JP5120197B2 - Electronic document conversion server - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic document conversion server, a control method therefor, and a program, and more particularly, to efficient electronic document browsing work.

  Patent Document 1 is cited as a document describing a technique related to the present invention. In Patent Document 1, for example, referring to the upper left line 11 to the lower left line 10 of the third page, when an image file of a document such as a document is accessed, the first page of the document is read first. There is a description about accessing and displaying any specified page displayed on the display.

However, Patent Document 1 designates a page to be newly displayed from a list of image information prepared in advance in memory (an information list stored in a static state) by “specifying the corresponding page by human operation”. Thus, the system configuration aims to efficiently display on a CRT display.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 02-072424

  Conventionally, when viewing a document in an environment where there is no corresponding document format viewing software, such as a mobile phone or PDA (Personal Digital Assistant / Personal Data Assistance), the document is converted into a still image in units of pages and output. was there. As a method, there are a method of simply converting all at once and a method of converting one by one page by page.

  However, simple batch conversion of an electronic document into an image takes time according to the number of pages of the document, and is not convenient when the document is long. On the other hand, the conversion of each sheet requires a user to issue a conversion instruction every time, which is troublesome.

Therefore, the electronic document browsing operation can be performed efficiently by adjusting the number of converted documents in units of pages based on the file type and the browsing characteristics of the user.
However, some problems or improvements remain even by adjusting the number of converted sheets.

  One is that it does not consider the case where it is desired to grasp the outline of the document in a short time. If you simply adjust the number of converted pages, you will not be able to fully check the outline unless you open the converted document, or even if you convert the first (or last) several pages, you may be able to determine whether the document should be read. To do. Therefore, when it is desired to grasp the outline of the document, the number of conversions and the conversion time eventually increase, and the experience time cannot be sufficiently reduced yet.

  Another problem is that only a part of the electronic document is converted from the beginning (or from the end) for any type of electronic document. For example, a presentation document having a strong tendency of “title / table of contents / problem presentation” at the beginning of the document and “solution / summary” at the end of the document can be grasped by simply converting the above portions. However, if the conversion range is from the beginning of the document to a certain percentage, the last “solution / summary” is not converted. In order to view this, all pages must be converted after all. The presentation document indicates a document such as a report from a subordinate to a supervisor or a sales report.

  In the present invention, for the problems as described above, it is noted that there is a strong tendency that “Title / Contents / Problem Presentation” is included at the beginning of the page of the presentation document and “Solution / Summary” is included at the end. To do. That is, when a part of the electronic document is converted into another file format such as an image, a part having a high probability of being able to grasp the outline of the electronic document is set as a priority conversion target.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and in converting a part of an electronic document into another file format, a user who performs efficient conversion and browses the converted document The purpose is to reduce the feeling experience.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a document type identifying unit for determining whether or not an electronic document that is a target of a conversion command received from a client device is a presentation document, and the document type identifying unit includes the electronic document. Conversion means for converting a predetermined portion of the electronic document into a format that can be browsed by the client device when it is determined that the document is a presentation document.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a document type identification step for determining whether or not an electronic document that is a target of a conversion command received from a client device is a presentation document, and the electronic document is a presentation document in the document type identification step. A conversion step of converting a predetermined part of the electronic document into a format that can be browsed by the client device when it is determined that the electronic document exists.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a document type identifying unit for determining whether or not an electronic document that is a target of a conversion instruction received from a client device is a presentation document, and the document type identifying unit presents the electronic document. When it is determined that the document is a document, the electronic document is made to function as a conversion unit that converts a predetermined part of the electronic document into a format that can be browsed by the client device.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, when converting a part of electronic document into another file format, it becomes possible to perform efficient conversion and to reduce the experience time which the user who browses the converted thing feels.

  Next, embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. First, the configuration of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

  Referring to FIG. 1, the configuration of the entire system including this embodiment is shown. The overall system including this embodiment includes a client device 1, a server device 2, a network 3, and a document information management device 4.

  The client device 1 includes a transmission / reception unit 11 and a browsing rate acquisition unit 12. Specifically, for example, a mobile phone, PDA, or UMPC can be used.

