JP2000090001A - Method and system for conversion of electronic data using conversion setting - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain proper display on a desired device such as a portable device by allowing a content alteration system for an electronic document to alter the contents of an original electronic document including information on a hypertext, an image, etc., according to conversion settings. SOLUTION: A content conversion part 16 on a 2nd network receives a request to the original electronic document from a 1st network device 12 through a proxy server 14 and accesses a data base 18 so as to obtain conversion information. Then conversion settings for a user, a device, a site, etc., are made and the request to the electronic document is sent back to the proxy server 14. The proxy server 14 sends the request to a proper electronic document server and sets a conversion key for accessing the conversion settings to obtain the requested electronic document. The content conversion part 16 having received the electronic document performs conversion with a conversion indication accompanied by conversion order according to the conversion settings. The converted electronic document is sent to the network device 12 as the request source through the proxy server 14.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to a computer network. In particular, the invention relates to a method and apparatus for converting the content of electronic data using a conversion setting for a desired network device.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The Internet is a worldwide network of many computers interconnected. World Wide Web (WWW)
Is an information system on the Internet, which is designed to exchange electronic documents. Electronic documents on the World Wide Web are stored, for example, as files, and include text, hypertext, and images, videos,
It contains references to electronic data such as audio. The structure of a hypertext document is defined by a document markup language such as General Purpose Markup Language (SGML), Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), Extensible Markup Language (XML), Virtual Reality Markup Language (VRML), etc. .

[0003] Hypertext documents have markup codes called "tags". Tags define the structure of the hypertext document and have at least a "start" tag name enclosed in delimiters and often an "end" tag name enclosed in delimiters. For example, the markup tag “<H1>” indicates the start of the first level header. The markup tag “</ H1>” indicates the end of the first level header. The image tag “<IMG ...>” ends with a delimiter “>” that closes the tag, and does not use the end tag “</ IMG>”. Other markup languages use similar tags to create hypertext documents.

[0004] A markup language allows reference to electronic data such as images, moving pictures, sounds, and videos attached to text. Hypertext markup language allows the use of images in hypertext documents using image tags "<IMG>". For example, the image tag "<IMGSRC =" log
o.jpg ">" displays the logo image stored in the JPEG file "logo.jpg".

[0005] Hypertext documents from the World Wide Web are displayed by software called "browser". Browsers include Microsoft's Internet Explorer in Redmond, WA and Netscape Navigator from Netscape Communications in Mountain View, CA. The browser analyzes the hypertext document, converts it into text, an image, a moving image, a sound, a video, and the like, and displays it on a device such as a display of a personal computer.

[0006] By using hyperlinks in hypertext documents, content can be added to the hypertext document from other sources. For example, the hyperlink tag "<A HREF =" http://www.spyglass.com/log
o.mov ">" provides a hyperlink to the video file "logo.mov". When the user selects this link in the hypertext document (eg, by clicking a mouse), the video file "logo.mov" is retrieved from the Internet address (URL) "www.spyglass.com". Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)
It is a transfer protocol.

[0007] Hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP),
Transfer protocols such as File Transfer Protocol (FTP) and Gopher are means for transferring hypertext documents and attached information via the World Wide Web. Hypertext transfer protocol is one of the basic protocols used to transfer information over the World Wide Web. The hypertext transfer protocol connects a user to a server, requests hypertext, receives a response, and disconnects the user from the server. File transfer protocols allow access to files on remote devices. By using a file transfer system, a user can access the device, search directories, download and upload files. Gopher is similar to a file transfer protocol and provides a series of menus linked to files containing hypertext.

[0008] Content providers on the World Wide Web provide their own content using attributes of tags in markup languages. HTML image tag IM as an example
Explain the attributes that G has. ISMAP is a selectable image map. SRC is the source URL of the image. ALT is a string used in place of an image. ALIGN is the alignment of the images (eg left, center, right). VSPACE is the vertical space between an image and text. HSPACE is the horizontal space between the image and the text. WIDTH is the pixel width of the image. HEIGHT is the pixel height of the image.
There are several other browser-dependent attributes (for example, Netscape Browser BORDER and LOWSRC). There are also attributes that can be changed. For example, select one of 256 colors
(TEXT = "blue" or TEXT = "0xa6caf0" selects sky blue), specify the font (FONTFACE = "Times Roma
n "), set the format (<B> text <B> sets bold).

Most electronic documents developed for the World Wide Web use standard SVGA resolution (eg, 800 × 600
(256 colors or more at pixel resolution)
It is assumed that the contents of an electronic document are viewed using a browser on a desktop computer having the following. The user can change the display of the contents of the selected electronic document (for example, the color and size of the text) by changing the attributes of the browser. However, what can be changed is limited by the changeable attributes of the browser used.

[0010] There are many problems with electronic documents developed for the World Wide Web, intended for viewing at standard SVGA resolution. Mobile personal computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs),
A user using a mobile device such as a mobile phone may want to view electronic documents on the World Wide Web. However, most portable device displays have lower resolution than SVGA (eg, lower than 800x600 pixel resolution and fewer than 256 colors) and often do not support color. In this case, since the contents of the electronic document are not displayed properly, it is difficult to see the contents of the original hypertext.

[0011] One solution to this problem is to prepare different versions of the electronic document for different devices.
However, this makes the management of electronic documents extremely difficult. By making multiple copies of each electronic document, the World Wide Web electronic document server wastes a very large storage space. The characteristics of the World Wide Web are dynamic and new content is constantly being introduced.
Many copies of existing electronic documents always require modification.

Another solution is to provide a content conversion program to convert an electronic document according to the performance of a device or a user. One purpose of converting an electronic document is to convert the format of the original electronic document to another format and provide the user with information about the electronic document. For example, reduce images for devices with small displays, or convert text to speech for the visually impaired. Most content conversion programs rely on user devices to display electronic documents. That is, each portable device must hold a necessary content conversion program.

