JP2006148779A - Document browsing system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a document browsing system capable of reducing transmission load for acquisition of original information for a thumbnail generation subject and displaying a different thumbnail image for each client terminal and for each application. <P>SOLUTION: A thumbnail management server 20 is provided to be sharable for each client terminal 10. The thumbnail management server 20 acquires a document information for a subject of a thumbnail acquisition request from a document management device 30, based on the thumbnail acquisition request from a client terminal 10, and generates a thumbnail image to transmit to the client terminal 10. In that case, the thumbnail management server 20 receives a generation request for a thumbnail image of a different format from the client terminal 10, according to throughput of the terminal 10 or a thumbnail acquisition request execution application, and generates a thumbnail image matched with the format. The client terminal 10 receives and displays the thumbnail image from the thumbnail management server 20. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention has a document management apparatus for storing and managing document information, and a thumbnail acquisition request function for arbitrary document information stored in the document management apparatus, and a thumbnail image acquired by the thumbnail acquisition request is displayed on the display unit. The present invention relates to a document browsing system composed of a plurality of client terminals to be displayed, and more specifically, reduces a communication load for acquiring an original document to be generated as a thumbnail image, and is different for each client terminal and each application in the client terminal. It is related with the document browsing system which can display.

  In recent years, as a system using a device such as a multifunction peripheral having a plurality of functions such as an image reading (scanner) function and a facsimile (FAX) communication function, image information (scanned document) of a document read by a scanner and a partner facsimile apparatus The image information (FAX received document) received by FAX is stored and managed by the device, while a client PC (personal computer) is connected to the device via the network, and the network is established from the client PC (hereinafter referred to as client terminal). There is known a system in which a scanned document and a FAX received document stored in a device are accessed and displayed in a list on a display unit of a client terminal.

In this type of system, it is strongly desired to improve the visibility when scanning in a device and displaying a list of FAX received documents on a client terminal on the network. As disclosed, a technology is known in which a device generates a thumbnail image corresponding to document information stored in the device itself, transfers the thumbnail image to a client terminal, and displays a list on the client terminal.
JP 2000-151875 A JP 2001-339556 A JP 2002-335366 A JP 2003-143359 A JP 2004-5474 A JP 2004-54640 A

  However, in the prior arts described in Patent Documents 1 to 6, for example, in a system configuration in which a plurality of devices are arranged, there is a problem that thumbnails cannot be displayed when a list is displayed for a device that does not have a thumbnail generation function. was there.

  In addition, since a thumbnail image is uniquely determined even in a device having a thumbnail generation function, there is a problem that thumbnails of different formats cannot be generated for each client terminal for the same document.

  In addition, when considering only that thumbnails can be displayed on the client terminal, it can be solved simply by having each client terminal or application have a function to generate thumbnails individually. There is a problem that the load of network communication increases in order to acquire target image information, and in addition, there is a problem that the cost of generating thumbnail images increases.

  The present invention solves the above-described problems and is different for each client terminal and each application in the client terminal while suppressing an increase in network communication load and thumbnail image generation cost for acquiring the original information of the thumbnail generation target. An object is to provide a document browsing system capable of displaying thumbnail images.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention described in claim 1 is a document management apparatus for storing and managing document information, and a plurality of client terminals for browsing thumbnail images corresponding to the document information stored in the document management apparatus. In the document browsing system comprising: a thumbnail acquisition request for arbitrary document information stored in the document management apparatus is received from the client terminal, and the document information of the thumbnail acquisition request target is acquired from the document management apparatus and the document information Each of the client terminals, comprising: a thumbnail generation unit that generates a thumbnail image corresponding to the thumbnail generation unit; and a transmission unit that transmits the thumbnail image generated by the thumbnail generation unit to the client terminal that has issued the thumbnail acquisition request. It is arranged so that it can be shared.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the client terminal performs at least the thumbnail acquisition request operation when executing a thumbnail acquisition request operation for arbitrary document information stored in the document management apparatus. A thumbnail acquisition request unit that transmits a thumbnail acquisition request including a thumbnail generation condition of a different format according to the processing capability of the executed application, wherein the thumbnail generation unit includes the document information acquired from the document management device in the document information; A thumbnail image that satisfies the thumbnail generation condition is generated by performing processing according to the thumbnail generation condition included in the thumbnail acquisition request from the thumbnail acquisition request means.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 2, wherein the thumbnail acquisition requesting unit generates thumbnail images of different sizes according to display specifications or display functions of the thumbnail acquisition request operation execution application. Is sent as the thumbnail generation condition.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the second or third aspect of the invention, the thumbnail acquisition requesting unit generates a thumbnail image of an arbitrary page according to a display specification or a display function of the thumbnail acquisition request operation execution application. The thumbnail acquisition request including sending as a thumbnail generation condition is sent.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the second to fourth aspects, the thumbnail acquisition requesting unit is a thumbnail image having an image quality corresponding to the processing capability of the client terminal that has executed the thumbnail acquisition request operation. The thumbnail acquisition request including generation of a thumbnail as a thumbnail generation condition is sent.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the second to fifth aspects, the thumbnail acquisition requesting unit is a thumbnail having the number of colors corresponding to the processing capability of the client terminal that has performed the thumbnail acquisition request operation. The thumbnail acquisition request including the generation of an image as the thumbnail generation condition is transmitted.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, the thumbnail management device includes: a storage unit that stores the document information acquired by the thumbnail generation unit; A determination unit that determines whether or not the document information of the thumbnail acquisition request target included in the thumbnail acquisition request exists in the storage unit, and the document information of the thumbnail acquisition request target exists in the storage unit, The document information is read out and a thumbnail image corresponding to the document information is generated.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, the thumbnail management device includes a thumbnail storage unit that stores a thumbnail image generated by the thumbnail generation unit, and a client terminal. Thumbnail presence determination means for determining whether or not a thumbnail image corresponding to the thumbnail acquisition request target document information included in the thumbnail acquisition request is present in the thumbnail storage means, and the thumbnail acquisition request target document information When the thumbnail image corresponding to the thumbnail image exists in the thumbnail storage means, the thumbnail image is read out and transmitted to the client terminal that has made the thumbnail acquisition request.

