Data management system control method

Abstract

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a technology that allows, within a data management system where data held by a client device is collected in a server: free editing of a method for extracting metadata from the data on the client device side; and transmission of the data, the metadata, and a metadata extraction rule to the server side. This data management system control method includes a step in which a client terminal, which accesses a server that manages data, edits an extraction rule describing a criterion for extracting metadata from the data.

Description

How the data management system is controlled

[0001] The present invention relates to a data management system.

[0002] Systems are known in which analytical devices, measuring devices, etc. are connected to a network and data is collected from these devices in a server. For example, Patent Document 1 states, "In analytical devices, measurement data and analytical condition data obtained through analysis are compiled into a database and managed. In analytical systems that manage data in this way, the most common configuration has traditionally been a so-called stand-alone type, but recently, configurations that utilize networks such as LANs (Local Area Networks) to enable data obtained by the same or different types of analytical devices to be shared over the network have been widely adopted" (see paragraph 0002).

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-156473

[0004] In conventional technologies such as that described in Patent Document 1, when a server collects data from individual analytical devices (clients) connected to a network, the type of data to be collected must be configured on the server side. Therefore, before starting to use the system, the format of the data to be sent to the server must be determined and configured in advance. Furthermore, even if a user of an analytical device wanted to change or add data to be sent to the server while using the system, they had to wait for a setting change, such as a program change on the server side.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a technology in a data management system that collects data held by a client device and sends it to a server, which allows the client device to freely edit the method for extracting metadata from data, and transmit the data, metadata, and metadata extraction rules to the server.

[0006] A method for controlling a data management system according to the present invention includes a step of editing, by a client terminal that accesses a server that manages data, extraction rules that describe criteria for extracting metadata from the data.

[0007] According to the control method of the data management system of the present invention, in a data management system that collects data held by a client device and sends it to a server, the method for extracting metadata from the data can be freely edited on the client device side, and the data, metadata, and metadata extraction rules can be transmitted to the server side. Problems, configurations, effects, etc. other than those described above will become clear from the description of the embodiments below.

[0008] FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a data management system 1000 according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a process for extracting metadata from data. FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram illustrating a procedure for starting to use the data management system 1000. FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram illustrating a procedure for adding and changing an extraction unit 211 and an extraction rule 212. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a collection terminal 21. FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram illustrating a process for searching for data on a data management server 11. FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram illustrating a process for an application server 12 to obtain results of analyzing data. FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram of a data management system 1000 according to a second embodiment. FIG. 9 is an example of a page of a portal site for downloading the extraction unit 211 and the extraction rule 212. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating a procedure for downloading the extraction unit 211 and the extraction rule 212. FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram of a data management system 1000 according to a fourth embodiment.

[0009] <First Embodiment> <Overall Configuration> Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a data management system 1000 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The data management system 1000 roughly comprises a server 1, a client terminal 2, a communication network 3, and a device 4. The communication network 3 connects the server 1 and the client terminal 2. In Fig. 1, one data management server 11, one application server 12, one collection terminal 21, one work terminal 22, and one device 4 are provided, but in reality, the number of these devices can be any number.

[0010] <Component Description> The server 1 includes a data management server 11 and an application server 12. The data management server 11 includes a communication unit 110, a processing unit 111, and a storage unit 112. The application server 12 includes a communication unit 120, a processing unit 121, and a storage unit 122.

[0011] The client terminal 2 includes a collection terminal 21 and an operation terminal 22. The collection terminal 21 has a communication unit 210, an extraction unit 211, extraction rules 212, a collection unit 213, and collection rules 214. The operation terminal 22 has a communication unit 220, a processing unit 221, an input unit 222, and a display unit 223.

[0012] The data management server 11 is configured as a server computer, and has installed thereon database management software, data processing software, and software for providing a portal site for users of the data management system 1000. The data management server 11 manages data (data collected from the devices 4) using the above software. In addition, the data managed by the data management server 11 can be linked to an application server 12, which is an external server.

[0013] The application server 12 is configured by a server computer, and has database management software and data analysis software installed on it. The application server 12 uses the above software to perform data analysis.