There have been attempts to provide a content conversion program for electronic documents for the World Wide Web. Intel of Santa Clara, California has developed Quick Web technology. It analyzes a hypertext document for an image, compresses the image data, and allows the image to be transmitted to a user device at high speed. This technique also stores the image in a cache. When a user requests an image, the image is stored in a cache. The next request for the same image will serve that image from the cache instead of the remote server. The quick web technique is limited to image conversion and cannot convert other information.

The University of California, Berkeley, California has developed Transcend. This technique uses a translation proxy. It converts images in electronic documents by reducing image quality. As a result, the original image can be restored although the quality of the image is reduced. Transcend Proxy extracts electronic documents from the World Wide Web and displays them at high speed. Transcend achieves high-speed transmission by limiting user settings to turn on / off the proxy and reducing image quality. Transcend can currently only transform images, not other information.

Therefore, a content conversion program that can convert not only images of an electronic document but also other information and display the converted information on a desired device is desired. This content conversion program must be capable of converting an electronic document based on the performance of the device, the display settings of the user, the characteristics of the site of the electronic document server, and the like.

[0016]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves some of the problems associated with content conversion of electronic documents. The method and system of the present invention for converting the content of an electronic document comprises:
Use conversion settings. The method and system converts the content of an original electronic document including text, hypertext, images, and other information based on one or more conversion settings.

[0017] A content conversion method according to one aspect of the present invention comprises:
A first network device (for example, a portable device) connected to a first computer network issues a request for an original electronic document, and a second network device (for example, a content conversion unit) connected to the first computer network
Receives the request, retrieves the conversion information from the request, creates one or more conversion keys from the extracted conversion information, accesses one or more conversion settings stored in the database, and retrieves the conversion key. To obtain conversion settings from the database and create conversion instructions based on the conversion order for converting the original electronic document. The conversion instruction includes a list of conversion settings, and applies the conversion settings to the original electronic document based on the conversion order.

Conversion instructions can also be created from many different conversion settings. This can provide various conversion orders. The conversion settings include user conversion settings, device conversion settings, site conversion settings, and the like. Based on these, the original electronic document is converted and appropriately displayed on a desired device such as a portable device. The conversion instruction can be stored in a storage device (for example, a database) and used later.

In another aspect of the present invention, the conversion instruction can convert an original electronic document that is supposed to be viewed on an SVGA resolution display based on at least one conversion setting. The converted electronic document has a format suitable for a device such as a portable device having a resolution lower than the SVGA resolution. The converted electronic document can also be converted for SVGA resolution devices.

Another embodiment of the present invention provides a content conversion system including a content conversion unit, a database, a proxy server, and a content conversion command unit. The content conversion unit converts the original electronic document for a desired device based on the content conversion instruction. The database stores a plurality of conversion settings for content conversion. The proxy server communicates with a plurality of network devices that issue requests for the original electronic document, communicates with the content conversion unit, and communicates with a plurality of servers on the computer network that provide the original electronic document. The content conversion instruction with the conversion setting is created from the conversion setting stored in the database, and converts the original electronic document. Each part of the content conversion system of the present invention can be further subdivided or integrated. You can add another configuration or delete a configuration.

The content conversion method and system according to the present invention include:
A user conversion setting, a device conversion setting, a site conversion setting, and the like can be selected, and the electronic document can be converted into an electronic document suitable for a display of a desired device such as a portable device. In addition, the content conversion method and system of the present invention provide text, hypertext, images, and other additional information (e.g., graphics, audio, Etc.) can be converted.

The features and advantages of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to embodiments and the accompanying drawings.

[0023]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An electronic data content conversion system according to the present invention will be described.

FIG. 1 shows a content conversion system according to the present invention.
FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing 10. The content conversion system 10 is composed of a plurality of elements. First network device 12
Requires an original electronic document. The first network device 12 has a resolution lower than the resolution of SVGA (for example, 800
It has a display with a resolution of less than x600 pixels and less than 256 colors. However, the present invention is based on SVG
The present invention is also applicable to an apparatus having a display having a resolution of A.

An electronic document contains references to text, hypertext, graphic data, and even information such as images, audio, and video. Hypertext documents have markup symbols called "tags". The structure of a hypertext document can be general purpose markup language (SGML), hypertext markup language (HTM
L), Extensible Markup Language (XML), Virtual Reality Markup Language (VRML), and other document markup languages. The markup language can refer to contents such as graphics, a moving image, audio, and video in addition to text.

An electronic document is displayed via software called a “browser”. The mobile device browser
It may be a simplified version of the original browser, and often cannot completely display the contents of the electronic document stored in the electronic document server. The browser reads the electronic document, visually expresses the content in text, graphics, moving images, audio, video, and the like, and displays the content on a device such as a personal computer. Most electronic documents use standard SVGA resolution (for example, 800x6
It is assumed that the image is displayed using a browser on a desktop computer having a resolution of 00 pixels and a color display of 256 colors or more. The user can change the display of the selected content by changing the attributes of the browser. However, the range that the user can change is limited by the browser's modifiable attributes.

Returning to FIG. 1, the proxy server 14 processes the request for the electronic document from the first network device 12 and returns the converted electronic document to the first network device 12. The content conversion unit 16 converts the content of the electronic document into a format usable by the first network device 12 (for example, a device having a small display). The database 18 stores the conversion settings. In FIG. 1, the database 18 is single. However, it is also possible to use multiple databases. Computer network 20
It comprises at least one electronic document server for supplying electronic documents.

In one embodiment of the present invention, computer network 20 is the Internet World Wide Web (WWW). The Internet is a worldwide network of interconnected computers. The World Wide Web is an information system on the Internet, designed for the exchange of electronic documents. The present invention can be applied to other computer networks (for example, an intranet) having an electronic document server.

In FIG. 1, the content conversion section 16 is an independent element, but may be integrated with the proxy server 14. The invention is not limited to the illustrated network elements. More or fewer network elements can make up the system of the present invention. The proxy server 14 and the content conversion unit 16 are software elements. The function of each element in FIG. 1 can be provided by a combination of hardware and software or by hardware.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the function of each element in FIG.
Provided by software using a programming language. Other object-oriented languages can be used. The function of each element in FIG. 1 can also be provided in a non-object-oriented programming language (for example, C programming language).