  According to a ninth aspect of the invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the document management device reads out the document information based on a thumbnail image acquisition request for arbitrary document information from the thumbnail management device, and the document information And a specific format thumbnail generation unit that generates a thumbnail image of a specific format corresponding to the above, and a unit that transmits the specific format thumbnail image generated by the specific format thumbnail generation unit to an acquisition request source. An acquisition request means for making an acquisition request for the thumbnail image corresponding to the document information of the thumbnail acquisition request target included in the thumbnail acquisition request from the client terminal, the thumbnail generation means, Document management in response to a thumbnail image acquisition request to the document management apparatus By further processing the specific format thumbnail image transmitted placed al, and generates the thumbnail image to be sent to the thumbnail acquisition requesting client terminal.

  The invention according to claim 10 is a document browsing system comprising a document management device for storing and managing document information, and a plurality of client terminals for browsing thumbnail images corresponding to the document information stored in the document management device. When executing a thumbnail acquisition request operation for arbitrary document information stored in the document management apparatus, the client terminal determines a thumbnail generation condition of a different format according to at least the processing capability of the application that executed the thumbnail acquisition request operation. Condition determination means, document information acquisition means for acquiring the document information of the thumbnail acquisition request target specified by the thumbnail acquisition request operation from the document management apparatus, and the document information acquired by the document information acquisition means, the document information According to the thumbnail generation conditions determined by the condition determining means. Processing a thumbnail generating means for generating a thumbnail image that satisfies the thumbnail generation condition by performing a, characterized by comprising a display means for displaying the thumbnail images generated by the thumbnail generation unit.

  The invention according to claim 11 is a document browsing system comprising a document management device for storing and managing document information, and a plurality of client terminals for browsing thumbnail images corresponding to the document information stored in the document management device. When executing a thumbnail acquisition request operation for arbitrary document information stored in the document management apparatus, the client terminal includes a thumbnail generation condition of a different format according to at least the processing capability of the application that has executed the thumbnail acquisition request operation. Thumbnail acquisition request means for sending an acquisition request to the document management apparatus, wherein the document management apparatus receives the thumbnail acquisition request from the client terminal and reads out the document information of the thumbnail acquisition request target from the storage unit The thumbnail information is added to the read document information. A thumbnail generation unit that generates a thumbnail image that satisfies the thumbnail generation condition by performing processing according to the thumbnail generation condition included in the thumbnail acquisition request from the request unit, and a thumbnail image generated by the thumbnail generation unit Is transmitted to the thumbnail acquisition requesting client terminal.

  According to the present invention, on each client terminal, a thumbnail management apparatus that acquires document information of a thumbnail acquisition request target from the document management apparatus based on a thumbnail acquisition request from the client terminal, generates a thumbnail image, and transmits the thumbnail image to the client terminal. Since it is configured to be sharable, transmission and reception of thumbnail image generation target document (original document) information based on a thumbnail acquisition request from a client terminal need only be performed between the document management apparatus and the thumbnail management apparatus. The load of network communication for acquiring information can be greatly reduced.

  Further, in the present invention, since the function for generating thumbnail images from the acquired original document is integrated in the thumbnail management apparatus, the document management apparatus and client terminal that do not have the thumbnail image generation function are used to each client terminal. Thumbnail images can be displayed, and the thumbnail image generation cost can be reduced.

  In the present invention, thumbnail generation conditions for generating thumbnail images of different formats are determined according to the processing capability of the client terminal or the display specification / display function of the thumbnail acquisition request execution application in the client terminal, and the thumbnail generation is performed. A thumbnail acquisition request including a condition is sent to the thumbnail management apparatus. The thumbnail management apparatus has a function of generating a thumbnail image in a format that satisfies the thumbnail generation conditions included in the thumbnail acquisition request from the client terminal and transmitting the thumbnail image to the client terminal. Therefore, it is possible to display thumbnail images of different formats for the same document in each client terminal and each application.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  A document browsing system according to the present invention has a document management apparatus for storing and managing document information, and a thumbnail acquisition request function for arbitrary document information stored in the document management apparatus, and a thumbnail acquired by the thumbnail acquisition request. It consists of a plurality of client terminals that display images on the display unit. In particular, based on the thumbnail acquisition request from the client terminal, the document information of the thumbnail acquisition request target is acquired from the document management apparatus and a thumbnail image is generated to the client terminal. The thumbnail management apparatus to be transmitted is configured to be shared by each client terminal.

  In the present invention, for example, a configuration in which the thumbnail management apparatus is provided in the system as an apparatus (thumbnail management server 20) independent of the client terminal and the document management apparatus can be applied as in Embodiments 1 to 3 described later.

  In such a configuration, the thumbnail management apparatus performs a thumbnail acquisition request operation on arbitrary document information stored in the document management apparatus at the client terminal, and displays the processing capability of the client terminal or the application that executed the thumbnail acquisition request operation. A thumbnail generation request for generating a thumbnail image of a different format according to the specification / display function is determined, and a thumbnail acquisition request including the thumbnail generation condition is transmitted from the client terminal. A thumbnail generation / management process is executed in which a thumbnail image in a format satisfying the thumbnail generation conditions included in the image is generated and transmitted to the client terminal.

  In the present invention, a thumbnail management device having the above thumbnail generation and management functions may be provided in the client terminal in the form of a thumbnail management module as in the fourth embodiment described later.

  According to such a configuration, the client terminal, when executing a thumbnail acquisition request operation for arbitrary document information stored in the document management apparatus, at least thumbnails of different formats according to the processing capability of the application that executed the thumbnail acquisition request operation. In addition to determining the generation conditions, the thumbnail management module acquires the document information of the thumbnail acquisition request target specified by the thumbnail acquisition request operation from the document management apparatus, and then processes the document information according to the thumbnail generation conditions By performing the processing, a thumbnail image that satisfies the thumbnail generation condition is generated, and the generated thumbnail image generated by the thumbnail management module is displayed on the display unit.

  In the present invention, a thumbnail management device having the above thumbnail generation and management functions may be provided in the document management device in the form of a thumbnail management module, as in the fifth embodiment described later.

