JP2007066096A - Electronic document approval system and method having automatic evaluation - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide technology capable of correctly and efficiently approving a plurality of electronic documents. <P>SOLUTION: The electronic document approval system comprises: a document reading means for reading out a document from a document database; an extraction means for extracting key information and at least one evaluation item data from the document data; a reading means for extracting at least one set of an evaluation item evaluation value and an evaluation method from a reference database on the basis of the key information; an evaluation means for successively evaluating the evaluation item data and the evaluation item evaluation values by the number of evaluation items in accordance with the evaluation method; an approval means for approving the document on the basis of the result of the evaluation means; and a storage means for storing the approved document. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to electronic approval of an electronic document, and more particularly to an electronic document approval system that can efficiently and efficiently approve approval of a standard electronic document.

  As the use of groupware represented by Lotus Notes spreads, electronic approval of electronic documents has come to be performed. Due to the efficiency and speed of business, the number of electronic documents processed per person has increased, and the number of electronic approval requests has increased.

  In order to approve an electronic document, it is necessary to open the electronic document on the screen and confirm the contents. This is because if the contents are not reviewed, the action of accepting or rejecting cannot be taken.

  To open an electronic document on the screen, there are a method of following a link to a document attached to an e-mail, and a method of selecting a document from a list screen called a view of a document database (hereinafter referred to as DB). In either method, it takes about several seconds to open the document on the screen.

  As the number of electronic documents increases, the number of approval requests also increases. There are a lot of people in charge under the administrator, and the person in charge makes an approval request to the administrator, so the administrator opens a very large amount of electronic documents on the screen, confirms the contents, and approves it. Need to do.

  Among documents, various types of slips are particularly large in number, and places where attention is required are limited. In the case of a paper voucher, if you get used to it, you can turn the voucher very quickly and press the approval stamp. However, in the case of an electronic document, it only takes a few seconds to open it, so the burden on the administrator is particularly great.

  For this reason, Patent Document 1 has applied for a technology capable of collectively viewing and approving a plurality of electronic documents.

In Patent Document 2, the format is unified, it is necessary to process in the order of application, and an approval request is made in a form that collects documents such as application forms and application forms with the same approval route, Applying for the electronic document circulation approval system that enables the requested approver to approve all of them, reduces the hassle of approval processing, prevents human error, and allows quick electronic approval processing .
Patent Publication 2002-132759 Patent Publication 2004-326518

  In the batch browsing and approval of Patent Document 1, since a plurality of documents are connected and displayed, it is necessary to scroll the screen when it does not fit on one page of the screen. . Also, if a document that should be denied is included, the entire document cannot be approved.

  The rounding means of Patent Document 2 is effective in reducing the number of outgoing e-mails, but the administrator is not freed from the task of checking the contents by opening a very large amount of electronic documents on the screen.

  Because there are many approval requests, the burden on the administrator is very large, and it takes a long time to open the electronic document on the screen where there is no mental room, so the time to review the document is reduced as a result. There is also a problem that the approval act tends to be complicated, and sometimes approves what should be denied.

  In addition, the person in charge may make a mistake in the description of various slips or create a slip that describes the contents that the administrator denies in view of internal rules. There was a big burden.

  The present invention makes it possible to approve electronic documents, in particular, documents such as various standard slips, quickly and without error without opening the documents one by one.

  The present invention enables the person in charge to evaluate the description content of a document in the process of creating various documents so that a document that is naturally denied is not requested to be approved.

  The electronic document approval system and method with automatic evaluation according to the present invention corresponding to claim 1 and claim 2 comprises a server and a client computer connected to a network such as the Internet, and at least on the server. A document database for creating / editing / saving a document; a reference database for retrieving data based on key information; and a document reading means for reading a document from the document database on a server or client; Extracting means for extracting key information and at least one evaluation item data from document data; reading means for extracting at least one set of evaluation item evaluation values and evaluation methods from a reference database based on the key information; and the evaluation item data And the evaluation item evaluation value in order of the number of evaluation items according to the evaluation method An electronic document approval system comprising: an evaluation unit that performs an evaluation; an approval unit that approves the document based on a result of the evaluation unit; and a storage unit that stores the approved document. Performing a step of requesting the selected document, a step of checking access rights to the selected document according to the request, a step of transmitting the selected document when the access right is confirmed, and a step of receiving the selected document. And the extraction means executes a step of extracting key information from the document data and a step of extracting data of the evaluation item from the document data, and the reading means uses the key information as a key from a reference database. A step of extracting a reference document and a step of extracting a set of evaluation item evaluation values and evaluation methods from the reference document The evaluation means executes a step of acquiring evaluation values based on evaluation item data and evaluation item evaluation values according to an evaluation method, and a step of acquiring a comprehensive evaluation value based on at least one evaluation value. The approval means comprises executing a step of filling in an indication of approval according to the result of the comprehensive evaluation value, a step of filling in an approval date and time, and a step of digitally signing the document, and the storage means Requesting document storage; checking access rights to the document; sending document data if there is access right; receiving and storing document data if there is access right; The operation method that consists of executing is performed.

  A reference document editing method for a reference database provided for an electronic document approval system and method having an automatic evaluation according to the present invention corresponding to claim 3 is the reference database reference document for acquiring a reference document based on key information. In addition to title information, key information, and body text information, at least one evaluation information set including an evaluation item display name, an evaluation item evaluation value, and an evaluation method is provided, and the reference document is in edit mode. The evaluation information set can be directly edited on the screen when it is opened.