Object-oriented programming is used to design computer software that contains object-oriented objects. Object-oriented objects are easy to create, inexpensive to change, and reusable. Object-oriented objects are
Includes "object data" and "object services". Object services are provided through "object methods" (also called object operations or object functions). The object method operates on individual data such as “instance data” and “object state data” owned by the object. A collection of objects is called an object class
Alternatively, it is called “object type”. The object class is a template for describing the operation of the object set. The execution of the object is hidden from the outside. Object private instance data can only be accessed by object methods of the object class. Object public instance data is accessed via a public "object interface".

The operating environment of each element of the content conversion system 10 of the present invention includes a processing system having at least a high speed central processing unit (CPU) and a memory system. In the following description of the invention, unless otherwise indicated, the operations performed by the processing system will be described using conventional expressions, based on the practice of computer programming. Such processing and operations are called “computer processing”, “CPU operation”, and the like. In the following description, one CPU is used, but the present invention can also use a plurality of CPUs.

The memory system may be composed of a main memory and a secondary memory. The main memory is a high-speed random access memory (RAM). The main memory is a high-speed memory device,
Alternatively, it may be a memory circuit. The secondary memory is a permanent storage device, for example, a read-only memory (ROM),
An optical disk, a magnetic disk, an organic memory, a volatile mass storage device, a nonvolatile mass storage device, and the like. As described above, the memory system can be realized by various elements or a combination thereof.

The processing described below and the operation expressed using symbols include processing of electrical signals by the CPU. The electrical signal performs data bit conversion. Retaining data bits in memory system locations reconfigures and changes CPU operation. The storage location of a data bit is a physical location and has specific electrical, magnetic, optical, or organic characteristics depending on the data bit.

Data bits can be stored in a medium such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk, an organic disk, a volatile mass storage device, and a nonvolatile mass storage device that can be read by a computer or CPU. The computer-readable medium may be a co-operating medium or an interconnected medium. These media may reside only in the processing system or may be distributed among multiple interconnected remote processing systems.

Each element of the content conversion system 10 performs content conversion based on at least one set of conversion settings. The electronic document converted by the content conversion system 10 can be converted to a device having a small display having a resolution lower than the SVGA resolution or an SVGA.
It is suitable for display on a display device having a resolution.

A description will be given of the content conversion of electronic data according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating the conversion method 22 according to the present invention. In step 24, the content conversion unit 16 receives a request for the original electronic document from the first network device 12 via the proxy server 14. In step 26, the content conversion unit 16 accesses the database 18 to obtain conversion settings. The conversion setting is used to convert an original electronic document requested from the first device 12 into an electronic document suitable for the device 12. The conversion settings include user conversion settings, device conversion settings, site conversion settings, and the like. In step 28,
The content conversion unit 16 returns a request for the original electronic document to the proxy server 14. The proxy server 14 sends the request to an appropriate electronic document server and strives to obtain the requested original electronic document.

In step 30, the contents conversion section 16 receives the requested original electronic document from the proxy server 14. In step 32, the content conversion unit 16
The original electronic document is converted based on the conversion settings obtained in 26 (for example, using a conversion instruction or a content conversion program).
Text, images, hypertext (e.g. audio and video)
Are converted based on the conversion settings. In step 34, the content conversion section 16 sends the converted electronic document to the proxy server 14. The proxy server 14 sends the converted electronic document to the requesting first network device 12. The first network device 12 receives the converted electronic document.
In the conversion method 22 of the present invention, the content conversion unit 16
Even if it is integrated into 14, it is feasible.

According to the conversion method 22, the network device
An electronic document converted based on conversion settings such as a user conversion setting, a device conversion setting, and a site conversion setting can be received. By the conversion method 22, a small portable device such as a personal information terminal, a portable personal computer, and a mobile phone can receive the converted electronic document. The converted electronic document can be appropriately displayed on a small display with a low resolution even if the original electronic document is written for a high resolution of SVGA. According to the conversion method 22, the converted electronic document can also be displayed on a display of SVGA resolution (for example, by changing display characteristics based on at least one conversion setting).

An embodiment of the electronic data content conversion system will be described.

The function of each element of the content conversion system 10 of the present invention can be divided into a plurality of modules,
(For example, a management module or a filter module). Thereby, the functions of the content conversion system 10 can be distributed or added.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an electronic data content conversion system 36 according to one embodiment of the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. For example, another element can be added to the system of this embodiment, or the number of existing elements can be reduced. 3 correspond to the content conversion system 10 of FIG. However, the connection relation of each element of the system of FIG.
Not shown. Each element can be divided into smaller modules or integrated into larger modules.

An optional management interface 38 is used by an administrator of the second network device 40 to organize the conversion system 36 and maintain the database 18. An optional management server 42 is used to modify the configuration file and database 18 used by the proxy server 14. The processing management unit 44 accesses the database 18 during the request processing, and searches for user conversion settings, device conversion settings, site conversion settings, and the like.

The conversion unit 46 includes a client device 48, a content conversion unit 16, a cache
Communicate with 50. The conversion unit 46 includes a document generation module (FIG. 3)
May be included). This document generation module assists the conversion unit 46 when converting an electronic document including a metadata object and a data pipe object.

The client device 48 includes a network device for retrieving the contents of an electronic document from the computer network 20. The cache 50 stores an Internet address (URL), a request header, a response header, converted data, unconverted data, a conversion signature for request processing, and the like. URLs are used to locate electronic documents on the World Wide Web. The content conversion functions provided by the proxy server 14 and the content conversion unit 16 (FIG. 1) are distributed to additional modules in the content conversion system 36 (FIG. 3). However, the present invention can be realized without distributing the content conversion function to a plurality of modules.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the function of each element in FIG.
Implemented using a programming language. Other object-oriented programming languages or non-object-oriented programming languages may be used. The function of each element in FIG. 3 can also be realized by a combination of hardware and software or only by hardware.