  According to such a configuration, the client terminal, when executing a thumbnail acquisition request operation for arbitrary document information stored in the document management apparatus, at least thumbnails of different formats according to the processing capability of the application that executed the thumbnail acquisition request operation. A thumbnail acquisition request including a generation condition is sent to the document management apparatus. In the document management apparatus, the thumbnail management module receives a thumbnail acquisition request from the client terminal, reads out the document information of the thumbnail acquisition request target from the storage unit, and By processing the read document information according to the thumbnail generation condition included in the thumbnail acquisition request, a thumbnail image that satisfies the thumbnail generation condition is generated and transmitted to the client terminal.

  In any of the above configurations, it is possible to display thumbnail images of different formats for the same document in each client terminal and each application.

  Hereinafter, various embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to respective examples.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the overall configuration of the document browsing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, this system includes client terminals A (10-1), B (10-2),..., A thumbnail management server 20 and a document management device 30 via a LAN (local area network) 40. The document management apparatus 30 is connected to the network 60 via the communication line 50.

  The client terminal 10 is a browsing terminal device for browsing document information such as a scanned document and a FAX received document stored and managed by a document management device 30 to be described later, and is realized by, for example, a PC (personal computer). The

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the client terminal 10 (10-1, 10-2,...) According to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the client terminal 10 includes a control unit 11 that controls the entire terminal, an input / operation unit 12 that performs operations such as input of various information and thumbnail acquisition request operations, and various types of thumbnail acquisition requests. A storage unit 13 for storing various information such as applications, a display unit 14 for displaying various information such as thumbnail images sent from a thumbnail management server 20 to be described later in response to a thumbnail acquisition request, and a thumbnail management server via the LAN 40 20 and a communication interface (I / F) unit 15 that performs communication with the document management apparatus 30.

  In the client terminal 10, a plurality of applications (A, B,...) Are stored in the storage unit 13, and the control unit 11 reads out the corresponding application from the storage unit 13 based on a predetermined activation operation and activates the application. / Various application processing operations are executed in response to user operations on the operation unit 12.

  As an application processing operation in accordance with a user operation, as will be described in detail later, arbitrary document information (scanned document, scanned document) stored in the document management apparatus 30 in the input / operation unit 12 while an application is being activated. The thumbnail acquisition request is sent to the thumbnail management server 20 in response to a predetermined thumbnail acquisition request operation specifying a FAX received document or the like, and the above designation sent from the thumbnail management server 20 in response to the thumbnail acquisition request For example, the thumbnail image corresponding to the document information received is displayed on the display unit 14.

  In the client terminal 10 according to the present embodiment, when a thumbnail acquisition request operation is performed on arbitrary document information stored in the document management apparatus 30 in the control unit 11, the processing capability of the client terminal 10 or the thumbnail acquisition is performed. A thumbnail generation condition for generating a thumbnail image having a different format is determined according to the display specification / display function of the application that executed the request operation, and a thumbnail acquisition request including the thumbnail generation condition is sent to the thumbnail management server 20 A thumbnail acquisition request unit 111 having a processing function is provided.

  In the thumbnail acquisition request process, the capability information stored in advance in the thumbnail acquisition request unit 111, for example, the capability information storage unit 112 provided in the control unit 11 (the processing capability of the client terminal 10, the display specification / display of the application) The thumbnail generation conditions are determined with reference to information on functions and the like.

  Based on the thumbnail acquisition request from each client terminal 10, the thumbnail management server 20 acquires the document information specified by the thumbnail acquisition request among the document information stored and managed by the document management apparatus 30, and responds to the document information. A thumbnail image (a reduced image obtained by performing processing such as resolution conversion on the original information) is generated and transmitted to the client terminal 10 that is the thumbnail acquisition request source.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the thumbnail management server 20 according to the present embodiment.

  The thumbnail management server 20 includes a control unit 21 that controls the entire apparatus, a storage unit 22 that stores various types of information, such as temporarily storing document information acquired from the document management apparatus 30 based on a thumbnail acquisition request from the client terminal 10. Between the client terminal 10 and the document management device 30 via the LAN 40 and the thumbnail generation unit 23 that generates thumbnail images corresponding to the document information by performing processing such as reduction and resolution conversion on the acquired document information. The communication interface (I / F) unit 24 that performs the above communication is provided.

  In the thumbnail management server 20 of the present embodiment, the thumbnail generation unit 23 analyzes the thumbnail generation conditions included in the thumbnail acquisition request from the thumbnail acquisition request unit 111 of the client terminal 10, and converts the thumbnail generation conditions into the document information acquired from the document management device 30. Then, by performing the above-described processing according to the thumbnail generation conditions, a thumbnail image having a format that satisfies the thumbnail generation conditions is generated and transmitted to the client terminal 10.

  The document management apparatus 30 is an apparatus for storing and managing the document information of the thumbnail acquisition request target from the client terminal 10. In the present invention, for example, a multifunction peripheral (scanner apparatus) that consolidates the scanner function and the FAX communication function into one unit. It is realized by.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the document management apparatus 30 according to the present embodiment.

  The document management apparatus 30 includes a communication interface (I / F) unit 31 that controls a communication interface with a partner facsimile machine and the like, and an operation panel having a plurality of keys and a display unit such as a liquid crystal display. The operation / display unit 32 for displaying various information such as operation guidance and the operation status of the execution function on the display unit, and for the manuscript set at the reading position. A reading unit (scanner) 33 for reading an image; a control unit 35 for controlling the entire apparatus including a scanning operation and FAX communication; a storage unit 36 for storing various information such as document information to be viewed from the client terminal 10; Communication interface (I / F) unit 3 for communicating with the thumbnail management server 20 and the client terminal 10 via the LAN 40 Composed comprises a.

  In the document management device 30, the storage unit 36 reads image information (FAX received document) received by FAX from a partner facsimile machine (not shown) in the network 60 via the communication line 50, or read by the reading unit 33. Document information such as document image information (scanned document) is stored.

  Specifically, the document management apparatus 30 has confidential boxes 361 (361-1, 361-2,...) Assigned to the respective client terminals 10 in the storage unit 36, for example, from a partner FAX. When there is FAX reception, the receiver (each client terminal 10) is specified from the destination information in the call control information related to the reception, and the FAX reception document is stored in the confidential box 361 corresponding to the receiver.