  A document database provided for an electronic document approval system and method having an automatic evaluation according to the present invention corresponding to claim 4 and claim 5 includes an evaluation item display name, an evaluation item evaluation value, and an evaluation method in the document. At least one evaluation information set as a set and an evaluation result corresponding to the information evaluation set are provided, and when the document database is created or edited, the extracting unit extracts key information from the document data. And the step of extracting the evaluation item data from the document data, the reading means extracts the reference document from the reference database using the key information as a key, the evaluation item evaluation value from the reference document, and The step of taking out a set of evaluation methods is executed, and the evaluation means performs evaluation item data and evaluation item evaluation. And a step of acquiring an evaluation value according to the evaluation method and a step of acquiring a comprehensive evaluation value based on one or a plurality of evaluation values. The reading means and the evaluation means are executed, and the step of recording the evaluation item display name and the evaluation result of the evaluation means in a document is executed.

  The operation method of the electronic document approval system provided to the electronic document approval system and method having automatic evaluation according to the present invention corresponding to claim 6 includes: an evaluation item display name and an evaluation item evaluation value in a document database; In an electronic document approval system in which at least one evaluation information set including one evaluation method is provided, when an approval request is generated, a comprehensive evaluation is performed based on information in the evaluation information set in the document. Approval is executed in the case of good, and the step of interrupting the approval and displaying a confirmation screen is executed if the comprehensive evaluation is negative.

  The electronic document approval system provided for the electronic document approval system and method having automatic evaluation according to the present invention corresponding to claim 7, wherein the electronic document approval system selects a plurality of documents on the document list display screen and requests approval of the documents In addition, since the documents are sequentially transferred to the document reading means, batch approval is performed.

  An electronic document approval system provided for an electronic document approval system and method having an automatic evaluation according to the present invention corresponding to claim 8 and claim 9 includes an evaluation item display name and an evaluation item evaluation in a document database. It is provided with an evaluation information set in which a value and an evaluation method are set as one set, and further provided with a row display content to be displayed in a row column of a screen for displaying a document list, and a document digest is recorded in the row display content. If there is a negative item in the evaluation result, a message of the evaluation result is added and recorded in the line display content, and the comprehensive evaluation result, the evaluation result for each item, the line display content, Is displayed in the row of the document list display screen.

  When the selected document is approved on the document list display screen, the document is automatically evaluated and the document is approved, so there is no need to open the document on the screen, and the approval is extremely fast. . In addition, since the document is automatically evaluated, there is no possibility of erroneously approving a document that should not be approved. As a result, there is no waiting time for opening the document on the screen, the electronic document can be efficiently approved, and there is no error in approving the document that should not be approved, and the effect is extremely great.

  Because the reference document itself of the reference DB that acquires the reference document based on the key information has the evaluation information set data, the evaluation information set data can be edited directly when editing the reference document, making it easy to understand the meaning of the data Since it is easy to understand when entering data, the effect is extremely large.

  Document evaluation can be performed while the person in charge is creating or saving the document, so that the person in charge knows whether the document is approved or rejected before making a request for approval, and wasteful non-repudiation documents occur. It can be suppressed and the burden on the administrator and the person in charge can be reduced.

  In the document list display screen, the overall evaluation result, item-by-item evaluation result, and line display contents are displayed in the line, so it can be judged at a glance whether the approval should be made and the evaluation item has a negative evaluation Even when the individual judgment by the approver is necessary, the content of the negative evaluation is displayed in the line display content, so that the approval / denial can be determined without opening the document on the screen. As a result, there is no waiting time for opening the document on the screen, the electronic document can be approved efficiently, and the effect is extremely great.

  An electronic document database system comprising a server and a client computer connected to a network such as the Internet, having at least a document database and a reference database on the server, and on the server or client, An electronic document approval system including a document reading unit, an extracting unit, a reading unit, an evaluation unit, an approval unit, and a storage unit.

  An electronic document database system comprising a server and a client computer connected to a network such as the Internet, and having at least a document database and a reference database on the server, and on the server or client Includes a document display / editing means, an extracting means, a reading means, an evaluation means, an approval means, and a storage means. The electronic document includes an evaluation item display name, an evaluation item evaluation value, and an evaluation method. Is provided with at least one evaluation information set including one set, and further has a line display content, and the stored document is displayed on the document list display screen with a comprehensive evaluation result, an item-by-item evaluation result, and a line display content. This is an electronic document approval system that displays in a list row.

(Constitution)
FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the entire configuration of an electronic document approval system having automatic evaluation according to the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a server, 2, 3, 4, 5 are clients, 6 is a network such as the Internet, 7 is a firewall, and 8 is a network. In the figure, a server 1 of an electronic document approval system is connected to clients 2 and 3 via the Internet. The clients 4 and 5 are connected to the server 1 via a firewall 7 and a network 8 such as an intranet. In the figure, four clients are shown, but this number is arbitrary and may be any number.

  FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the entire configuration of the server 1 of the electronic document approval system shown in FIG. In the figure, the same number as above indicates the same thing. 100 is a server body, 111 is a bus, 112 is a CPU, 113 is a ROM, 114 is a RAM, 115 is a hard disk, 116 is a display device, 117 is an input device, 118 is a communication unit, 119 is a printing device, and 120 is an external storage device It is.

  FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the overall configuration of the client systems 2, 3, 4 and 5 shown in FIG. 1, and is representatively shown by two clients. In the figure, the same number as above indicates the same thing. Reference numeral 200 denotes a client system body, which is usually composed of a personal computer or the like. Reference numeral 211 is a bus, 212 is a CPU, 213 is a ROM, 214 is a RAM, 215 is a hard disk, 216 is a display device, 217 is an input device, 218 is a communication device, 219 is a printing device, and 221 is a personal authentication device.

  FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of the system configuration of the server main body 100 of the electronic document approval system. The above-mentioned same numbers indicate the same items. 150 is a control program, 151 is an authentication unit, and 152 is an access control unit. Reference numeral 160 denotes an authentication DB, 161 denotes an order slip DB, 162 denotes a customer DB, and 163 denotes a reference DB that is mounted on the hard disk 115. In the figure, the control program 150, the authentication means 151, and the access control means 152 are also present on the hard disk 115 before starting, but are loaded onto the RAM 114 when the server main body 100 is operating. Here, the order slip DB 161 corresponds to the document DB, and the customer DB 162 corresponds to the reference DB. The reference DB 163 is a second reference DB.

  FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of a detailed configuration on the client side of the electronic document approval system. In the figure, the same number as above indicates the same thing. 250 is a control program, 10 is an approval button, 11 is document reading means, 12 is document data, 13 is extraction means, 14 is reading means, 15 is target information, 16 is evaluation information, 17 is evaluation means, 18 is approval means , And 19 are document storage means.

  FIG. 6 shows an embodiment of the details of the target information 15, evaluation information 16, and evaluation means 17 of the electronic document approval system. In the figure, the same number as above indicates the same thing. 15-1 is data of evaluation item 1, 15-2 is data of evaluation item 2, 15-n is data of evaluation item n, 16-1 is evaluation information including an evaluation item display name, an evaluation item evaluation value, and an evaluation method. Sets 1 and 16-2 are evaluation information sets 2 and 16-n consisting of evaluation item display names, evaluation item evaluation values and evaluation methods, and 16-n are evaluation information sets n and 17 consisting of evaluation item display names, evaluation item evaluation values and evaluation methods. -1 is evaluation 1, 17-2 is evaluation 2, 17-n is evaluation n, and 17-J is comprehensive evaluation.

  FIG. 7 shows an embodiment of the details of the target information 15, the evaluation information 16, and the evaluation means 17 of the electronic document approval system. In the figure, the same number as above indicates the same thing.

  FIG. 8 is a screen display example of a document of the customer DB 162 which is an embodiment of the reference DB. In the figure, the same number as above indicates the same thing. 20-1 is title, 20-2 is key information, 20-3 is customer information, 20-4 is evaluation information area, 20-4-1 is evaluation information set 1, and 20-4-2 is evaluation information set 2. , And 20-4-n are the evaluation information set n.

  In the example of the screen display of the document of the customer DB 162 in FIG. 8, the evaluation information set 1 20-4-1, the evaluation information set 2 20-4-2, and the evaluation information set n 20-4-n are the evaluation information area 20-4. Configure.

(Function)
The server 1 of the electronic document approval system having the automatic evaluation of the embodiment of FIG. 1 always waits for access from the clients 2 and 3 via the Internet 6. Further, access from the clients 4 and 5 waits via the Internet 6 after passing through the network 8 and the firewall 7. Here, the Internet 6 may be an intranet. Also, the number of client connections may be arbitrary.

  The operation of the server 1 of the electronic document approval system will be described with reference to FIG. The server main body 100 is a computer, and the ROM 113 is a read-only memory. When the computer is turned on, the computer startup program stored in the ROM 113 is called and loaded into the CPU 112 via the bus 111 to temporarily Those that need to be stored are stored in the RAM 114. At this time, the OS stored in the hard disk 115 is called by the functions of the CPU 112, the ROM 113, and the RAM 114 to start the computer. When the computer is activated, the control program 150 of the server 100 is called from the hard disk 122 and loaded into the RAM 114. The OS and the control program 150 perform necessary processing according to the input from the input device 117 and display on the display device 116 or print from the printing device 119. When the control program 150 shown in FIG. 4 is started, the server 1 always waits for various requests and reacts to any request.

  When there is a request from the client system 2 or the like shown in FIG. 1, the request is sent via the network 6 and the communication means 118. Therefore, the CPU 112 detects the request and passes control to the control program 150 to authenticate, Access control, DB reading / storing, program loading, etc. are performed.

  The operation of the client 2 of the electronic document approval system will be described with reference to FIG. The client system main body 200 is a computer, and the ROM 213 is a read-only memory. When the computer is turned on, the computer startup program stored in the ROM 213 is called and loaded into the CPU 212 via the bus 211 to be temporarily stored. What needs to be stored is stored in the RAM 214. At this time, the OS stored in the hard disk 215 is called by the functions of the CPU 212, ROM 213, and RAM 214, and the computer is activated. When the computer is activated, the control program 250 of the client system main body 200 is called from the hard disk 215 and loaded into the RAM 214. The OS and the control program 250 perform necessary processing in accordance with the input from the input device 217 and display on the display device 216 or print from the printing device 219. When a user or the like performs an operation on the client system main body 200 from the input device 217, a response message is displayed on the display device 216 by the functions of the OS and the control program 250.

  For example, when an authentication request is made from the client system 2, the request is detected by the CPU 212, and the request is sent via the communication unit 226 connected to the bus 211 and the network 6 by the operation of the control program 250. The server 1 detects this, passes control to the control program 150, and performs authentication processing.

By connecting the personal authentication means 221 to the bus 211 in the client system 2, it is possible to perform strong authentication based on biometrics. It is also possible to authenticate with an IC card and to possess the card and authenticate with a password.

  In the case of document approval, when the user performs an operation on the client system main body 200 from the input device 224, a response message is displayed on the display device 223 by the functions of the OS and the control program 250. The operation is detected by the CPU 212, and a request is sent via the communication means 218 connected to the bus 211 and the network 6 by the operation of the control program 250, so that the communication means 118 in the server main body 100 of the server 1 Detect. The communication unit 118 sends a request to the CPU 112, transfers control to the control program 150, and performs document approval processing and the like.

