Information processing device

Abstract

To provide an information processing device that provides a service enabling exchange of a document between business operators while reducing the degree of influence associated with introduction.SOLUTION: An information processing device includes: file acquisition means which acquires a document file prepared by a second business operator so as to be sent to a first business operator; presentation means which transmits file information representing the document file to a first terminal used by a first employee of the first business operator, and presents the document file to the first employee; file transmission control means which controls the document file presented by the presentation means to be transmitted to the first terminal; and a storage unit which stores acquisition setting information in which the timing to acquire the document file is designated. The file acquisition means refers to the acquisition setting information stored in the storage unit, and automatically acquires the document file stored in a location designated by the second business operator, every time a predetermined period passes or every time the timing comes.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus.

Background Art

[0002] For example, between two business operators who conduct transactions of goods, document exchanges are carried out for such transactions. An invoice issued by the business operator on the order-receiving side to the business operator on the order-placing side is a representative example of the documents to be exchanged. Hereinafter, for convenience, the business operator on the order-receiving side will be referred to as the "order-receiving side operator", and the business operator on the order-placing side will be referred to as the "order-placing side operator", respectively.

[0003] So far, invoices have been sent by the order-receiving side operator to the order-placing side operator in the form of a medium such as paper or in the form of an electronic file. The load on the order-receiving side operator required for such invoice sending becomes heavier as the number of invoices increases. For an order-receiving side operator with a large number of invoices to be sent, the load is heavy, and the necessary human or time resources are also large. Therefore, in recent years, among service-providing companies, there are those that provide a service of, on behalf of the order-receiving side operator, inputting invoice information to create an invoice and sending the created invoice to the order-placing side operator via a network (see, for example, Patent Document 1). This service will be hereinafter referred to as the "invoice sending service" for convenience.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] When a receiving business introduces a service such as an invoice delivery service, the receiving business must change its organizational structure according to the content of the service to be introduced. Specifically, the placement of employees, the work content of each employee, and the software used for work must be reviewed as necessary. For this reason, in addition to the service fee to be paid for using the service, businesses considering introducing the service must also consider the impact of the introduction of the service on their organization.

[0006] The broader the scope of coverage of the service to be introduced, the higher the service fee will usually be. Also, the greater the impact on the organization, the greater the change in the organizational structure will be.

[0007] The greater the change in the organizational structure, the greater the number of employees whose work content will change significantly. Employees whose work content will change significantly include employees who are assigned different tasks due to reassignment. High work efficiency cannot be expected from employees immediately after their work content is significantly changed. Therefore, it is necessary to consider employees whose burden will temporarily increase.

[0008] For this reason, businesses need to consider the impact of introducing a service on their organization as part of the implementation costs. As a result, it is also important for service providers to consider how to minimize the impact of introducing the service on their organization. This also applies to services that exchange documents other than invoices between multiple businesses.

[0009] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT EMBODIMENTS Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an information processing device that provides a service that enables document exchange between businesses while minimizing the impact of its introduction. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] An information processing device of a first aspect of the present invention comprises a file acquisition means for acquiring a document file created by a second business operator for sending to a first business operator, a presentation means for presenting the document file to a first terminal used by a first employee of the first business operator by sending file information representing the document file to the first employee, a file transmission control means for controlling the transmission of the document file presented by the presentation means to the first terminal, and a memory unit for storing import setting information specifying the timing for importing the document file, and the file acquisition means automatically acquires the document file stored in the storage location by accessing a storage location previously specified by the second business operator each time a specified period has elapsed or each time a specified timing has arrived, by referring to the import setting information stored in the memory unit. Effect of the Invention

[0011] The present invention can provide a service that enables document exchange between businesses while minimizing the impact of its introduction. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating an overview of an example of a service provided by a service provider via an AP server according to an embodiment of the information processing device of the present invention. FIG. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of document exchange that occurs between an ordering company and an order-receiving company when a transaction is made between the two companies. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system constructed for providing services by an AP server according to an embodiment of an information processing device of the present invention, and a network environment to which the system is connected. [Figure 4] 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of an AP server according to an embodiment of the information processing device of the present invention. FIG. [Diagram 5] 2 is a functional block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration realized on an AP server according to an embodiment of the information processing device of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 6] 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a mechanism for exchanging document files realized by a document processing control unit. FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a Web page that displays information about non-contracted business operators who have registered for use based on the use request setting information. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a Web page on which distribution management information can be set. [Figure 9] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of information related to storage of document files and the relationships therebetween. [Figure 10] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an automatic document capture process executed by a document processing control unit. [Figure 11] 11A and 11B are diagrams illustrating processes executed by a document processing control unit and a data management unit, respectively, when a document file transmitted from a business terminal is imported. [Figure 12] 13A and 13B are diagrams for explaining processes executed by a document processing control unit and a data management unit, respectively, when a registered document file is acquired by a delivery destination. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a Web page screen on which a storage item can be selected and the selected storage item can be downloaded. [Figure 14] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen of a Web page that enables registration of a document file of a subsidiary document. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the embodiment described is merely an example, and the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to this. Various modified examples are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

[0014] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an outline of an example of a service provided by a service provider through an AP (APplication) server according to an embodiment of an information processing device of the present invention. Service provider WA provides a service (hereinafter referred to as "this service") in the form of relaying the sending and receiving of documents over a network between multiple businesses, with at least one of the businesses needing to exchange documents as a customer. At least one of the businesses needs to be a customer, i.e., a contractor of service provider WA, because it is anticipated that documents from one business will be relayed to all other businesses. In such a case, documents from one contractor must be made available to all other businesses, even if all the other businesses are not customers.

[0015] A business entity is an individual or an organization such as a company. In FIG. 1, two companies, Company A CA and Company B CB, are shown as examples of business entities. Company B CB is an order-receiving company that manufactures, for example, product P and sells the manufactured product P as a commodity. The commodity product P is delivered to the ordering company by delivery or the like. The commodity sold by Company B CB may be a commodity purchased from another company. On the other hand, Company A CA is an ordering company that orders (purchases) the product P manufactured and sold by Company B CB from Company B CB. Hereinafter, to avoid confusion, product P will be written as "commodity P". In addition, Company A CA and Company B CB are both assumed to be customers, that is, companies that have contracted with service provider WA. In FIG. 1, Company A CA and Company B CB correspond to the second business entity and the first business entity, respectively, in this embodiment. However, this correspondence does not necessarily hold. In other words, the correspondence may be reversed.

[0016] Figure 2 is a diagram that explains an example of document exchange that occurs between an ordering company and an order-receiving company when a transaction is carried out between the two companies. Figure 2 also shows an example of the workflow from a contract between the ordering company and the order-receiving company for the purchase of product P sold by the order-receiving company to the completion of the transaction under that contract. Now, with reference to Figure 2, a specific explanation will be given of the documents exchanged between the two companies. In Figure 1, the ordering company is Company A (CA) and the order-receiving company is Company B (CB).

[0017] In Figure 2, the ordering company has three departments involved in the transaction: the legal department, the accounting department, and the ordering department. The receiving company has three departments involved in the transaction: the legal department, the accounting department, and the sales department. These departments are just examples, and the departments involved in the transaction will vary depending on the type of product P being traded, the organizational structure, etc.

[0018] The ordering department of the ordering company, after undergoing review by the legal department, concludes a contract with the sales department of the receiving company to purchase the required product P. The sales department of the receiving company, like the ordering department of the ordering company, also concludes a contract after undergoing review by the legal department. At this contracting stage, at least a contract document is exchanged between the ordering company and the receiving company.

[0019] The ordering department of the ordering company creates a purchase order in accordance with the contents of the concluded contract and sends it to the sales department of the receiving company, thereby placing an order for Product P. The sales department of the receiving company processes the purchase order and takes steps to deliver Product P requested in the purchase order to the ordering company. For this reason, purchase orders are exchanged between the ordering company and the receiving company at the ordering stage.

[0020] The sales department of the receiving company, for example, decides on a delivery method for product P requested by a purchase order, and has product P delivered to the ordering company by the decided method. Before the delivery begins, a delivery note is created that shows product P to be delivered to the ordering company. The created delivery note is handed over to, for example, the ordering department of the ordering company when product P is delivered. The ordering department then checks the delivery note, and then performs an inspection to confirm whether product P listed on the delivery note has actually been delivered and receive product P. If this inspection confirms that product P listed on the delivery note has been delivered, the ordering department hands over a receipt to the receiving company. For this reason, at the delivery stage of product P, delivery notes and receipts are exchanged between the ordering company and the receiving company.

[0021] Upon receiving the receipt, the sales department of the receiving company creates and issues an invoice requesting payment for the price of Product P. The issued invoice is handed over to the ordering department of the ordering company, which then requests payment of the price requested on the invoice from the accounting department. The price of Product P is then paid by the ordering company's accounting department.

[0022] The accounting department of the ordering company makes payment, for example, by the receiving company transferring the payment to a specified account. When the payment is made in this way, the accounting department of the receiving company can confirm that the ordering company has received the payment by checking the account transaction details. When the payment has been confirmed, the accounting department of the receiving company informs the sales department that the payment has been confirmed. The sales department then creates and issues a receipt, and sends it to the ordering department of the ordering company. As a result, the ordering department of the ordering company receives the receipt that was sent. For this reason, at the settlement stage after the delivery of product P, the receiving company sends an invoice to the receiving company, and then the receiving company sends a receipt to the receiving company. When the ordering company receives the receipt, the document exchange between the ordering company and the receiving company is completed in one transaction.

[0023] In this way, documents are often exchanged multiple times between companies in one transaction. Until now, this document exchange has generally been carried out by mail or email. There are also service providers that offer a service that replaces the document exchange with email (see, for example, Patent Document 1). This service makes it possible to exchange various documents by methods other than mail and email.

[0024] The documents exchanged between the ordering company and the receiving company as shown in Figure 2 are usually documents to be exchanged, and other documents are usually exchanged as necessary. For example, when the ordering company issues a purchase order for a product, even if the purchase order is issued in accordance with the contract, the receiving company that receives the purchase order may return a document indicating that to the ordering company. Instead of a document, a message may be returned. It is also possible that unclear points or points that cannot be handled on the purchase order may be returned to the ordering company in the form of a document. For this reason, documents exchanged between the ordering company and the receiving company can be broadly divided into documents that are considered essential for the transaction and documents that become necessary to be exchanged for procedural or convenience reasons due to the sending of the document. Hereinafter, the former will be distinguished as "main document" and the latter as "subordinate document". "Document" is used when such a distinction is not necessary.