  Further, the document management apparatus 30 allows each user who is a user of each client terminal 10 to read the original by the reading unit 33 by setting the original at a reading position and performing a predetermined reading start operation. Image information (scanned document) is stored in a confidential box 361 corresponding to user identification information input by the user at the time of the reading start operation.

  As described above, the document management apparatus 30 stores the image information (FAX received document) received from the partner FAX and the image information (scanned document) read based on the scanning operation performed by the user after the document is set to each user. The information is stored and managed in the box 361.

  In FIG. 1, only one document management apparatus 30 is shown, but a plurality of document management apparatuses 30 may be provided in the system.

  Document information (scanned document, FAX received document, etc.) stored and managed by the document management apparatus 30 is information that can be a processing target such as printing in response to a request from each application in the client terminal 10. Is requested to confirm the contents of the document information stored in the confidential box 361 prior to the printing process.

  In order to cope with such a request, in the system of this embodiment, based on a thumbnail acquisition request based on a predetermined thumbnail acquisition request operation from each client terminal 10, document information on a thumbnail image generation target included in the thumbnail request is document managed. A thumbnail management server 20 that generates a thumbnail image corresponding to the document information acquired from the apparatus 30 and transmits the thumbnail image to each client terminal 10 that is the source of the thumbnail acquisition request is arranged, and each client terminal 10 shares the thumbnail management server 20 Then, a thumbnail acquisition request is sent to the thumbnail management server 20, and the thumbnail image generated by the request is received from the thumbnail management server 20 and displayed on the display unit 14, thereby being stored and managed in the document management apparatus 30. Document information can be viewed.

  Further, in the system of the present embodiment, when a thumbnail acquisition request operation is performed on arbitrary document information stored in the document management apparatus 30 at the client terminal 10, the thumbnail acquisition request unit 111 causes the processing capability of the client terminal 10 or A thumbnail generation condition for generating a thumbnail image of a different format is determined according to the display specification / display function of the application that has executed the thumbnail acquisition request operation, and a thumbnail acquisition request including the thumbnail generation condition is sent to the thumbnail management server 20. In the thumbnail management server 20, the thumbnail generation unit 23 has a function of generating a thumbnail image that satisfies the thumbnail generation conditions included in the thumbnail acquisition request from the client terminal 10 and transmitting the thumbnail image to the client terminal 10.

  If a specific example of the thumbnail acquisition request processing from the client terminal 10 is given, during the above-described thumbnail acquisition operation, the thumbnail acquisition request unit 111 has thumbnails of different sizes according to the display specifications or display functions of the thumbnail acquisition request operation execution application. A process for sending a thumbnail acquisition request including generation of an image as a thumbnail generation condition to the thumbnail management server 20 is performed.

  Further, the thumbnail acquisition request unit 111 sends a thumbnail acquisition request including generation of a thumbnail image of an arbitrary page according to the display specification or display function of the thumbnail acquisition request operation execution application to the thumbnail management server 20 as a thumbnail generation condition. Perform the process.

  In addition, the thumbnail acquisition request unit 111 performs a thumbnail management request including a thumbnail acquisition request including, as a thumbnail generation condition, generating a thumbnail image having an image quality or the number of colors according to the processing capability of the client terminal 20 that has executed the thumbnail acquisition request operation. Processing to send to the server 20 is performed.

  In response to the thumbnail acquisition request from the thumbnail acquisition request unit 111, the thumbnail management server 20 generates a thumbnail image in a format that satisfies the above-described thumbnail generation conditions included in the thumbnail acquisition request from the thumbnail acquisition request unit 111. It transmits to the client terminal 10.

  Based on this processing function, a thumbnail image display processing operation based on a thumbnail acquisition request from the client terminal 10 in the system of this embodiment will be described below.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing processing operations of the client terminal 10, thumbnail management server 20, and document management apparatus 30 related to the thumbnail image display processing, and a communication control sequence between them.

  In this system, when the document information stored in the document management apparatus 30 is to be browsed as a thumbnail image using a certain application on the client terminal 10, the user uses the input / operation unit 12 to start the application. After the application specified by the activation operation is started, the management document list display screen [see FIG. 6 (a)] supported by the application is further opened, and the management document (documents) displayed on the screen is displayed. An operation (thumbnail acquisition request operation) for selecting a document desired to be browsed from among the documents managed by the management apparatus 30 and instructing thumbnail display is performed.

  In FIG. 5, when the above-described activation operation is performed by the user, the client unit 10 activates the application designated at the time of the activation operation based on the activation operation (step S101), and then the user terminal 10 A management document list display screen on the application is displayed on the display unit 14 by a predetermined instruction operation, and a reception process for a thumbnail acquisition request operation is performed (step S102).

  Here, when the user performs a thumbnail acquisition request operation for selecting (specifying) a document desired to be browsed and instructing thumbnail display on the management document list display screen, the thumbnail acquisition request unit 111 displays the capability. By referring to the capability information stored in the information storage unit 112, thumbnail images of different formats are generated according to the processing capability of the client terminal 10 or the display specification / display function of the application that executed the thumbnail acquisition request operation. A thumbnail generation condition is determined (step S103), and a thumbnail acquisition request including the thumbnail generation condition and the identification information of the document designated by the thumbnail acquisition request operation is sent to the thumbnail management server 20 (step S104). ).

  On the other hand, when the thumbnail management server 20 receives the thumbnail acquisition request from the client terminal 10 (step S201), the thumbnail generation unit 23 sets the document information specified by the document identification information included in the thumbnail acquisition request to the document management apparatus. The process to acquire from 30 is started.

  In the document information acquisition process, the thumbnail generation unit 23 transmits a document information read request specified by the document identification information included in the thumbnail acquisition request from the client terminal 20 to the document management apparatus 30 (step S202).

  On the other hand, when the document management apparatus 30 receives a document read request from the thumbnail management server 20 (step S301), the control unit 35 reads the requested document information from the corresponding confidential box 361 (step S302), and performs communication I / O. The image is transmitted to the thumbnail management server 20 through the F unit 37 (step S303), and then returns to the standby state (step S304).