The conversion of the contents of electronic data based on the embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 are flowcharts illustrating a content conversion method 52 of the present invention using the content conversion system 36 of FIG. In step 54 of FIG. 4, the proxy server 14 receives a request for the original electronic document from the first network device 12. This request may be, for example, a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) request (e.g., htt
p: //www.spyglass.com/info.html). This may be another request (e.g., File Transfer Protocol (FT
P) Request ftp://www.spyglass.com/info.html or Gopher request). HTTP is used to transfer data from electronic document servers on the World Wide Web. For more information, see IE
TF (Internet Engineering Task Force) RFC (Request F
or Comments) 2068. FTP provides a way to access files on remote systems. The details are described in RFC-172. Gofa is F
A protocol similar to TP that provides a series of menus linked to a file containing the actual hypertext.

In step 56 of FIG. 4, the proxy server 14 records the received request in a request log. In step 58, the proxy server 14 checks whether the first network device 12 is permitted to use the content conversion function without login information. For this confirmation, the proxy server 14 uses a network address (eg, an Internet Protocol (IP) address) in step 58. IP is an addressing protocol for determining routes within and between networks. Details of IP are described in RFC-791. Other methods may be used to determine whether a network device can use content conversion without login information.

If the network device is not permitted to use the content conversion function without the login information, the proxy server 14 displays a message prompting the first network device 12 for the login information in step 60, 1
Network device 12 (e.g., I
Record (P address). If the first network device 12 is permitted to use the content conversion function without the login information in step 58, or if the login information is obtained in step 60, the proxy server 14 in step 62 executes the “metadata object And object-oriented data structures called "data pipe objects".

The metadata object is a C ++ object, and carries information such as a request / response header and a conversion setting related to the “data body” stored in the data pipe object. Datapipe objects are still C +
+ Object. The metadata object and the data pipe object may be objects other than C ++ objects. The data body is the content of the electronic document. For example, hypertext markup languages (SGML, HTML, XML, VRML, etc.), text, graphic data, images, video, audio, video, etc.
Stored in the data pipe object.

Table 1 shows an example of an object-oriented interface and a data structure for a metadata object. In one embodiment of the present invention, the object interface is a CORBA (Common Object Request Broker Arc).
hitecture) interface. CORBA is a system for creating, distributing, and maintaining program objects. Other object schemes (e.g., COM (Component O
bject MOdel) interface, DCOM (Distributed Compo
nent Object Model) interface).
Other object-oriented data structures can also be used. The present invention is not limited to the structure shown in Table 1.

[0054]

[Table 1] Table 2 shows an example of an object-oriented interface and a data structure for the data body. Other object interfaces and data structures can be used. The present invention is not limited to the structure shown in Table 2.

[0055]

[Table 2] In step 62 of FIG. 4, the proxy server 14 generates a data pipe object. It is an object-oriented object that can be read by multiple readers, but is written by a single writer. In one embodiment of the invention, the data pipe object is
Holds the data body including the contents of the electronic document.

Tables 3 and 4 show examples of the object-oriented data pipe interface. Other object-oriented interfaces can be used, and the present invention is not limited to Tables 3 and 4.

[0057]

[Table 3]

[Table 4] After generating the conversion object, the proxy server 14
Pass the request / response data object. For example,
The proxy server 14 sends a request including the metadata object and the data pipe object to the processing management unit 44.

In step 64, the process management unit 44 adds the user conversion setting, the device conversion setting, the site conversion setting, or another conversion setting obtained from the database 18 to the request metadata object. In one embodiment of the present invention, the process management unit 44 specifies a device using a transfer protocol request header, and specifies a user using an IP address and a user name. Other specific methods can be used.
This transport protocol request header can be HTTP header or MI header
An ME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension) header can be included. Details of the MIME header are described in RFC-2046.

In step 66, the processing management unit 44 sends the request metadata object and the data pipe object to the conversion unit 46. In step 68, the conversion unit 46
Creates one or more conversion keys from the metadata object, including the user identifier and the device identifier,
Create a site identifier using the request URL. The first conversion key searches the cache 50 for converted data or unconverted data that satisfies the request. A conversion key may be created using other information. The second conversion key is used to obtain the conversion settings from the database 18.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the first and second conversion keys do not contain the same information. The first conversion key is used to search the cache 50 and includes a URL based on the metadata object and additional information. Second
Is used to search the database 18 and includes a user agent name, a user name, or a URL for searching a database other than the database 18.

In step 70 of FIG. 5, the conversion unit 46
It is determined whether the cache 50 holds an appropriate "version" of the conversion data body corresponding to the request. In one embodiment of the present invention, the appropriate version of the converted data body means data that is not older than a predetermined date or time. Other criteria may be used to determine the appropriate conversion data body (eg, reference data included in the conversion signature). If the cache 50 holds an appropriate version of the conversion data body, the conversion unit 46
At 72, the data pipe object including the converted data body is transmitted from the cache 50 to the process management unit 44. If the cache 50 does not hold an appropriate version of the data body, then at step 74 it is determined whether the cache 50 holds the original unconverted data body. If so, in step 76, the conversion unit
46 sends a data pipe object including the unconverted data body from the cache 50 to the content conversion unit 16 to convert the data pipe object.

If the cache 50 does not hold the original unconverted data body in step 74 (ie, if the cache 50 does not have a data body that meets the request), in step 78, the conversion unit 46 The associated metadata object and data pipe object are sent to the content conversion unit 16. In step 80,
The content conversion unit 16 converts the request metadata object and the data pipe object if necessary, and returns the converted object to the conversion unit 46.

In step 82 of FIG. 6, the converter 46
Causes client device 48 to send a request to a desired electronic document server on computer network 20 (eg, the World Wide Web on the Internet). Step 84
At, the electronic document server on the computer network 20 returns the original electronic document to the conversion unit. At this time, the original electronic document is converted by the client device 48 into a response data body included in the response data pipe object and a response metadata object (for example, including a response header).

In step 86, the conversion unit 46 stores the response data body as raw data and the response metadata object including the response header in the cache 50. Storing the unconverted response in the cache 50 saves transmission time when the network device issues the next request with the new conversion setting for the same original electronic document. That is, the unconverted response can be converted based on the new conversion settings without having to access the electronic document on the computer network 20 again.