  Similarly, when the customer DB process is performed, when the user performs an operation on the client system main body 200 from the input device 217, a response message is displayed on the display device 216 by the functions of the OS and the control program 250. The operation is detected by the CPU 212, and a request is sent via the communication means 218 connected to the bus 211 and the network 6 by the operation of the control program 250, so that the communication means 118 in the server main body 100 of the server 1 Detect. The communication means 118 sends a request to the CPU 112, passes control to the control program 150, and performs customer DB processing.

  The operation of the electronic document approval system having automatic evaluation will be described with reference to FIGS. When a document is selected on the list display screen and the approval button 10 is clicked, the order reading slip that becomes the document data 12 is read into the RAM 214 from the order slip DB 161 that becomes the document DB by the function of the document reading means 11.

  Next, the extraction unit 13 extracts target information 15 to be evaluated from the document data 12. Similarly, the extraction unit 13 extracts key information from the document data 12. The customer information is read from the customer DB 162, which is a reference DB, based on the key information by the function of the reading means 14, and the evaluation information 16 is obtained.

  FIG. 6 shows an example of the details of the target information 15, the evaluation information 16, and the evaluation means 17. The data extracted by the extraction means 13 is from the data 15-1 of the evaluation item 1 to the data 15-n of the evaluation item n. The data read by the reading means 14 is from the evaluation information set 1 16-1 to the evaluation information set n 16-n. The evaluation information set includes an evaluation item display name, an evaluation item evaluation value, and an evaluation method.

  FIG. 7 further shows an example of details of the target information 15, the evaluation information 16, and the evaluation means 17. 15-1 indicates a price of 90,000 yen, 15-2 indicates an M rate of 15%, and 15-3 indicates a delivery allowance of 2 days. 16-1 is “price”, price rank, and evaluation method, 16-2 is “M rate”, M rate rank, and evaluation method, and 16-3 is “delivery time margin”, delivery date margin rank, and evaluation method. In the figure, since the price is A or less, the evaluation 17-1 is A. Since the M rate is 15% and is A or less and B or more, evaluation 17-2 is B. Since the delivery date margin is 2 days or more, the evaluation 17-3 is A.

  The comprehensive evaluation 17-J is obtained by performing a predetermined calculation on the evaluations 17-1 to 17-n. When the comprehensive evaluation 17-J is A, the approval unit 18 is executed, the approval is entered in the document data 12 that is the order slip, and the document is stored in the order slip DB 162 that is the document DB by the document storage unit 19. .

  The operation of the electronic document approval system having automatic evaluation has been described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. This will be described in more detail in the embodiment of the document approval flow of FIG.

  When a document is selected on the list display screen and the approval button 10 is clicked, step A-1 is executed. If there is a selected document on the list display screen, a Yes route is selected in step A-2, and step A-3 is executed.

  Step A-3 is a step of reading the selected document, and corresponds to the document reading means 11. The details are one embodiment of the document reading means flow of FIG. In the figure, when a selected document is requested from the client side in the BC-1 step, the request reaches the CPU 112 via the bus 211, the communication means 218, the network 6, the communication means 118, and the bus 111 by the operation of the CPU 212. In the BS-1 step, the access control means 152 is called by the action of the control program 150 waiting on the RAM 114, and the access right to the document in the order slip DB 161, which is the document DB, is checked. If there is no access right, the flow is rejected and the flow does not proceed but returns at that time. If there is an access right, the process proceeds to BS-2 step, and the selected document is read from the HDD 115 by the operation of the control program 150 and the CPU 112, and the bus 111, the communication means 118, the network 6, the communication means 218, and the bus 211. Then, the CPU 212 is reached, and the selected document is read onto the RAM 214 in step BC-2. Document data 12 is read in this way.

  Steps A-4 and A-5 correspond to the extraction means 13. In step A-4, the customer ID, which is key information, is extracted from the document data 12 on the RAM 214. Similarly, in step A-5, data of evaluation items is sequentially extracted by the number of evaluation items.

  Step A-6 corresponds to the reading means 14. The details are one example of the reading means flow relating to the reference DB of FIG. In the figure, at the CC-1 step, a client DB 162 as a reference DB is requested from the client side. This request reaches the CPU 112 via the bus 211, the communication means 218, the network 6, the communication means 118, and the bus 111 by the action of the CPU 212, and the action of the control program 150 waiting on the RAM 114 in the CS-1 step. Then, the access control means 152 is called, and the access right to the customer DB 162 as the reference DB is checked. If there is no access right, a rejection is made. If there is an access right, the permission is returned to CC-1 following the first route in the reverse direction. If rejected, the flow does not proceed but returns at that time. If permitted, the process proceeds to step CC-2.

The CC-2 step requests the server 1 for a customer ID document, which is the key information acquired in A-4. The request is a function of the CPU 212 and a control program 150 that reaches the CPU 112 via the bus 211, the communication unit 218, the network 6, the communication unit 118, and the bus 111 and waits on the RAM 114 in the CS-2 step. The access control means 152 is called, and the access right to the document of the customer DB 162 as the reference DB is checked. If there is no access right, the flow is rejected and the flow does not proceed but returns at that time. If there is an access right, the process proceeds to the CS-3 step, and the selected document is read from the HDD 115 by the operation of the control program 150 and the CPU 112, and the bus 111, the communication means 118, the network 6, the communication means 218, and the bus 211. Then, the CPU 212 is reached, and the selected document is read onto the RAM 214 in the CC-3 step.
In step CC-4, an evaluation item set is extracted from the selected document. The information read in this way is the evaluation information 16.

