Data Management Apparatus Using External IDs for Document Association
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current document management systems lack efficient mechanisms for associating and managing unprocessed and processed documents across different servers, leading to operational inefficiencies and delays in document workflow management.
Innovation Solution
A data management apparatus and method that transmits unprocessed documents to a document processing server, receives and stores identification information, and subsequently retrieves and associates processed documents using external document IDs, enabling efficient storage and retrieval of both unprocessed and processed documents within the document management server.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If separate management systems are used for unprocessed and processed documents on different servers, then document processing can be distributed, but document association and retrieval become complex and inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides document management into two separate servers: a document management server for storing unprocessed documents and a document processing server for executing processing operations. This segmentation allows distributed processing while maintaining clear functional boundaries, resolving the contradiction between processing efficiency and system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanism using external document IDs that are exchanged between the document management server and document processing server. This intermediary enables efficient association and retrieval of processed documents without requiring complex direct integration between servers, thus maintaining system simplicity while enabling distributed processing.
2Productivity
If processed documents are stored separately from unprocessed documents, then processing operations can be independent, but retrieval and association of processed documents become time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The document processing server generates and transmits external document IDs to the document management server before or during the processing operation. This preliminary action enables the document management server to prepare for efficient retrieval by having the association information ready, thus reducing retrieval time while maintaining processing independence.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements a feedback mechanism where the document processing server sends external document IDs back to the document management server after processing. This feedback loop enables quick association and retrieval of processed documents, resolving the time loss issue while preserving processing independence.
3Quantity of substance
If identification information is reused across servers, then storage requirements are reduced, but data integrity and document association accuracy may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by making identification information server-specific: internal document IDs are used within the document management server while external document IDs are used within the document processing server. This localized approach allows ID reuse in each context without compromising data integrity, as each server maintains the authority and meaning of its own ID system.
Data Source
AI summary
A data management apparatus includes circuitry to transmit first data stored in a memory in association with first identification information via a network to an information processing apparatus that executes predetermined processing on data, receive, from the information processing apparatus, second identification information added to the first data by the information processing apparatus, store the first identification information and the second identification information in the memory in association with each other, in response to completion of the predetermined processing on the first data, receive second data obtained by the information processing apparatus executing the predetermined processing on the first data and the second identification information from the information processing apparatus, and store, in the memory, the second data received from the information processing apparatus in association with the first identification information stored in association with the second identification information received from the information processing apparatus.