In step 88, the conversion unit 46 sends the response data body stored in the response data pipe object to the content conversion unit 16 for conversion. In step 90,
The content conversion unit 16 performs necessary conversion on the response metadata object and the response data body in the response data pipe object, and returns a conversion response to the conversion unit 46. In step 92, the conversion unit 46 sends the conversion data body stored in the data pipe object and the conversion response metadata object to the cache 50, and also executes the process management unit 44.
Send to Storing the conversion response in the cache 50 saves processing time when the network device issues the next request for the same original electronic document with the same conversion settings. That is, the conversion response can be used without accessing the electronic document on the computer network 20 again.

In step 94, the process management section 44 sends a conversion response to the proxy server 14. In step 96, the proxy server 14 sends a translation response to the first network device 12.

The conversion method 52 of the present invention performs content conversion using the content conversion system 36 shown in FIG. The conversion method 52 may be configured with more or fewer steps. Also, the conversion method 52 can be applied to conversion systems other than FIG. The present invention is not limited to the illustrated conversion method 52 and conversion system 36.

An example of the content conversion unit according to the present invention will be described.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the content conversion unit 16
Can be divided into a plurality of modules as shown in FIG.
That is, FIG. 7 shows a plurality of elements 10 constituting the content conversion unit 16.
FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing 8. The content conversion unit 16 includes a content conversion interface 110, a content conversion commanding unit 112, an operation module 114, an operation sequencer 116, and a conversion procedure manual 118.
And a content conversion arranging unit 120, and a plurality of conversion operations 122, 124, 126
And In the figure, there are three conversion operations. Content converter 16
Can be divided into more or fewer modules. Further, the content conversion unit 16 of the present invention is not limited to the configuration of FIG.

The content conversion interface 110 provides an interface between the content conversion unit 16 and other components of the content conversion system 36 or 10. The content conversion commanding unit 112 directs content conversion. The operation module 114 includes a library such as a conversion function (for example, a dynamic link library).
(DLL)). The operation sequencer 116 controls the conversion operation and the like described in the conversion procedure manual 118. The conversion procedure document 118 is a file and indicates the conversion operations to be performed on the selected content types (but not all types) and their order. Conversion procedure manual 118 includes a conversion instruction. The content conversion arranging unit 120 is a data reference registry for available conversion operations. The first conversion operation specifies the position of the second conversion operation by obtaining an object reference from the content conversion arrangement unit 120. Conversion operations 122, 124, 126
Are stored in the operation module 114.

Tables 5 and 6 show the contents conversion operations 122 and 12
Examples of 4, 126 are shown. The number of content conversion operations can be at least or more, and other content types
You can also use transformations for (eg, VRML). For example, HT
Other conversion operations can be used to convert the ML to an audio format (eg, the wave format “* .WAV”) or to convert the audio format to HTML.

Table 5 shows an example of the HTML conversion operation. More or less HTML conversion operations may be used than illustrated. Also, other hypertext conversion operations (eg, XML,
SGML, VRML, etc.).

[0073]

[Table 5] Table 6 shows an example of the image conversion operation. More or fewer image conversion operations may be used. Other image conversion operations can be included. The content conversion unit 16 converts the image into an internal "raw image" format using an image conversion operator. The raw image format is used to rapidly shrink images, double their size, and convert formats. However, the invention is not limited to using the raw image format, but can be implemented using other internal image formats.

[Table 6] FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating the content conversion method 128 of the present invention performed by the plurality of elements 108 of the content conversion unit 16 shown in FIG. In step 130, the content conversion interface 110 sends the conversion unit 46 (eg, step 8 in FIG. 6).
8) or receives a conversion request from the proxy server 14 (for example, step 30 in FIG. 2). In step 132, the content conversion interface 110 provides an object-oriented interface to the request metadata object and the request data pipe object including the data body.
These request metadata objects and request data pipe objects interact with other objects, including conversion operations 122, 124, 126. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the object interface is a CORBA interface called "interface design language interface". Other object interfaces (for example, an element object model (COM) interface, a distributed element object model (DCOM) interface) may be used. Table 7 shows an example of the content conversion interface supplied by the content conversion interface 110.

[0074]

[Table 7] After supplying the content conversion interface, the content conversion interface 110 sends a conversion request to the content conversion command unit 112.

At step 134, the content conversion commanding unit 112
Calls the operation sequencer 116. In one embodiment of the present invention, a conversion start element can be specified in the request metadata object. By default, the operation sequencer 116 is a conversion element that is called to process a conversion request. Other elements may be used. Steps
At 136, the operation sequencer 116 reads the request metadata object, generates one or more keys to determine a list of conversion operations to invoke, and determines the order in which to perform the conversion operations. In one embodiment of the invention, this list is a "conversion instruction" with a "conversion order". In another embodiment of the present invention, the conversion instruction is stored in the conversion procedure manual 118. These lists and order can also be obtained from information stored in the database 18.

The processing from step 138 is executed according to the list of conversion operations. The operation sequencer 116 sends the selected conversion operation (for example, 122, 12
4, 126). In step 140, the selected conversion operation is performed. The performed conversion operation changes the request data body included in the data pipe object and, if necessary, changes the request metadata object. Then, control is returned to the object sequencer 116. The processing including steps 138 and 140
The process is repeated until all the conversions related to the conversion request are completed, and then the control returns to the content conversion commanding unit 112.

Table 8 shows an example of a source code for obtaining an address for the object-oriented conversion method from the content conversion arranging unit 120, and also shows an example of a common object-oriented class for the conversion operation. You can also use object-oriented method codes and other object-oriented classes. In Table 8, the name of the desired conversion operation is assigned to OpName (eg, OpName = HTML_COMMENT_REMOVE is HTM
Remove comments from the L document).

[0078]

[Table 8] In step 142, the content conversion commanding unit 112 sends the converted metadata object and the converted data body included in the data pipe object to the content conversion interface 110. In step 144, the content conversion interface 110 converts them into the conversion unit 46 (for example, step
90) or proxy server 14 (eg step 34 in FIG. 2)
Send to

In the embodiment of FIGS. 7 and 8, the content conversion section 16 is divided into a plurality of elements 108. This is an embodiment of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the configuration of FIG. 7 and is not limited to the conversion method 128 of FIG. The number of conversion processing steps may be more or at least better than shown. FIG. 7 showing the contents converter 16
Are also applicable to the content conversion system of FIGS. 1 and 3.