  Step A-7 corresponds to the evaluation means 17 and sequentially evaluates the data based on the evaluation value of the evaluation item and the evaluation method. 6 and 7 are diagrams showing the evaluation item data, the evaluation value, and the evaluation. FIG. 7 is a more specific example of FIG. 15-1 indicates a price of 90,000 yen, 15-2 indicates an M rate of 15%, and 15-3 indicates a delivery allowance of 2 days. 16-1 is “price”, price rank, and evaluation method, 16-2 is “M rate”, M rate rank, and evaluation method, and 16-3 is “delivery time margin”, delivery date margin rank, and evaluation method. Since the price is A or less in the figure, the evaluation 17-1 is A. Since the M rate is 15% and is A or less and B or more, evaluation 17-2 is B. Since the delivery date margin is 2 days or more, the evaluation 17-3 is A.

  Steps A-8, A-9, and A-10 correspond to the approval means 18. When the overall evaluation 17-J of the evaluation means 17 is A, A-8 proceeds to the A-10 step with the route A, but when B, the process proceeds to the A-9 step with the route B. In the case of C, the process returns to step A-2 along the route of C, and the process is transferred to another selected document.

  Step A-9 is a step that displays a confirmation message when the overall evaluation is B. If you can approve, go to step A-10, but if not, return to step A-2 and make another selection. Transfer processing to the document.

  A-10 is a step for actually executing the approval, and its details are shown in FIG.

  In step D-1 in FIG. 14, an indication of approval is entered in the document data 12. Enter the approval date and time in step D-2. In step D-3, the document data 12 is signed.

  Step A-11 corresponds to the document storage unit 19. Details of step A-11 are shown in FIG. 15 as an example of the document storage means flow.

  In the figure, when a document storage request is made from the client side in the EC-1 step, the request reaches the CPU 112 via the bus 211, the communication means 218, the network 6, the communication means 118, and the bus 111 by the operation of the CPU 212. The access control means 152 is called by the action of the control program 150 waiting on the RAM 114 in the ES-1 step, and the access right to the document in the order slip DB 161, which is the document DB, is checked. If there is no access right, a rejection is made. If there is an access right, permission is traced back in the first route and returned to EC-1. If rejected, the flow does not proceed but returns at that time. If permitted, the process proceeds to step EC-2.

  In the EC-2 step, the approved document data 12 is taken out from the RAM 214 by the action of the CPU 212 and sent to the network 6 via the bus 211 and the communication means 218.

  In the ES-2 step, the document data 12 is received by the CPU 112 via the communication means 118 and the bus 111, and is stored in the order slip DB 161 which is a document DB in the HDD 215 by the function of the CPU 112.

  When the A-11 step is completed as described above, the process returns to the first A-2 step to check whether the selected document remains, and if it remains, the same processing is repeated. If no selected document remains, the process ends.

  As described above, the operation of the electronic document approval system having the automatic evaluation described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 has been described in more detail in the embodiment of the document approval flow of FIG.

  As described above, when the approval of a plurality of selected documents is executed on the document list display screen, the documents are automatically evaluated in order and the documents are approved, so it is necessary to open the document on the screen. And batch approval is done very quickly. In addition, since the document is automatically evaluated, there is no possibility of erroneously approving a document that should not be approved. This eliminates an enormous waiting time for opening a large number of documents on the screen, allows efficient batch approval of electronic documents, and eliminates errors in approving documents that should not be approved. It is.

  Next, a customer information document that is a reference document of the customer DB 162 that is the reference DB will be described based on an example of the customer information document editing screen of the customer DB in FIG.

  When customer information is selected and opened on a customer information list screen (not shown), the customer information is displayed on the customer information display screen 20. Here, the customer information list screen is a screen generally called a view in groupware.

  The customer information display screen 20 includes an evaluation information area 20-4 according to the present invention in addition to the title 20-1, key information 20-2, and customer information 20-3. The evaluation information area 20-4 includes from the evaluation information set 20-4-1 to 20-4-n as necessary. The evaluation information set includes a column that describes an evaluation item name indicating the meaning of the evaluation item, an evaluation value, and an evaluation method.

  Since the evaluation item name, evaluation value, and evaluation method are directly described in the document itself describing the customer information, it can be edited at the same time as editing the document.

  Since the evaluation item name, evaluation value, and evaluation method are written directly on the document that describes the customer information, it is easier to understand than writing it separately from the customer information, and there is a risk of making a mistake such as a wrong button. Disappear. In addition, since the evaluation information can be confirmed at a glance when the customer information is opened, it is much more convenient than writing the information independently of the customer information.

(Constitution)
FIG. 9 shows an example of the details of the configuration of the electronic document approval system. In the figure, the same number as above indicates the same thing. 21 is a document, 21-1 is a title, 21-2 is key information, 21-3 is a text, 21-4 is an evaluation information area, 21-4-1 is an evaluation information set 1 and an evaluation result, 21-4-2. Is the evaluation information set 2 and the evaluation result, 21-4-n is the evaluation information set n and the evaluation result, 21-5 is the row display content, and 22 is the summarizing means.

  FIG. 10 shows an embodiment of a document list display screen of the electronic document approval system. 23 is a document list display screen, 23-1 is a document selection column, 23-2 is a product number display column, 23-3 is an evaluation display column, 23-4 is an item-by-item evaluation display column, and 23-5 is a customer name display. Columns 23-6 are row display content display columns, 23-7 are amount display columns, and 23-8 are approval buttons.

(Function)
The operation of one embodiment of the detailed configuration of the electronic document approval system in FIG. 9 will be described.

  The document 21 in FIG. 9 is displayed when it is opened on the screen of the display device 116 of the client. When the document is an order receipt, the title 21-1 automatically displays the product number, customer name, and product name concatenated. The customer information is described in the key information 21-2. In the place of the text 21-3, the arrangement code, product name, model, order quantity, unit price, amount, etc. of the ordered product are described in a list form. In addition, describe the total amount, payment method, etc.