  The server device 2 includes a transmission / reception unit 21, a browsing information management database 23, a user information management database 24, a document file management database 25, a counter 221, a conversion rate determination unit 222, a document type identification unit 223, and a conversion unit 224. The detailed configuration of each part will be described later.

  The document information management device 4 is a device in which the user knows from the client device 1 that a file exists. Specifically, a web server that provides a web page or the like corresponds to this.

  Next, a detailed configuration of each unit included in the server device 2 will be described.

  The counter 221 counts the number of browsing times and the number of access times, and holds the count number. Note that “access” here refers to human access, and refers to access that is performed when a user continuously converts and browses a page when browsing a file once. . The counter 221 is configured on a memory provided in the server device 2.

  The browsing information management database 23 holds information on various files of the electronic document, and holds a table recording browsing information and file information for each file.

  An example of a table in which browsing information is recorded for each file is shown in FIG. The browsing information in the present embodiment refers to a file ID uniquely assigned to a file, a count for each file type of an electronic document (only for each file type, not a count for each file), and a count for each file type. The conversion rate [%] indicating how much the file is updated and converted from the first page, and the number of pages viewed by the user.

  As a general tendency, the user often browses a document from the beginning. Therefore, the conversion rate [%] in this embodiment is determined from the first page.

  In this embodiment, in the case of a presentation document, the first page indicates the first page of the portion divided by the conversion unit, and in the case other than the presentation document, it indicates the first page of the document itself.

  An example of a table in which file information is recorded for each file is shown in FIG. The file information in this embodiment is a file ID uniquely assigned to a file, a path indicating the location of the file, a file type of the electronic document, and the total number of pages of the file.

  The conversion rate determination unit 222 determines the conversion rate of the corresponding file from the browsing information.

  The document type identifying unit 223 identifies various file types of the electronic document, and particularly determines whether or not the acquired file type information is that of the presentation document. As a discrimination method, in this embodiment, discrimination by extension is assumed.

The user information management database 24 holds user information.
An example of user information in this embodiment is shown in FIG. The user information in the present embodiment is a user ID uniquely assigned to the user, a file type of the electronic document, and a browsing rate that the user actually browses for each file type of the electronic document.

  The document file management database 25 holds various files themselves.

  Based on the information (conversion rate [%]) received from the conversion rate determination unit 222, the conversion unit 224 converts the corresponding file received from the document file management database 24 into an image, and holds the image.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 7 are flowcharts showing the operation of the server device 2 according to the present embodiment.

  Before the operation flow of FIG. 4, first, the user accesses the document information management apparatus 4 from the transmission / reception unit 11 of the client apparatus 1 through the network 3. The transmission / reception unit 11 of the client device 1 receives information from the document information management device 4 that a file relating to the electronic document exists. Therefore, when the user selects an electronic document to be converted and clicks a conversion button, a file conversion command is transmitted from the transmission / reception unit 11 of the client device 1 to the transmission / reception unit 21 of the server device 2 through the network 3. It is done.

  In FIG. 4, the electronic document conversion command is sent to the conversion rate determination unit 222 through the transmission / reception unit 21 (step S101). Upon receiving the command, the conversion rate determination unit 222 determines whether conversion is in progress (step S102). If the file IDs do not match (step S102 / No), the conversion rate determination unit 222 acquires the browsing information / file information from the browsing information management database 23 (step S103).

  FIG. 8A shows an example of browsing information acquired from the browsing information management database 23 by the conversion rate determination unit 222, and FIG. 8B shows an example of file information. If it is the first access, the file ID is (null) in step 102, and the file ID does not match. In the example shown in FIG. 8, the case of the first access is shown.

  The case where the file IDs do not match is shown below. If they match (step S102 / Yes), the process proceeds to step 119 (FIG. 6).

  The browsing information / file information generated / obtained in step 103 has an initial value or previous data. As shown in FIG. 8, as browsing information / file information variables, the total number of pages is p [sheets], the number of browsing times is n [file number], and the conversion rate is i [%].