[0025] There is often a relatively long time between the exchange of one main document and the exchange of the next main document. For example, if a purchase order is issued in accordance with the contents of a contract, the purchase order is not necessarily issued immediately after the contract is concluded. On the other hand, when a subsidiary document needs to be exchanged, it is expected that the subsidiary document will be exchanged, i.e., sent, in a relatively short time after the exchange of the corresponding main document or subsidiary document. For this reason, this service associates subsidiary documents with main documents and supports the exchange of subsidiary documents.

[0026] When a transaction is conducted between the CA of Company A and the CB of Company B shown in Figure 1, it is assumed that various document exchanges as described with reference to Figure 2 will also take place between the CA of Company A and the CB of Company B. This service can be used to realize all or some of the various document exchanges. This service realizes document exchange by sending and receiving documents via a network. For this reason, the documents are treated as electronic document files D, that is, as data.

[0027] For example, when company A CA purchases product P from company B CB through an order, company B CB can issue an invoice to company A CA requesting payment for the price of product P. When using this service, the invoice is created as document file D.

[0028] Document file D needs to be sent only to the business to which it is to be sent. Each business can use various terminals (information processing devices with communication functions, such as PCs (Personal Computers)) to use this service. For this reason, this service requires business operators who use this service to register for use, regardless of whether they are customers or not. As a result, use of this service is limited to business operators who have registered for use. Whether a business operator has registered for use or not is confirmed by requesting a login from a user who has connected a terminal to the service provider WA. Here, for the sake of convenience, it is assumed that login is performed by entering an ID (IDentifier) ​​and password.

[0029] After delivery of product P, for example, company B CB creates an invoice as a document file D. The created document file D is sent to the service provider company WA by a terminal used by an employee of company B CB, or is automatically accessed by the service provider company WA and is then imported into the service provider company WA. The automatic access is made to a storage location designated in advance by company B CB.

[0030] The service provider WA has one or more storages ST for storing document files D. This storage ST is, for example, mounted on or connected to the AP server, or mounted on or connected to another server capable of communicating with the AP server.

[0031] In this storage ST, an individual storage area SA, which is a dedicated storage area for storing document files D, is secured for each business. An individual storage area SA is prepared for each business, and only document files D intended to be sent to that business are stored in the individual storage area SA associated with the business. For example, only document files D intended to be sent to the CA of Company A are stored in the individual storage area SA for Company A CA. In this way, each individual storage area SA is used to store document files D to be sent to the corresponding business. As a result, document files D imported from the business, Company B CB, are stored in the individual storage area SA for Company A CA. Note that the number of document files D that can be imported at one time is not limited to one. Each individual storage area SA corresponds to a storage area in this embodiment.

[0032] The destination of the document file D of the CB of the company B is specified when it is imported, or is automatically recognized by the service provider WA. As a result, the document file D imported from the CB of the company B is stored in the individual storage area SA for the CA of the company A. The automatic recognition is performed by extracting information indicating the destination from the contents of the document file D, for example.

[0033] If document file D is an aggregated document file in which multiple documents with different destinations are aggregated, this automatic recognition is used to divide document file D for each destination. Information indicating the destination is also used to identify the division points when dividing document file D for each destination. As a result, if document file D is an aggregated document file, the data of aggregated document file D is divided for each destination, and each piece of data obtained by the division is filed and stored in the corresponding individual storage area SA. Here, a document file that is clearly obtained by division is referred to as a "divided document file D." A document file that is not clearly divided, and a document file for which it is not necessary to consider whether it has been divided or not, is referred to as a "document file D." In this way, the document file to be exchanged is given the symbol "D."

[0034] When the service provider WA stores the document file D in the individual storage area SA, the service provider WA notifies the business entity that assigned the individual storage area SA that the document file D has been newly stored. The notification is made, for example, by sending an email to the email address registered by the business entity, with a message in the body of the email informing the business entity that the document file D has been newly stored. In this service, the document file D for which such a notification is made is limited to the main document file D.

[0035] This notification allows the business to which the document file D is to be sent to immediately become aware of the occurrence of a new document file D without connecting a terminal to the service provider WA. This makes it possible for the business to more reliably avoid overlooking the existence of a newly created document file D. This allows the business that is the sender of the document file D to use this service in the same way as sending a document by email or mail.

[0036] Some businesses may have documents that they would like to be sent in printed form, such as paper media. For example, some businesses may want to send invoices in printed form. For this reason, this service is also capable of supporting the sending of documents in printed form. Printed documents are generated using document file D imported from the business. Even if printed documents are sent, document file D is imported, and therefore the imported document file D is stored in an individual storage area SA, and a notification is also given in connection with the storage. Figure 1 shows that a printed copy of the contents of document file D is also sent by mail to Company A CA.

[0037] In this service, the setting of whether or not to send a document in print is made by the business sending the document file D. This is because it is considered that the sending business will confirm the wishes of the destination business before creating the document file D. It is also possible to allow the destination business to make this setting.

[0038] The document files D stored in each individual storage area SA can be viewed by the corresponding business operator. Furthermore, the business operator can arbitrarily select and download the necessary document files D from among the stored document files. Any document file D can be downloaded at any time in order to accommodate the business operator's convenience. The business operator can also allow the same document file D to be downloaded multiple times.

[0039] As described above, the business entity may be required to take a specific action depending on the contents of the document file D. This action may result in a document that should or should be sent to the sender of the document file D. It is also possible that there is some matter to be communicated to the sender of the document file D. For this reason, this service allows the business entity to which the document file D is to be sent to send at least one of the document file D of the subordinate document and a message to the business entity that sent the document file D. The upload from the CA of Company A to the service provider WA shown in Figure 1 represents the fact that the CA of Company A, which has caused the download of the document file D of the main document from the CB of Company B, has caused the sending of at least one of the document file D of the subordinate document and a message.

[0040] For example, if document file D is an invoice and the payment requested on the invoice is transferred to a financial institution, the business can receive a transfer statement from the financial institution. This transfer statement is a document that clearly indicates that the business has made the payment. For this reason, a business that receives an invoice as document file D may request that the transfer statement be sent as document file D along with a message requesting confirmation of the transfer. This allows the service to support not only the sending of the main document file D, but also the sending and receiving of subsidiary document files D and messages after the sending of the main document file D.

[0041] The document file D of the subordinate document and the message are stored in an individual storage area SA assigned to the business to which they are to be sent, that is, the business that sent the document file D of the main document. Since the individual storage area SA is reserved for each business, if the number of individual storage areas SA is N+1, one business can send the document file D to a maximum of N businesses. This means that one business can receive the document file D from a maximum of N businesses. N is an integer equal to or greater than 1. In this service, one business can also have the same document file D sent to multiple businesses. In addition, a business can use the individual storage area SA like a cloud storage by specifying itself as the destination. Taking this into consideration, one business can send the document file D to a maximum of N+1 businesses.

[0042] Document files D, etc. stored in the individual storage area SA can be checked not only by the business operator to which the individual storage area SA is assigned, but also by the business operator who imported the document file D, etc. This is to enable the sending business operator to check whether the document file D was actually imported and processed appropriately. To prevent the sending business operator from obtaining more information than necessary, the only document files D that the sending business operator can check are the document files D imported by that business operator. In order to enable the checking of such document files D, the use of this service is restricted to the logged-in business operator. The mechanism that enables checking of imported document files D will be described later.

[0043] Another document file D and a message sent from the CA of Company A to the CB of Company B are stored in an individual storage area SA for the CB of Company B, and the CB of Company B can download them at will. This allows the CB of Company B to check the document file D or the message sent from the CA of Company A.

[0044] When a subsidiary document file D or message is sent from Company B's CB to Company A's CA, it is also possible for Company A's CA to send a subsidiary document file D or message to Company B's CB. This means that this service supports two-way exchange of subsidiary document files D and messages between businesses. Therefore, businesses using this service can exchange all of the necessary document files D and messages with other businesses using only this service.

[0045] In this way, the Service provides a mechanism for exchanging document files D and even messages between businesses, but does not support the parts related to the creation of document files D. This is to avoid covering an area that businesses do not necessarily want, as described below, in order to keep the cost of the Service down while providing an environment in which more businesses can easily use the Service.

[0046] It is believed that most of the businesses that use this service have already done business with other businesses and have established a system for exchanging documents with other businesses. Therefore, most businesses will be affected in some way by the introduction of a document exchange-related service. For this reason, this service also places importance on minimizing the degree of the impact.

[0047] The degree of impact of the service being introduced is likely to be greater the larger the range that the service covers. It is believed that many businesses will do business again with businesses that they have done business with in the past. In particular, businesses that do business repeatedly may have rules regarding document exchange for convenience and other reasons. For example, the format of documents, the items to be entered, and the method of entering data may be determined as rules. If such rules exist, it is desirable to abide by them regardless of whether or not a service is introduced. Therefore, businesses considering introducing a service must consider the existence of such rules in addition to the degree of impact. This is because businesses considering introducing a service that cannot abide by such rules must hold discussions with the business that determined the rules.

[0048] This service does not basically support the part related to the creation of document file D, but only supports the part related to the exchange of document file D. Therefore, there are basically no restrictions on the document file D to be exchanged. There is basically no need to change the format of document file D, nor to change the application program used to create document file D. For this reason, even if a business introduces this service, it can create document file D in the same way as before, and can abide by all or most of the agreements related to document exchange decided with other businesses. Therefore, the degree of impact from the introduction of this service is relatively small. Since the degree is relatively small and the fee is kept low, the barrier to introduction of this service is low for businesses.

[0049] This service uses individual storage areas SA to send document files D to be sent by business operator. The destination can be specified or identified by automatic recognition. It also supports sending in printed form. For this reason, it is possible to set whether or not to send in printed form for each business operator. As a result, for business operators sending document files D, the introduction of this service will significantly reduce the amount of work required for document exchange with other businesses.

[0050] Hereinafter, a method for realizing this service illustrated in FIG. 1 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system constructed for providing a service by an AP server according to an embodiment of the information processing device of the present invention, and a network environment to which the system is connected.

[0051] The system is constructed by connecting the AP server 1 according to the present embodiment to a DB (Data Base) server 2 and one or more printers 5 equipped with communication functions, for example, via a LAN (Local Area Network), and realizes one website. In FIG. 3, the AP server 1, DB server 2, and printer 5 are installed in the service provider WA, but they may be provided by a cloud service. For this reason, the installation location and provider of the AP server 1, DB server 2, and printer 5 are not particularly limited. In addition, the AP server 1 and DB server 2 are main information processing devices for providing this service, but may include other information processing devices, such as a Web server and / or a firewall. A plurality of AP servers 1 and DB servers 2 may be installed. In that case, a load balancer may be further included. It is preferable to install a plurality of printers 5. This is because when an aggregated document file D is imported, printing for many destinations is often performed.

[0052] The AP server 1 is directly or indirectly connected to the network N. Therefore, the AP server 1 can provide this service to users who use, as terminals, information processing devices capable of communicating via the network N. In many cases, the users are employees of the order-receiving company 3 or the ordering company 4 who have registered for use.

[0053] The DB server 2 is a server that performs processing in response to requests from the AP server 1. The AP server 1 transmits the imported or uploaded document file D to the DB server 2 for storage. Information related to this service other than the document file D is stored in the AP server 1. For this reason, the AP server 1 provides this service using the DB server 2. As a result, the storage ST of the service provider WA shown in FIG. 1 corresponds to both the storage that is accessible by the AP server 1 and the DB server 2.

[0054] In Figure 3, companies that use this service are shown as receiving companies 3-1 to 3-L and ordering companies 4-1 to 4-K. Hereinafter, for convenience, when there is no need to distinguish between them, the receiving company will be given the number "3" and the ordering company will be given the number "4". In Figure 1, receiving company 3 corresponds to Company B CB, and ordering company 4 corresponds to Company A CA.

[0055] This classification of companies is for convenience, and in reality, companies cannot always be clearly classified. This is because there are many companies that are both order-receiving companies 3 and ordering companies 4. However, for the sake of explanation, we will assume that companies are classified as either order-receiving companies 3 or ordering companies 4.

[0056] As shown in FIG. 3, the receiving company 3 has a system in which a server 31 and a plurality of terminals 32 are connected to a network 33. A storage area 36 for storing document files D to be automatically imported is secured in a storage 35 mounted on the server 31. The storage area 36 is designated by the receiving company 3 as a place to automatically import document files D. The reason why the receiving company 3 designated such a storage area 36 is because the server 31 is always in operation. By designating the storage area 36 on the server 31, the receiving company 3 can automatically import document files D at any timing. For convenience, in this service, in addition to the location to automatically import document files D, the timing of the import can be set. The storage area 36 may be an area secured in a storage mounted on a terminal 32 that is always in operation. The storage area 36 does not limit the storage 35 in which it exists, or the information processing device that accesses the storage 35. The storage area 36 will be hereinafter referred to as the "import storage area 36" in order to clearly distinguish it from others.

[0057] Among documents exchanged between businesses, some may be exchanged periodically. For example, between businesses that repeatedly conduct transactions, it is common to decide the timing for sending invoices and send a single invoice for all outstanding amounts up to the decided timing, partly to reduce the complexity of processing. A document file D of such an invoice is considered as the document file D to be stored in the import storage area 36. This document file D is usually an aggregate document file D.

[0058] Meanwhile, the ordering company 4 is equipped with one or more terminals 41. The terminals 41 are information processing devices capable of communicating with the AP server 1 via the network N. Employees of the ordering company 4 can use this service using these terminals 41. This terminal 41 will hereinafter be referred to as the "ordering terminal 41" to distinguish it from the terminal 32 of the order-receiving company 3. The terminal 32 will hereinafter be referred to as the "order-receiving terminal 32". When there is no need to make such a distinction, that is, when it does not matter whether it is the ordering terminal 41 or the order-receiving terminal 32, the terminal will be referred to as the "business operator terminal".

[0059] In Fig. 3, unlike the receiving company 3, no server or the like is shown for the ordering company 4. This is because, when document exchange as shown in Fig. 2 takes place between businesses, it is unlikely that most ordering companies 4 will exchange documents on a regular basis. In other words, it is considered that there are relatively few cases in which information processing devices such as server 31 are involved in this service. However, Fig. 3 does not indicate that the ordering company 4 has not built a system that uses a server. Furthermore, both the ordering terminal 41 and the order receiving terminal 32 do not have to be nodes of the systems constructed by the ordering company 4 and the order receiving company 3, respectively. In other words, they may be portable terminals such as smartphones or tablet PCs that can be used anywhere. For this reason, both the order receiving terminal 32 and the order receiving terminal 41 may be personal property of employees.

[0060] Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of an AP server according to an embodiment of the information processing device of the present invention. Next, a specific example of the hardware configuration of the AP server 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 4. Note that this example is just one example, and the hardware configuration of the AP server 1 is not limited to this.

[0061] The AP server 1 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 13, a bus 14, an input / output interface 15, an output unit 16, an input unit 17, a memory unit 18, two communication units 19 and 20, and a drive 21.

[0062] The CPU 11 executes various processes according to programs recorded in the ROM 12 and / or programs loaded from the storage unit 18 to the RAM 13. An application program that causes the AP server 1 to function, that is, an application program developed for providing this service, is stored, for example, in the storage unit 18. The CPU 11 reads the application program into the RAM 13 and executes it, so that the AP server 1 can provide this service to the order-receiving company 3 and the ordering company 4.

[0063] The RAM 13 also stores data and the like necessary for the CPU 11 to execute various processes, including various programs executed by the CPU 11. The CPU 11, ROM 12, and RAM 13 are connected to one another via a bus 14. An input / output interface 15 is also connected to this bus 14. An output unit 16, an input unit 17, a storage unit 18, two communication units 19 and 20, and a drive 21 are connected to the input / output interface 15.

[0064] The output unit 16 includes a display such as a liquid crystal display. The output unit 16 displays various images under the control of the CPU 11. The output unit 16 may be mounted on the AP server 1, or may be connected as necessary. In other words, the output unit 16 is not an essential component.

[0065] The input unit 17 includes various hardware buttons such as a keyboard. The input unit 17 may include one or more pointing devices such as a mouse. An operator can input various information via the input unit 17. This input unit 17 may also be mounted on the AP server 1, or may be connected as necessary. In other words, the input unit 17 is not an essential component.

[0066] The storage unit 18 is, for example, a hard disk device or an auxiliary storage device such as an SSD (Solid State Drive). Data with a large amount of data is stored in the storage unit 18. The storage unit 18 corresponds to one of the storages ST of the service provider WA shown in FIG.

[0067] The communication unit 19 enables communication with information processing devices used by the order-receiving company 3 and the order-placing company 4 via the network N. The server 31, order-receiving terminal 32, and order-placing terminal 41 shown in FIG. 3 all correspond to those information processing devices. The communication unit 20 enables communication with the DB server 2. Hereinafter, to avoid confusion, the communication unit 19 will be referred to as the "terminal communication unit 19" and the communication unit 20 will be referred to as the "DB communication unit 20."

[0068] The drive 21 is a device to which a removable medium 25 such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, or a semiconductor memory card can be attached. The drive 21 can, for example, read information from the attached removable medium 25 and write information to the removable medium 25. As a result, a program recorded on the removable medium 25 can be stored in the storage unit 18 via the drive 21. In addition, the removable medium 25 attached to the drive 21 can be used as a copy destination or a movement destination of various data stored in the storage unit 18.

[0069] The hardware resources of the AP server 1 are controlled by various programs including application programs. As a result, the AP server 1 can provide this service to the order-receiving company 3 and the ordering company 4. The various programs include an OS (Operating System). The application programs for providing this service run on that OS.

[0070] The DB server 2 can basically have the same hardware configuration as the AP server 1. Therefore, detailed description will be omitted here. However, it is preferable that the storage unit constituting the DB server 2 is equipped with a larger capacity storage. The storage unit may be one that is equipped in the DB server 2, or one that is connected to the DB server 2. Here, it is assumed that both the AP server 1 and the DB server 2 are equipped with a storage unit.

[0071] Fig. 5 is a functional block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration realized on an AP server according to an embodiment of the information processing device of the present invention. Next, an example of a functional configuration realized on the AP server 1 will be described in detail with reference to Fig. 5 and the explanatory diagrams shown in Figs. 6 to 14.

[0072] 5, the CPU 11 of the AP server 1 has a distribution control unit 111, a company registration unit 112, an authentication unit 113, a document processing control unit 114, a data management unit 115, an automatic division unit 116, a setting management unit 117, an access control unit 118, and a notification control unit 119. These are realized by the CPU 11 executing various programs including the above-mentioned application programs. As a result, the memory unit 18 has a company registration information storage unit 181, a company master storage unit 182, a package information storage unit 183, an operation record information storage unit 184, an object list storage unit 185, and a setting information storage unit 186 reserved for information storage.

[0073] The distribution control unit 111 transmits and receives data to and from the terminal communication unit 19, identifies an output destination to which data input from the terminal communication unit 19 should be passed, and passes the data to the identified output destination. In this example, the output destination to which the data is passed is one of the company registration unit 112, the authentication unit 113, and the document processing control unit 114. As a result of the distribution control unit 111 passing the data to the output destination to which it should be passed, a function required for processing the data is operated.

[0074] The company registration unit 112 is a function for registering information about businesses that use this service. This information is company registration information, and is stored in a company registration information storage unit 181 secured in the memory unit 18. Most of the company registration information is information entered by businesses. However, some of it is automatically generated by the company registration unit 112 by referring to a company master stored in a company master storage unit 182 secured in the memory unit 18.

[0075] As mentioned above, registration is required to use this service. Businesses that request registration are divided into those who are contracting parties to this service, i.e., businesses that are customers, and those that need to register in order to provide this service to one of their customers. Businesses that need to register do not have to enter into a contract as customers. However, the content of the company registration information, that is, the combination of the main items that make up the company registration information, is the same regardless of the classification of the business. Hereafter, for convenience, business entities that are customers will be referred to as "contracted businesses" and business entities that are not customers will be referred to as "non-contracted businesses."

[0076] The company master is a file that compiles information about each company for which information is publicly available. Information about companies includes, for example, company code, corporate name, address, contact information, and industry. In addition, information such as creation date and time, and update date and time is added. Here, these are collectively referred to as "company master individual information." As a result, the company master is an aggregation of the company master individual information. Furthermore, in the company master individual information, "company" is used to refer to the company stored in the company master.

[0077] The company code is identification information that can uniquely identify a disclosed company, and is also publicly available information. The corporate name, address, contact information, and industry are also all publicly available information. The creation date and time indicate the date and time when the company master individual information was added to the company master, and the update date and time indicate the date and time when the company master individual information was last updated.

[0078] On the other hand, the company registration information includes information such as a customer code, usage status, company name, department name, person in charge name, email address, address, creation date and time, and update date and time. The customer code is identification information that can uniquely identify a registered business. In this service, when a company whose company master individual information is stored in the company master registers, the company code in the company master individual information is used as the customer code. When a company whose company master individual information is not stored in the company master registers, the company registration unit 112 automatically generates unique identification information that is not used in either the company master individual information or the company registration information, and sets it as the customer code. Here, the customer code is assumed to be an authentication ID for logging in.

[0079] The usage status is information that indicates the usage status of the Service. Specifically, the usage status is information that indicates whether the business entity using the Service is a subscriber or not, whether the Service is being used or not, etc.

[0080] The company name, department name, person in charge name, email address, and address are all information entered by the company. Through this information entry, the company can arbitrarily specify the destination of the email notifying that a document file D to be sent has been created, the delivery address when a printed matter is to be delivered by mail, etc.

[0081] The creation date and time indicates the date and time when the company registration information was added to the company registration information storage unit 181. The update date and time indicates the date and time when the company registration information was last updated. All of these are added or updated by the company registration unit 112.

[0082] Contracted businesses are primarily businesses that have decided to use this service of their own volition. Businesses that wish to enter into a contract are considered to connect their business terminals to the AP server 1 of their own volition and register for use.

[0083] On the other hand, non-contracted businesses are businesses that have started to use this service due to the introduction of this service by their business partners, etc. It is considered unlikely that they have information about this service in advance. In addition, the information that must be entered differs between non-contracted businesses and contracted businesses. For this reason, this service provides a dedicated site for user registration that assumes non-contracted businesses, and sends emails to non-contracted businesses that contain embedded link information to the dedicated site. For this reason, contracted businesses are allowed to specify the email addresses of non-contracted businesses that wish to use this service. In this way, this service makes it easier for non-contracted businesses to use this service.

[0084] The company registration unit 112 classifies businesses into either contracted businesses or non-contracted businesses, performs processing to have the businesses input necessary information, and stores the business registration information in the company registration information storage unit 181. The sending of emails to request non-contracted businesses to access the dedicated site is realized by the document processing control unit 114 and the notification control unit 119.

[0085] The authentication unit 113 performs authentication to confirm whether the business using this service is a registered business. It also manages information required for authentication. For this purpose, the authentication unit 113 also transmits a web page for login. This page is transmitted when the business terminal is connected to the AP server 1 for reasons other than registration, including access to a dedicated site, for example.

[0086] Here, the authentication information is assumed to be an authentication ID and a password. The authentication ID is assumed to be a customer code. The authentication unit 113 also performs processing to accommodate password changes as necessary. The authentication information may be managed separately from the company registration information, but here it is assumed to be included in the company registration information. Under this assumption, the company registration information is updated by the authentication unit 113.

[0087] The document processing control unit 114 performs main processing or control for providing this service. This document processing control unit 114 enables the exchange of document files D between businesses and the registration of various setting information for the exchange, in addition to the transmission of emails requesting access to the dedicated site. This document processing control unit 114 corresponds to each of the file acquisition means, presentation means, file transmission control means, and notification control means in this embodiment, or corresponds to parts thereof.

[0088] FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining an example of a mechanism for exchanging document files realized by the document processing control unit. 6, SS is a storage space for storing various data including document files D, which is realized by the AP server 1 and the DB server 2. This storage space SS is a space virtually realized by storage areas secured in the storage unit 18 of the AP server 1 and the storage unit 200 of the DB server 2. This storage space SS includes all of the individual storage areas SA secured in the storage ST shown in FIG.

[0089] Each individual storage area SA can be logically divided into multiple areas. The business operator can set the logical structure within the individual storage area SA. FIG. 6 shows that multiple folders SB, SC are set in each individual storage area SA as the area. The folder SB is, for example, a root folder, and the folder SC is a subfolder contained within the folder SB, which is the root folder. The business operator can also set a hierarchical structure.

[0090] Both the invoice DS and the contract DK are document files D to be exchanged. After being imported, these document files D are stored in the individual storage area SA that is associated with the specified or automatically recognized delivery destination. The invoice DS and the contract DK have different types (attributes) as document files D. Therefore, the invoice DS addressed to Company A CA imported from Company B CB is stored in the "Accounting Department" folder SC, which is one of the subfolders SC created in the individual storage area SA for Company A CA. The contracts DKs addressed to Companies A CA to C CC imported from Company C CC are each stored in the "President" folder SC created in each individual storage area SA. If oneself is included in the delivery destination, one's own individual storage area SA can be used as a storage area for the document file D.

[0091] For the business entity to which it is assigned, each individual storage area SA becomes a display environment HK for checking the document file D. This allows the business entity to check the document file D stored in accordance with the logical structure set in the individual storage area SA and to download the document file D.

[0092] In the individual storage area SA of Company A's CA, access restrictions are set for both the "Accounting Department" folder SC and the "President" folder SC. As a result, only employees with access rights can view the stored document files D in both the "Accounting Department" folder SC and the "President" folder SC. This service also makes such access restrictions possible.

[0093] The individual storage area SA is assigned to each business using this service, regardless of whether they have a contract. However, this service reserves a storage area for all non-contracted businesses, and the individual storage area SA for each non-contracted business is reserved within that storage area. Therefore, the individual storage area SA for each non-contracted business is treated like the "Accounting Department" folder SC or the "President" folder SC of Company A CA in Figure 6.

[0094] 6, various pieces of setting information are referenced to realize the exchange of document file D. The various pieces of setting information are registered by storing them in setting information storage unit 186 secured in storage unit 18.

[0095] The various types of setting information include usage request setting information, storage setting information, import setting information, distribution management information, and notification management information. All business operators are capable of registering all setting information. Therefore, all setting information is linked, that is, associated with one of the business operators. This association may be achieved by reserving a different storage area for each business operator, or by adding information that can uniquely identify the business operator, such as a customer code.

[0096] The usage request setting information enables a contracted business to specify a non-contracted business to which it requests the use of the service. To this end, the usage request setting information can be set by each contracted business as necessary. The usage request setting information includes, for example, the customer code of the contracted business to be set, as well as information on the non-contracted business that wishes to use the service, such as the business name, department name, and email address. There may be multiple pieces of information on non-contracted businesses.

[0097] The email with the link information to the dedicated site embedded is sent to the non-contracted business that entered the information. To this end, the document processing control unit 114 references the usage request setting information to be registered, passes the email address in the usage request setting information to the notification control unit 119, and causes the email with the link information to the dedicated site embedded in the text to be sent. This allows the non-contracted business to access the dedicated site through the received email and register for use, thereby making it possible to use this service without entering into a contract.

[0098] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a Web page (screen) that displays information on non-contracted business operators who have registered for use based on the use request setting information. Contracted businesses are allowed to check the information actually entered by non-contracted businesses that they have requested to use this service. Figure 7 shows an example of the web page that is sent to a contracted business that has requested the information to be checked. When this request is received by terminal communication unit 19, the received request is output from terminal communication unit 19 to CPU 11. The request input to CPU 11 is passed to document processing control unit 114 via allocation control unit 111.

[0099] This Web page is generated by the document processing control unit 114 and output to the terminal communication unit 19 via the distribution control unit 111, and then transmitted to the business terminal used by the contracted business. The business registration information and the usage request setting information are used to generate this Web page. Note that a detailed explanation of the operations for requesting transmission of this Web page will be omitted.

[0100] In FIG. 7, the information in each of the items of customer code, consent, and reception date and time is not information input by the non-contracted business, but information automatically input by the business registration unit 112 or the document processing control unit 114. The reception date and time is the date and time when the non-contracted business registered for use. For example, the creation date and time in the business registration information is presented to the contracted business as the reception date and time. The consent is information indicating whether the non-contracted business uses this service, and "Yes" in FIG. 7 indicates that the non-contracted business uses this service. Businesses that wish to enter into a contract are not required to input information regarding this consent. Among the non-contracted businesses requested to use the service in the usage request setting information, "No" is placed as the content of consent for non-contracted businesses that have not registered for use, or that have registered for use but whose usage status in the business registration information is not indicating that the service is being used.

[0101] By displaying a web page like that shown in Figure 7, the contracted business that has registered the usage request setting information can check not only the non-contracted business that can use this service, but also the non-contracted business that does not want to use this service. This allows the contracted business to properly exchange document file D with each non-contracted business, including non-contracted business that has not registered for usage.

[0102] Returning to the explanation of various setting information. The storage setting information specifies a logical hierarchical structure, such as a hierarchical structure of folders, as shown in Fig. 6 for storing document files D in the individual storage area SA. This storage setting information is information input by each business operator, and according to this storage setting information, document files D are automatically sorted by department, period, and / or type (attributes) of document file D, and stored in the individual storage area SA.

[0103] Contracted businesses can also set access restrictions for each folder. For example, an access ID and password can be set for a folder that sets access restrictions, i.e., restricts which employees can access the folder. Such access restrictions can also be set using the storage setting information.

[0104] The import setting information makes it possible for the AP server 1 to automatically import the document file D. To this end, the import setting information makes it possible to specify the import storage area 36, ​​the timing of import, and the timing at which the imported document file D can be sent. Only the document file D of the main document can be imported automatically.

[0105] It is assumed that the destination of the document file D stored in the import storage area 36 is specified by automatic recognition of the contents of the document file D. Therefore, the import setting information does not assume the specification of the destination of the document file D.

[0106] In Figure 6, the invoice DS can use this automatic recognition. The contract DK is not expected to use automatic recognition because it is possible that the same contract DK will be sent to multiple different destinations.

[0107] The requirements for exchanging document files D are not necessarily the same for all businesses. For this reason, this service requires each business to register distribution management information, making it possible to respond to differences in requirements between businesses. For this reason, the distribution management information allows the requirements of each business to be specified for each target business.

[0108] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a Web page on which distribution management information can be set. When a request to set distribution management information is made from a business operator terminal used by the business operator, this request is received by the terminal communication unit 19 and then passed to the document processing control unit 114 via the distribution control unit 111. As a result, a Web page (screen) such as that shown in Fig. 8 is also generated and transmitted by the document processing control unit 114.

[0109] This web page has the following fields: customer code, company name, distribution type, distribution enabled, and user-created fields, and the contents of each field are displayed for each business operator. The web page uses each field to display the current contents of distribution management information for each business operator. In reality, distribution management information is organized by business operator and managed as a distribution management information group.

[0110] The customer code and company name are items that are assumed to be automatically entered from the company registration information. For that reason, this service provides a search function for businesses with registered company information. This allows businesses to select businesses to which they wish to add distribution management information from among the businesses found through the search function, that is, businesses with which they wish to newly exchange document file D using this service.

[0111] The user-created items indicate whether the operator has a contract or not. Figure 8 shows that all operators have a contract. The items of distribution type and distribution validity indicate the requests of the business operator in exchanging the document file D. These two items are the items to be input by the business operator.

[0112] The distribution type indicates the method of distribution of the document file D for exchange. The content indicated as "Web" indicates that the document file D is to be exchanged via the network N. "Mail" indicates that the document file D is to be exchanged in the form of a printed matter by mail or the like. Each business can input information in this field using, for example, a pull-down menu.

[0113] "Distribution enabled" is an item that indicates whether or not this service will be used to exchange document file D. A check box is provided in this item column for each business. This allows information to be entered in this column by clicking on the check box. Figure 8 shows that all businesses use this service.

[0114] The notification management information is used to notify the recipient that a new main document file D has been created. In this service, the notification is sent by email. The notification management information therefore makes it possible to specify the template for the message to be inserted in the body of the email, the timing for sending the email, and so on.

[0115] It is desirable to vary the message used for notification depending on the type of document file D. It is also desirable to vary the timing of sending the email depending on the method of importing the document file D. If the document file D is imported automatically, it is desirable to send the email taking into consideration the timing when the document file D can be viewed, and if not, it is desirable to send the email depending on the urgency of the document file D. For this reason, this service makes it possible to specify message templates and the timing of sending the email depending on the type of document file D and the import method.

[0116] The document processing control unit 114 performs processing to respond to input of various setting information as described above. Any setting information that the business entity instructs to register is passed from the document processing control unit 114 to the setting management unit 117, which stores it in the setting information storage unit 186. The setting information stored in the setting information storage unit 186 is read out by the setting management unit 117 at the instruction of the document processing control unit 114 and passed to the document processing control unit 114. This allows the business entity to not only add setting information to the setting information storage unit 186, but also change (update) the setting information stored in the setting information storage unit 186. Examples of setting information that can be updated include notification management information, import setting information, storage setting information, and delivery management information.

[0117] The document processing control unit 114 automatically imports the document file D according to the import setting information. Also, in response to a request from the business operator terminal, the document processing control unit 114 imports the document file D uploaded from the business operator terminal. The document processing control unit 114 changes the contents of processing and control according to such an import method.

[0118] When importing a document file D uploaded from a business operator terminal, the document processing control unit 114 has the business operator input individual setting information capable of specifying the delivery destination (destination) and storage conditions of the document file D. This is because the request of the sender (sender) for the document file D uploaded from the business operator terminal is not always the same. In other words, this is to be able to flexibly respond to various requests from the sender. The document file D sent from the business operator terminal and the individual setting information are passed from the document processing control unit 114 to the data management unit 115.

[0119] As the storage conditions, for example, the period during which downloading is permitted, the number of times downloading is permitted, etc. can be specified. In this way, the sender can prevent undesirable transmission of the document file D by specifying the storage conditions.

[0120] The data management unit 115 passes the document file D from the document processing control unit 114 to the access control unit 118, and requests the DB server 2 to store the document file D in a specified storage location. The individual setting information is used to identify the specified storage location. As a result, the access control unit 118 transmits, via the DB communication unit 20, the document file D and a request to the DB server 2 to store the document file D in the specified storage location.

[0121] The DB server 2 includes a memory unit 200 which is a storage for storing document files D. In the memory unit 200, a company-specific storage unit 201 which is a storage location for document files D for each business operator is provided. The DB server 2 stores the received document file D in the company-specific storage unit 201 specified from the received request.

[0122] The access control unit 118 accesses the DB server 2 via the DB communication unit 20 in response to an instruction from the document processing control unit 114 in addition to the data management unit 115. The document file D transmitted from the DB server 2 in response to the instruction is passed to the data management unit 115 or document processing control unit 114 that issued the instruction.

[0123] The data management unit 115 stores the document file D in the DB server 2, generates package information for managing the document file D, and stores the generated package information in a package information storage unit 183 secured in the memory unit 18. The package information generated when storing the document file D includes entity information and storage information. When transmitting the document file D, distribution information is further generated as package information and stored in the package information storage unit 183. Hereinafter, package information will be used as a general term for all of this information.

[0124] FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining examples of information related to storage of document files and their relationships. 9, the entity file JF is a file that is actually stored, and the document file D is an example of the entity file JF. The entity file JF also includes a file that stores messages sent by the business operator.

[0125] The package information is actually generated before the entity file JF is stored. The entity information JI is information for direct management of the entity file JF. This entity information JI includes information such as the entity file ID, management status, storage location, file name, file type, file size, storage date and time, and update date and time.

[0126] The entity file ID is identification information that can uniquely identify an entity file JF. The management status is information that indicates whether an entity file JF exists, whether sending of the entity file JF is valid, etc. The storage location is information that indicates the storage location where the entity file JF is actually kept. All of these are generated by data management unit 115.

[0127] The individual setting information KS or the storage setting information HS is referenced to specify the storage location. The individual setting information KS is that of the business that sent the actual file JF, and the storage setting information HS is that of the business that sent it. When the destination is specified by automatic recognition, the storage setting information HS is referenced, and when automatic recognition is not used to specify the destination, the individual setting information KS is also referenced. This determines the individual storage area SA in which the actual file JF should be stored, and, for example, a folder within that individual storage area SA.

[0128] The file name, file type, and file size are all information obtained from the actual file JF. The save date and time and update date and time are both information added by the data management unit 115.

[0129] The storage information AI is information for managing the storage and exchange of the entity file JF. This storage information AI includes, for example, information such as the storage information ID, entity file ID, sender company code, recipient company code, registration date and time, registered user ID, storage period, storage expiration date and time, scheduled publication date and time, publication expiration date and time, and maximum number of times of retrieval.

[0130] The storage information ID is identification information that can uniquely identify the storage information AI. The physical file ID is the physical file ID stored in the associated, i.e., corresponding, physical information JI. The sending company code is the customer code of the business operator that is the source of the physical file JF. The receiving company code is the customer code of the business operator that enables the download of the physical file JF. The registration date and time is the date and time when the storage information AI was generated. The registered user ID is the customer code of the business operator that actually imported the physical file JF. Usually, the registered user ID is the same as the sending company code. The storage period is the period for which the storage information AI should be stored. The storage expiration date and time is the date and time when the storage information AI can be discarded. The planned public release date and time is the date and time planned to enable the download of the physical file JF. The public release expiration date and time is the date and time when the download of the physical file JF becomes unavailable. The maximum number of acquisitions is the number of times the physical file JF can be downloaded.

[0131] The sending company code and the registered user ID are automatically identified when the physical file JF is imported. The receiving company code is information specified from the individual setting information KS when the physical file JF is imported from a business operator terminal. The storage period, the storage expiration date and time, the planned public release date and time, the public release expiration date and time, etc., and the maximum number of acquisitions can also be specified by the individual setting information KS.

[0132] The sending company code, the registered user ID, and the receiving company code are identified by referring to the company master KM or the company registration information KT. In Figure 9, only one company registration information KT is shown, but in actuality, two or more company registration information KT may be referred to.

[0133] When the physical file JF is automatically imported, the receiving company code becomes information that can be identified by automatic recognition. The storage period, the storage expiration date and time, the planned public release date and time, the public release expiration date and time, etc., and the maximum number of acquisitions are information that can be specified by the storage setting information HS. Therefore, all of them are determined by referring to the storage setting information HS.

[0134] The storage information AI includes the above information. This makes it possible to identify the linked entity information JI, and by referencing that entity information JI, the linked entity file JF can also be identified. By including the customer mode of the sending business as the sending company code, the sending business can check whether the entity file JF it sent has actually been properly imported. This check can also be performed by the receiving business in accordance with the logical structure specified in the storage setting information.

[0135] The distribution information DI is information that is generated by downloading the entity file JF or is created in preparation for the download, and is used to manage the distribution of the entity file JF by download. This distribution information DI includes information such as the distribution information ID, storage information ID, reception status, sender company code, recipient company code, distribution date and time, number of acquisitions, registration date and time, and update date and time.

[0136] In these pieces of information, the distribution information ID is identification information that can uniquely identify the distribution information DI. The storage information ID is the storage information ID stored in the storage information AI linked to the distribution information DI. The storage information AI associated with the distribution information DI can be specified by the storage information ID.

[0137] The reception status is information that indicates the reception status of the entity file JF by the recipient, and whether or not a download has occurred can be confirmed from the reception status. The distribution date and time is the date and time when the entity file JF was last downloaded. The number of times acquired is the number of times the entity file JF has actually been downloaded. The registration date and time is the date and time when the distribution information DI was registered. The update date and time is the date and time when the distribution information DI was updated. In the distribution information DI, the distribution date and time is updated when the entity file JF is downloaded, so the update date and time usually matches the distribution date and time.

[0138] As mentioned above, this service allows the sender to set an upper limit on the number of times an entity file JF can be downloaded. Such download restrictions are implemented using distribution information DI. The upper limit on the number of downloads itself can be specified in both the import setting information and the individual setting information KS.

[0139] The operation record information KI is information prepared to make it possible to check various operations, including downloads to each entity file JF. In addition to, for example, a record ID and creation date and time, this operation record information KI stores operation content information indicating the content of the operation performed on the entity file JF for each operation performed on the entity file JF. The operation content information includes, for example, information such as the operation date and time, the operation type, and the saved information ID.

[0140] The operation date and time is the date and time when a management operation was performed on the entity file JF. The saved information ID makes it possible to uniquely identify the entity file JF on which the operation was performed. The operation type is information that indicates the type of operation that was performed. The type of operation includes not only downloading the entity file JF, but also storing the entity file JF, etc.

[0141] In this service, by storing the entity file JF, entity information JI, stored information AI, and distribution information DI are generated and stored as package information, and operation record information KI is updated. The distribution information DI and operation record information KI are updated as necessary by operations on the stored entity file JF. This makes it possible to download the entity file JF in a format that meets the needs of the sender.

[0142] The package information and operation record information KI are generated and updated by the data management unit 115. In addition to a package information storage unit 183 for storing package information, an operation record information storage unit 184 for storing operation record information KI is secured in the storage unit 18. Thus, the data management unit 115 accesses the storage unit 18 and stores the generated or updated package information or operation record information.

[0143] The data management unit 115 generates an object list representing downloadable document files D by business operator and by attribute, and stores it in the object list storage unit 185 of the memory unit 18. The object list is a file that compiles, for example, for each downloadable document file D, information such as the storage information ID in the storage information AI, the actual file ID, the sender company code, the recipient company code, the publication deadline date and time, and the maximum number of times it can be obtained. When a downloadable document file D is stored or a document file D that is no longer downloadable is generated, the data management unit 115 updates the corresponding object list.

[0144] The document processing control unit 114 passes necessary information to the data management unit 115 and instructs it to generate or update package information. It also obtains necessary package information or storage setting information HS through the data management unit 115 and performs control using the obtained information. In this way, the document processing control unit 114 imports entity files JF, manages the imported entity files JF, and performs operations on the entity files JF including downloading in accordance with the sender's requests.

[0145] The package information is combined with the entity file JF and is essential information for managing the entity file JF. Therefore, the package information storage unit 183 for storing package information is a storage area shared by each individual storage area SA. In other words, each individual storage area SA is realized by the package information storage unit 183 and each company-specific storage unit 201 secured in the memory unit 200. Each individual storage area SA may be one or more logically divided areas, or may be one or more physically divided areas or storage.

[0146] When a document file D transmitted from a business operator terminal is imported, the document processing control unit 114 passes the individual setting information KS and, for example, a customer code identified at the time of login, along with the document file D to the data management unit 115. As a result, the data management unit 115 refers to the storage setting information HS of the delivery destination specified in the individual setting information KS to determine a storage location for the document file D, and causes the DB server 2 to store the document file D in the determined storage location via the access control unit 118. Meanwhile, the data management unit 115 further refers to the company master KM and company registration information KT to generate at least entity information JI and storage information AI, and update the operation record information KI.

[0147] The document processing control unit 114 refers to the import timing setting information, accesses the import storage area 36 specified by the import setting information, and checks whether or not there is a document file D to be imported. If the document processing control unit 114 is able to check the document file D to be imported, it imports the document file D by reading it out, and passes the imported document file D to the automatic division unit 116.

[0148] Automatic division unit 116 automatically recognizes the delivery destinations and divides aggregated document file D, which is an aggregate of multiple document files D with different delivery destinations, by delivery destination. As a result, if document file D is an aggregated document file D, automatic division unit 116 divides aggregated document file D into divided document files D equal to the number of delivery destinations and passes them to data management unit 115. At this time, for example, information indicating the delivery destinations is also passed to data management unit 115. The aggregated document file D is the document file D of the main document.

[0149] The data management unit 115, like the case of document files D transmitted from the carrier terminal, refers to the storage setting information HS corresponding to the delivery destination, determines a storage location for each document file D, and stores each document file D in the determined storage location. Package information is generated for each document file D, and operation content information for the number of document files D is added to the operation record information KI.

[0150] Specifically, the automatic division unit 116 divides an aggregate document file D, which contains a plurality of invoices with different delivery destinations, into divided document files D as follows. A document usually has a character string that indicates the type of the document. For example, in an invoice DS, that character string is "invoice." In that invoice DS, there are usually character strings that indicate the invoice date, which is the date the invoice DS was issued, and the destination (invoice destination) of the invoice DS. This service focuses on this fact and divides the aggregate document file D by automatic recognition.

[0151] For this purpose, the service uses automatic recognition, that is, character recognition. The character recognition extracts character strings that can be keys, that is, identification information, for identifying the type of document, and identifies the type of document and its boundaries with other documents by considering the recognition results of the extracted character strings, their arrangement, and their positional relationship. As a result, if it is confirmed that, for example, character strings that can be interpreted as the invoice date and delivery destination are arranged on the same page in addition to the character string that can be interpreted as "invoice" or its synonyms, which indicates an attribute, the document starting from that page is determined to be an invoice DS. As a result, the data management unit 115 can determine the storage location of the divided document file D from the delivery destination, invoice date, and attribute, and store the divided document file D in the determined storage location. The last page of this invoice DS is either the last page of the aggregate document file D or the page immediately preceding another subsequently identified document. In this service, the character string assumed to be the destination is a character string representing the customer code so that the destination can be uniquely identified.

[0152] Invoice DS formats usually vary depending on the recipient. In order to standardize the formats, it is necessary to obtain approval from each business that is a potential recipient. Therefore, if there are many businesses that need to obtain approval, a very complicated process must be carried out. Because of these inconveniences, this service does not require standardization of the formats of various documents, including invoice DS. Character recognition is used to extract character strings that serve as document identification information, making standardization of formats unnecessary. Because standardization of the formats of various documents is not required, the impact of using this service is smaller for businesses that use this service.

[0153] When the document file D is automatically imported, the document processing control unit 114 generates and transmits an email with a message inserted in the body thereof notifying each destination of the document file D that the document file D to be downloaded has been generated, to each destination of the document file D. The generation of the email is performed by the notification control unit 119 under the instruction of the document processing control unit 114.

[0154] The message to be inserted in the body of the mail is specified by the import setting information as described above. For this purpose, the import setting information includes, for example, information indicating the storage destination of a file in which a template of the message is stored. The document processing control unit 114 reads the template of the message from, for example, the storage unit 18 using the information, and passes it to the notification control unit 119. The document processing control unit 114 specifies the timing of sending the mail from the import setting information, and specifies the sending timing to the notification control unit 119. In addition, the document processing control unit 114 obtains company registration information KT for each destination from the data management unit 115, and extracts information such as email address, registered name, and department name from the obtained company registration information KT. All of the extracted information is passed to the notification control unit 119. As a result, the notification control unit 119 generates, for each destination, a mail in which a message in which the registered name and department name are added to the template of the message is inserted in the body. Each generated mail is output from the notification control unit 119 to the terminal communication unit 19 via the distribution control unit 111 at the timing specified by the document processing control unit 114, and is sent to the corresponding destination.

[0155] The automatic division unit 116 may be configured to use character recognition to combine multiple divided document files D into one file as necessary. This is because multiple divided document files D with the same destination may be divided from the aggregate document file D that is imported at the timing specified by the import timing setting information. By combining such divided document files D into an aggregate document file D, the destination business operator can check the contents of all divided document files D by downloading one aggregate document file D. This improves convenience for the destination business operator and allows the contents of all divided document files D to be checked more reliably. For the sender business operator, when sending the invoice DS by mail, multiple mail pieces can be avoided, so postal charges can be kept to a minimum.

[0156] The import timing setting information allows the document file D to be automatically imported at set intervals. Documents are often exchanged between businesses at set intervals. For example, most receiving companies that sell product P, such as Company B CB, usually request payment for the product P sold during a set period for each customer. Specifically, it is common to request payment on a monthly basis. This is because if payment is required for each transaction in which product P is sold, not only does it complicate the invoicing work for the receiving company, but it also complicates the payment work for the ordering company.

[0157] When billing for the product P at a set period, the receiving company needs to create at least one invoice DS. However, when there are many types of product P or when product P has been sold many times, creating one invoice DS requires cumbersome work. This is because one invoice DS contains a large amount of information, and many tasks are required to collect the information to be written in one invoice DS and to confirm the written information. For this reason, even if the billing destination is the same business entity, it is normal to create an invoice DS to bill for the price each time the price to be paid is determined, for example, for each transaction. As a result, the reality is that an aggregated document file D is often divided into multiple divided document files D with the same delivery destination. This means that combining multiple divided document files D into an aggregated document file D is very effective in providing higher quality services.

[0158] Since the combined divided document files D are treated as one document file D, it is assumed that the destinations of the divided document files D to be combined are the same. However, in addition to the destination, conditions that the divided document files D to be combined must satisfy may be set. The conditions may be set based on one or more of the document type (attributes), date, and transaction number. The transaction number is identification information that can uniquely identify a transaction, and is assigned by one of the businesses involved in the transaction. The conditions may be set by the service provider WA, or may be set arbitrarily by the business operator. In other words, for example, the business operator may prepare setting information for combining divided document files D as setting information that can be set arbitrarily. It is preferable to use at least a customer code to specify the delivery destination. In addition to the customer code, one or more of an email address, an address, and a department name may be combined.

[0159] FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of an automatic document capture process executed by the document processing control unit. When the document processing control unit 114 refers to the import setting information and automatically imports the target document file D, it executes an automatic document import process, an example of which is shown in Fig. 10. This automatic document import process is executed, for example, every time a specified period of time has elapsed or every time a specified timing arrives. Here, the automatic document import process will be described in detail with reference to Fig. 10. It is assumed that the document processing control unit 114 executes the process.

[0160] First, in step S11, the document processing control unit 114 reads out the import setting information stored in the setting information storage unit 186. In the following step S12, the document processing control unit 114 selects one of the read out import setting information. Then, the process proceeds to step S13, where the document processing control unit 114 determines whether or not the import timing specified by the selected import setting information has arrived. If the current date and time is after the date and time specified by the import timing, the import timing has arrived, the determination in step S13 becomes YES, and the process proceeds to step S14. If not, the determination in step S13 becomes NO, and the process proceeds to step S20.

[0161] In step S14, the document processing control unit 114 checks the files stored in the target folder specified by the import setting information as the import storage area 36. In the next step S15, the document processing control unit 114 determines whether or not the target document file D to be imported is present in the target folder. If one or more target document files D are present in the target folder, the determination in step S15 becomes YES and the process proceeds to step S16. If not, that is, if the target document file D is not present, the determination in step S15 becomes NO and the process proceeds to step S20.

[0162] In step S16, the document processing control unit 114 reads out and imports the target document file D. In the following step S17, the document processing control unit 114 passes the imported document file D to the automatic division unit 116 and instructs it to divide the document file D by delivery destination through automatic recognition. Meanwhile, the document processing control unit 114 instructs the data management unit 115 to store the document files D by delivery destination. In response to this instruction, the document files D are automatically sorted by the data management unit 115 and stored in the company-specific storage unit 201. In this way, in step S17, the document processing control unit 114 performs processing to automatically sort and store the imported document files D.

[0163] In the next step S18, the document processing control unit 114 instructs the data management unit 115 to generate package information. In the following step S19, the document processing control unit 114 sets, for each stored document file D, the notification control unit 119 to send an email to the business that is the destination of the document file D. As a result, the notification control unit 119 generates, for each document file D, an email notifying that a downloadable document file D has been generated, in accordance with the contents of the import setting information set by the business that imported the document file D.

[0164] In step S20, which follows, the document processing control unit 114 determines whether or not there is any other selected import setting information. If there is any unselected import setting information, the determination in step S20 becomes YES and the process returns to step S12. As a result, one of the unselected import setting information is newly selected. On the other hand, if there is no unselected import setting information, the determination in step S20 becomes NO and the automatic document import process ends here.

[0165] The delivery, i.e., sending, of the document file D imported by executing this automatic import process is managed by delivery management information. In the delivery management information, it is also possible to set the sending of the document file D in printed form, as shown in Fig. 8. The printing of the document file D for sending in printed form may be performed by the document processing control unit 114, for example, in step S17. The printing can be performed by the data management unit 115 by instructing the data management unit 115 to print with reference to the delivery management information. In response to this instruction, the data management unit 115 determines whether printing is necessary for each document file D, and causes printing to be performed according to the result of this determination.

[0166] When printing is to be performed, the data management unit 115 generates image data from, for example, the document file D, and passes the generated image data together with a command to instruct printing to the access control unit 118. As a result, the image data is sent to the printer 5 via the access control unit 118 and the DB communication unit 20, and is printed by the printer 5 on a paper medium or the like.

[0167] The document file D may be printed by an instruction from an operator. For example, the designation of the storage location where the document file D is stored corresponds to the designation of the attributes of the document file D. By designating the target period, among the document files D stored in the designated storage location, the document files D stored during the target period can be specified by referring to the entity information JI and the storage information AI. Thus, the operator can print the document file D that he / she desires to print at any timing. The operator's instruction may be made possible by operating the input unit 17 shown in FIG. 4, or may be made possible by a terminal connected to the AP server 1 via a LAN. When the instruction from the terminal is made possible, the request from the terminal is received by the DB communication unit 20 and is passed to the document processing control unit 114 via the access control unit 118.

[0168] The aggregate document file D may be sent from a business operator terminal. For this reason, the individual setting information KS may be made capable of designating whether or not to enable identification of the destination by automatic recognition, the timing for enabling delivery, etc. If such designation is made possible, the process executed when importing the document file D will be similar to the above-mentioned automatic import process.

[0169] Hereinafter, the processes executed by document processing control section 114 and data management section 115 will be further explained with reference to the explanatory diagrams shown in FIGS. FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the processes executed by the document processing control unit and the data management unit when a document file transmitted from a business terminal is imported.

[0170] For the sake of convenience, in FIG. 11, the user who causes the business operator terminal to send the document file D is shown as the sender US, and the document file D is shown to be directly imported into the document processing control unit 114 from the sender US. The sender US can be an employee of either the order-receiving company 3 or the order-placing company 4, and is not limited to only one of them. The document file D is shown as "storage item HB." Furthermore, the numbers 1 to 5 in FIG. 11 indicate the order in which the actions described following the number are performed. For example, "1. Registration request" indicates the first action among the actions preceded by a number. Here, the explanation follows the order of the numbers.

[0171] The sender US designates the storage item HB, which is the document file D, and inputs the individual setting information KS to instruct registration. In response to this instruction, a registration request is made to the document processing control unit 114, and the document file D is transmitted together with, for example, the individual setting information KS, and is taken into the document processing control unit 114. The destination AS and storage conditions HJ, which are information shown in Fig. 11, are both information included in the individual setting information KS. The sender BM is information representing, for example, a business operator terminal, and this information is linked to the customer code when the sender US logs in.

[0172] The document processing control unit 114 passes the captured stored item HB, sender BM, and individual setting information KS to the data management unit 115, and instructs it to store the stored item HB. In response to this instruction, the data management unit 115 performs allocation using the destination AS, that is, extracts information on the business corresponding to the destination AS from the company master KM and each company registration information KT. It also extracts storage setting information HS corresponding to the destination AS. The data management unit 115 refers to the information extracted from the company master KM or the company registration information KT, the individual setting information KS, and the storage setting information HS to determine the storage location of the stored item HB, and generates entity information JI and storage information AI. At this time, a storage information ID 121, an entity file ID, etc. are also generated.

[0173] After generating the entity information JI and package information of the storage information AI, the data management unit 115 registers the stored item HB in an object list OL corresponding to its attributes. This object list OL is an object list OL identified by the destination AS. After this registration, the data management unit 115 stores the stored item HB and the package information in an individual storage area SA corresponding to the destination AS. After this storage, the data management unit 115 generates operation content information for the operation that stored the stored item HB, and adds it to the operation record information KI. In this way, the operation that stored the stored item HB is recorded as history.

[0174] In the case where the stored item HB is a document file D of the main document, for example, after the operation record information KI is added with operation content information, the document processing control unit 114 causes an email to be sent to the destination of the stored item HB to notify that the stored item HB has been newly registered. For this purpose, the notification control unit 119 is provided with the name of the destination corporation, the name of the person in charge, and the email address, as well as a template for the message and information specifying the timing of sending.

[0175] FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining the processes executed by the document processing control section and the data management section when a registered document file is acquired by a delivery destination. In FIG. 12, as in FIG. 11, the user who causes the business operator terminal to obtain document file D is shown as recipient UJ, and recipient UJ is shown to receive stored item HB directly from document processing control unit 114. Like sender US, recipient UJ may be an employee of either order-taking company 3 or ordering company 4, and is not limited to only one of them. Also, numbers 1 to 6 in FIG. 12 indicate the order in which the actions described following the number are performed. For example, "1. List acquisition request" indicates the first action among the actions preceded by a number. Here again, the explanation will follow the order of the numbers.

[0176] Recipient UJ, for example, specifies extraction criteria YC and issues an instruction to display a list of stored items HB that satisfy the extraction criteria YC. This instruction causes a command to be sent along with the specified extraction criteria YC, resulting in a list acquisition request being made to the document processing control unit 114. This command causes the document processing control unit 114 to pass along extraction criteria YC and recipient information USJ, which is information representing recipient UJ who received the command, to the data management unit 115. For convenience, it is assumed here that recipient information USJ is a customer code.

[0177] The data management unit 115 reads out the recipient information USJ and the object list OL specified by the extraction condition YC from the object list storage unit 185. From among the stored items HB registered in the read object list OL, the data management unit 115 further extracts stored items HB that satisfy the extraction condition YC. Thereafter, the data management unit 115 creates a stored item list HL that shows a list of the extracted stored items HB. When extracting stored items from among the stored items HB registered in the object list OL, package information is also referenced as necessary.

[0178] The created storage item list HL is passed to the document processing control unit 114. The document processing control unit 114 creates, for example, a Web page on which the passed storage item list HL is arranged, and transmits the created Web page to the recipient UJ. The Web page allows the user to select a storage item HB from the list, and to instruct the user to download the selected storage item HB.

[0179] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a Web page screen that allows the selection of a storage item and the downloading of the selected storage item. This web page, as shown in FIG. 13, displays information about the stored item HB that can be selected and downloaded in table format. The information includes the file name, download, folder, and delivery date and time. The file name is the file name of the stored item HB, and the folder represents the path to the folder in which the stored item HB is stored. For example, the folder in the row with the file name "Lump-sum invoice 202009-5.PDF" is "Lump-sum invoice / 2020 / September." This indicates that the stored item HB with this file name is stored in the "September" folder, which is a subfolder of the "2020" folder, which is a subfolder in the "Lump-sum invoice" folder.

[0180] Also, "download" indicates whether the corresponding stored item HB has been downloaded or not. "Not yet" in FIG. 13 indicates that the download has not been performed. For stored items HB that have been downloaded, "Completed" is displayed instead of "Not yet". "Delivery date and time" indicates the date and time when the stored item HB became available for delivery.

[0181] A check box is placed on each row. This check box is for selecting the stored items HB to be downloaded. On the Web page, as shown in FIG. 13, a button with the character string "download all" is placed as a button for instructing downloading. Also, each file name is a link button with embedded link information to the stored items HB. As a result, the stored items HB can be downloaded by clicking any of the file names, or by operating one or more check boxes to display check marks, and then clicking the "download all" button. If the "download all" button is clicked when no check marks are displayed, all stored items HB with information placed thereon will be downloaded.

[0182] When the file name or the "Bulk Download" button is clicked, the document processing control unit 114 is notified of this. In response to this notification, the document processing control unit 114 displays a pop-up PU1 for confirming with the recipient UJ whether or not it is OK to actually perform the download, as shown in FIG. 13. The pop-up PU1 has an "OK" button for instructing the recipient UJ to perform the download, and a "Cancel" button for instructing the recipient UJ to cancel the download. This causes the recipient UJ to click one of the two buttons. Thus, the document processing control unit 114 actually downloads the specified storage items HB after confirming that the recipient UJ has clicked the "OK" button.

[0183] When an operation to instruct downloading of the stored item HB is performed on a Web page, information indicating the selected stored item HB is sent from the receiver UJ as an object acquisition request together with a command requesting the download. In response to this request, the document processing control unit 114 passes information indicating the stored item HB to the data management unit 115 and instructs extraction of the stored item HB specified by the information. As a result, the data management unit 115 extracts the stored item HB stored as a file in the individual storage area SA and passes it to the document processing control unit 114. As a result, the document processing control unit 114 downloads the stored item HB specified by the receiver UJ to the receiver UJ.

[0184] The data management unit 115 passes the storage item HB to be downloaded to the document processing control unit 114, while creating or updating distribution information DI by downloading the storage item HB. The created or updated distribution information DI is stored in the individual storage area SA.

[0185] If the download of the stored item HB is the first time, new distribution information DI is created, and if the download is the second or subsequent time, the existing distribution information DI is updated. When the distribution information DI is updated, the number of downloads is incremented. This allows the distribution information DI to confirm the status of the download of the corresponding stored item HB.

[0186] After creating or updating the distribution information DI, the data management unit 115 creates operation content information by an operation of downloading the stored item HB, and adds the created operation content information to the operation record information KI. As a result, the operation of downloading the stored item HB is recorded as a history.

[0187] As described above, if the stored item HB downloaded by the recipient UJ is the main document file D, the service supports the exchange of subordinate document files D and messages. With this support, the service supports not only the exchange of the main document file D, but also the desired information transfer between businesses that occurs as a result of the exchange of the main document file D.

[0188] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a screen of a Web page that enables registration of a subsidiary document file. This Web page is created and sent by, for example, specifying a document file D of a subordinate document or a destination of a message. On this Web page, information on the document file D of a subordinate document previously registered is arranged in a table format, and an "upload" button is arranged. When the "upload" button is clicked, a pop-up PU2 is displayed that allows the user to specify the document file D to be registered, that is, uploaded, and to input a message as a comment. The Web page shown in FIG. 14 is created by the document processing control unit 114 passing the recipient information UJI, the destination AS, and extraction conditions different from those in FIG. 11 to the data management unit 115, and acquiring the necessary information from the data management unit 115. The pop-up PU2 is also sent from the document processing control unit 114 to the recipient UJ in response to a notification of the click on the "upload" button.

[0189] As shown in Fig. 14, the pop-up PU2 has a display area HA1 in which information about the document file D specified for uploading is arranged in a table format. The pop-up PU2 also has an area HA2 for specifying the document file D, and an input box HA3 for entering comments. Two buttons are provided, each with the character strings "Upload" and "Close" written on it. A "Select File" button is provided in the area HA2.

[0190] The document file D to be uploaded can be specified by dragging and dropping the document file D into the area HA2, or by clicking the "Select File" button and specifying the document file D. The information of the document file D specified in this way is placed in the display area HA1.

[0191] A message can be input as a comment in the input box HA3 by displaying a cursor (not shown) in the input box HA3. This allows the recipient UJ to input a message that he or she wishes to convey to the recipient as a comment in the input box HA3.

[0192] An input box HA4 is also located above the pop-up PU2. This input box HA4 is for specifying the storage destination of the specified document file D, etc. To facilitate this specification, a pull-down button PB is located at the end of the input box HA4. This pull-down button PB is for displaying a list of storage destinations selectable by the recipient UJ as a pull-down menu. This allows the recipient UJ to select the storage destination of the specified document file D from among the storage destinations indicated in the pull-down menu that is displayed when the recipient UJ clicks the pull-down button PB.

[0193] The "Upload" button is a button for instructing uploading of the specified document file D or the entered message. The "Close" button is a button for instructing to remove the pop-up PU2. After selecting a storage destination and specifying at least one of the document file D and entering a message, clicking the "Upload" button uploads the specified document file D or message. The document processing control unit 114 causes the uploaded document file D or message to be stored in the individual storage area SA that includes the selected storage destination via the data management unit 115. The message is converted to a file and stored as a JF file. The file name is automatically generated using, for example, a part of the message entered as a comment or the upload date and time. Package information is also generated separately.

[0194] Note that the subsidiary document files D and messages uploaded from the destination may be stored in a storage location separate from the main document file D. For this purpose, the storage setting information HS may be capable of classifying documents into main documents and subsidiary documents and designating a hierarchical logical structure for storing the document files D for each.

[0195] Both the document file D and the message (comment) uploaded in this way can be downloaded by the business entity designated as the destination, for example, in the same manner as in FIG. 12. Using extraction conditions similar to extraction condition YC, the business entity can also designate the range of downloadable document files D and comments (messages). This allows, for example, the business entity that has sent an invoice DS, which is the main document, to check the payment statement, which is the subsidiary document, and also the message from the destination. The exchange of such subsidiary document files D and messages is also realized by the document processing control unit 114. Both the subsidiary document files D and messages correspond to the correspondence information in this embodiment.

[0196] In this embodiment, the document file D that will be the main document is determined in advance, and when the document file D is registered, the existence of the document file D is notified to the business entity that is to download it by email. However, the notification method is not limited to email. For example, when the AP server 1 is accessed and logged in, the existence of the newly registered document file D may be notified by using a pop-up or the like.

[0197] In this embodiment, it is assumed that only one email address is registered as the destination of the notification email, but multiple email addresses may be registered. Accordingly, multiple department names or names of persons in charge may be registered. For email addresses, for example, email addresses of the target department and email addresses of related departments may be divided, and multiple target departments and related departments may be registered. In that case, the department name inserted in the message may be only the name of the target department.

[0198] In this embodiment, user registration is performed for each business, but one business may be able to perform multiple user registrations. That is, for example, user registration may be performed for each department or person in charge of the business. In the example shown in FIG. 6, user registration may be performed by the accounting department and the president of Company A's CA. In that case, the customer code may be, for example, a unique code common to Company A's CA with a subcode that differs depending on the department or person in charge. When such a customer code is used, the company code existing in the company master KM can be used as the customer code or as part of it.

[0199] The combining using character recognition may be performed on existing document files D, not on divided document files D. For example, when downloading document files D (storage items HB), document files D extracted from a selected range or document files D that satisfy a specified condition may be combined, and the combined document file D may be downloaded. In other words, character recognition may be used to identify document files D to be combined from existing document files D. When combining existing document files D, it is desirable to leave the existing document files D as they are, since the business operator may wish to combine another document file D. In such a case, the combining of existing document files D may be performed, for example, by having the data management unit 115 pass the document file D to be subjected to character recognition to the automatic division unit 116.

[0200] Because the existing document file D has been sent to the destination, the information that must be recognized to identify the document file D to be merged does not include the customer code indicating the destination. However, the department name, email address, etc. may be included in the information. The document type, date, and transaction number may also be included in the information. The sender's customer code may also be included in the information. Any character string that appears in common in the document files D to be merged may also be included in the information. By combining document files D, businesses can obtain a more desirable document file D (aggregated document file D) depending on the work content, etc. It is also possible to obtain an aggregated document file D that is optimal for the work. Combining reduces the number of document files D to be handled, making management easier. For these reasons, combining document files D has advantages both in terms of work and management. As an example of combining document files D, it is possible to combine document files D of the same type. It is also possible to limit the range of document files D to be combined depending on a period. For example, in the case of an invoice DS, it is possible to combine document files D sent from each company in July, and use the combined aggregated document file D for making payments to each company. [Explanation of symbols]

[0201] 1 AP server, 2 DB server, 3, 3-1 to L receiving company, 4-1 to K ordering company, 11 CPU, 18, 200 memory unit, 111 distribution control unit, 112 company registration unit, 113 authentication unit, 114 document processing control unit, 115 data management unit, 116 automatic division unit, 117 setting management unit, 118 access control unit, 119 notification control unit, 181 company registration information storage unit, 182 company master storage unit, 183 package information storage unit, 184 operation record information storage unit, 185 object list storage unit, 186 setting information storage unit, company-specific storage unit 201 company-specific storage unit, CA A company, CB B company, CC C company, D document file, SA individual storage area, ST storage, WA service provider company

Claims

1. a file acquisition means for acquiring a document file created by a second business entity for delivery to the first business entity; a presentation means for presenting the document file to a first employee of the first business entity by transmitting file information representing the document file to a first terminal used by the first employee; a file transmission control means for controlling transmission of the document file presented by the presentation means to the first terminal; a storage unit that stores import setting information that specifies the timing for importing the document file; the file acquisition means, by referring to the import setting information stored in the storage unit, accesses a storage location designated in advance by the second business whenever a predetermined period of time has elapsed or whenever a predetermined timing has arrived, thereby automatically acquiring the document file stored in the storage location, and by referring to the import setting information, designates a timing at which the acquired document file can be transmitted to the first terminal. Information processing device.

2. a storage control unit for controlling storage of the document file to be sent to the first business entity in a dedicated storage area secured in one or more storage devices for each of the first business entities; The storage control means stores the document files created by a plurality of different second business operators for delivery to the same first business operator in the same storage area, and stores each of the document files created by the same second business operator for delivery to a plurality of different first business operators in a different storage area. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

3. a notification control means for, when a new document file that can be presented by the presentation means is generated, notifying a first business entity that is a destination of the document file that the document file is generated; The information processing device according to claim 1 , further comprising:

4. the file transmission control means is capable of controlling, when at least one of another document file corresponding to the document file and a message is transmitted as corresponding information from the first terminal, to a second terminal used by a second employee of the second business entity; 4. The information processing device according to claim 1.

5. the presentation means is capable of extracting document files that satisfy the extraction condition received from the first terminal from among the transmittable document files, and transmitting file information of the extracted document files to the first terminal.

5. The information processing device according to claim 1.

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