A description will be given of the content conversion using the conversion setting.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the content conversion of the original electronic document is performed based on one or more conversion settings. The conversion settings include a plurality of categories such as user conversion settings, device conversion settings, and site conversion settings. More or less conversion settings can be used.

When a network device with a small display requests an electronic document, the content converter 16 uses one or more conversion settings to determine a conversion method for making the original electronic document available on the network device. I do.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a conversion method 146 of the present invention for performing content conversion using conversion settings. In step 148, the content conversion unit 16 receives a request for the original electronic document from the first network device 12 (for example, via the proxy server 14 in FIG. 1).
The request includes a request header (for example, an HTTP header, a MIME header, and an IP header), a request URL, a request metadata object including other information, and a data pipe object. Step 150 retrieves the conversion information from the request. In one embodiment of the present invention, a user identifier, a device identifier, and a site identifier based on the requested URL are extracted from the request. Other information and identifiers can also be extracted. The transfer protocol header from the request header (e.g. HTTP header or MIME header) contains the device type and the request U
Used to identify RL. The IP address from the request header is used to identify the user location of the first network device 12. Use other information to identify users, devices,
A site or the like may be specified.

In step 152, the contents conversion section 16
To access one or more conversion settings stored in the database 18, one or more conversion keys are generated from the extracted conversion information. In one embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of conversion keys are generated from a user identifier, a device identifier, and a site identifier based on a requested URL. Other conversion keys may be generated (eg, from a user identifier and a device identifier, or from a user identifier and a site identifier, or from a device identifier and a site identifier). Database 1
Conversion settings may be retrieved from sources other than 8 (eg, from another server on another network, or from another network device).

At step 154, one or more conversion settings are obtained using the conversion key. In one embodiment of the present invention, conversion settings for devices and sites (URLs) can be obtained. More or less conversion settings may be obtained. In step 156, a conversion instruction with a conversion order is created from the obtained conversion settings. In one embodiment of the present invention, the conversion instruction is stored in a metadata object. Other types of conversion instructions and storage means may be used. The conversion instructions are stored in permanent storage (eg, database 18, user hard disk drive, etc.) for later use. In step 156, many conversion instructions can be created according to the conversion settings and the conversion procedure manual 118 to be used. Many orders can be used to create one conversion instruction. At least three conversion settings are commonly used (eg, user conversion settings, device conversion settings, site conversion settings). Using three or more conversion settings provides more conversion orders from which conversion instructions are created.

According to the conversion instruction based on the selectable conversion setting, the content conversion unit 16 converts the electronic document to various devices by various methods. For example, the first device has a color display and the second device has a monochrome display. In this case, the electronic document is appropriately converted for each user. For example, one user may want to view the image in a low resolution display mode, while another user may want to view the image in a high resolution display mode. Electronic documents are converted separately for each site. For example, a first site has an electronic document containing many images, and a second site has an HTML document consisting of text and several images.
To view the image of the first site, the user device must have one or more display parameters.

In step 158, the contents conversion section 16
Using the conversion instruction, the electronic document fetched from the electronic document server on the computer network 20 is converted. The conversion order of the conversion instruction determines the priority in content conversion.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the user conversion settings have the highest priority. Next is the device conversion setting, and the next is the site conversion setting. If the user conversion settings are available, they are used in preference to the device and site conversion settings. If the user conversion setting is unavailable, the device conversion setting is used in preference to the site conversion setting. In other embodiments of the present invention, other priorities may be used (e.g., site conversion settings may have higher priority than user conversion settings based on network site characteristics). In one embodiment of the present invention, the priority is fixedly given by the system administrator and cannot be changed by the user. In another embodiment of the present invention, the priority can be dynamically changed by the user.

If the conversion settings conflict, the content conversion unit 16
Determines which one has priority. Some HTML sites require high resolution display on the user device to properly display images. In this case, the site conversion setting of this HTML site is a high resolution display. At this time, if the user does not want to use the high resolution mode, the conversion setting for the user may be the medium resolution mode. Then a collision occurs. The content conversion unit 16 resolves this conflict. If the user conversion setting is given a higher priority, the user conversion setting (ie, medium resolution) is used in preference to the site conversion setting. If the site conversion setting has a higher priority, the site conversion setting (ie, high resolution) is used in preference to the user conversion setting.

An example of using the conversion method 146 of the present invention will be described. The first network device 12 is a personal digital assistant (PDA)
And has 128.10.20.30 as the IP address. The URL of the first network device 12 is “http: //www.spyglass.c
om / info.html ". In step 148, the content conversion unit 16 sends a message from the first network device 12 (for example, the proxy server 14 or the conversion unit 4).
Receive a request for the original electronic document (via 6). The metadata object has the IP address `` 128.
10.20.30 ", device identifier" PDA ", and URL component" www.sp
yglass.com/info.html "(for example, HTT
P or MIME) and a data pipe object for the data body. Step 150 retrieves the conversion information from the request. User identifier 128.10.20.30 and device identifier PDA
And a site identifier including the request URL www.spyglass.com are extracted from the request header.

At step 152, one or more keys are generated from the retrieved information to access one or more conversion settings stored in database 18. In one embodiment of the present invention, a first conversion key is generated from a user identifier 128.10.20.30 mapped to a user name (eg, kenc). A second conversion key is generated from the device identifier PDA. A third conversion key is generated from the site identifier request URL www.spyglass.com. More or fewer conversion keys may be generated.

In step 154, the conversion setting corresponding to the request is obtained from the database 18 using the conversion key. Table 9 shows examples of conversion settings extracted from the database 18 for the request.

[0093]

[Table 9] Table 9 shows an example of conversion settings stored in the database 18 in an undefined order. Therefore, the conversion order must be determined (ie, the user conversion settings have the highest priority, then the device conversion settings, and then the site conversion settings). In another embodiment of the present invention, conversion settings may be stored according to priority.