[0014] The collection terminal 21 is configured as a computer, and has data collection software and data extraction software installed. The collection rules 214 define, for example, the type of data to be collected. The collection unit 213 collects data from the device 4 in accordance with the collection rules 214. The extraction rules 212 define rules for extracting metadata from the data collected by the collection unit 213. The extraction unit 211 extracts the metadata in accordance with the extraction rules 212. The collection terminal 21 acquires data and metadata using the above software, and transmits them to the data management server 11 via the communication network 3. The frequency of data collection in the collection terminal 21 can be set by the user as desired.

[0015] The work terminal 22 is configured by a computer, and software for data processing is installed on it.

[0016] The device 4 is a device that acquires data from a sample, and is, for example, an analytical device or a measuring device.

[0017] A user 5 is a person who utilizes the data management system 1000, and is, for example, an end user of the device 4. The user 5 can access a portal site provided by the data management server 11 via the collection terminal 21 or the work terminal 22. On the portal site, the user 5 can view data managed for each user 5 or device 4.

[0018] <Explanation of Extraction Unit 211 and Extraction Rules 212> Fig. 2 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the process of extracting metadata from data. Information related to data acquired by device 4 and providing supplementary explanation of the data is defined as metadata. For example, if the data is image data of a person, the metadata is data describing the physical and facial features of the person. Metadata may also be any other data that represents the attributes of the data.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 2, metadata is generally expressed in a key-value format consisting of pairs of names and values, and the format can be JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) or XML (eXtensible Markup Language).

[0020] The extraction unit 211 may be, for example, a plug-in or external subprogram with a predetermined API (Application Program Interface), and there may be multiple extraction units 211. This API is common to the extraction units 211, and is configured so that the extraction unit 211 can be called from an external module via the API. The extraction rule 212 is, for example, a property file that describes the type of data and the extraction unit 211 corresponding to that type (a software module that implements a process for extracting metadata from data of that data type). By referring to the extraction rule 212, it is possible to specify the extraction unit 211 corresponding to the data type and change their operation settings.

[0021] In the data management system 1000, the extraction unit 211 and extraction rules 212, which were previously managed by the administrator of the data management system 1000, can now be managed by the user of the client terminal, making it possible for the user to define the metadata to be extracted from data to any content at any time.

[0022] 3 is a sequence diagram illustrating the procedure for starting to use the data management system 1000. For ease of explanation, steps that were previously necessary but are not necessary in the data management system 1000 are also shown within dotted lines.

[0023] 3, conventionally, before starting to use the data management system 1000, a process (pre-setting) was required in which a user 5 created an extraction unit 211 for extracting metadata, and an administrator of the data management system 1000 placed the extraction unit 211 on the server 1 side and defined extraction rules 212. In contrast, in the first embodiment, the user can create the extraction unit 211 and define the extraction rules 212 at any timing, so that the data management system 1000 can be used immediately without pre-setting.

[0024] 4 is a sequence diagram illustrating the procedure for adding or changing the extraction unit 211 and the extraction rules 212. For ease of explanation, steps that were previously necessary but are no longer necessary in the data management system 1000 are also shown within dotted lines.

[0025] 4, in the past, when a user wanted to add or change metadata to be extracted from data, the user 5 had to create an extraction unit 211 and request the administrator of the data management system 1000 to rearrange the extraction unit 211 and add or change the extraction rules 212. In contrast, in the first embodiment, the user 5 can add or change the extraction unit 211 and extraction rules 212 at any time.

[0026] The data management server 11 exposes an interface (e.g., a Web API that can issue an upload request using the HTTP protocol) for uploading data collected from the devices 4 and metadata extracted from that data from the client-side terminal 2 to the data management server 11. The client-side terminal 2 can upload data and metadata to the data management server 11 via this interface. Steps S360 to S370, which will be described later, can be implemented using this interface.

[0027] <Data Collection and Management Flow> Fig. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the collection terminal 21. This flowchart is executed, for example, at predetermined time intervals. Each step in Fig. 5 will be explained below.

[0028] S310-S330: The collection terminal 21 communicates with the device 4 and checks whether data that matches the collection rule 214 exists on the device 4 (S310), as shown in Fig. 5. If there is any matching data, the data is collected in accordance with the collection rule 214 (S320). If there is no matching data, the exception process is executed and the flow chart ends (S330).

[0029] S340, S370: The collection terminal 21 checks whether any of the data collected in S320 matches the extraction rule 212 (S340). If no such match exists, the collection terminal 21 transmits the collected data itself to the data management server 11 (S370). The data management server 11 stores the data in the storage unit 112.