  The thumbnail management server 20 transmits a document read request in step S202, and then waits for the document information from the document management device 30 to be received through the communication I / F unit 24 (step S202). Thereby, the thumbnail generation unit 23 acquires the document information of the thumbnail acquisition request target from the client terminal 10 from the document management apparatus 30 (step S204).

  After acquiring the document information that is the subject of the thumbnail acquisition request from the document management apparatus 30 (step S240), in the thumbnail management server 20, the thumbnail generation unit 23 performs a process of generating a thumbnail image of the document information.

  In this thumbnail image generation process, the thumbnail generation unit 23 analyzes the thumbnail generation conditions included in the thumbnail acquisition request received from the client terminal 10 in step S201 (step S205).

  Next, the thumbnail generation unit 23 performs processing according to the thumbnail generation condition analyzed in step S205 on the document information acquired from the document management apparatus 30 in step S204, thereby specifying the thumbnail generation condition. A thumbnail image satisfying the specified format is generated (step S206), and the generated thumbnail image is transmitted to the client terminal 10 as the thumbnail acquisition request source through the communication I / F unit 24 (step S207), and then returned to the standby state. (Step S208).

  On the other hand, when the client terminal 10 receives the thumbnail image transmitted from the thumbnail management server 20 through the communication I / F unit 15 (step S105), the control unit 11 uses the thumbnail display screen for the thumbnail image. It displays on the display part 14 (step S106).

  Thereby, the user can confirm the document content of the browse target document specified at the time of the thumbnail acquisition request operation by viewing the thumbnail image displayed on the thumbnail display screen.

  If the next process is not necessary after confirming the document content, the user instructs the end of the process by appropriately operating the input / operation unit 12.

  Further, as the next processing, for example, if the user wants to print the document, a print instruction for the document, and if the user wants to check the next document, a thumbnail acquisition request operation for the next document is input / operated. This is executed by appropriately operating the unit 12.

  On the other hand, the client terminal 10 monitors whether or not the processing end is instructed during the display of the thumbnail image in the above step S106 (step 107), and if the processing end is instructed here (step S107 YES) ) Ends the thumbnail image display process and returns to the standby state (step S110).

  If there is no instruction to end the process (NO in step S107), the control unit 11 then monitors whether or not a next process request operation such as printing or browsing the next document has been performed (step S108). When the request operation is not performed (NO in step S108), the process returns to step S107 to monitor the presence / absence of a process end instruction.

  On the other hand, when the next processing request operation is performed (YES in step S108), the control unit 11 executes the next processing such as printing or document browsing processing corresponding to the next processing request operation (step S109).

  Here, if the next processing request operation is a document print instruction operation, the control unit 11 accesses the document management apparatus 30, acquires the document information on which the thumbnail image is currently displayed from the corresponding confidential box 361, The acquired document information is printed out by a printer (not shown).

  If the next processing request operation is a browsing instruction operation for another document (corresponding to the thumbnail acquisition request operation in step S102), the client terminal 10 returns to step S102, and thereafter the thumbnail management server 20 and the document management device. By executing the series of processes shown in FIG. 5 in cooperation with 30, the thumbnail image of the other document is displayed on the display unit 14 of the client terminal 10 (step S106), and the process is continued.

  Next, a specific example regarding the specific processing in FIG. 5 will be described.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a management document list display screen 141 supported by, for example, the application A installed in the client terminal 10.

  The management document list display screen 141 is displayed on the display unit 14 by the application A, and includes a search target display field 143 corresponding to the left part of the screen and a list display field 145 corresponding to the right part of the screen.

  In the search target display column 143, a plurality of search targets (folders) are displayed in a hierarchy. When any one of the folders is designated, a lower folder associated with the folder is displayed in the search target display column 143. In the list display field 145, document information managed in the designated folder is displayed in a list.

  In this embodiment, search target folders displayed in the search target display field 143 include a plurality of document management devices 30A, 30B,... That can be accessed by the client terminal 10 for document browsing purposes. Each confidential box (361A1, 361A2,...), (361B1, 361B2,...) In 30A, 30B,.

  Thereby, in step S102 of FIG. 5, for example, when the user browses (thumbnail display) the document information stored and managed in the confidential box 361A1 in the document management apparatus 30A, the managed document list display screen 141 is displayed. A list of document information stored and managed in the confidential box 361A1 by designating the confidential box 361A1 from among a plurality of confidential boxes corresponding to the lower layer of the folder of the document management apparatus 30A in the search target display field 143. Is displayed in the list display field 145.

  In addition, the thumbnail display request tool (= “thumbnail”) 147 on the managed document list display screen 141 is selected, and further, desired document information is designated from the list (for example, an operation of moving the cursor and clicking). Thus, a thumbnail acquisition request operation (see step S102 in FIG. 5) for the designated document information is executed.

  In the example of FIG. 6A, a thumbnail acquisition request operation specifying the document information AAA existing in the confidential box 361A1 of the image processing apparatus 30A is performed.

  FIG. 6B is a diagram showing a display example of thumbnail images on the display unit 14 of the client terminal 10 corresponding to the thumbnail acquisition request operation performed on the management document list display screen 141 of FIG.

  In the display example of FIG. 6B, the list display field 145 of the browsed document designation screen shown in FIG. 6A is used as a thumbnail image display field, and the thumbnail image display field corresponds to the document information requested to be acquired. A thumbnail image 70A to be displayed is displayed.

  The thumbnail image 70A is displayed on the thumbnail acquisition request unit 111 of the client terminal 10 based on the thumbnail request operation that designates the document AAA in the confidential box 361A1 of the document management apparatus 30A by the application A on the client terminal 10. A thumbnail generation condition is determined according to the display specification / display function of the application A that has issued the thumbnail acquisition request for the document AAA (step S103 in FIG. 5), and the thumbnail acquisition request with the thumbnail generation condition added is determined as a thumbnail management server. In the thumbnail management server 20, the thumbnail generation unit 23 acquires the document information AAA included in the thumbnail acquisition request from the confidential box 361A1 of the document management apparatus 30 (step S20). In addition, by processing the document AAA according to the thumbnail generation conditions included in the thumbnail acquisition request, a thumbnail image 70A having a format that satisfies the thumbnail generation conditions is generated (step S205, 206), and is transmitted corresponding to the process of transmitting to the client terminal 10 (step S207).