Step 156 is based on the acquired conversion settings.
Create a conversion instruction with a conversion order. Table 10 shows Table 9
4 shows an example of a conversion instruction for the conversion setting of FIG. In this example, there is no conversion setting collision.

[0095]

[Table 10] Table 10 shows an example of conversion instructions arranged in priority order. User conversion settings (spyga_remove_comments, spyga_change_a
ttribute: font = "arial") is the first in the priority order, and the following is the device conversion setting (spyga_convert_to_gray: yes, spyga_scal)
e_image: scale = 50%), followed by the site conversion settings (ie "none"). The user conversion setting for removing comments is executed before the user conversion setting for changing the display font to Arial.

The conversion instruction (Table 8) created in step 156 is applied to the original electronic document in step 158. Table 11 shows an example of an original HTML hypertext document. All conversion instructions, including the conversion instructions illustrated in Table 10, are provided in other hypertext documents (eg, XML,
SGML, VRML).

[0097]

[Table 11] The first network device 12 is configured as “example.th” shown in Table 11 of the world wide website “www.spygalss.com”.
Request a hypertext document named "ml". Table 1
2 shows an example of an electronic document converted by applying step 158 of the conversion method 146 (FIG. 9). From the HTML document in Table 11, the conversion settings for the first user in Table 10 (ie, remove_commen
Comments have been removed based on ts).

[0098]

[Table 12] In the third line of Table 12, the HTML tag "<FONT FACE =" Area
l "" changes the display font to Arial. This tag is not in Table 11. The image “glasses.jpg” in Table 12 is converted by the content conversion unit 16 using the conversion settings stored in the database 18 when this image is requested. The transformation of the image is invisible to the user.

FIG. 10 shows displays 160 and 162 displaying examples of content conversion according to the present invention. The display 160 shows the original electronic document in SVGA resolution and corresponds to Table 11 before applying the content conversion method 146. Table 1
The first image “glasses.jpg” is an image of red sunglasses. The setting font for text on screen 160 is T
imes Roman. This HTML document includes a comment indicated by an HTML comment tag “<! ...>”.

The display 162 displays an electronic document converted for the first network device 12 which is a PDA.
Table 12 converted by applying content conversion method 146
Corresponding to This PDA display has a lower resolution than SVGA and is grayscale. The text display font has been converted to Arial. File "glasse
The color image in "s.jpg" has been converted to a grayscale image by the content conversion unit 16, and the size has been reduced by 50%. The browser of the display 160 uses the HTML image tag “<IMG src =" ht
tp: //www.spyglass.com/glasses.jpg "”.
The display 162 of the first network device 12 which is a PDA
Browser parses the HTML image tag and requests the image. The content conversion unit 16 converts the image based on the conversion settings stored in the database 18, and returns the converted display image to the proxy server 14. Proxy server 14
Returns the image converted to grayscale and reduced to 50% to the first network device 12. The first network device 12 receives the converted image without requiring any additional processing.

If the requested sunglasses image is part of an image map, the converted HTML tag "<IMG src =" ht
tp: //www.spyglass.com/glasses_spyg$ (spyga-image-at
tr-scale = 50) .jpg ">" is added to the HTML document in Table 11 as a virtual URL. The virtual URL “glass” in this HTML image tag
es_spyg $ (spyga-image-attr-scale = 50 "reduces the original image in the image map to 50% of its original size.
The conversion information in the URL text “image-name_spyg $ (...). Image_type” matches the target image with the converted image map.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the content conversion unit 16
Has a close relationship with the proxy server 14. The proxy server 14 mediates between a network device that requests the original electronic document and an electronic document servo on the network that provides the original electronic document. Proxy server
14 mediates requests for hypertext documents and requests for hyperlinks in hypertext documents. The browser of the user device uses the HTML image tag "<IMG src ="
When analyzing "http://www.spyglass.com/glasses.jpg">", the proxy server 14 converts the original image in the original electronic document to grayscale by calling the content conversion unit 16 and converts it to 50%. To provide.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the user can determine the desired user conversion settings and generate a user conversion settings file on the proxy server 14. In another embodiment of the present invention, the user conversion setting file is stored in the user device and retrieved by the content conversion unit 16 or the proxy server 14. In another embodiment of the present invention, the conversion setting file for the user is stored at a specific site (for example, an Internet service provider site),
The content is extracted by the content conversion unit 16 or the proxy server 14. The device content conversion setting file and the site content conversion setting are usually created by a system administrator (for example, the management interface 38 in FIG. 3), and are not created by the user.

It is also possible for the user to change the device and site conversion settings. However, this is the case where the user conversion setting has the highest priority. In another embodiment of the present invention, a user is allowed to provide device or site conversion settings.

[0105]

As described above, the method and system for converting the contents of electronic data according to the present invention can select a conversion setting, and can be used for a device having a display of a portable device or a display having a resolution lower than the SVGA resolution. You can convert electronic documents to match. Of course, the converted electronic document can also be displayed on an SVGA resolution display. The present invention relates to texts, images, and other electronic document contents (e.g., hypertext tags, hypertext tag parameters, , Audio, video, etc.). The content conversion method and system of the present invention are flexible for new devices, and can easily cope with new content that will be available by adding a conversion operation module for the new content.

Many embodiments are possible based on the principles of the present invention. The embodiments described herein are illustrative and do not limit the scope of the invention. For example, each step of the flowchart may be executed in an order other than that described. Also, more or fewer elements may be used in each block diagram.

The claims, unless otherwise indicated,
It is not limited to the described order or elements. All embodiments that do not depart from the scope of the claims and the intent of the present invention are claimed as the present invention.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an entire content conversion system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a content conversion method according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of a content conversion system of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a content conversion method applied to the system of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a content conversion method applied to the system of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a content conversion method applied to the system of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a content conversion unit of the system of FIG. 3;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a process of a content conversion unit in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a process of a content conversion unit in FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a display example based on content conversion of the present invention.