  Next, the document type identifying unit 223 that has received the conversion command through the conversion rate determining unit 222 identifies the file type (step S104). The document type identification unit 223 returns the identification result to the conversion rate determination unit 222. The conversion rate determination unit 222 that has received the file type information from the document type identification unit 223 writes the file type into the browsing information in the browsing information management database 23 (step S105). Note that a file ID is appropriately set in the browsing information for writing the file type. FIG. 9 shows an example of browsing information after the file type is written.

  Moreover, the conversion rate determination part 222 acquires user information from the user information management database 24 (step S106). At this time, the user information usually has an initial value or previous data. FIG. 10 shows an example of user information acquired from the user information management database 24 by the conversion rate determination unit 222. If user information does not exist, new user registration is required in the user information management database 24. However, since techniques well known to those skilled in the art may be applied, this embodiment will not be described.

The variables of the user information, the viewing rate and k _n [%]. _n of kn indicates the number of browsing times defined above.

  As described with reference to FIG. 1, the counter 221 is configured on the memory of the server device 2, and temporarily holds the number of accesses for counting artificial accesses per unique file. In the case of the first access, the access count has an initial value 0 (step S107). As a variable, the access count is count [times].

  Next, the conversion rate determination unit 222 acquires the file entity from the document file management database 25 (step S108).

  Next, the document type identification unit 223 determines whether or not the acquired file type information is that of the presentation document (step S109).

  Hereinafter, a case where the document is regarded as a presentation document in step S109 will be described. If not, the process proceeds to step S123 (FIG. 7).

  The conversion unit 224 has setting values relating to conversion of the presentation document (initial values unless otherwise specified). FIG. 11 shows an example of setting values related to the conversion of the presentation document of this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 11, as the variables of the setting values related to the conversion of the presentation document, the first is f [sheets], the last is b [sheets], the conversion start position is p _f [sheet], and the conversion end position is p _b. [Sheet].

Reference is now made to FIG.
If the total number of pages is larger than the first conversion number (step S110 / Yes), the first and last set number of presentation documents are converted into images (step S111). Those pieces of information are sent to the conversion unit 224.

  If the total number of pages is the same as the first conversion number or less than the conversion number (step S110 / No), the process proceeds to step S123 (FIG. 7). Each step after step S123 (FIG. 7) will be described later after first explaining each step shown in FIG.

Please refer to FIG.
If the file IDs match in step S102, the process proceeds to step S119. In step S119, it is determined whether or not the file type is that of a presentation document.

As a result of the determination, if the file type is not that of the presentation document (step S119 / No), the setting value relating to the conversion of the presentation document is not updated, and the process proceeds to step S122. If the file type is that of the presentation document (step S119 / Yes), the setting value related to the conversion of the presentation document is updated (steps S120 and 121), and the process proceeds to step S122. Here, the setting values relating to the conversion of the presentation document are updated by converting p _f = f + 1 p _f [sheet] and p _b = for the conversion start position p _f [sheet] and the conversion end position p _b [sheet]. p−b [th sheet], and the total number of pages p is p = p−b−fp _f [th sheet].

  In step S122, if the access count is 2 or more, the process proceeds to step S126. If it is 1 or less, the process proceeds to step S123.

  In step S123 (FIG. 7), the conversion unit 224 adds 1 to the counter 221 the number of browsing times, and proceeds to step S124.

The conversion rate determination unit 222 determines whether or not the number of browsing times is one (step S124). If the number of times of browsing is 1 (step S124 / Yes), the conversion rate is the value obtained from the browsing information database 23 as it is. On the other hand, if the number of times of browsing is not 1 (No in step S124), the average of the browsing rate is taken from the user information, and the conversion rate is changed (step S125). In the example shown in FIGS. 8 to 10, the conversion rate i is a value of the following equation.
i = (k ₁ + k ₂ +... + k _n ) / n

Those pieces of information are sent to the conversion unit 224.
The conversion unit 224 acquires a file related to the electronic document that is the target of the conversion command from the document file management database 25, and converts the electronic document into an image based on the conversion rate i (step S126).

Returning to FIG.
Next, the conversion unit 224 adds 1 to the counter 221 the number of accesses (step S112). The access count count is a value of count = count + 1.

  Next, the conversion unit 224 updates the conversion rate for the browsing information in the browsing information management database 23 (step S113). However, if step S125 is not executed, the conversion rate i does not change even if it is updated.

  Next, an image is sent from the conversion unit 224 to the transmission / reception unit 11 of the client device 1 through the transmission / reception unit 21 (step S114). A user browses a document to be browsed as an image on the client device 1.

  Next, information on the number of browse pages actually viewed by the user among the converted pages is sent from the transmission / reception unit 11 of the client device 1 to the transmission / reception unit 21 of the server device 2 (step S115). The user information management database 24 calculates and writes a new browsing rate in the user information based on the information on the number of browsing pages received by the transmission / reception unit 21 (step S116).

  The user clicks the conversion button again or clicks the end button on the client device 1 to issue a conversion or end command from the transmission / reception unit 11 of the client device 1.

  If there is a conversion command again from the transmission / reception unit 11 of the client device 1 to the transmission / reception unit 21 of the server device 2 (step S117 / Yes), the process proceeds to step S101. If there is no conversion command again from the transmission / reception unit 11 of the client device 1 to the transmission / reception unit 21 of the server device 2 (that is, there is an end command) (step S117 / No), it is acquired from the document file management database 24 in the conversion unit 224. The corresponding file is deleted (step S118).

  As described above, if the document to be viewed is a presentation document, the first and last set number of pages are converted and viewed when the number of accesses is 1, and otherwise, the document is converted at the adjusted conversion rate. The image can be viewed on the client device 1 such as a mobile phone. Below, the outline of this embodiment will be described once again.

  In this embodiment, data is managed for each file type and user of an electronic document, and statistics are collected. First, it is determined by extension whether the file is a presentation document. If it corresponds to the extension of the presentation document, image conversion based on a predetermined conversion rate is performed after changing the conversion order and the page order (described later).

  If not applicable, first, in a certain file type, when a certain user has never browsed, browsing of the first file converts all pages (conversion rate 100 [%]). After browsing the second file, take the average value of the user's browsing rate so far (in the second case, the first browsing rate becomes the conversion rate as it is), and update the conversion rate based on the result ,Convert. The following describes the applicable cases.

  Since the conversion target is a presentation document, the first browsing shall convert the first and last two pages of the target file. The number of 2 pages predicts that [Title / Contents / Problem Presentation] will be included at the beginning of the target file, and [Solution / Summary] will be included at the end, but is not limited to this. .

  Further, if there is no second conversion command, the conversion is terminated. The following describes the case where there is a second conversion instruction.

  For the second and subsequent conversions, the conversion method described above when the conversion target does not correspond to the presentation document is applied. That is, in a target file, when a user has never browsed, browsing of the first file converts all pages (conversion rate 100 [%]). After browsing the second file, take the average value of the user's browsing rate so far (in the second case, the first browsing rate becomes the conversion rate as it is), and update the conversion rate based on the result ,Convert.

  As described above, when it is desired to quickly browse the first several electronic documents, the second and subsequent files can be viewed with a short conversion time. Also, when it is desired to view an electronic document of all pages, the total conversion time can be performed without changing from the conventional method. Further, by taking a statistics on the browsing rate [%] indicating how many sheets the user is always browsing for each medium, the conversion rate at one time is set to an appropriate value, and for the file of that type, 2 It is possible to adjust after the file. Therefore, as the user uses it, an optimum conversion rate value can be expected.

  Furthermore, according to the above configuration, the first and last items can be quickly confirmed, so that the outline can be grasped at that stage and it can be determined whether the document should be read further.

  In other words, the effects of the present embodiment are the following two points.

  The first effect is that unnecessary conversion time and trouble (operation of converting and closing extra pages) is unnecessary for a user who wants to grasp only the outline. The reason is that the first conversion of the presentation document is performed only for the first and last two pages, and the others are for adjusting the conversion number according to the number of accesses. This is also because it is possible to confirm whether or not the document is confirmed (whether it should be read / read) with the minimum number of pages without passing through all the pages of the presentation document.

  The second effect is that waste of resources necessary for machine conversion can be reduced. This is because the first conversion of the presentation document is performed for only the first and last two pages, or the number of accesses is statistically determined for each file type, and the number of conversions can be adjusted accordingly.

  In addition, in the configuration according to the above embodiment, when the image files that do not yet exist are individually generated according to the user's request (created for each request in a dynamic state), It is a system configuration in which at least one of the problems is “automatic conversion using the parameter factor of

  With such a system configuration, instead of displaying an image, “first improvement is made by means of improving the efficiency of conversion to an image (which means selecting and converting an image of which page in which unit range)” Automatically provide users with the right pages "to reduce browsing time. Therefore, an effect of improving the display efficiency with respect to access to an image file of a document such as a document can be obtained.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described.
In the above-described embodiment, the document type identification unit 223 determines the various file types, and in particular, as a determination method for determining whether or not the acquired file type information belongs to the presentation document, an extension is used. However, other appropriate determination methods such as file name, property, and content storage target document may be used.

  In the above embodiment, the initial value of the conversion rate (i) is set to 100 [%]. However, when it is possible to predict that the number of converted sheets is small in advance, other numerical values can be set as the initial value. is there.

  Moreover, in the determination method of the said embodiment, if the frequency | count of browsing is 1, the conversion rate was made into the initial value, However, The frequency | count of browsing may not be limited to 1.

The conversion rate [%] represents how much the file is converted from the first page updated for each file type, but may be converted from the last page instead of the first page.
Moreover, although average was taken in step S125 of FIG. 7, if there exists other suitable statistical methods, you may apply them.

Note that the present invention can be applied to an application such as browsing an electronic document on a mobile phone. In particular, it is effective for browsing electronic documents attached to e-mails. Further, the following cases are particularly effective with respect to the presentation document under these conditions.
• When you want to determine the document to read (when you are in a hurry). In other words, it is a case where only an overview is sufficient.
・ A large number of mails such as mailing lists that are not directly related to you are sent, and it is difficult to immediately determine which attached document you should read carefully, and you may notice that it is better to read it only after opening the document If there is. That is, first, it is a case where it is sufficient to convert a page whose outline can be grasped.
This is useful for improving the efficiency of work and the quality of work.

It is also effective when the processing of the disc is restricted or when the content is disposable. Browsing electronic documents attached to e-mails is often only once and is particularly effective.
From the above, it can be seen that this is effective for situations that convert in real time.

It is a functional block diagram which shows the structure of the whole system containing embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the structure of the browsing information management database of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the structure of the user information management database of embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart (the 1) which shows operation | movement of embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart (the 2) which shows operation | movement of embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart (the 3) which shows operation | movement of embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart (the 4) which shows operation | movement of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the browsing information and file information of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the browsing information after file type writing of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the user information of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the setting value regarding conversion of the presentation document of embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Client apparatus 2 Server apparatus 3 Network 4 Document information management apparatus 21 Transmission / reception part 23 Browse information management database 24 User information management database 25 Document file management database 221 Counter 222 Conversion rate determination part 223 Document type identification part 224 Conversion part

Claims (3)

Document type identifying means for determining whether or not the electronic document that is the target of the conversion command received from the client device is a presentation document, based on the file type information of the electronic document;
Conversion means for converting a predetermined portion of the electronic document into a format that can be browsed by a client device when the document type identification means determines that the electronic document is a presentation document;
Means for determining whether the conversion instruction is the first one,
When the conversion command is not the first one and the document type identification unit determines that the document is a presentation document, the conversion unit converts a predetermined part of the part excluding the part converted up to the previous time,
Furthermore, a user information management means for storing a browsing rate indicating how many sheets the user has viewed with respect to the total number of electronic documents for each user and for each browsing count ;
Statistically calculated by conversion browsing rate per number browsing when subjected to conversion instructions new electronic document determined, converted based on the determined conversion rate when subjected to the conversion instruction An electronic document conversion server , comprising: a conversion rate determining means for instructing the converting means to perform the conversion.   The electronic document conversion server according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined part is several pages from the beginning and several pages from the end of the document.   2. The electronic document conversion server according to claim 1, wherein the file type information of the electronic document is an extension.

Images