  Evaluation information set 21 and evaluation result 21-4-n from evaluation information set 1 and evaluation result 21-4-1 are entered by evaluation means 17 in evaluation information area 21-4. As an example, this is the same content as the evaluation information 16 and the evaluation means 17 in FIG. 16-1 and 17-1 correspond to 21-4-1 of document 21 which is an order slip, 16-2 and 17-2 correspond to 21-4-2, and 21-4-3 16-3 corresponds to 17-3. That is, “Price”, 100,000, 200,000, A is entered in 21-4-1, “M rate”, 20, 10, or more, B is entered in 21-4-2, 21-4- 3 is filled with “delivery date”, 2, 1, and above. B is entered in the overall evaluation 21-4-J.

  The line display content 21-5 displays a digest of the document 21 that is an order receipt. In one example, since the M rate is B, the message “M rate B” comes to the top of the line display content 21-5.

  The operation of one embodiment of the details of the configuration of the electronic document approval system in FIG. 9 will be described in order.

  The person in charge creates or edits the document 21 on the screen of the display device 116 of the client. When the editing operation is finished, an event such as clicking a recalculation button (not shown) or saving a document is generated.

  When an event occurs, the extraction unit 13 is activated to extract target information 15 to be evaluated from the document data 12. Similarly, the extraction unit 13 extracts key information from the document data 12. The customer information is read from the customer DB 162, which is a reference DB, based on the key information by the function of the reading means 14, and the evaluation information 16 is obtained.

  FIG. 6 shows details of the target information 15, the evaluation information 16, and the evaluation means 17. The data extracted by the extraction means 13 is from the data 15-1 of the evaluation item 1 to the data 15-n of the evaluation item n. The data read by the reading means 14 is from the evaluation item 1 evaluation value and evaluation method 16-1 to the evaluation item n evaluation value and evaluation method 16-n.

  FIG. 7 further shows details of the target information 15, the evaluation information 16, and the evaluation means 17. 15-1 indicates a price of 90,000 yen, 15-2 indicates an M rate of 15%, and 15-3 indicates a delivery allowance of 2 days. 16-1 is “price”, price rank, and evaluation method, 16-2 is “M rate”, M rate rank, and evaluation method, and 16-3 is “delivery time margin”, delivery date margin rank, and evaluation method. Since the price is A or less in the figure, the evaluation 17-1 is A. Since the M rate is 15% and is A or less and B or more, evaluation 17-2 is B. Since the delivery date margin is 2 days or more, the evaluation 17-3 is A.

  The comprehensive evaluation 17-J is obtained by performing a predetermined calculation on the evaluations 17-1 to 17-n. The values of evaluation 17-1 to evaluation 17-n are stored in the evaluation information area 21-4 of the document 21 together with the evaluation item display name. Evaluations 17-1 to 17-n are 17-1 to 17-3 in the case of FIG.

  The data of the object information 15, the evaluation information 16, and the evaluation means 17 is written into the evaluation information area 21-4 by the function of the evaluation means 17. That is, “Price”, 100,000, 200,000, A is entered in 21-4-1, “M rate”, 20, 10, or more, B is entered in 21-4-2, 21-4- 3 is filled with “delivery date”, 2, 1, and above. B is entered in the overall evaluation 21-4-J.

  The summarizing means 22 is also activated when an event occurs and examines the evaluations 17-1 to 17-n. If the evaluation is all A, the order information is digested. When B or C is included in the evaluation, the evaluation item name and the evaluation are described at the top of the line display content 21-5.

  The operation of the electronic document approval system and method having the automatic evaluation according to the present invention has been described with reference to FIG.

  Next, based on one embodiment of the evaluation flow of the edited document in FIG. 16, one embodiment of the document approval flow when the document has the evaluation information set in FIG. 17, and one embodiment of the list display screen in FIG. The operation of the electronic document approval system and method with evaluation will be described in more detail.

  When the person in charge finishes the editing operation and generates an event such as clicking a recalculation button (not shown) or saving a document, the flow of FIG. 16 starts. In FIG. 16, the same reference numerals as those in FIG.

  Steps AA-4 and AA-5 correspond to the extraction means 13. In step AA-4, a customer ID as key information is extracted from the document data 21 on the RAM 214 corresponding to the edited document displayed on the screen. Similarly, in the AA-5 step, the evaluation item data is sequentially extracted by the number of evaluation items.

  Step AA-6 corresponds to the reading means 14. As described in detail in the embodiment of the reading means flow relating to the reference DB in FIG. 13, the evaluation information 16 is acquired.

  The AA-7 step corresponds to the evaluation means 17 and sequentially evaluates the data based on the evaluation value of the evaluation item and the evaluation method. 6 and 7 are diagrams showing the evaluation item data, the evaluation value, and the evaluation. FIG. 7 is a more specific example of FIG. 15-1 indicates a price of 90,000 yen, 15-2 indicates an M rate of 15%, and 15-3 indicates a delivery allowance of 2 days. 16-1 is “price”, price rank, and evaluation method, 16-2 is “M rate”, M rate rank, and evaluation method, and 16-3 is “delivery time margin”, delivery date margin rank, and evaluation method. Since the price is A or less in the figure, the evaluation 17-1 is A. Since the M rate is 15% and is A or less and B or more, evaluation 17-2 is B. Since the delivery date margin is 2 days or more, the evaluation 17-3 is A.

  In step AA-12, the evaluation information 16 and the evaluation result 17 are written in the evaluation information area 21-4 of the document 21.

  Steps AA-13 and AA-14 correspond to the summarizing means 22. In step AA-13, the value in the evaluation information area 21-4 is checked, and if the evaluation is B or C, the evaluation result is output to the line display content 21-5.

  In step AA-14, the order information is digested and added to the row display contents.

  As described above, data is written in the evaluation information area 21-4 and the line display content 21-5 of the document 21, and stored in the document 21.

  As a result, it can be seen whether the document is approved or rejected even when the creator is creating the document 21. For this reason, the contents pointed out before the application for approval can be corrected in advance, and there is no unnecessary round-trip of the document, and the effect is extremely great.

  Next, referring to FIG. 17 and FIG. 10, the operation of approval will be described for a document that has been edited and has been applied for approval.

  In the document list display screen 23 of FIG. In the document list display screen 23, the overall evaluation result of the document 21 is displayed in the evaluation display column 23-3, and the individual evaluation result of the document 21 is displayed in the item-specific evaluation display column 23-4. In addition, the content of the row display content 21-5 is displayed in the row display content display column 23-6, and the content of which the evaluation is bad is displayed. As described above, the approver can determine at a glance whether or not the approver can approve the document list display screen 23.

  In step AA-1, when a document is selected by checking the document selection column 23-1 on the list display screen 23 and the approval button 23-8 is clicked, the process proceeds to step AA-2 and whether there is a selected document. Find out. If there is a selected document, the process proceeds to AA-3.

  Step AA-3 is a step of reading the selected document, and corresponds to the document reading means 11. The details are one embodiment of the document reading means flow of FIG. The operation of the figure has already been described. The read document is the document data 12. However, the document data 12 is not displayed on the screen here, but the data structure is as shown in the document 21 and has an evaluation information area 21-4.

  Steps A-8, A-9, and A-10 correspond to the approval means 18. The AA-8 step is evaluated based on the comprehensive evaluation 21-4-J. When the comprehensive evaluation is A, the process proceeds to AA-10 step. When the comprehensive evaluation is B, the process proceeds to step AA-9 of the confirmation message. If the overall evaluation is C, the process returns to step AA-2 without being approved.

  In step AA-9, a message “Overall evaluation is B but will you approve?” Is displayed for the document whose overall evaluation is B. In the evaluation display column 23-3 and the item-specific evaluation display column 23-4 of the list display screen 23, B is included in the evaluation and which evaluation item is B can be known at a glance. Furthermore, the content of the row display content 21-5 is displayed in the row display content display column 23-6, and the content with the bad evaluation is displayed.

  If Yes is selected, the process proceeds to step AA-10. If No is selected, the process returns to step AA-2 without approval.

  In the AA-10 step, the approval is actually executed. The details are shown in FIG.

  Step AA-11 corresponds to the document storage unit 19. Details of step A-11 are shown in FIG. 15 as an example of the document storage means flow. The operation of FIG.

  When the A-11 step is completed, the process returns to the first AA-2 step to check whether or not the selected document remains. If the selected document remains, the same processing is repeated. If no selected document remains, the process ends.

  As described above, when the approval of the selected document is executed on the document list display screen, the document is approved by the comprehensive evaluation in the document in the document database, so it is not necessary to open the document on the screen. Approval takes place very quickly. In addition, there is no risk of erroneously approving a document that should not be approved according to the comprehensive evaluation result of the document. As a result, there is no waiting time for opening the document on the screen, the electronic document can be efficiently approved, and there is no error in approving the document that should not be approved, and the effect is extremely great.

  Since the contents described in the row display contents are displayed at 23-6 on the list display screen of FIG. 10, it is readily apparent whether or not the document should be approved without opening the document on the screen. Further, in FIG. 10, since evaluation is displayed in 23-3 and item-specific evaluation is displayed in 23-3, the approver can grasp the content of the evaluation and the problematic evaluation only on the list screen. Checking the details to see if it should be evaluated or rejected, the burden on the administrator is greatly reduced, and the effect is extremely large.

  In the first embodiment, the reading unit 14 reads only the customer DB 162 as the reference DB, but other related DBs such as the reference DB 163 may be read. For example, information related to a product may be extracted from the product DB using the product code of the product described in the order receipt as a key and added to the target information 15.

  Although the price, M rate, and delivery deadline are listed as the evaluation items in FIG. 7, it may be evaluated whether the product can be sold from the type and destination. In such a case, an additional reference DB such as the reference DB 163 is required.

  As an example, an order slip is used as the document DB. However, for example, an estimate, a purchase order, a delivery note, an invoice, a travel expense bill, a purchase slip for equipment and equipment, a receipt slip, a withdrawal slip, a transfer slip, Examples include application forms and application forms. Any document other than those listed here can be applied as long as it is a standard document.

  Applicable to standard electronic documents that require investigation and approval. Even an atypical electronic document can be applied if the extraction means is devised.

An example of the overall configuration of an electronic document approval system with automatic evaluation An example of overall configuration of server of electronic document approval system Example of overall configuration of client computer system Example of system configuration on server side of electronic document approval system Example of detailed configuration of client side of electronic document approval system Configuration example of object information, evaluation information and evaluation means Example of target information, evaluation information and data of evaluation means Example of editing screen of customer information document in customer DB Example of detailed configuration of electronic document approval system with automatic evaluation Example of list display screen Example of document approval flow Example of document reading means flow An example of a reading means flow relating to the reference DB One example of approval means flow Example of document storage means flow Example of an evaluation flow for an edited document Example of document approval flow when evaluation information set is included in document