[Description of Signs] 10 Content conversion system 12 Network device 14 Proxy server 16 Content conversion unit 18 Conversion setting database 20 World Wide Web (WWW) 38 Management interface 42 Management server 44 Processing management unit 46 Conversion unit 48 Client device 50 Cache 110 Content conversion interface 112 Content conversion commanding unit 114 Operation module 116 Operation sequencer 118 Conversion procedure manual 120 Content conversion arranging unit 122 Conversion operation 1 124 Conversion operation 2 126 Conversion operation N

Claims (20)

[Claims] A first computer network having a plurality of network devices connected to a second computer network having a plurality of network devices, wherein the first computer network has a plurality of network devices; Receiving a request for an original electronic document from a first network device of a computer network; extracting conversion information from the request; and at least one of a plurality of conversion settings stored in a database.
Creating at least one conversion key from the extracted conversion information for accessing the one; obtaining at least one conversion setting from the database using the conversion key; and converting the original electronic document. Creating a conversion instruction with a conversion order to convert the contents of the electronic data. 2. sending a request for the original electronic document from the second network device to a third network device of the second network; and transmitting the original electronic document to the third network device at the second network device. Receiving the converted electronic document from the second network device to the first network device, further comprising: receiving the converted electronic document from the second network device by using the conversion instruction. The method of claim 1 comprising providing. 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of storing said conversion instructions in storage means for later use. 4. A computer-readable medium storing instructions for causing a central processing unit to execute the method according to claim 1. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the conversion settings include, in order of priority, a user conversion setting, a device conversion setting, and a site conversion setting. 6. The conversion key includes: a user conversion setting;
The method of claim 1, including a conversion key for obtaining a conversion setting for a device and a conversion setting for a site. 7. The conversion instruction includes a list of conversion settings,
The method according to claim 1, further comprising: a conversion order indicating an order in which the conversion settings described in the list are applied to the original electronic document. 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the original electronic document is one of a Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) document and an Extensible Markup Language (EML) document. 9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first network device is a portable device and the second network device is a content converter. 10. The conversion setting obtained at the stage of obtaining at least one of the conversion settings includes a process of converting a hypertext document into a document object model, and adding a specified attribute to an instance of a specified hypertext tag. Processing, changing the value of the specified attribute to the maximum value in the instance of the specified hypertext tag, processing of changing the value of the specified attribute to the minimum value in the instance of the specified hypertext tag, specifying Removing the specified attribute from the specified hypertext tag instance, replacing the specified attribute value in the specified hypertext tag instance, and specifying the specified attribute value in the specified hypertext tag instance Processing to change the magnification -In the instance of the text tag, the process of removing the instance of the specified attribute, in the instance of the specified hypertext tag, the process of scaling the width and height of the image attribute, removing the reference to the image, and Replacing the hypertext image tag with a hyperlink to the image, reducing the data size of the image without changing the image size, removing the hypertext table tag, and reformatting the contents of the table The method according to claim 1, further comprising: performing processing; removing an instance of the specified hypertext tag; and replacing the instance of the specified hypertext tag with another hypertext tag for a hypertext document. Method. 11. Obtaining at least one conversion setting from a database using the conversion key includes obtaining an image conversion setting, the image conversion setting comprising: a process of reducing an image to a designated color depth; , Image scaling, color image conversion to grayscale image processing, bitmap format conversion to raw image format conversion, JPEG format conversion to raw image format conversion, raw image format conversion The method according to claim 1, wherein the method performs one of a process of converting to a bitmap format and a process of converting a raw image format to a JPEG format. 12. A second apparatus having a plurality of network devices.
A first computer network having a plurality of network devices connected to the computer network of the first network, receiving, at a second network device of the first network, an original electronic document from a third network device of the second network Receiving, at the second network device, a conversion instruction including a list of conversion settings and a conversion order indicating an order in which the conversion settings of the list are applied to the original electronic document; Converting the original electronic document using the electronic data. 13. The method according to claim 12, further comprising: sending the converted electronic document to a first network device of the first network to display the converted electronic document on the first network device. The described method. 14. A computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions for causing a central processing unit to execute the method according to claim 12. 15. The method of claim 12, wherein the conversion settings include a user conversion setting, a device conversion setting, and a site conversion setting. 16. The method of claim 12, wherein the converted electronic document is properly displayed on a portable device having a resolution of SVGA resolution or less. 17. The method according to claim 12, wherein said first network device is a portable device and said second network device is a content converter. 18. A content conversion means for converting an original electronic document to a desired device based on a content conversion instruction, a database means for storing a plurality of conversion settings for use in content conversion, and a request for the original electronic document. A proxy server means for communicating with a plurality of network devices for issuing the electronic document, communicating with the content conversion means, and communicating with a plurality of servers on a computer network for providing an original electronic document; And a content conversion instruction with a conversion order created based on the two conversion settings and used to convert the original electronic document. 19. The system according to claim 18, wherein the conversion settings include one of a user conversion setting, a device conversion setting, and a site conversion setting. 20. The conversion setting stored in the database means and used for content conversion includes a process of converting a hypertext document into a document object model, and adding a specified attribute to a specified hypertext tag instance. Processing, changing the value of the specified attribute to the maximum value in the instance of the specified hypertext tag, processing of changing the value of the specified attribute to the minimum value in the instance of the specified hypertext tag, specifying Removing the specified attribute from the specified hypertext tag instance, replacing the specified attribute value in the specified hypertext tag instance, and specifying the specified attribute value in the specified hypertext tag instance And the process of scaling In the instance of the hypertext tag, the process of removing the instance of the designated attribute, the process of scaling the width and height of the image attribute in the instance of the designated hypertext tag, the process of removing the reference to the image, Replacing the reference with a hyperlink to the image in the hypertext image tag; reducing the data size of the image without changing the size of the image; removing the hypertext table tag to re-create the table contents Formatting, removing instances of the specified hypertext tag, replacing instances of the specified hypertext tag with other hypertext tags, reducing the image to the specified color depth, Image scaling and color image processing Processing to convert to a rayscale image, processing to convert a bitmap format to a raw image format, processing to convert a JPEG format to a raw image format, processing to convert a raw image format to a bitmap format, and raw image format 19. The system of claim 18, wherein the system performs any of the following: