system 10 to send a processed document, specifying the document ID in the external service system 60, it sends the document to the document management system 10 via the communication unit 61.

[0148] Figure 23 schematically shows the post-processed document information stored in the post-processed document information storage unit 65. The post-processed document information is information about the document after it has been processed by the external service system 60.

[0149] The Document ID field is the Document ID assigned by the external service system 60.

[0150] The file name field is the file name of the document processed by the processing unit 63. The save control unit 64 creates the file name by adding the document ID from the external service system 60 to the original file name.

[0151] The "Processing Date" field represents the date and time when the processing unit 63 processed the document, or the date and time when the storage control unit 64 saved the processed document.

[0152] <Storing document IDs in the document management system and document IDs in external service systems> Next, the procedure for saving document IDs will be explained with reference to Figure 24. Figure 24 is an example of a sequence diagram illustrating the procedure by which the document management system 10 saves document IDs associated with the document IDs managed by the external service system 60.

[0153] S51: The user operates the terminal device 50 to create a document. The document may be a contract, as in Example 1, or it may be a simple file generated by an application such as word processing software or presentation software. The document management system 10 may assist in the creation of the document. In this case, the terminal device 50 runs a web application provided by the document management system 10, and can create the desired document by inputting or selecting text, etc., according to the guidance of the web application.

[0154] Next, the terminal device 50 displays the web page for document registration generated by the screen generation unit 12, and the user sends the document to the information processing system 100 from this web page. The user inputs the operation to send the document to the information processing system 100 into the terminal device 50. The user also sets the desired metadata items and inputs values. The operation reception unit 53 of the terminal device 50 receives the operation, and the communication unit 51 sends the document and metadata to the document management system 10. The document management system 10 may extract the metadata without the terminal device 50 sending it (or after sending the metadata).

[0155] S52: The communication unit 11 of the document management system 10 receives the document and metadata, and the screen generation unit 12 requests the data management unit 13 to save the document and metadata.

[0156] S53: The data management unit 13 assigns document ID="A" and stores it in the document information storage unit 22, associating it with the document. In Figure 24, the data management unit 13 obtains document ID="A" as a return value, but in any case, the data management unit 13 can obtain document ID="A".

[0157] S54: The data management unit 13 sets the metadata document ID to "A". The data management unit 13 also saves the metadata to the metadata storage unit 23, associating it with document ID = "A".

[0158] S55: The data management unit 13 notifies the processing request unit 26 of the document processing request.

[0159] S56: The processing request unit 26 sends a document processing request to the external service system 60 via the communication unit 11. If the external service system 60 is capable of multiple processes, the processing request unit 26 specifies the processing details. The data management unit 13 does not have to send document ID = "A" to the external service system 60, but it may do so. If it does, the external service system 60 can also store the document ID of the document management system 10 in association with the document ID of the external service system 60.

[0160] S57: When the communication unit 61 of the external service system 60 receives a document processing request, the processing control unit 62 assigns the document ID "B" to the document in the external service system 60. The assignment of the document ID may occur even after the processing unit 63 has performed processing on the document. The processing control unit 62 requests the processing to the processing unit 63. The processing unit 63 performs processing on the document, and the storage control unit 64 saves the processed document in the processed document information storage unit 65, associating it with the document ID "B".

[0161] S58: The communication unit 61 of the external service system 60 transmits a document ID = "B" to the document management system 10 for the external service system 60 to manage the document. The processing request unit 26 of the document management system 10 receives the document ID = "B" via the communication unit 11.

[0162] In step S58, the external service system 60 returns the document ID to the document management system 10 after processing, but the external service system 60 may also return the document ID to the document management system 10 immediately after receiving the processing request.

[0163] S59: In order to save document ID="A" to the identifier information storage unit 25, the data management unit 13 requests the identification information management unit 27 to save document ID="A".

[0164] S60: In order to save document ID="B" to the identifier information storage unit 25, the processing request unit 26 requests the identification information management unit 27 to save document ID="B".

[0165] S61: The identification information management unit 27 stores the document IDs "A" and "B" in association with the identifier information storage unit 25.

[0166] <<Steps for processing the search>> Next, with reference to Figure 25, the procedure for a user to search for documents in this embodiment will be explained. Note that the explanation of Figure 25 will mainly focus on the differences from Figure 13. First, steps S71 to S79 ​​can be the same as in Figure 13.

