Information Processing Apparatus and Information Processing Program

Abstract

To provide an information processing apparatus configured to vary the way to extract documents in accordance with the documents stored in a memory area, and an information processing program.SOLUTION: An information processing apparatus 10 includes a CPU 11. The CPU 11 presents an operation section which is associated with an operation of extracting from a memory area a plurality of documents associated with attributes in advance and stored in the memory area. The operation section is associated with an operation of classifying and extracting documents from the memory area in accordance with items changing depending on the attributes of each of the documents stored in the memory area.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

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

Background Art

[0002] For example, Patent Document 1 describes a file management apparatus capable of finding a document file according to the situation from a large number of document files with different degrees of urgency and priorities. This file management apparatus includes a storage means for storing, every time a document file is stored in a shared area, an identifier uniquely set in the shared area in association with the document file, and a display control means for controlling to display, when displaying a representative image for specifying a document file, a representative image corresponding to the identifier stored in association with the document file together with the representative image.

[0003] Also, Patent Document 2 describes a file browsing apparatus for displaying a list of files and folders managed in a hierarchical structure. This file browsing apparatus includes means for displaying thumbnail images of the image contents of files included in the same hierarchy, means for displaying icons of subfolders one level below, means for displaying thumbnails indicating the image contents of files included in the subfolder on the icon of the subfolder, means for enlarging and reducing the icon size of the subfolder, and means for increasing and decreasing the number of thumbnails of files in the subfolder displayed on the icon of the subfolder according to the enlargement and reduction of the icon size.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] By the way, there is a document management system including a file server and a plurality of clients. The file server and the plurality of clients transmit and receive documents via a "tray" that functions as a storage area existing in the file server and shareable by the plurality of clients, for example.

[0006] A work area including a tray is displayed on the client, and a plurality of documents stored in the tray are taken out from the tray to the work area for work. As a method of taking out a document, for example, a document associated with the sender (source) of the document can be taken out from the tray. However, since the method of taking out a document is fixed, it may be difficult for the user to take out a desired document from the tray.

[0007] An object of the present disclosure is to provide an information processing apparatus and an information processing program capable of making the method of taking out a document variable according to the document stored in the storage area.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0008] To achieve the above object, an information processing apparatus according to a first aspect includes a processor, and the processor presents a plurality of documents each having an attribute associated therewith in advance, the plurality of documents stored in a storage area, to an operation unit associated with an operation of taking out the plurality of documents from the storage area, and the operation unit associates an operation of classifying and taking out a document from the storage area by an item that changes according to each attribute of the plurality of documents stored in the storage area.

[0009] Further, an information processing apparatus according to a second aspect is the information processing apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the operation unit displays a label name indicating the item, and the processor performs control to change the label name of the operation unit according to a change in the item.

[0010] Further, in the information processing apparatus according to the third aspect, in the information processing apparatus according to the second aspect, when the number of the items is greater than the maximum number of items assigned to the operation unit, the processor performs control to display, on the operation unit, a label name indicating the items selected in descending order of priority from among the items.

[0011] Further, in the information processing apparatus according to the fourth aspect, in the information processing apparatus according to the third aspect, the attribute includes an attribute name and a plurality of types of attribute values, the processor acquires, for each attribute name, the number of classifiable documents and an index value indicating the degree of variation of the plurality of types of attribute values for each attribute name, and determines the priority of the items based on at least one of the acquired number of classifiable documents for each attribute name and the index value indicating the degree of variation of the plurality of types of attribute values for each attribute name.

[0012] Further, in the information processing apparatus according to the fifth aspect, in the information processing apparatus according to the third aspect, the attribute includes an attribute name and a plurality of types of attribute values, the storage area is accessible by a plurality of users, the processor acquires, for each attribute name of the documents, an operation history for each user indicating the number of times the user has performed an operation of retrieving a document, for all storage areas accessible to the user accessing the storage area, and determines the priority of the items based on the acquired operation history for each user.

[0013] Further, in the information processing apparatus according to the sixth aspect, in the information processing apparatus according to the third aspect, the attribute includes an attribute name and a plurality of types of attribute values, the storage area is accessible by a plurality of users, the processor acquires, for each attribute name of the documents, an operation history for each user indicating the number of times the user has performed an operation of retrieving a document, for all storage areas accessible to the user accessing the storage area, and acquires, for each attribute name of the documents, an operation history for each storage area indicating the number of times an operation of retrieving a document has been performed, for the storage area, and determines the priority of the items based on the acquired operation history for each user and the operation history for each storage area.

[0014] Also, the information processing apparatus according to the seventh aspect is the information processing apparatus according to the third aspect, wherein the attribute includes an attribute name and a plurality of types of attribute values, the storage area is accessible by a plurality of users, the processor obtains, for each attribute name, the number of classifiable documents and an index value indicating the degree of variation of the plurality of types of attribute values for each attribute name with respect to the storage area, obtains, for all storage areas accessible to the user accessing the storage area, a user operation history representing the number of times the user has performed an operation of retrieving a document for each attribute name of the document, obtains, for the storage area, a storage area operation history representing the number of times an operation of retrieving a document has been performed for each attribute name of the document, and determines the priority order of the items based on at least one of the number of classifiable documents obtained for each attribute name, the index value indicating the degree of variation of the plurality of types of attribute values for each attribute name, the user operation history, and the storage area operation history.

[0015] Also, the information processing apparatus according to the eighth aspect is the information processing apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the processor performs control to display a secondary work area that includes the document for each item retrieved by the operation of the operation unit in a main work area, which is an area where work is performed on the arranged documents, and is smaller than the main work area.

[0016] Also, the information processing apparatus according to the ninth aspect is the information processing apparatus according to the eighth aspect, wherein the processor arranges the secondary work area in the vicinity of a document having an attribute similar to the attribute of the document arranged in the main work area and included in the secondary work area.

[0017] Also, the information processing apparatus according to the tenth aspect is the information processing apparatus according to the ninth aspect, wherein when there is no area in the vicinity of the document arranged in the main work area where the secondary work area can be arranged, the processor arranges the secondary work area in the empty area of the main work area and performs control to display a message indicating that the secondary work area has been arranged in the empty area of the main work area.

[0018] Further, the information processing apparatus according to the eleventh aspect is the information processing apparatus according to any one of the eighth to tenth aspects, and the processor performs control to display an image representing the storage area on the main work area so as to be selectable.

[0019] Furthermore, in order to achieve the above object, an information processing program according to the twelfth aspect is a plurality of documents each associated with an attribute in advance, and presents an operation unit associated with an operation of retrieving the plurality of documents stored in a storage area. The operation unit is caused to be executed by a computer to associate an operation of classifying and retrieving documents from the storage area with an item that changes according to the attribute of each of the plurality of documents stored in the storage area.

Advantages of the Invention

[0020] According to the first aspect and the twelfth aspect, there is an effect that the method of retrieving documents can be made variable according to the documents stored in the storage area.

[0021] According to the second aspect, there is an effect that an item that changes according to the attribute of a document stored in a storage area can be easily grasped by a label name.

[0022] According to the third aspect, there is an effect that an item that changes according to the attribute of a document stored in a storage area can be easily grasped by a label name displayed in descending order of priority.

[0023] According to the fourth aspect, there is an effect that the priority order of items can be determined in consideration of at least one of the number of classifiable documents for each attribute name and an index value indicating the degree of variation of a plurality of types of attribute values for each attribute name.

[0024] According to the fifth aspect, there is an effect that the priority order of items can be determined in consideration of the operation history for each user.

[0025] According to the sixth aspect, there is an effect that the priority of items can be determined in consideration of the operation history for each user and the operation history for each storage area.

[0026] According to the seventh aspect, there is an effect that the priority of items can be determined in consideration of at least one of the number of classifiable documents, an index value indicating the degree of variation of multiple types of attribute values, the operation history for each user, and the operation history for each storage area.

[0027] According to the eighth aspect, there is an effect that the documents retrieved from the storage area can be prevented from being scattered in the main work area.

[0028] According to the ninth aspect, there is an effect that it is easier to organize the documents in the main work area as compared with the case where all the documents retrieved from the storage area are directly arranged in the main work area.

[0029] According to the tenth aspect, there is an effect that it is possible to recognize that the sub-work area is arranged in the empty area of the main work area.

[0030] According to the eleventh aspect, there is an effect that the storage area can be specified and operated on the main work area.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0031]

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Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0032] Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, an example of a mode for carrying out the technology of the present disclosure will be described in detail. Note that components and processes having the same functions, operations, and functions are given the same reference numerals throughout the drawings, and duplicate descriptions may be omitted as appropriate. Each drawing is only schematically shown to the extent that the technology of the present disclosure can be sufficiently understood. Therefore, the technology of the present disclosure is not limited only to the illustrated examples. In addition, in the present embodiment, descriptions of configurations not directly related to the technology of the present disclosure and well-known configurations may be omitted.

[0033] [First Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a document management system 100 according to the first embodiment.

[0034] As shown in FIG. 1, the document management system 100 according to the present embodiment includes an information processing device 10 and a plurality of terminal devices 20A, 20B, ···. The plurality of terminal devices 20A, 20B, ··· have the same configuration, and when there is no need to particularly distinguish and describe them, they are collectively referred to as the terminal device 20. A so-called server-client system is constructed by the information processing device 10 and the terminal device 20.

[0035] The information processing apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 13, an input / output interface (I / O) 14, a storage unit 15, a display unit 16, an operation input unit 17, and a communication unit 18.

[0036] The information processing apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment functions as a server, and as an example, general-purpose computer devices such as a server computer and a personal computer (PC) are applicable. Also, as an example, general-purpose computer devices such as a PC are applicable to the terminal device 20.

[0037] The CPU 11, the ROM 12, the RAM 13, and the I / O 14 are each connected via a bus. To the I / O 14, each functional unit including the storage unit 15, the display unit 16, the operation input unit 17, and the communication unit 18 is connected. These functional units are enabled to communicate with each other with the CPU 11 via the I / O 14.

[0038] The CPU 11, the ROM 12, the RAM 13, and the I / O 14 constitute a control unit. The control unit may be configured as a sub-control unit that controls some operations of the information processing apparatus 10, or may be configured as a part of a main control unit that controls the overall operations of the information processing apparatus 10. For a part or all of each block of the control unit, for example, an integrated circuit such as an LSI (Large Scale Integration) or an IC (Integrated Circuit) chip set is used. Individual circuits may be used for the above-described respective blocks, or circuits in which some or all are integrated may be used. The above-described respective blocks may be provided integrally, or some blocks may be provided separately. Also, in each of the above-described blocks, a part thereof may be provided separately. For the integration of the control unit, not only an LSI but also a dedicated circuit or a general-purpose processor may be used.

[0039] As the storage unit 15, for example, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), an SSD (Solid State Drive), a flash memory, or the like is used. The storage unit 15 stores an information processing program 15A for realizing the document management function according to the present embodiment. Note that this information processing program 15A may be stored in the ROM 12. For example, document management application software such as Docu Works (registered trademark) is applied to this information processing program 15A.

[0040] The information processing program 15A may be, for example, pre-installed in the information processing device 10. The information processing program 15A may be realized by storing it in a non-volatile storage medium, or distributing it via a network and appropriately installing it in the information processing device 10. Examples of the non-volatile storage medium include a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory), a magneto-optical disk, an HDD, a DVD-ROM (Digital Versatile Disc Read Only Memory), a flash memory, a memory card, and the like.

[0041] For the display unit 16, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD: Liquid Crystal Display), an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display, or the like is used. The display unit 16 may integrally have a touch panel. The operation input unit 17 is provided with, for example, operation input devices such as a keyboard and a mouse. The display unit 16 and the operation input unit 17 receive various instructions from the user of the information processing device 10. The display unit 16 displays various information such as the result of the process executed according to the instruction received from the user and notifications regarding the process.

[0042] As an example, the communication unit 18 is connected to a network N such as the Internet, a LAN (Local Area Network), or a WAN (Wide Area Network), and is capable of communicating with external devices such as the terminal device 20 and the image forming device via the network N.

[0043] Incidentally, as described above, for example, when transmitting and receiving documents via a tray that exists in the information processing apparatus 10 and functions as a storage area that can be shared by a plurality of terminal devices 20. A work area including the tray is displayed on the terminal device 20, and a plurality of documents stored in the tray are taken out from the tray to the work area for work. As a method of taking out a document, for example, a document associated with the sender (source) of the document can be taken out from the tray. However, since the method of taking out a document is fixed, it may be difficult for the user to take out a desired document from the tray.

[0044] Therefore, the information processing apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment presents an operation unit associated with an operation of taking out from a storage area to a plurality of documents stored in the storage area, and the operation unit is classified according to an item that changes according to each attribute of the plurality of documents stored in the storage area. An operation of taking out a document is associated. The storage area is represented, for example, as a tray, a folder, etc. constituted by a part of the area of the storage unit 15, and is an area for storing documents. The storage area may be a shared area shared by a plurality of users, or a personal area used personally by a specific user. Hereinafter, the case where a tray is applied as an example of the storage area will be described.

[0045] Specifically, the CPU 11 of the information processing apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment functions as each unit shown in FIG. 2 by writing the information processing program 15A stored in the storage unit 15 into the RAM 13 and executing it. Note that the CPU 11 is an example of a processor.

[0046] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the information processing apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment.

[0047] As shown in FIG. 2, the CPU 11 of the information processing apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment functions as an attribute acquisition unit 11A, an attribute aggregation unit 11B, an operation history acquisition unit 11C, an item calculation unit 11D, a label generation unit 11E, and a display control unit 11F.

[0048] In the storage unit 15 according to this embodiment, an attribute management database (hereinafter referred to as "attribute management DB") 15B, an operation history management database (hereinafter referred to as "operation history management DB") 15C, an item determination matrix 15D, and a sorting map 15E are stored.

[0049] The attribute management DB 15B is a database that manages the attributes of documents for each tray. Attributes are associated with each document in advance. An example of the document attribute information managed by the attribute management DB 15B is shown in FIG. 3.

[0050] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of document attribute information according to the first embodiment.

[0051] As shown in FIG. 3, the attributes of a document include an attribute name and a plurality of types of attribute values, etc. The attributes of a document include "documentId (Id: Identification)", "sendBy", "sendDate", and "customTag". "documentId" indicates an identifier that uniquely identifies a document, and "sendBy" indicates an identifier that identifies the source of the document (user, multifunction device, automatic script, etc.). "sendDate" indicates the date and time stored in the tray, and "customTag" indicates an attribute that can be arbitrarily set by the user.

[0052] Also, as an attribute of a document, "name" indicates an attribute name (for example, document type), "value" indicates an attribute value (for example, invoice), and "type" indicates the type of the attribute (for example, string: arbitrary character string).

[0053] In addition, as an attribute of a document, "name" indicates the attribute name (e.g., business), "value" indicates the attribute value (e.g., order receipt), and "type" indicates the type of the attribute (e.g., category:work). In fact, instead of directly entering a character string, an identifier in "category:work" (e.g., 1: order receipt, 2: order issue) is entered as the attribute value. Here, a character string is shown for convenience of explanation. When the type of the attribute is "category:work", it indicates a constant registered in advance by the user or a constant automatically generated by the system.

[0054] In addition, as an attribute of a document, "name" indicates the attribute name (e.g., person in charge), "value" indicates the attribute value (e.g., User-A), and "type" indicates the type of the attribute (e.g., user). When the type of the attribute is "user", it indicates a user registered in the repository.

[0055] The operation history management DB 15C is a database that manages the operation history for each user and the operation history for each tray. Note that the operation history for each user is represented as the number of times the user has performed an operation to retrieve a document for each attribute name of the document, targeting all trays accessible by the user. The operation history for each tray is represented as the number of times an operation to retrieve a document has been performed for each attribute name of the document, targeting the tray.

[0056] As an example, the item determination matrix 15D stores the values (data) acquired by each of the attribute acquisition unit 11A and the operation history acquisition unit 11C, as shown in FIGS. 4(A) and 4(B). The item determination matrix 15D is used when determining items for classifying a plurality of documents in a tray for each attribute. Here, the item is represented as a set of, for example, an attribute name and an attribute type (hereinafter, the attribute type is simply referred to as "type").

[0057] FIG. 4(A) is a diagram showing an example of the item determination matrix 15D according to the present embodiment. FIG. 4(B) is a diagram showing another example of the item determination matrix 15D according to the present embodiment.

[0058] As shown in FIGS. 4(A) and 4(B), the item determination matrix 15D includes, for each item, for example, a sorting identifier (classificationId), the number of classifiable documents, an index value (e.g., standard deviation) indicating the degree of variation of multiple types of attribute values, the operation history for each user, the operation history for each tray, user settings, and results (display priorities). Note that in the item determination matrix 15D shown in FIG. 4(A), user settings are invalid for all items, while in the item determination matrix 15D shown in FIG. 4(B), user settings are valid for one item (the valid item is indicated by a circle), which is different.

[0059] The sorting identifier is associated with a pair of an attribute name and a type (i.e., an item), and as an example, represents an identifier obtained from the sorting map 15E shown in FIG. 5 described later. The number of classifiable documents is the number of documents other than those with the "type" of "system:other" indicating unclassifiable documents among all the documents for each attribute name. User settings indicate that the user has pre-set (e.g., added to favorites) an item (classification) that the user always wants to use. The results (display priorities) indicate the display priorities determined based on the data stored in the item determination matrix 15D. Note that the method for determining the display priorities will be described later.

[0060] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the sorting map 15E according to this embodiment.

[0061] As shown in FIG. 5, in the sorting map 15E, an identifier (classificationId) and a group of attribute values are registered in association with each other. The remarks are described for convenience of explanation. The sorting map 15E is used when classifying documents in a tray into a plurality of items according to attributes. For example, if the attribute name is "document type" and the type is "string (character string)", it is classified into the item with the identifier "1", and if the attribute name is "business" and the type is "category: work (specific category)", it is classified into the item with the identifier "2". In the example of FIG. 5, in the classification where the attribute name is "document type" and the type is "string (character string)", as the attribute value (attributeValue), there are 49 "invoices", 1 "estimate", and 50 "system: other". As described above, "system: other" indicates a document that cannot be explained. Also, in the classification where the attribute name is "business" and the type is "category: work (specific category)", as the attribute value (attributeValue), there are 30 "orders received", 50 "orders issued", and 20 "system: other".

[0062] Returning to FIG. 2, the attribute acquisition unit 11A acquires the attributes of the documents in the tray from the attribute management DB 15B. The attribute acquisition unit 11A narrows down the tray using information on the storage destination of the document (for example, a specific shared tray, etc.) to acquire the attributes of the document. The attributes to be acquired include attributes pre-registered by the user for each document, attributes automatically registered by the system (for example, identifiers, etc.).

[0063] Based on the attributes of the documents acquired by the attribute acquisition unit 11A, the attribute aggregation unit 11B refers to the sorting map 15E and classifies the documents in the tray by item. Also, the attribute aggregation unit 11B aggregates the attributes of the documents for each item and registers in the item determination matrix 15D an index value (standard deviation) indicating the number of classifiable documents and the degree of variation of multiple types of attribute values. At this time, the attribute aggregation unit 11B registers the "documentIds", which are document IDs, in the sorting map 15E for each of the multiple types of attribute values.

[0064] The operation history acquisition unit 11C acquires the operation history for each user for each document attribute name, targeting all trays accessible to the user accessing the tray, from the operation history management DB 15C. Also, the operation history acquisition unit 11C acquires the operation history for each tray for each document attribute name, targeting the tray, from the operation history management DB 15C. The operation history acquisition unit 11C registers the acquired operation history for each user and the operation history for each tray in the item determination matrix 15D. The operation history acquisition unit 11C narrows down and acquires the operation history using information such as, for example, "the user accessing the tray" and "the identifier of the tray".

[0065] Based on the values (data) registered in the item determination matrix 15D, the item calculation unit 11D calculates an item evaluation value and, for example, determines the display priority order in descending order of the item evaluation value. The specific calculation method of the item evaluation value will be described later. The item calculation unit 11D registers the determined display priority order in the item determination matrix 15D.

[0066] When the number of classification items classified by the sorting map 15E is larger than the maximum number of items assigned to the operation unit, the item calculation unit 11D acquires, from the item determination matrix 15D, the number of classifiable documents and an index value (standard deviation) indicating the degree of variation of multiple types of attribute values, and calculates the item evaluation value using at least one of the acquired number of classifiable documents and the index value (standard deviation) indicating the degree of variation of multiple types of attribute values, and may determine the priority order of the items. For example, increase the priority order of items with a higher ratio of the number of classifiable documents. Increase the priority order of items with less variation (that is, items with a larger reciprocal of the index value (standard deviation)).

[0067] Also, when the number of classification items classified by the sorting map 15E is larger than the maximum number of items assigned to the operation unit, the item calculation unit 11D acquires the operation history for each user from the item determination matrix 15D, and calculates the item evaluation value using the acquired operation history for each user, and may determine the priority order of the items. For example, increase the priority order of items with a higher ratio of the number of operation times for each user.

[0068] In addition, when the number of classification items classified by the sorting map 15E is larger than the maximum number of items assigned to the operation unit, the item calculation unit 11D may acquire the operation history for each user and the operation history for each tray from the item determination matrix 15D, calculate an item evaluation value using the acquired operation history for each user and the operation history for each tray, and determine the priority order of the items. For example, increase the priority of items with a higher ratio of the number of operations per user and a higher ratio of the number of operations per tray.

[0069] In addition, when the number of classification items classified by the sorting map 15E is larger than the maximum number of items assigned to the operation unit, the item calculation unit 11D acquires the number of classifiable documents, an index value (standard deviation) indicating the degree of variation of multiple types of attribute values, the operation history for each user, and the operation history for each tray from the item determination matrix 15D, and calculates an item evaluation value using at least one of the acquired number of classifiable documents, the index value (standard deviation) indicating the degree of variation of multiple types of attribute values, the operation history for each user, and the operation history for each tray, and determines the priority order of the items. For example, increase the priority when it is at least one of an item with a higher ratio of the number of classifiable documents, an item with less variation, an item with a higher ratio of the number of operations per user, and an item with a higher ratio of the number of operations per tray.

[0070] When the number of classification items classified by the sorting map 15E is larger than the maximum number of items assigned to the operation unit, the label generation unit 11E generates label names indicating the classification items in descending order of the display priority registered in the item determination matrix 15D, and associates the generated label names with the operation of classifying and retrieving documents from the tray. The label names are generated based on, for example, the attribute names. In addition, when the number of classification items classified by the sorting map 15E is less than or equal to the maximum number of items assigned to the operation unit, the label generation unit 11E generates label names indicating the classification items with the classification items as the display targets, and associates the generated label names with the operation of classifying and retrieving documents from the tray.

[0071] The display control unit 11F performs control to display on the terminal device 20 an item extraction button on which the label name generated by the label generation unit 11E is arranged. The item extraction button is an example of an operation unit. Note that the operation unit is not limited to button display, and for example, a list display may be used.

[0072] FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the item extraction button display control process according to the present embodiment.

[0073] In (S1) of FIG. 6, the display control unit 11F performs control to display on the terminal device 20 a main work area 30 in which several documents are arranged. The main work area 30 is an area for performing work on the arranged documents. In the main work area 30, a tray 31 is displayed as an icon image. When the mouse hovers over the tray 31, a thumbnail image 31A of the document stored in the tray 31 is displayed, and an all extraction button 31B for extracting all the documents in the tray 31 into the main work area 30 is displayed.

[0074] (S2), when the mouse hovers over the all extraction button 31B, the display control unit 11F changes the display of the all extraction button 31B and performs control to display an item extraction button 33 in the main work area 30. The item extraction button 33 is associated with an operation of extracting a plurality of documents stored in the tray 31 from the tray 31. The item extraction button 33 is associated with an operation of classifying and extracting documents from the tray 31 according to items that change according to the attributes of each of the plurality of documents stored in the tray 31. For example, on the item extraction button 33, "by assignee", "by reception date", "by business", and "by document name" are arranged as label names indicating items. The selection state is switched by mouse over. Here, the state where "by business" is selected is assumed.

[0075] In (S3), when the display control unit 11F is clicked in a state where "by business" is selected, it performs control to retrieve a document classified as "by business" from the tray 31 and display it in the main work area 30. As an example, as shown in FIG. 7, a sub-work area including documents classified by item may be displayed.

[0076] FIG. 7 is a front view showing an example of the main work area 30 in which the sub-work area 34 according to the present embodiment is displayed.

[0077] When the item-by-item retrieval button 33 shown in FIG. 6 described above is operated, the display control unit 11F performs control to display, in the main work area 30, a sub-work area 34 including documents by item (for example, by business) retrieved by operating the item-by-item retrieval button 33 as shown in FIG. 7. The sub-work area 34 is an area smaller than the main work area 30. The document retrieved from the tray 31 to the sub-work area 34 is deleted from the tray 31 (that is, the document is moved from the tray 31 to the sub-work area 34). The sub-work area 34 has a title (for example, a label name) and its size is variable. The documents included in the sub-work area 34 can be taken in and out with the main work area 30. Also, the display of the documents originally arranged in the main work area 30 does not change.

[0078] FIG. 8 is a front view showing another example of the sub-work area 34 according to the present embodiment.

[0079] When the number of thumbnail images displayed in the sub-work area 34 is large, as shown in FIG. 8 (upper figure), only some representative thumbnail images may be displayed, and the rest may be displayed as an ellipsis "···". Thereby, the sub-work area 34 is made space-saving. In this case, only when the sub-work area 34 is in a selected state, as shown in FIG. 8 (lower figure), the size of the sub-work area 34 is expanded and the entire document within the selected sub-work area 34 is displayed. Thereby, operations on the entire document within the selected sub-work area 34 can be executed. The specific arrangement method of the sub-work area 34 will be described later.

[0080] FIG. 9(A) is a front view showing another example of the item-by-item extraction button 33 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 9(B) is a front view showing still another example of the item-by-item extraction button 33 according to the present embodiment.

[0081] The item-by-item extraction button 33 shown in FIG. 9(A) is an example in the case of extracting by limiting with an attribute value. That is, among the items of "by business", as attribute values, it is assumed that "order receipt", "order issuance", and "others" are included, and the document ratios are large in this order. The display area of "by business" in the item-by-item extraction button 33 is changed according to the document ratios of "order receipt", "order issuance", and "others". Thereby, it is possible to extract by limiting to a desired attribute value.

[0082] The item-by-item extraction button 33 shown in FIG. 9(B) is an example in the case of extracting by limiting with an attribute value (date and time). That is, among the items of "by reception date", as the attribute value (date and time), it is assumed that "yesterday" and "today" are included, and the document ratios are large in this order. The display area of "by reception date" in the item-by-item extraction button 33 is changed according to the document ratios of "yesterday" and "today". Thereby, it is possible to extract by limiting to a desired attribute value (date and time).

[0083] The display control unit 11F according to the present embodiment performs control to change the label name of the item-by-item extraction button 33 according to the change of the classification item. When the number of classification items is larger than the maximum number of items assigned to the item-by-item extraction button 33, as an example, the display control unit 11F refers to the item determination matrix 15D shown in FIG. 4(A) or FIG. 4(B) described above, and performs control to display on the item-by-item extraction button 33 the label name indicating the item selected in descending order of priority from among the classification items.

[0084] Next, with reference to FIG. 10, the operation of the information processing apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment will be described.

[0085] FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing flow by the information processing program 15A according to the first embodiment.

[0086] First, when the information processing apparatus 10 is instructed to execute the item-by-item document extraction process, the information processing program 15A is started by the CPU 11, and the following steps are executed.

[0087] In step S101 of FIG. 10, the CPU 11, as an example, uses the document attribute information shown in FIG. 3 described above to acquire the attributes of the documents in the tray. Specifically, the document list of the tray is acquired, and the attributes of the documents are acquired from the document attribute information of each document included in the document list. This process is executed for the display of the thumbnail images of the documents stored in the tray. At this time, the total number of documents in the tray is acquired.

[0088] In step S102, the CPU 11, based on the attributes of the documents acquired in step S101, refers to the sorting map 15E shown in FIG. 5 described above as an example, and classifies the documents in the tray by item. Further, the CPU 11 aggregates the document attributes in the tray. Specifically, the number of documents is obtained for each set of attribute name and type (that is, item). For example, the total number of documents stored in the tray is assumed to be 100. Among them, there are 50 documents with the attribute name "document type" and the type "string (character string)", 80 documents with the attribute name "business" and the type "category: work (specific category)", and 100 documents with the attribute name "person in charge" and the type "user".

[0089] Also, for each combination of attribute name and type, the ratio of attribute values is obtained. As the ratio of attribute values, for example, in the case of the combination where the attribute name is "document type" and the type is "string (character string)", there are 49 documents with the attribute value of "claim" and 1 document with the attribute value of "estimate". Also, for example, in the case of the combination where the attribute name is "business" and the type is "category:work (specific category)", there are 30 documents with the attribute value of "order received" and 50 documents with the attribute value of "order issued". At this time, the CPU 11 registers, as an example, the document IDs (= documentIds) for each attribute value in the sorting map 15E shown in FIG. 5 above. The CPU 11 registers, as an example, an index value (standard deviation) indicating the number of classifiable documents and the degree of variation obtained from these aggregation results in the item determination matrix 15D shown in FIG. 4(A) or FIG. 4(B) above.

[0090] In step S103, the CPU 11 determines whether the number of classification items classified by the sorting map 15E is greater than the maximum number of items assigned to the item-by-item extraction button 33. If it is determined that the number of classification items is greater than the maximum number of items (in the case of an affirmative determination), the process proceeds to step S104. If it is determined that the number of classification items is less than or equal to the maximum number of items (in the case of a negative determination), the process proceeds to step S109.

[0091] In step S104, as an example, the CPU 11 uses the operation history management DB 15C to obtain, for all trays accessible to the user accessing the tray, the operation history for each user representing the number of times the user has performed an operation to retrieve a document for each document attribute name. That is, it obtains the number of times the user accessing the tray has performed an operation to classify and retrieve a document. For example, it is obtained that the total number of times of performing the operation of classifying and retrieving from the tray is 30 times. This number of operations is not particularly limited, but it is desirable to obtain the number of operations within a recent predetermined period (for example, 1 to 3 months). It is limited to the operations of the user during access. The number of operations is obtained for all trays to which the user has access rights. For each combination of attribute name and type, the number of operations of the user during access is determined. For example, the number of times is 0 when the attribute name is "document type" and the type is "string (character string)", 28 times when the attribute name is "business" and the type is "category: work (specific category)", and 2 times when the attribute name is "person in charge" and the type is "user". The CPU 11 registers the ratio of the retrieval operations of the user during access (for example, 0 / 30, 28 / 30, 2 / 30) as the operation history for each user in the item determination matrix 15D shown in FIG. 4(A) or FIG. 4(B) above.

[0092] In step S105, the CPU 11, as an example, uses the operation history management DB 15C to obtain an operation history for each tray, which represents the number of times of performing an operation of retrieving documents for each attribute name of the documents for the tray. That is, the number of times of performing an operation of classifying and retrieving the documents in the tray is obtained. For example, the total number of times of performing the operation of classifying and retrieving from the tray is obtained as 30 times. This number of operations is not particularly limited, but it is desirable to obtain the number of operations within a recent predetermined period (for example, 1 to 3 months). It is limited to the currently operating tray, and the user is unspecified. However, in the case of an individual tray (for example, a personal document tray), this process is skipped. For each combination of attribute name and type, the number of operations is obtained. For example, when the attribute name is "document type" and the type is "string (character string)", it is 3 times; when the attribute name is "business" and the type is "category: work (specific category)", it is 18 times; when the attribute name is "person in charge" and the type is "user", it is 9 times. The CPU 11 registers the ratio of the retrieval operation of the currently operating tray (for example, 3 / 30, 18 / 30, 9 / 30) as the operation history for each tray in the item determination matrix 15D shown in FIG. 4(A) or FIG. 4(B) above.

[0093] In step S106, the CPU 11, as an example, performs item calculation using the item determination matrix 15D shown in FIG. 4(A) or FIG. 4(B) above. That is, the above-mentioned item evaluation value is calculated. For example, let the ratio of classifiable documents be A, the reciprocal of the index value (standard deviation) indicating the degree of variation (that is, representing the smallness of the variation) be B, the ratio of the retrieval operation for each user be C, the ratio of the retrieval operation for each tray be D, the weights determined by the system be w1 to w4, and the constant of the user setting (favorite) be w5. In this case, the item evaluation value V is represented by the following formula (1).

[0094] V = A×w1 + B×w2 + C×w3 + D×w4 + w5 ···(1)

[0095] However, w1 ≥ w2 ≥ w3 ≥ w4, w5 (favorite) = 0, or w5 >> w1

[0096] For determining the optimal weights, for example, logic such as machine learning may be incorporated. The constant w5 is an external factor and is appropriately set by the user. When setting the constant w5, it is desirable to set a relatively large value so that the items that the user particularly wants to use are more likely to be selected.

[0097] Specifically, a calculation example of the item evaluation value using the item determination matrix 15D shown in FIG. 4(A) described above is shown. In the example of FIG. 4(A), for the item with the attribute name "document type" and the type "string (character string)" (identifier (ClassificationId) = 1), out of a total of 100 documents, the attribute value "claim" is 49, the attribute value "estimate" is 1, and the number of documents that cannot be explained is 50. Also, for the item with the attribute name "business" and the type "category: work (specific category)" (identifier = 2), out of a total of 100 documents, the attribute value "order received" is 30, the attribute value "order issued" is 50, and the number of documents that cannot be explained is 20. Also, for the item with the attribute name "person in charge" and the type "user" (identifier = 3), out of a total of 100 documents, the attribute value "User-A" is 50 and the attribute value "User-B" is 50.

[0098] For the item with identifier = 1, when the weights w1 = w2 = w3 = w4 = 1 and the constant w5 = 0, the item evaluation value V1 is obtained as follows.

[0099] V1 = 50 / 100 + 1 / 22.87 + 0 / 30 + 3 / 30 ≒ 0.64

[0100] For the item with identifier = 2, when the weights w1 = w2 = w3 = w4 = 1 and the constant w5 = 0, the item evaluation value V2 is obtained as follows.

[0101] V2 = 80 / 100 + 1 / 12.47 + 28 / 30 + 18 / 30 ≒ 2.41

[0102] For the item with identifier = 3, when the weights w1 = w2 = w3 = w4 = 1 and the constant w5 = 0, the item evaluation value V3 is obtained as follows.

[0103] V3 = 100 / 100 + 1 / 5.72 + 2 / 30 + 9 / 30 ≒ 1.54

[0104] Also, a calculation example of the item evaluation value using the item determination matrix 15D shown in FIG. 4(B) described above is shown. In the example of FIG. 4(B), for the item with identifier = 1, the user setting is valid, that is, it is registered as a favorite.

[0105] For the item with identifier = 1, when the weights w1 = w2 = w3 = w4 = 1 and the constant w5 = 3, the item evaluation value V1 is obtained as follows.

[0106] V1 = 50 / 100 + 1 / 22.87 + 0 / 30 + 3 / 30 + 3 ≒ 3.64

[0107] For the item with identifier = 2, when the weights w1 = w2 = w3 = w4 = 1 and the constant w5 = 0, the item evaluation value V2 is obtained as follows.

[0108] V2 = 80 / 100 + 1 / 12.47 + 28 / 30 + 18 / 30 ≒ 2.41

[0109] For the item with identifier = 3, when the weights w1 = w2 = w3 = w4 = 1 and the constant w5 = 0, the item evaluation value V3 is obtained as follows.

[0110] V3 = 100 / 100 + 1 / 5.72 + 2 / 30 + 9 / 30 ≒ 1.54

[0111] In step S107, the CPU 11 determines the display priority based on the item evaluation value calculated in step S106, and registers the determined display priority in the item determination matrix 15D shown in FIG. 4(A) or FIG. 4(B) above as an example. Specifically, in the item determination matrix 15D shown in FIG. 4(A) above, the display priorities are determined in the order of the item with identifier = 2, the item with identifier = 3, and the item with identifier = 1 in descending order of the item evaluation value. For example, when comparing the item with identifier = 1 and the item with identifier = 2, there are more documents that can be classified for the item with identifier = 2, the variation in attribute values is smaller for the item with identifier = 2, and the operation history (number of retrievals) per user is greater for the item with identifier = 2. From these, it can be said that the item with identifier = 2 is a better classification.

[0112] Also, in the item determination matrix 15D shown in FIG. 4(B) above, the display priorities are determined in the order of the item with identifier = 1, the item with identifier = 2, and the item with identifier = 3 in descending order of the item evaluation value. The item with identifier = 1 has a high display priority because the user setting is valid, that is, it is registered as a favorite.

[0113] Note that in the above, the priority of the item is determined using all of the ratio A of documents that can be classified, the reciprocal B of the index value (standard deviation) indicating the degree of variation, the ratio C of retrieval operations per user, and the ratio D of retrieval operations per tray. The method for determining the priority of the item is not limited to this. For example, the priority may be determined using at least one of the ratio A of documents that can be classified and the reciprocal B of the index value (standard deviation) indicating the degree of variation, or the priority may be determined using the ratio C of retrieval operations per user. Also, when sufficient accuracy cannot be obtained only with the ratio C of retrieval operations per user, the priority may be determined using the ratio C of retrieval operations per user and the ratio D of retrieval operations per tray. Furthermore, the priority may be determined using at least one of the ratio A of documents that can be classified, the reciprocal B of the index value (standard deviation) indicating the degree of variation, the ratio C of retrieval operations per user, and the ratio D of retrieval operations per tray.

[0114] In step S108, the CPU 11 selects items according to the display priority registered in the item determination matrix 15D shown in FIG. 4(A) or FIG. 4(B) above, for example. That is, the items are selected in order from the ones with higher item evaluation values obtained by the calculation of the items in step S106. Classification items are selected according to the maximum number of items that can be displayed on the item extraction button 33 for each item. The maximum number of items on the item extraction button 33 for each item is, for example, 2 or more and 4 or less. For example, when the maximum number of items on the item extraction button 33 for each item is 2, it becomes the button items shown in FIG. 11.

[0115] FIG. 11 is a front view showing an example of the item extraction button 33 for each item when the maximum number of items in the present embodiment is 2.

[0116] As shown in FIG. 11, two items, an item with an attribute name of "document type" and a type of "string (character string)", and an item with an attribute name of "business" and a type of "category: work (specific category)" are displayed on the item extraction button 33 for each item.

[0117] Also, when the item evaluation values of the calculation results are the same, for example, (1) select an item that has a user extraction operation history and a newer date and time. (2) If it cannot be determined by the above (1), further add the extraction operation history of the tray and perform the same calculation. (3) If it cannot be determined by the above (2), the system makes a random decision.

[0118] In step S109, the CPU 11 generates a label name indicating an item. When the number of classification items is less than or equal to the maximum number of items, it generates the label name of the classified item. When the number of classification items is more than the maximum number of items, it generates label names in order from the item with the highest display priority. The label name is generated based on, for example, the attribute name. As an example, as shown in FIG. 12, in the case of an item whose attribute name is "document type" and type is "string (character string)", the label name is generated as "document type classification", and in the case of an item whose attribute name is "business" and type is "category: work (specific category)", the label name is generated as "by business type". At this time, the label name is associated with the identifier (ClassificationId) of the sorting map 15E.

[0119] FIG. 12 is a front view showing an example of the item extraction button 33 with the generated label name according to the present embodiment.

[0120] For the item extraction button 33 shown in FIG. 12, the label name "document type classification" is generated corresponding to the item whose attribute name is "document type" and type is "string (character string)", and the label name "by business type" is generated corresponding to the item whose attribute name is "business" and type is "category: work (specific category)".

[0121] In step S110, the CPU 11 arranges the label name generated in step S109 on the item extraction button 33, controls to display the item extraction button 33 in the main work area 30, and ends a series of processes by the present information processing program 15A.

[0122] Next, with reference to FIGS. 13 to 15, a case where the document management system according to the present embodiment is applied to the order receiving and placing business will be specifically described.

[0123] FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining the flow of the order receiving and placing business according to the present embodiment.

[0124] In the example of FIG. 13, there is a shared tray 37 for each business partner, and each of operator A and operator B can operate the shared tray 37. There may be a case where operator A and operator B work simultaneously. The supervisors of operator A and operator B can view the status of the documents in the shared tray 37.

[0125] In (S11) of FIG. 13, operator B takes out the document related to the order placement business from the shared tray 37 to the shared work area 35 for order receiving / placement business of the terminal device 20.

[0126] (S12), in order for operator B to request approval of the document taken out to the shared work area 35 for order receiving / placement business, the operator stores the document in the personal tray 38 of the terminal device used by the supervisor.

[0127] (S13), the supervisor takes out the document to be approved from his / her personal tray 38 to the personal work area 36.

[0128] (S14), the supervisor affixes an approval stamp to the document taken out to the personal work area 36, and stores the approved document with the approval stamp in the shared tray 37.

[0129] On the other hand, in (S15), operator A takes out the document related to the order receiving business from the shared tray 37 to the shared work area 35 for order receiving / placement business of the terminal device 20.

[0130] (S16), among the documents taken out to the shared work area 35 for order receiving / placement business by operator A, the approved documents are stored and saved in folders by date and business.

[0131] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of the item-by-item extraction button 39 when applied to the order receiving / placement business according to the present embodiment.

[0132] As shown in FIG. 14, a main work area 30 in which several documents are arranged is displayed on the terminal device 20. In the main work area 30, a shared tray 37 is displayed as an icon image. When the mouse hovers over the shared tray 37, a thumbnail image 37A of the documents stored in the shared tray 37 is displayed, and an all-extraction button 37B for taking out all the documents in the shared tray 37 to the main work area 30 is displayed.

[0133] Then, when the mouse hovers over the all-extraction button 37B, the display of the all-extraction button 37B changes, and item-by-item extraction buttons 39 are displayed in the main work area 30. The item-by-item extraction buttons 39 are associated with an operation of taking out a plurality of documents stored in the shared tray 37 from the shared tray 37. The item-by-item extraction buttons 39 are associated with an operation of classifying and taking out documents from the shared tray 37 by items that change according to the attributes of each of the plurality of documents stored in the shared tray 37. In the example of FIG. 14, when there are many receipts in the shared tray 37, the item-by-item extraction buttons 39 are arranged with "by item", "by date", "dispatch copy", and "awaiting payment" as label names indicating the items. Also, when there are approximately equal numbers of estimates and purchase orders in the shared tray 37, the item-by-item extraction buttons 39 are arranged with "document type", "by receipt date", "by delivery date", and "agreement reached" as label names indicating the items.

[0134] FIG. 15 is a diagram showing another example of the item-by-item extraction buttons 39 when applied to the order receiving and placing business according to the present embodiment.

[0135] In the example of FIG. 15, when operator A operates the shared tray 37, the item-by-item extraction buttons 39 are arranged with "by person in charge", "by order receiving date", "by business", and "by approval status" as label names indicating the items. Also, when operator B operates the shared tray 37, the item-by-item extraction buttons 39 are arranged with "by business" and "by delivery date" as label names indicating the items.

[0136] According to this embodiment, the method of retrieving a document is made variable according to the attributes of the documents stored in the tray. Therefore, it becomes easy for the user to retrieve a desired document from the tray.

[0137] [Second Embodiment] In this embodiment, a form in which a sub-work area including documents for each item retrieved by operating an item-by-item retrieval button is arranged at an appropriate position in the main work area will be described.

[0138] FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the information processing apparatus 10A according to the second embodiment.

[0139] As shown in FIG. 16, the CPU 11 of the information processing apparatus 10A according to this embodiment functions as an attribute acquisition unit 11A, a similar document search unit 11G, an arrangement calculation unit 11H, a sub-work area generation unit 11J, a document movement unit 11K, and an arrangement control unit 11L.

[0140] The storage unit 15 according to this embodiment stores an attribute management DB 15B, an operation history management DB 15C, an item determination matrix 15D, a sorting map 15E, and a sub-work area management DB 15F. Note that the same components as those of the information processing apparatus 10 described in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the repeated description thereof is omitted.

[0141] The attribute acquisition unit 11A acquires necessary information from the attribute management DB 15B. The document attributes are acquired by narrowing down using information on the storage destination of the document (for example, a specific main work area, a specific shared tray, etc.). The attributes to be acquired include, in addition to the attributes pre-registered by the user for each document, attributes automatically registered by the system (for example, identifiers), etc. Also, for the documents on the main work area, information such as the display position of the thumbnail indicating the documents on the main work area and the size of the thumbnail is also acquired. An example of the document attribute information managed by the attribute management DB 15B is shown in FIG. 17.

[0142] FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of the document attribute information according to the second embodiment.

[0143] As shown in FIG. 17, the attributes of a document include an attribute name, multiple types of attribute values, the display position of a thumbnail, and the size of the thumbnail, etc. The attributes of a document include "documentId", "displayX", "displayY", "thumbnailWidth", "thumbnailHeight", and "customTag". "documentId" indicates an identifier that uniquely identifies a document. "displayX" indicates the position (X coordinate) of the thumbnail on the workspace (= main working area), and is expressed as an integer value with the upper left corner of the workspace being 0 (zero). "displayY" indicates the position (Y coordinate) of the thumbnail on the workspace, and is expressed as an integer value with the upper left corner of the workspace being 0 (zero). "thumbnailWidth" indicates the width of the thumbnail being displayed on the display, and "thumbnailHeight" indicates the height of the thumbnail being displayed on the display. "customTag" indicates an attribute that can be arbitrarily set by the user.

[0144] Also, as an attribute of a document, "name" indicates the attribute name (e.g., document type), "value" indicates the attribute value (e.g., claim), and "type" indicates the type of the attribute (e.g., string: any string).

[0145] Also, as an attribute of a document, "name" indicates the attribute name (e.g., business), "value" indicates the attribute value (e.g., order received), and "type" indicates the type of the attribute (e.g., category:work). Here, strings are shown for convenience of explanation. When the type of the attribute is "category:work", it indicates a constant registered in advance by the user or a constant automatically generated by the system.

[0146] Also, as an attribute of a document, "name" indicates the attribute name (e.g., person in charge), "value" indicates the attribute value (e.g., User-A), and "type" indicates the type of the attribute (e.g., user). When the type of the attribute is "user", it indicates a user already registered in the repository.

[0147] The similar document search unit 11G searches for a group of documents having attributes similar to those of the documents included in the sub-work area from among the documents arranged in the main work area. The search for similar documents may be replaced with existing technologies (e.g., machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI), etc.).

[0148] The layout calculation unit 11H calculates an area that is optimal for displaying the sub-work area from the layout of the documents on the main work area.

[0149] The sub-work area generation unit 11J registers information such as the identifier of the sub-work area, the identifier of the parent main work area, the display position (X coordinate, Y coordinate), the title (e.g., label name), and the classification used in the sub-work area management DB 15F.

[0150] The document movement unit 11K updates the storage destination of the document. It accesses the attribute management DB 15B and registers that the document in the tray has been moved to the sub-work area.

[0151] The layout control unit 11L arranges the sub-work area including the document moved by the document movement unit 11K near the documents in the main work area that have attributes similar to those of the documents included in the sub-work area. The layout control unit 11L notifies the user that the layout of the sub-work area is completed. Also, when there is no area to arrange the sub-work area near the documents arranged in the main work area, the layout control unit 11L arranges the sub-work area in the empty area of the main work area. In this case, the layout control unit 11L performs control to display a message indicating that the sub-work area has been arranged in the empty area of the main work area. That is, when the sub-work area is arranged in a place far from the area where similar documents are gathered, for example, displays such as an icon or a pop-up are also generated and displayed so that this can be known.

[0152] Next, with reference to FIG. 18, the operation of the information processing apparatus 10A according to the second embodiment will be described.

[0153] FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing flow by the information processing program 15A according to the second embodiment.

[0154] First, when the execution of the sub-work area arrangement process is instructed to the information processing apparatus 10A, the information processing program 15A is started by the CPU 11, and the following steps are executed.

[0155] In step S111 of FIG. 18, the CPU 11 receives a designation of the extraction method. When the label name of the item-by-item extraction button 33 is designated, the identifier (ClassificationId) of the sorting map 15E associated with the label name is acquired. Here, "by business" of the item-by-item extraction button 33 is designated. At this time, if there is a document in the tray that is not in the sorting map 15E, that is, a new document, the document attributes of the new document are acquired and classified. The extraction method selected by the user is registered in the operation history management DB 15C. Further, information such as the user who performed the operation, the identifier of the tray, and the operation date and time is registered together with the extraction method.

[0156] In step S112, the CPU 11 acquires the attributes of the documents in the main work area. That is, the list of documents in the currently displayed main work area is acquired, and the attributes of the documents in the main work area are acquired. Then, based on the extraction method (= label name) designated in step S111, as an example, as shown in FIG. 19, each document in the main work area is classified.

[0157] FIG. 19 is a diagram for explaining a method of classifying each document in the main work area according to the present embodiment.

[0158] In the main work area 40 shown in FIG. 19, documents D1 to D7 are displayed as thumbnails. Documents D1 to D3 have an attribute with an attribute name of "business", a type of "category: work", and an attribute value of "order receipt". Also, document D4 has an attribute with an attribute name of "business", a type of "category: work", and an attribute value of "order placement". Further, documents D5 to D7 have an attribute with an attribute name of "business" and no "category: work" attached to the type, that is, they are documents with an unclear description.

[0159] In step S113, the CPU 11 detects a group of similar documents for each classification. Specifically, a group of similar documents is obtained from the attributes of neighboring documents and the distance of the display positions with respect to the target document. As a method for obtaining the group of similar documents, for example, a known technique (such as clustering) may be adopted. Note that if multiple documents overlap at the same coordinates or a wide variety of documents are densely packed, there is a possibility that they may not be correctly classified. For this reason, it is desirable that the main work area is organized to a certain extent as a premise. Also, if the process takes a long time, the group of similar documents may be obtained in advance by batch processing at night or the like. Here, as an example, as shown in FIG. 20, a group of similar documents is obtained.

[0160] FIG. 20 is a diagram for explaining a method for obtaining a group of similar documents according to the present embodiment.

[0161] The main work area 40 shown in FIG. 20 (upper figure) is represented in a coordinate system where the horizontal axis is the X axis, the vertical axis is the Y axis, and the upper left coordinate is (0, 0). Note that document 1, 2, and 3 correspond to documents D1, D2, and D3 respectively, document X corresponds to document D4, and documents Y, 4, and 5 correspond to documents D5, D6, and D7 respectively.

[0162] First, with Document 1 as the target document, determine whether the document closest in the X-axis direction belongs to the same classification. If it is determined to be the same classification, then determine whether the document next closest in the X-axis direction belongs to the same classification. Repeat this process in the X-axis direction. On the other hand, if it is determined that they are not of the same classification, calculate the distance L between documents of different classifications. In the example of Fig. 20 (upper figure), calculate the distance L1 between Document 1 and Document X, retrieve all the documents within the circle with the distance L1 as the radius (if processing from the upper left, a quarter of the circle is sufficient), and determine whether they belong to the same classification. Similarly, calculate the distance L2 between Document 1 and Document Y, retrieve all the documents within the circle with the distance L2 as the radius, and determine whether they belong to the same classification. Note that the processing flow in the X-axis direction is in the order of Document X, Document 2, Document 3, ··· as shown in Fig. 20 (lower figure). After completing the search in the X-axis direction for all documents, perform the same search in the Y-axis direction. Note that the processing flow in the Y-axis direction is in the order of Document 2, Document 3, Document Y, ··· as shown in Fig. 20 (lower figure). At this time, skip the documents that have been classified in the X-axis direction processing.

[0163] Fig. 21 is a diagram for explaining another method of obtaining a group of similar documents according to the present embodiment.

[0164] As shown in Fig. 21, when documents of the same classification are divided within the main work area 40, compare other document attributes and search for attributes that can characterize them. If attributes that can characterize them are found, determine it as another group of similar documents.

[0165] In the example of Fig. 21, when comparing the classifications of Document 1, 2, 3 and Document α, β, γ, the attribute with the attribute name "business", type "category:work", and attribute value "order reception" is the same. On the other hand, the attribute with the attribute name "person in charge" and type "user" is different. In this case, it can be characterized by the attribute with the attribute name "person in charge" and type "user". On the other hand, if it cannot be characterized, the group with the larger number of documents is set as the "representative of the group of similar documents". Note that if the processing takes a long time, as described above, a group of similar documents may be obtained in advance by batch processing at night or the like.

[0166] In step S114, the CPU 11 derives a similar document area including a group of similar documents. For example, as shown in FIG. 22, the following processing is performed for each classification to obtain an area where similar documents are gathered.

[0167] FIG. 22 is a diagram for explaining a method of deriving a similar document area according to the present embodiment.

[0168] In the main work area 40 shown in FIG. 22 (upper figure), since the documents D1 to D3 are a group of similar documents, Ymin, Ymax, Xmin, and Xmax are determined for these documents D1 to D3. Ymin indicates the coordinate of the upper end of the thumbnail image of the document D1 having the minimum value in the Y-axis direction, and Ymax indicates the coordinate of the lower end of the thumbnail image of the document D2 having the maximum value in the Y-axis direction. Xmin indicates the coordinate of the left end of the thumbnail image of the document D1 having the minimum value in the X-axis direction, and Xmax indicates the coordinate of the right end of the thumbnail image of the document D3 having the maximum value in the X-axis direction. As shown in FIG. 22 (lower figure), a similar document area 40A is obtained from these values of Ymin, Ymax, Xmin, and Xmax. The similar document area 40A is represented as, for example, a rectangular area. When there is one similar document, the similar document area 40A is obtained from the size of the similar document.

[0169] In step S115, the CPU 11 determines whether there is a free area of a predetermined size or more below or to the right of the similar document area. If it is determined that there is a free area of a predetermined size or more (in the case of an affirmative determination), the process proceeds to step S117. If it is determined that there is no free area of a predetermined size or more (in the case of a negative determination), the process proceeds to step S116. Specifically, the height and width of the similar document area 40A obtained in step S114 are determined. At this time, if the width > height, since it is a horizontally long rectangular area, search below the similar document area 40A, that is, in the Y-axis direction. If the height > width, since it is a vertically long rectangular area, search to the right of the similar document area 40A, that is, in the X-axis direction. In each search direction, as an example, as shown in FIG. 22 (the following figure), it is determined whether there is a document within a predetermined size calculated based on the margin defined by the system and the height and width of the thumbnail image. In this case, if there is a document within the predetermined size, there is no free area. If there is no document within the predetermined size, it is determined that there is a free area. In the case of a system where the height and width of the thumbnail image are variable, a standard thumbnail image (for example, a document of A4 size) may be used, or the height and width of the thumbnail image of the document planned to be taken out from the tray may be used.

[0170] In step S116, the CPU 11 determines whether there is a free area of a predetermined size or more to the right or below the similar document area. If it is determined that there is a free area of a predetermined size or more (in the case of an affirmative determination), the process proceeds to step S117. If it is determined that there is no free area of a predetermined size or more (in the case of a negative determination), the process proceeds to step S119. If the width > height, search to the right of the similar document area 40A, that is, in the X-axis direction. If the height > width, search below the similar document area 40A, that is, in the Y-axis direction. In this step S116, the same search as in step S115 is executed by changing the direction of the axis.

[0171] In step S117, the CPU 11 generates a sub-working area. Specifically, it determines the title of the sub-working area. For example, when the attribute name is "business", the type is "category: work", and the attribute value is "order receipt", the title is determined as [Business: Order Receipt], etc. Then, according to the number of documents to be taken out from the tray, it determines the size of the sub-working area, that is, the height and width.

[0172] In step S118, as an example, the CPU 11 uses the identifier (ClassificationId) of the above-mentioned sorting map 15E to arrange the sub-working area near the similar document area. At this time, information such as the identifier, display position (X coordinate, Y coordinate), title, and classification used of the sub-working area is registered in the sub-working area management DB 15F.

[0173] FIG. 23 is a diagram for explaining the method of generating and arranging the sub-working area according to the present embodiment.

[0174] In the example of FIG. 23 (upper figure), the size of the sub-working area is determined to satisfy the following conditions. (Condition 1) The maximum value of the width is the width of the rectangular area determined by Ymin, Ymax, Xmin, and Xmax + margin. However, if all the corresponding documents in the tray cannot be taken out with the size of the width of the rectangular area determined by Ymin, Ymax, Xmin, and Xmax + margin, it is the width of the rectangular area of the representative similar document + ellipsis "···". (Condition 2) The maximum value of the height is the height of the rectangular area determined by Ymin, Ymax, Xmin, and Xmax + margin. (Condition 3) It does not overlap with the rectangular areas of other classifications.

[0175] Also, in the main working area 40 shown in FIG. 23 (lower figure), sub-working areas 41 to 43 are arranged so as to satisfy the above conditions 1 to 3. The sub-working area 41 is arranged near the similar document area including documents D1 to D3, the sub-working area 42 is arranged near the similar document area including document D4, and the sub-working area 43 is arranged near the similar document area including document D6.

[0176] In step S119, the CPU 11 increments the number of NG classifications as the NG classification for which the auxiliary work area could not be generated for the target classification. The number of NG classifications is registered in the system.

[0177] In step S120, the CPU 11 determines whether the processing has been completed for all classifications. If it is determined that the processing has been completed for all classifications (in the case of an affirmative determination), the process proceeds to step S121. If it is determined that the processing has not been completed for all classifications (in the case of a negative determination), the process returns to step S115 and the processing is repeated.

[0178] In step S121, the CPU 11 searches for an empty area within the main work area for the NG classification. Specifically, the following processing is executed in order.

[0179] (1) For the entire document, obtain the maximum values of the coordinates in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction. The processing is executed in order from the document with the smallest maximum coordinate value. For example, if the width of the document > the height of the document, search from the bottom of the document. (2) Perform the same empty area search processing as in step S115 above. At this time, if a document or an auxiliary work area is arranged, search further below or to the right of that area. Obtain the maximum value of the coordinates in the search direction, and if it is larger than that maximum value, the determination result is NG. (3) Perform the same empty area search processing as in step S116 above.

[0180] In step S122, the CPU 11 performs the same auxiliary work area generation processing as in step S117 above, and arranges the generated auxiliary work area in the empty area within the main work area obtained by the search in step S121 above.

[0181] In step S123, the CPU 11 performs control to display a message indicating that it has arranged a sub-work area at a location away from the similar document area. That is, since the sub-work area is not arranged near the similar document area, at first glance, it is not clear where the sub-work area is arranged. Therefore, use icons, links, etc. to explicitly indicate that the sub-work area is arranged.

[0182] FIG. 24 is a diagram for explaining the method of arranging the sub-work area according to the present embodiment.

[0183] The main work area 40 shown in FIG. 24 includes a non-display area 44 that is not displayed on the screen and is displayed by a screen scroll operation.

[0184] For example, a sub-work area 42 with the title [Business: Order] is arranged in the non-display area 44, but it is not immediately apparent to the user. For this reason, a pop-up 45 is displayed in the main work area 40 that is being displayed. Note that when the corresponding sub-work area 42 is displayed on the screen, the display of the pop-up 45 disappears. Also, when the sub-work area 42 is displayed or operated, or when the document in the sub-work area 42 is displayed or operated, the pop-up 45 disappears. Further, when the pop-up 45 is pressed, the sub-work area 42 is automatically scrolled to a certain location.

[0185] Also, for example, when a corresponding classified document (for example, document D5) is displayed on the screen of the main work area 40, an icon 46 indicating the corresponding sub-work area is displayed. This is effective when the classification of the document on the screen is saved. When the icon 46 is pressed, the sub-work area is automatically scrolled to a certain location. When a plurality of sub-work areas are assigned to one document, it is possible to select which sub-work area to display by hovering the mouse over the icon 46.

[0186] In step S124, the CPU 11 judges whether or not the process has been completed for all NG classifications. If it is judged that the process has not been completed for all NG classifications (if the judgment is negative), the process returns to step S121 and is repeated. If it is judged that the process has been completed for all NG classifications (if the judgment is positive), the process by the information processing program 15A is terminated.

[0187] Next, a case where the document management system according to this embodiment is applied to an approval task will be specifically described with reference to FIGS.

[0188] 25 is a front view showing an example of the main work area 40 when applied to the approval work according to this embodiment. In the example of FIG. 25, a personal tray 47 is provided, and the personal tray 47 can be operated by a superior.

[0189] In (S21) of FIG. 25, the CPU 11 performs control to display the main work area 40, in which several documents are arranged, on the superior's terminal device 20. The personal tray 47 is displayed as an icon image in the main work area 40. The personal tray 47 displays "5" as the number of new (unprocessed) documents. When the mouse is placed over the personal tray 47, thumbnail images 47A of the documents stored in the personal tray 47 are displayed, and a remove all button 47B for removing all documents in the personal tray 47 to the main work area 40 is displayed. When the mouse is placed over the remove all button 47B, the display of the remove all button 47B is changed, and a remove by item button (not shown) is displayed in the main work area 40.

[0190] In (S22), the CPU 11 performs control to display sub-work areas 48, 49 containing documents retrieved by operating the above-mentioned item-specific retrieval button in the main work area 40. The sub-work area 48 is an area containing three documents out of the five new documents, and the sub-work area 49 is an area containing two documents out of the five new documents.

[0191] FIG. 26 is a front view showing another example of the main work area 40 when applied to the approval work according to the present embodiment.

[0192] In (S31) of FIG. 26, the supervisor checks the content of the documents included in the sub-work area 48 and manually classifies them into either approval or return. As a result, an approval sub-work area 48A and a return sub-work area 48B are generated.

[0193] (S32), the supervisor affixes an approval stamp to the documents included in the approval sub-work area 48A, returns the approved documents to the original shared tray, affixes a return slip to the documents included in the return sub-work area 48B, and returns the documents with the return slip to the original shared tray.

[0194] Thus, according to the present embodiment, the sub-work area is arranged in the vicinity of similar documents in the main work area. Therefore, it becomes easier to organize the documents in the main work area compared to the case where all the documents taken out from the tray are directly placed in the main work area.

[0195] In each of the above embodiments, the processor refers to a processor in a broad sense and includes a general-purpose processor (e.g., CPU: Central Processing Unit, etc.) and a dedicated processor (e.g., GPU: Graphics processing Unit, ASIC: Application Specific Integrated Circuit, FPGA: Field Programmable Gate Array, programmable logic device, etc.).

[0196] Also, the operation of the processor in each of the above embodiments may be achieved not only by one processor but also by a plurality of physically separated processors cooperating with each other. Also, the order of each operation of the processor is not limited to the order described in each of the above embodiments and may be changed as appropriate.

[0197] The information processing apparatus according to the embodiment has been described by way of example. The embodiment may be in the form of a program for causing a computer to execute the functions of each part included in the information processing apparatus. The embodiment may be in the form of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing these programs.

[0198] In addition, the configuration of the information processing apparatus described in the above embodiment is an example, and may be changed according to the situation within the scope not departing from the gist.

[0199] Also, the flow of the processing of the program described in the above embodiment is an example, and unnecessary steps may be deleted, new steps may be added, or the processing order may be changed within the scope not departing from the gist.

[0200] Also, in the above embodiment, the case where the processing according to the embodiment is realized by software configuration using a computer by executing a program has been described, but it is not limited to this. The embodiment may be realized by, for example, a hardware configuration or a combination of a hardware configuration and a software configuration.

Explanation of Signs

[0201] 10 Information processing apparatus 11 CPU 11A Attribute acquisition unit 11B Attribute aggregation unit 11C Operation history acquisition unit 11D Item calculation unit 11E Label generation unit 11F Display control unit 11G Similar document search unit 11H Arrangement calculation unit 11J Sub-work area generation unit 11K Document movement unit 11L Arrangement control unit 12 ROM 13 RAM 14 I / O 15 Storage unit 15A Information processing program 15B Attribute Management DB 15C Operation History Management DB 15D Item Decision Matrix 15E Sorting Map 15F Sub - operation Area Management DB 16 Display Unit 17 Operation Input Unit 18 Communication Unit 20, 20A, 20B Terminal Devices 30 Main Operation Area 31 Tray 33 Item - specific Retrieval Button 34 Sub - operation Area 100 Document Management System

Claims

1. A processor, wherein the processor presents an operation unit that performs an operation of retrieving a plurality of documents each associated with an attribute in advance from a storage area, displays on the operation unit a label name indicating an item for classifying a plurality of documents stored in the storage area for each attribute of the plurality of documents, the item being specified using an item determination matrix registered in advance based on the history of each attribute of the plurality of documents and changing according to the attribute, the operation unit is circular, and a plurality of areas for displaying the label name are arranged in the circumferential direction, when the label name displayed on the operation unit is selected and operated, the documents classified into the item indicated by the label name are retrieved from the storage area and displayed an information processing apparatus.

2. The processor performs control to change the label name according to the change of the item The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.

3. The operation unit has a maximum number of displayable items assigned in advance, when the number of the items is larger than the maximum number of items assigned in advance to the operation unit, the processor performs control to display on the operation unit a label name indicating an item selected in descending order of priority from among the items The information processing apparatus according to claim 2.

4. The attribute includes an attribute name and a plurality of types of attribute values, the processor acquires, for the storage area, the number of classifiable documents for each attribute name and an index value indicating the degree of variation of a plurality of types of attribute values for each attribute name, and determines the priority of the item based on at least one of the acquired number of classifiable documents for each attribute name and the index value indicating the degree of variation of a plurality of types of attribute values for each attribute name The information processing apparatus according to claim 3.

5. The attribute includes an attribute name and a plurality of types of attribute values, the storage area is accessible by a plurality of users, the processor acquires, for all storage areas accessible by a user accessing the storage area, an operation history for each user indicating the number of times the user has performed an operation of retrieving a document for each document attribute name, and determines the priority of the item based on the acquired operation history for each user The information processing apparatus according to claim 3.

6. The attribute includes an attribute name and a plurality of types of attribute values, the storage area is accessible by a plurality of users, The processor acquires, for each user, an operation history representing the number of times the user has performed an operation of retrieving a document for each attribute name of the document, targeting all storage areas accessible to the user who is accessing the storage area. The processor acquires, for each storage area, an operation history for each storage area representing the number of times an operation of retrieving a document has been performed for each attribute name of the document, targeting the storage area. Based on the acquired operation history for each user and the operation history for each storage area, the processor determines the priority order of the items. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3.

7. The attribute includes an attribute name and a plurality of types of attribute values. The storage area is made accessible by a plurality of users. The processor acquires, for the storage area, the number of classifiable documents for each attribute name and an index value indicating the degree of variation of a plurality of types of attribute values for each attribute name. The processor acquires, for each user, an operation history representing the number of times the user has performed an operation of retrieving a document for each attribute name of the document, targeting all storage areas accessible to the user who is accessing the storage area. The processor acquires, for each storage area, an operation history for each storage area representing the number of times an operation of retrieving a document has been performed for each attribute name of the document, targeting the storage area. Based on at least one of the acquired number of classifiable documents for each attribute name, the index value indicating the degree of variation of a plurality of types of attribute values for each attribute name, the operation history for each user, and the operation history for each storage area, the processor determines the priority order of the items. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3.

8. The processor performs control to display, in a main display area which is an area where documents are arranged, documents for each item retrieved by an operation of the operation unit, and to display a sub-display area smaller than the main display area. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.

9. The processor detects a similar document area including a group of documents having attributes similar to the attributes of the documents for each item retrieved into the sub-display area, from among the documents arranged for each item in the main display area, and arranges the sub-display area in the vicinity of the detected similar document area. The information processing apparatus according to claim 8.

10. When there is no area in the vicinity of the similar document area to arrange the sub-display area, the processor arranges the sub-display area in the empty area of the main display area. The processor performs control to display a message indicating that the sub-display area has been arranged in the empty area of the main display area. The information processing apparatus according to claim 9.

11. The processor performs control to selectively display, on the main display area, an image representing the storage area. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 8 to 10.

12. A plurality of documents each having an attribute associated therewith in advance, presenting an operation unit that performs an operation of retrieving the plurality of documents stored in a storage area from the storage area, On the operation unit, a label name indicating an item for classifying the plurality of documents stored in the storage area for each attribute of the plurality of documents, the item being specified using an item determination matrix registered in advance based on the history of each attribute of the plurality of documents and changing according to the attribute, is displayed. The operation unit has a circular shape, and a plurality of areas for displaying the label name are arranged in the circumferential direction. When the label name displayed on the operation unit is selected and operated, the documents classified into the item indicated by the label name are retrieved from the storage area and displayed. An information processing program for causing a computer to execute.

Images