[0030] S350-S360: If there is any matching extraction rule 212, the collection terminal 21 extracts metadata from the data using the extraction unit 211 specified by the extraction rule 212 (S350). The collection terminal 21 transmits the collected data, the extracted metadata, and correspondence information indicating the correspondence between the data and the metadata to the data management server 11 (S360).

[0031] The data management server 11 receives the data, metadata, and correspondence information through the above-described flow, stores the data and metadata in the memory unit 112, and also stores the correspondence information in the memory unit 112, thereby linking the data and metadata.

[0032] <Searching for collected files> Figure 6 is a sequence diagram illustrating the process of searching for data on the data management server 11. The user 5 specifies search conditions such as keywords to search for desired data (data collected from the device 4) on the data management server 11. The data management server 11 searches for the specified data by querying metadata using the search conditions. Each step in Figure 6 will be described below.

[0033] When the user 5 inputs user information (authentication information such as a user ID) into the work terminal 22, the work terminal 22 transmits the input user information to the data management server 11. In response to this, the data management server 11 replies with data corresponding to the user information (data that the user has permission to view). The work terminal 22 displays a portal site based on the data.

[0034] The user 5 inputs keywords or the like as search conditions on the portal site. The work terminal 22 transmits the input keywords to the data management server 11. The data management server 11 searches for metadata that matches the input keywords and returns data linked to the keywords to the work terminal 22. The correspondence between the data and the metadata can be identified based on the correspondence information in S360. The work terminal 22 displays the search results on the portal site. This search result is, for example, a list of data linked to metadata that meets the conditions specified by the input keywords.

[0035] <Use of Analysis Results in Application Server> Figure 7 is a sequence diagram illustrating the process in which the application server 12 obtains the results of analyzing data. This sequence diagram is implemented, for example, using the portal site described in Figure 6. The user 5 instructs the application server 12 to perform an analysis. The application server 12 performs analysis processing on the data collected from the device 4 in accordance with the instruction. Each step in Figure 7 will be described below.

[0036] When the user 5 issues an instruction on the user portal to launch an analytical application that analyzes data and metadata, the work terminal 22 transmits an analytical application launch command to the data management server 11. The data management server 11 communicates with the application server 12 and launches the analytical application.

[0037] The application server 12 transmits the data of the user 5 managed by the analytical application to the work terminal 22. The work terminal 22 displays the site of the analytical application. For example, the application server 12 can configure the site to display a user interface that displays only a list of data for which the user 5 has access authority.

[0038] The user 5 searches for desired data on the application site, for example, by following the same procedure as shown in FIG.

[0039] The user 5 issues an analysis command via the analysis application site. The work terminal 22 sends the analysis command to the application server 12. In response to the analysis command, the application server 12 obtains the necessary data from the data management server 11 and performs the analysis. The application server 12 sends the analysis results to the work terminal 22. The work terminal 22 displays the analysis results. Examples of analysis commands and the analysis processing based on them will be described later.

[0040] The target data that the user 5 instructs to analyze does not have to be data stored in the data management server 11. In this case, for example, the analysis application may send data input to the work terminal 22 to the collection terminal 21, the extraction unit 211 of the collection terminal 21 may extract metadata, and the analysis application may transmit this metadata as a search query to the data management server 11. In this case, for example, the data management server 11 may transmit data in the storage unit 112 that satisfies the conditions of the received metadata to the work terminal 22.

[0041] <Summary of First Embodiment> In the data management system 1000 according to the first embodiment, the user 5 can edit the extraction rules 212 to specify the metadata to be used when searching for data collected from the device 4 according to the desires of the user 5. This allows the user 5 to include desired data in the search results when searching for data held by the data management server 11, for example.

[0042] 8 is a configuration diagram of a data management system 1000 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In the first embodiment, a configuration example in which one data management server 11, one application server 12, one collection terminal 21, one work terminal 22, and one device 4 are provided has been described, but the number of these devices is arbitrary. In the second embodiment, there are a plurality of servers 1, client terminals 2, devices 4, and users 5.

[0043] Each server 1 includes one or more data management servers 11 and one or more application servers 12. Each client terminal 2 includes one or more collection terminals 21 and one or more work terminals 22. One or more devices 4 and one or more users 5 are connected to each client terminal 2. In the configuration example shown in FIG. 8 , the data management system 1000 can also perform the same operations as in the first embodiment.