[0167] S80: The data management unit 13 retrieves from the identifier information storage unit 25 the document ID "B" in the external service system 60, which is associated with the document ID "A" selected by the user.

[0168] S81: Next, the data management unit 13 requests the processing request unit 26 for the file name in the external service system 60, specifying document ID = "B".

[0169] S82: The processing request unit 26, in response to the request, requests the external service system 60 via the communication unit 11 for the file name of the document associated with document ID = "B".

[0170] S83: The communication unit 61 of the external service system 60 receives the request, and the save control unit 64 processes the file name of the document associated with document ID="B" and retrieves it from the document information storage unit 65. The communication unit 61 sends the file name of the document with document ID="B" to the document management system 10. The save control unit 64 may embed the save location, such as a URL or file path, indicating where the document is saved in the file name. Alternatively, the external service system 60 may send the file itself to the document management system 10.

[0171] S84: The processing request unit 26 of the document management system 10 receives the file name of the document with document ID = "B" via the communication unit 11. The processing request unit 26 returns the file name of the document with document ID = "B" to the data management unit 13.

[0172] S85: The data management unit 13 passes the file name of the document with document ID = "B" to the screen generation unit 12.

[0173] S86: The screen generation unit 12 generates a document display screen (an example of second screen information) to display the filenames of documents with document IDs "A" and "B". The filenames on the document display screen have the save locations of documents with document IDs "A" and "B" embedded in them. If the external service system 60 sends the files themselves to the document management system 10, the files themselves may be attached to the document display screen.

[0174] The communication unit 11 of the document management system 10 transmits screen information of the document display screen to the terminal device 50. The communication unit 51 of the terminal device 50 receives the screen information of the document display screen, and the display control unit 52 displays the document display screen generated by the screen generation unit 12. An example of a document display screen is shown in Figure 26.

[0175] <<Screen example>> In this embodiment, an example of a screen displayed by the terminal device 50 will be described. First, the document registration screen 250 in Figure 14, the metadata setting screen 260, the search screen 210 in Figure 15, and the document list screen 220 in Figure 16 can be the same as in Embodiment 1.

[0176] Figure 26 is an example of the document display screen 270 in this embodiment. The explanation of Figure 26 mainly describes the differences from Figure 17. In Figure 26, the second document field 234 displays the file name "Document_A_B" of a document managed by the external service system 60, which is associated with the document in the first document field 233 by the document ID in the identifier information storage unit 25. In this way, the user can identify the file name of a document managed by the external service system 60 by selecting a document registered in the document management system 10. The file name "Document_A_B" has a document ID attached to it in addition to the file name.

[0177] The filenames of documents managed by this external service system 60 may contain embedded links to save locations, such as URLs or file paths. These links are embedded when the external service system 60 sends the document filenames to the document management system 10. This allows users to view documents processed by the external service system 60 on the terminal device 50 by clicking on the document filename with a pointing device such as a mouse.

[0178] <Main effects> In this embodiment, the document management system 10 can manage documents by associating a document ID "A" for the document management system 10 to manage documents with a document ID "B" for the external service system to manage documents. Therefore, users can manage documents in the document management system 10 and documents in the external service system 60 simply by using the document management system 10.

[0179] <Other application examples> Although the best mode for carrying out the present invention has been described above using examples, the present invention is not limited in any way to these examples, and various modifications and substitutions can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0180] For example, in this embodiment, the document management system 10 and the electronic contract system 30 cooperate during the workflow execution process and the two document IDs are linked, but the document management system 10 does not necessarily have to execute the workflow. For example, the user may sequentially instruct the document management system 10 and the electronic contract system 30 to perform certain actions.

[0181] Furthermore, even if only one document is sent by the document management system 10, the electronic contract system 30 may generate multiple documents through processing. In this case, each document generated by the electronic contract system 30 is assigned a document ID.

[0182] Furthermore, when a workflow is executed, various workflows exist, such as those that perform OCR on documents and save them to cloud storage, or those that receive emails and faxes and save them to cloud storage. Workflows can be generated by the user by configuring each process.

[0183] Furthermore, while this embodiment mentions an electronic contract system 30, a time stamp system, a noise reduction system, and a digital watermarking system, there are various other systems such as cloud storage, OCR, translation, and speech recognition.

[0184] Furthermore, the configuration examples in Figures 4 and 21 are divided according to their main functions to facilitate understanding of the processing performed by the document management system 10, the electronic contract system 30, and the terminal device 50. The present invention is not limited by the way the processing units are divided or the names of those units. The processing of the document management system 10, the electronic contract system 30, and the terminal device 50 can be further divided into more processing units depending on the processing content. Alternatively, a single processing unit can be divided to include even more processing.

[0185] Furthermore, the apparatus described in the examples represents only one of several computing environments for carrying out the embodiments disclosed herein. In one embodiment, the document management system 10 includes multiple computing devices, such as a server cluster. The multiple computing devices are configured to communicate with each other via any type of communication link, including networks and shared memory, and perform the processing disclosed herein.

[0186] Furthermore, the document management system 10 can be configured to share the processing steps disclosed in this embodiment, such as Figures 9, 13, 24, and 25, in various combinations. The document management system 10 may be consolidated into a single server device or divided among multiple devices.

[0187] Each of the functions of the embodiments described above can be realized by one or more processing circuits. Hereinafter, "processing circuit" as used herein includes processors programmed to execute each function by software, such as processors implemented by electronic circuits, as well as devices such as ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits), DSPs (Digital Signal Processors), FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays), and conventional circuit modules designed to execute each of the functions described above.

[0188] This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2021-158290, filed with the Japan Patent Office on September 28, 2021, and the entire contents of Japanese Patent Application No. 2021-158290 are incorporated herein by reference. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0189] 10 Document Management Systems 30 Electronic Contract System 50 Terminal devices 60 External Service Systems 100 Information Processing Systems [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0190] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2008-259211

Claims

1. A terminal device, an external service system that performs predetermined processing on electronic data, and an information processing device connected via a network, A communication unit that receives first electronic data and processing requests from the terminal device, An identification information management unit that assigns first identification information for managing the first electronic data, A processing request unit transmits a request for processing the first electronic data to the external service system, and obtains a second identification information from the external service system for managing the first electronic data. The information processing apparatus is characterized in that the identification information management unit manages the second identification information acquired by the processing request unit in association with the first identification information.

2. The information processing device has a screen generation unit that generates first screen information showing a first screen capable of receiving user operations, which includes at least information about the first electronic data managed by the information processing device, The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the communication unit transmits the first screen information to the terminal device.

3. The processing request unit specifies a second identification information associated with the first identification information, which indicates the first electronic data selected by the user's operation on the first screen of the terminal device, and obtains information from the external service system regarding the second electronic data associated with the second identification information. The screen generation unit generates second screen information including information relating to the second electronic data, The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that the communication unit transmits the second screen information to the terminal device.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that the second screen information includes, as information relating to the second electronic data, the second identification information or information indicating the storage location of the second electronic data.

5. The information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the second identification information is provided by the external service system.

6. A data management method performed by a terminal device, an external service system that performs predetermined processing on electronic data, and an information processing device connected via a network, The communication unit receives first electronic data and a processing request from the terminal device, The Identification Information Management Unit assigns first identification information for managing the first electronic data, The process includes the steps of: the processing request unit transmitting a processing request for the first electronic data received by the communication unit to the external service system, and the external service system obtaining second identification information for managing the first electronic data from the external service system; The steps include: the Identification Information Management Unit manages the second identification information acquired by the Processing Request Unit in association with the first identification information; A data management method having

7. A terminal device, an external service system that performs predetermined processing on electronic data, and an information processing device connected via a network, A communication unit that receives first electronic data and processing requests from the terminal device, An identification information management unit that assigns first identification information for managing the first electronic data, It functions as a processing request unit that transmits a request for processing the first electronic data to the external service system, and obtains second identification information for managing the first electronic data from the external service system. The identification information management unit is a program that manages the second identification information acquired by the processing request unit in association with the first identification information.

8. An information processing system comprising a terminal device and an information processing device connected to the terminal device via a network, The terminal device transmits electronic data to the information processing device. The aforementioned information processing device is A communication unit that receives first electronic data and processing requests from the terminal device, An identification information management unit that assigns first identification information for managing the first electronic data, A processing request unit transmits a request for processing the first electronic data to an external service system that performs predetermined processing on the electronic data, and obtains a second identification information from the external service system for managing the first electronic data. The information processing system is characterized in that the identification information management unit manages the second identification information acquired by the processing request unit in association with the first identification information.

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