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Server 2 Client 3 Client 4 Client 5 Client 6 Internet 7 Firewall 8 Network 10 Approval button 11 Document reading means 12 Document data 13 Extraction means 14 Reading means 15 Target information 15-1 Evaluation item 1 data 15-2 Evaluation item 2 Data 15-n Data 16 of evaluation item n Evaluation information 16-1 Evaluation information set 1
16-2 Evaluation information set 2
16-n Evaluation information set n
17 Evaluation means 17-1 Evaluation 1
17-2 Evaluation 2
17-n Evaluation n
17-J Comprehensive evaluation 18 Approval means 19 Document storage means 20 Customer information display screen 20-1 Title 20-2 Key information 20-3 Customer information 20-4 Evaluation information area 20-4-1 Evaluation information set 1
20-4-2 Evaluation information set 2
20-4-n Evaluation information set n
21 Document 21-1 Title 21-2 Key Information 21-3 Text 21-4 Evaluation Information Area 21-4-1 Evaluation Information Set 1 and Evaluation Result 21-4-2 Evaluation Information Set 2 and Evaluation Result 21-4-n Evaluation information set n and evaluation result 21-5 Line display content 22 Summarization means 23 Document list display screen 23-1 Document selection column 23-2 Production number display column 23-3 Evaluation display column 23-4 Evaluation display column 23-by item 5 Customer name display column 23-6 Line display content display column 23-7 Amount display column 23-8 Approval button 100 Server body 111 Bus 112 CPU
113 ROM
114 RAM
115 Hard Disk 116 Display Device 117 Input Device 118 Communication Unit 119 Printing Device 120 External Storage Device 150 Control Program 151 Authentication Unit 152 Access Control Unit 160 Authentication DB
161 Order receipt DB
162 Customer DB
163 Reference DB
200 Client system 211 Bus 212 CPU
213 ROM
214 RAM
215 Hard disk 216 Display device 217 Input device 218 Communication means 219 Printing device 221 Personal authentication means 250 Control program

Claims (9)

An electronic document database system consisting of a server and a client computer connected to a network such as the Internet, and at least on the server,
A document database for creating, editing and saving documents;
A reference database for retrieving data based on key information,
On the server or client,
A document reading means for reading a document from a document database;
Extraction means for extracting key information and at least one evaluation item data from document data;
Reading means for extracting at least one set of evaluation item evaluation values and evaluation methods from a reference database based on key information;
Evaluation means for sequentially evaluating the number of evaluation items according to the evaluation method from the evaluation item data and the evaluation item evaluation value,
An approval means for approving the document based on the result of the evaluation means;
A storage means for storing the approved document;
An electronic document approval system. It consists of a server and a client computer connected to a network such as the Internet.
A document database;
A reference database;
Document reading means;
Extraction means;
Reading means;
An evaluation means;
Authorization means;
Storage means;
In the operation method of the electronic document approval system comprising:
The document reading means is
Requesting a selected document;
Checking access to selected documents according to the request;
Sending the selected document when access rights are confirmed;
Receiving the selected document, and
The extraction means comprises:
Extracting key information from document data;
And executing a step of retrieving evaluation item data from document data,
The reading means is
Retrieving a reference document from a reference database using the key information as a key;
The step of taking out a set of evaluation item evaluation values and evaluation methods from the reference document,
The evaluation means is
Obtaining evaluation values according to the evaluation method with the evaluation item data and evaluation item evaluation values;
And a step of obtaining a comprehensive evaluation value based on at least one evaluation value,
The approval means is
Filling in the approval indication according to the result of the overall rating,
A step for entering the approval date and time,
And performing a digital signature step on the document,
The storage means
Requesting document storage; and
Checking the access rights to the document;
A method of operating an electronic document approval system, comprising: executing a step of transmitting document data when the user has access right; and a step of receiving and storing the document data when the user has the access right. In the reference document of the reference database that obtains the reference document based on the key information,
In addition to title information, key information, and text information,
There is at least one evaluation information set including an evaluation item display name, an evaluation item evaluation value, and an evaluation method,
When the reference document is opened in edit mode,
A reference document editing method for a reference database for use in an electronic document approval system, wherein the evaluation information set can be directly edited on a screen. In addition to the evaluation information set in which the evaluation item display name, evaluation item evaluation value, and evaluation method are combined in the document database,
An electronic document approval system comprising at least one evaluation result set corresponding to the evaluation information set. It consists of a server and a client computer connected to a network such as the Internet.
A document database for storing documents with at least one evaluation information set;
A reference database;
Extraction means;
Reading means;
An evaluation means;
In the operation method of the electronic document approval system comprising:
When creating or editing a document in the document database, the extraction means
Extracting key information from document data;
And executing a step of retrieving evaluation item data from document data,
The reading means is
Retrieving a reference document from a reference database using the key information as a key;
And taking out a set of evaluation item evaluation values and evaluation methods from the reference document,
The evaluation means is
Executing the step of obtaining evaluation values according to the evaluation method and the step of obtaining a comprehensive evaluation value based on one or more evaluation values;
Execute the extraction means, the reading means, and the evaluation means at a button operation or save event,
An operation method of an electronic document approval system, comprising: executing a step of recording an evaluation item display name and an evaluation result of the evaluation means in a document. In the operation method of the electronic document approval system provided with at least one evaluation information set in which the evaluation item display name, the evaluation item evaluation value, and the evaluation method are set as one set in the document of the document database,
When a request for approval occurs, based on the information in the evaluation information set in the document, if the overall evaluation is good, execute the approval, and if the overall evaluation is negative, stop the approval and display a confirmation screen. A method of operating an electronic document approval system consisting of execution. When requesting approval of a document by selecting multiple documents on the document list display screen,
Documents are sequentially passed to the document reading means.
Electronic document approval system. In a document database, a document having an evaluation information set in which an evaluation item display name, an evaluation item evaluation value, and an evaluation method are combined as one set is further provided with a row display content to be displayed in a row column of a screen for displaying a document list. No way,
Record the digest of the document in the line display content,
An electronic document approval system in which a message indicating the evaluation result is further added and recorded in the contents of the line display when there is a negative item in the evaluation result. The document list display screen of the electronic document approval system in which the comprehensive evaluation result, the item-by-item evaluation result, and the line display contents are displayed in the list line on the document list display screen.

Images