[0044] <Third Embodiment> In the first embodiment, an example has been described in which the user 5 creates the extraction unit 211 and extraction rules 212 and places them on the collection terminal 21. The extraction unit 211 and extraction rules 212 may be placed in advance on the server 1, for example, and then downloaded to the collection terminal 21. In the third embodiment of the present invention, an example of such a configuration will be described. The configuration other than the downloading of the extraction unit 211 and extraction rules 212 is the same as in the first and second embodiments.

[0045] 9 shows an example of a page of a portal site for downloading the extraction unit 211 and extraction rules 212. This portal site can be provided on the data management server 11, for example. The user 5 accesses this portal site using the collection terminal 21. The data management server 11 transmits a page (download interface) such as that shown in FIG. 9 to the collection terminal 21.

[0046] This page is configured to allow the user to select one of one or more extraction units 211 (extraction modules) for each data type managed by the data management server 11. For each data type, the user selects an extraction unit 211 that will perform the process of extracting metadata from that data type. Each extraction unit 211 is pre-installed on the data management server 11, and the data management server 11 presents a list of the extraction units 211 it holds on this page. When the user clicks the download icon (downward arrow) next to the name of an extraction unit 211, the collection terminal 21 downloads that extraction unit 211 from the data management server 11 and saves it.

[0047] When the user 5 has finished making their selections, they click the download icon next to "Extraction Rule Settings" at the top of the page. The collection terminal 21 notifies the data management server 11 of the correspondence between the data type selected by the user on the page and the extraction unit 211. The data management server 11 generates an extraction rule 212 that describes this correspondence and transmits it to the collection terminal 21. The collection terminal 21 stores the extraction rule 212.

[0048] 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating the procedure for downloading the extraction unit 211 and extraction rule 212. The user 5 accesses the portal site via the collection terminal 21, selects the extraction unit 211 provided by the data management server 11 for each data type, and changes the definition of the extraction rule 212. The selected extraction unit 211 and the defined extraction rule 212 can be downloaded to the collection terminal 21.

[0049] <Fourth Embodiment> In the first embodiment, an example has been described in which the user 5 creates the extraction unit 211 and extraction rules 212 and places them on the collection terminal 21. The extraction unit 211 and extraction rules 212 may be placed on the server 1 (for example, the data management server 11), and the user 5 may be able to change the extraction unit 211 and extraction rules 212 on the server 1. In the fourth embodiment of the present invention, an example of such a configuration will be described.

[0050] 11 is a configuration diagram of a data management system 1000 according to the fourth embodiment. The extraction unit 211 and extraction rules 212 are arranged on the data management server 11. The data management server 11 publishes an interface for changing the extraction unit 211 and the extraction rules 212. A user 5 issues a request to change the extraction unit 211 and the extraction rules 212 to the data management server 11 via a client terminal 2 (e.g., the collection terminal 21). The data management server 11 changes these in accordance with the request.

[0051] The interface for changing the extraction unit 211 is configured so that, for example, a new extraction unit 211 can be uploaded from the client terminal 2 to the data management server 11. The interface for changing the extraction rule 212 is similarly configured so that a new extraction rule 212 can be uploaded. Alternatively, the interface is configured so that the extraction rule 212 on the data management server 11 can be edited from the client terminal 2.

[0052] The interface for editing the extraction rules 212 is configured to enable the definition of the correspondence between data types and the extraction units 211 that extract metadata from those data types. For example, as in FIG. 9 , it can be configured by a screen interface (editing interface) configured to allow the user to select the extraction unit 211 corresponding to each data type from preset options. Any other editing method may also be used. The client-side terminal 2 transmits the extraction rules edited on the editing interface to the data management server 11, and the data management server 11 stores them as extraction rules 212.

[0053] The data management server 11 extracts metadata from data using the extraction unit 211 in accordance with the rules defined by the extraction rules 212. The other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment.

[0054] In the fourth embodiment, the extraction unit 211 and the extraction rules 212 are arranged on the data management server 11, which is advantageous in that the functions can be shared by a plurality of client terminals 2.

[0055] <Regarding Modifications of the Present Invention> The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and includes various modifications. For example, the above-described embodiments have been described in detail to clearly explain the present disclosure, and are not necessarily limited to those including all of the described configurations. Furthermore, it is possible to replace part of the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment, or to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of one embodiment. Furthermore, it is possible to add, delete, or replace part of the configuration of each embodiment with other configurations.

[0056] In the above embodiment, as an example, if the device 4 is a network camera, the data managed by the data management server 11 is image data captured by the device 4, the metadata is facial and bodily features of a person appearing in the image data, and the analysis application executed by the application server 12 identifies the person from the facial and bodily features in the image data. The analysis command in Figure 7 is a request to identify a person in an image selected by the user 5.

[0057] In the above embodiment, as an example, if the device 4 is an electron microscope, the data managed by the data management server 11 is a sample image, the metadata is the height difference of the sample surface, and the analysis application creates a 3D model of the sample from the height difference of the sample surface.

[0058] In the above embodiment, as an example, if the device 4 is an analytical device, the data managed by the data management server 11 is text describing analysis results and conditions, the metadata is analysis result values ​​extracted from the text using arbitrary keywords, and the analysis application groups the analysis results, conditions, and analysis result values.

[0059] In the above embodiments, the functional units such as the extraction unit 211, collection unit 213, and each processing unit provided in the server 1 and the client terminal 2 can be configured by hardware such as a circuit device that implements these functions, or can be configured by a computing device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) executing software that implements these functions.

[0060] 1000: Data management system 11: Data management server 12: Application server 21: Collection terminal 211: Extraction unit 212: Extraction rules 213: Collection unit 214: Collection rules

Claims

1. A method for controlling a data management system that manages data by collecting the data held by a device by a server, the method comprising: obtaining an extraction rule that describes a criterion for extracting metadata representing an attribute of the data from the data; editing the extraction rule by a client terminal that accesses the server; extracting the metadata from the data according to the edited extraction rule; storing the extracted metadata on the server; and searching for the data held by the server using the metadata stored on the server. A control method characterized by comprising the steps of:

2. The server publishes an interface for the client terminal to access the server when receiving the metadata from the client terminal. In the step of storing the metadata on the server, the client terminal accesses the server via the interface and transmits the metadata to the server via the interface. In the step of storing the metadata on the server, the server receives the metadata from the client terminal via the interface. The control method according to claim 1, characterized in that:

3. In the step of storing the metadata on the server, the client terminal transmits, together with the extracted metadata, correspondence relationship information representing a correspondence relationship between the extracted metadata and the data to the server. In the step of storing the metadata on the server, the server stores the correspondence relationship information. In the step of searching for the data, the server searches for the data held by the server according to the metadata and the correspondence relationship information. The control method according to claim 1, characterized in that:

4. The control method further includes a step in which the client terminal collects the data from the device, and in the step of storing the metadata on the server, the client terminal transmits the data collected from the device to the server together with the metadata, and in the step of storing the metadata on the server, the server stores the data together with the metadata on the server. The control method according to claim 1, characterized in that.

5. In the step of extracting the metadata from the data, the client terminal extracts the metadata from the data according to the edited extraction rule. The control method according to claim 1, characterized in that.

6. The control method further includes a step in which the server analyzes the data, and the client terminal transmits a request to the server to instruct the server to perform the analysis on the data searched in the step of searching for the data, and the server performs the analysis according to the request received from the client terminal and transmits the result to the client terminal. The control method according to claim 1, characterized in that.

7. The server stores an extraction module that performs a process of extracting the metadata from the data, and discloses a download interface used to download the extraction module from the server. The client terminal downloads the extraction module from the server through the download interface, and in the step of extracting the metadata from the data, the client terminal extracts the metadata from the data using the extraction module. The control method according to claim 1, characterized in that.

8. The server publishes a download interface for downloading the extraction rules from the server, the client terminal downloads the extraction rules from the server via the download interface, and in the step of extracting the metadata from the data, the client terminal extracts the metadata from the data using the extraction rules. The control method according to claim 1, characterized in that.

9. The server holds the extraction rules, the server publishes an editing interface for the client terminal to access the server when the client terminal edits the extraction rules, and in the step of editing the extraction rules, the client terminal accesses the server via the editing interface and edits the extraction rules via the editing interface. In the step of extracting the metadata, the server extracts the metadata from the data according to the extraction rules edited via the editing interface. The control method according to claim 1, characterized in that.

10. The editing interface is configured such that, for each type of data, a preset value of the extraction rule can be selected from among options, and in the step of editing the extraction rule, the client terminal edits the extraction rule by transmitting the result of selecting the preset value to the server. The control method according to claim 9, characterized in that.

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