  Therefore, when the thumbnail acquisition request operation for the same document AAA is performed by the application B at the client terminal 10, the format of the thumbnail image displayed in the thumbnail image display column [see FIG. Unlike the case where the thumbnail acquisition request is made by A, the format corresponds to the display specification / display function of the application B.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a display example of thumbnail images at the time of a thumbnail acquisition request for the same document AAA by two applications having different display specifications / display functions, for example, A and B. FIG. FIG. 7B corresponds to a display example of thumbnail images when the application B is used.

  Here, the document AAA to be displayed as a thumbnail is different in size for each page (3 pages in this example). For example, it is assumed that the document AAA has sizes of A4 vertical, A4 horizontal, and B4 vertical in order from the first page.

  In the example of FIG. 7A, when the thumbnail acquisition request operation for the document AAA is performed by the application A at the client terminal 10, the thumbnail acquisition request unit 111 responds to the display specification / display function corresponding to the application A. The thumbnail management server 20 requests generation of a thumbnail including generation of a thumbnail image of a certain size as a thumbnail generation condition, and the thumbnail management server 20 corresponds to the acquisition request document AAA based on the thumbnail generation condition included in the thumbnail generation request. The fixed-size thumbnail image is generated and transmitted to the client terminal 10.

  At this time, the thumbnail management server 20 displays the document information of each page for each page size (A4 vertical, A4 horizontal, B4 vertical) so that the thumbnail image of each page is displayed in the corresponding thumbnail display frame. A thumbnail image reduced at a different reduction ratio (a larger size is reduced more) is generated and transmitted to the client terminal 10.

  As a result, as shown in FIG. 7A, the thumbnail image 70A corresponding to the document AAA [same as FIG. 6B] is displayed on the display unit 14 (thumbnail image display field) of the client terminal 10. All pages (3 pages) are displayed (the same size on the display regardless of the original page size).

  On the other hand, in the example of FIG. 7B, when the thumbnail acquisition request operation for the document AAA is performed by the application B at the client terminal 10, the thumbnail acquisition request unit 111 displays the display specification corresponding to the application B. / In response to the display function, a thumbnail generation including generation of a thumbnail image having a size proportional to the size of the original document as a thumbnail generation condition is requested, and the thumbnail management server 20 includes a thumbnail generation condition included in the thumbnail generation request. Based on the above, a thumbnail image of the original document proportional size corresponding to the acquisition request document AAA is generated and transmitted to the client terminal 10.

  At this time, the thumbnail management server 20 generates a thumbnail image obtained by reducing the document information of each page at a constant reduction rate regardless of the page size (A4 portrait, A4 landscape, B4 portrait) and transmits the thumbnail image to the client terminal 10. To do.

  As a result, as shown in FIG. 7B, the thumbnail image 70B corresponding to the document AAA is displayed on the display unit 14 (thumbnail image display field) of the client terminal 10 at a size proportional to the size of the original document. (Page 3) is displayed.

  In addition, the thumbnail acquisition request unit 111 of the client terminal 10 generates a thumbnail image of a predetermined size of the document AAA depending on, for example, the display specification / display function of the application that executes the thumbnail acquisition request operation for the document AAA. In addition, it is possible to request generation of a thumbnail that includes displaying any page of the document AAA as a thumbnail generation condition.

  A display example of thumbnail images on the client terminal 10 based on the thumbnail display request is shown in FIG.

  In the example of FIG. 8, the thumbnail management server 20 that has received the thumbnail acquisition request generates a thumbnail image of the original document proportional size corresponding to the document AAA based on the thumbnail generation conditions included in the thumbnail generation request, and any arbitrary As a result of bundling pages (for example, the first page) so as to be at the top and transmitting them to the client terminal 10, the display unit 14 (thumbnail image display field) of the client terminal 10 displays an arbitrary one corresponding to the document AAA. A thumbnail image 70C of a page (first page in this example) is displayed in a size proportional to the size of the original document.

  In the thumbnail image display field, a page movement cursor 71 for instructing page movement is also displayed in addition to the thumbnail image 70C.

  Here, when the user operates the cursor 71 to instruct to move to the previous page or the next page, the thumbnail image of the designated page can be displayed in the thumbnail image display field.

  In addition, the thumbnail acquisition request unit 111 of the client terminal 10 generates a thumbnail image of the document AAA with, for example, image quality or the number of colors according to the processing capability of the client terminal 10 that executes a thumbnail acquisition request operation for the document AAA. It is also possible to request the generation of thumbnails included as thumbnail generation conditions.

  In this case, the thumbnail management server 20 that has received the thumbnail acquisition request generates a thumbnail image that satisfies the image quality or the number of colors corresponding to the document AAA based on the thumbnail generation conditions included in the thumbnail generation request and generates a client terminal. Thus, the thumbnail image 70 of the document AAA having the image quality or the number of colors is displayed in the thumbnail image display field of the client terminal 10.

  In the thumbnail acquisition request process, the thumbnail acquisition request unit 111 can specify the above-described conditions such as size, display page, image quality, or number of colors as a thumbnail generation condition alone, or any combination thereof. It is.

  As described above, according to the system configuration of this embodiment (see FIG. 1), when the client terminal 10 sends a thumbnail acquisition request for arbitrary document information to the thumbnail management server 20, the thumbnail management server 20 The process of acquiring the document information of the thumbnail acquisition request target from 30 to generate a thumbnail image and transmitting it to the client terminal 10 is fundamental. Therefore, when acquiring a thumbnail image of desired document information, each client terminal 10 can share the thumbnail generation and management functions of the thumbnail management server 20.

  As a result, the transmission and reception of the thumbnail image generation target document (original document) information based on the thumbnail acquisition request from the client terminal 20 need only be performed between the document management apparatus 30 and the thumbnail management server 20, and each client terminal 10 can perform the thumbnail image generation. There is no need to individually acquire the document information to be generated from the document management apparatus 30, and the load of network communication for acquiring the document information to be generated as a thumbnail image can be greatly reduced.

  In this embodiment, since the function for generating thumbnail images from the acquired original document is concentrated in the thumbnail management server 20, it is not necessary to provide the thumbnail image generation function in the document management apparatus 30 and each client terminal 10. .

  In other words, the thumbnail image can be displayed on each client terminal 10 using the document management apparatus 30 and the client terminal 10 that do not have the thumbnail image generation function, and the thumbnail is coupled with the reduction of the network communication load described above. The cost of image generation can also be reduced.

  In the present embodiment, as described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 8, when a thumbnail acquisition request operation for arbitrary document information stored in the document management apparatus 30 is performed at the client terminal 10, the client terminal 10 A thumbnail generation condition for generating a thumbnail image of a different format is determined according to the processing capability of 10 or the display specification / display function of the application that executed the thumbnail acquisition request operation, and a thumbnail acquisition request including the thumbnail generation condition is issued. The thumbnail management server 20 generates a thumbnail image in a format that satisfies the thumbnail generation conditions included in the thumbnail acquisition request from the client terminal 10 and transmits the thumbnail image to the client terminal 10. 10 and the same for each application Writing to, it is possible to display thumbnail images of different formats.

  Here, for example, it may be configured to request generation of a thumbnail of an arbitrary page for each application, and in this case, thumbnail display of an arbitrary page can be performed at a low cost.

  In the system of the present embodiment having the thumbnail display function, a user who has performed a thumbnail acquisition request operation on the client terminal 10 is viewing a thumbnail image displayed in a manner corresponding to the currently operating application and the capability of the terminal. The contents of the desired document information can be easily confirmed, and the transition to the next processing (printing, etc.) by the application after the contents confirmation can be performed smoothly.

  For the processing flow from the thumbnail acquisition request operation described above with reference to FIG. 6 to the thumbnail image display, the thumbnail display request tool (= “thumbnail”) 147 on the management document list display screen 141 is selected and immediately thereafter. By designating desired document information in the list, the list display field 145 is switched to the thumbnail image display field, and the full text page of the designated document is displayed as a thumbnail. This is merely an example, and various other modifications or applications are possible.

  For example, when the thumbnail display request tool (= “thumbnail”) 147 on the management document list display screen 141 shown in FIG. 6 is selected, the operation obtains thumbnail requests for all the documents displayed in the list display field 145 at that time. It is also possible to recognize that the operation is performed and generate thumbnail images of all the documents in the list and switch to display thumbnail images of all the documents. At this time, the function itself of the list display column 145 is not switched, and the first page of all documents is displayed as thumbnails in a form as shown in FIG. 8, for example. Here, depending on the application, it is also possible to adopt a configuration that enables subsequent page turning.

  FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the thumbnail management server 20A according to the second embodiment.

  The thumbnail management server 20A according to the present embodiment includes a storage device 25 [hard disk drive (HDD), etc.] in addition to the components of the thumbnail management server 20 according to the first embodiment. It has a function of storing (cache) the document information acquired from the document management device 30 in response to the acquisition request in the temporary storage area 251 of the storage device 25.

  The one storage area 251 stores not only document (original document) information acquired from the document management apparatus 30 but also thumbnail images generated from the original document information.

  In the system of this embodiment in which the thumbnail management server 20A is arranged instead of the thumbnail management server 20 in FIG. 1, the thumbnail generation unit 23 of the thumbnail management server 20A acquires the thumbnail included in the thumbnail acquisition request from the client terminal 10. The storage determination unit 231 determines whether or not the requested document information exists in the temporary storage area 251 of the storage device 25, and the thumbnail acquisition request target document information is stored in the temporary storage area 251 of the storage device 25. When the storage determination unit 231 determines that the document exists, the document information is read out and a thumbnail image corresponding to the document information is generated.

  Further, the storage determination unit 231 stores a thumbnail image corresponding to the document information included in the thumbnail acquisition request from the client terminal 10 and having a format that satisfies the thumbnail generation condition included in the thumbnail acquisition request. The thumbnail generation unit 23 determines whether or not a thumbnail image satisfying the above condition exists in the temporary storage area 251 of the storage device 25 by the storage determination unit 231. If so, the thumbnail image is transmitted in response to the thumbnail acquisition request.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating the processing operation of the thumbnail management server 20A according to the second embodiment.

  In FIG. 10, in the thumbnail management server 20A, when there is a thumbnail acquisition request from the client terminal 10 (step S231), the thumbnail generation unit 23 extracts the document identification information and thumbnail generation conditions to be acquired from the thumbnail acquisition request. (Step S232).

  Next, the storage determination unit 231 is a thumbnail image corresponding to the document information having the document identification information in the temporary storage area 251 of the storage device 25 and satisfies the thumbnail generation condition included in the thumbnail acquisition request. It is determined whether or not there is a thumbnail image (step S233).

  Here, if the thumbnail image exists in the temporary storage area 251 of the storage device 25 (YES in step S233), the thumbnail generation unit 23 reads the thumbnail image from the temporary storage area 251, and the client terminal 10 of the thumbnail acquisition request source. (Step S238).

  If the thumbnail image does not exist in the temporary storage area 251 of the storage device 25 (NO in step S233), then the storage determination unit 231 determines whether the document information of the thumbnail acquisition request target exists in the temporary storage area 251. It is determined whether or not (step S234).

  If the document information exists in the temporary storage area 251 (step S234 YES), the thumbnail generation unit 23 reads the document information from the temporary storage area 251 and is equivalent to steps S205 and S206 shown in FIG. A thumbnail image is generated by the processing (steps S236 and S237), and transmitted to the client terminal 10 that is the source of the thumbnail acquisition request (step S238).

  If the document information does not exist in the temporary storage area 251 of the storage device 25 (NO in step S234), the thumbnail generation unit 23 acquires the document information from the document management device 30 (step S235), and then stores the document information. Based on the information, a thumbnail image is generated by processing equivalent to steps S205 and S206 shown in FIG. 5 (steps S236 and S237), and transmitted to the client terminal 10 that is the source of the thumbnail acquisition request (step S238).

  As described above, in the thumbnail management server 20A according to the present embodiment, when the corresponding document information exists in the temporary storage area 251 of the storage device 25 in response to the thumbnail acquisition request from the client terminal 10, the document information is used. The thumbnail image is generated and transmitted to the requesting client terminal 10, and if the corresponding thumbnail image exists in the temporary storage area 251 of the storage device 25, the thumbnail image is immediately sent to the requesting client terminal 10. In this case (when document information or thumbnail images exist in the temporary storage area 251 of the storage device 25), document information for generating thumbnail images is acquired from the document management device 30 in order to perform transmission processing. Processing can be omitted and the network communication load can be further reduced.

  FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the document management apparatus 300A according to the third embodiment.

  The document management apparatus 300 </ b> A according to the present embodiment, in addition to the constituent elements of the document management apparatus 30 (see FIG. 4) according to the first embodiment, specifies from the document information stored in the confidential box 361 the identification corresponding to the document information. It has a thumbnail generation unit 38 that generates a thumbnail image of a format (fixed format).

  In the system of this embodiment in which the document management apparatus 300A is arranged instead of the document management apparatus 30 in FIG. 1, the document management apparatus 300A corresponds to the thumbnail management server 20 in response to a thumbnail acquisition request from the client terminal 10. Upon receiving a document information thumbnail acquisition request, the thumbnail generation unit 38 reads out the document information of the thumbnail acquisition request target from the confidential box 361 and generates a thumbnail image of a specific format corresponding to the document information. It is transmitted to a certain thumbnail management server 20.

  On the other hand, the thumbnail management server 20 sends a thumbnail image acquisition request corresponding to the document information of the thumbnail acquisition request target included in the thumbnail acquisition request to the document management apparatus 300A based on the thumbnail acquisition request from the client terminal 10. When a thumbnail image of a specific format sent from the document management apparatus 300A is received by the above processing, the thumbnail generation unit 23 performs further processing on the received thumbnail image of the specific format and is included in the thumbnail acquisition request. A process of generating a thumbnail image satisfying the thumbnail generation condition and sending the thumbnail image to the client terminal 10 that is the source of the thumbnail acquisition request is performed.

  As described above, according to the system of this embodiment in which the document management apparatus 300A having a function of generating a thumbnail image of a specific format from the stored document information is arranged, the thumbnail management server 20 side specifies the specific information acquired from the document management apparatus 300A. Since the processing of further processing the thumbnail image in the format and generating the thumbnail image to be transmitted to the client terminal 10 that is the source of the thumbnail acquisition request is basic, the document information is acquired from the document management apparatus 30 that does not have the thumbnail generation function, and the client Compared with the case of processing a thumbnail image satisfying the format requested by the terminal 10, the processing is simplified, and the processing time (waiting time until the thumbnail image is displayed on the client terminal 10) can be shortened.

  In the first to third embodiments, a dedicated server (thumbnail management server 20) having a thumbnail generation and management function is shared between each client terminal 10 and the document management apparatus 30 so that a plurality of client terminals 30 can share the server. However, according to the present invention, the thumbnail management module having the thumbnail generation and management functions in the thumbnail management server 20 can be realized, for example, by a configuration implemented on the client terminal 10 or the document management apparatus 30 side.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a document browsing system according to the fourth embodiment.

  The system of this embodiment is configured by connecting a plurality of client terminals 10A (10A-1, 10A-2,...) And a document management apparatus 30 via a LAN 40 so that they can communicate with each other.

  Here, the client terminal 10A adds the thumbnail management module 16 having the thumbnail generation unit 161 having the same processing function as the thumbnail generation unit 23 in the thumbnail management server 20 of the first embodiment to the client terminal 10 of the first embodiment. It is implemented and configured. The document management apparatus 30 is the same as that of the first embodiment.

  In the client terminal 10A of the present embodiment, when a thumbnail request operation specifying a desired document in the confidential box 361 of the document management apparatus 30 is performed by an application (A, B,...) Implemented in the client terminal 10A, The thumbnail acquisition request unit 111 determines a thumbnail generation condition according to the processing capability of the client terminal 10A or the display specification / display function of the application that has issued the thumbnail acquisition request for the document, and the thumbnail acquisition request including the thumbnail generation condition Is sent to the thumbnail management module 16.

  On the other hand, in the thumbnail management module 16, the thumbnail generation unit 161 acquires the document information included in the thumbnail acquisition request from the confidential box 361 of the document management apparatus 30, and further acquires the thumbnail acquisition into the document information. By performing the processing according to the thumbnail generation conditions included in the request, a thumbnail image in a format that satisfies the thumbnail generation conditions is generated and sent to the thumbnail acquisition request unit 111.

Then, the control unit 11 displays the thumbnail image acquired by the thumbnail acquisition request unit 111 from the thumbnail management module 16 on the display unit 14 as a thumbnail image corresponding to the thumbnail acquisition request.

  Through the above processing, also in the system of the present embodiment, the client terminal 10A performs a thumbnail acquisition request operation for a desired document using a certain application, as in the first embodiment, so that the processing capability or each of the client terminal 10A can be obtained. It is possible to display thumbnail images having different formats according to the display specifications / display functions of the application.

  In the present embodiment, the thumbnail management module 16 may have a cache function as described in the second embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, the document management apparatus 30 having the thumbnail generation function as described in the third embodiment may be used. In this case, the thumbnail generation unit 161 of the thumbnail management module 16 includes the embodiment. 3, it is necessary to add a function of further processing the thumbnail image of a specific format acquired from the document management apparatus 30 and generating a thumbnail image having a format according to the capability of the client terminal 10A or the application. There is.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a document browsing system according to the fifth embodiment.

  The system of the present embodiment is configured by connecting a plurality of client terminals 10 (10-1, 10-2,...) And the image processing device 300B via the LAN 40 so as to be communicable.

  Here, the document management apparatus 300B includes a thumbnail management module having a thumbnail generation unit 391 having the same processing function as the thumbnail generation unit 23 in the thumbnail management server 20 of the first embodiment in the document management apparatus 30 of the first embodiment. 39 is implemented. The client terminal 10 is the same as that of the first embodiment.

  In the system of the present embodiment, when a thumbnail request operation specifying a desired document in the confidential box 361 of the document management apparatus 300B by an application (A, B,. The request unit 111 determines a thumbnail generation condition according to the processing capability of the client terminal 10 or the display specification / display function of the application that has issued the thumbnail acquisition request for the document, and sends a thumbnail acquisition request including the thumbnail generation condition to the document. It is sent to the management apparatus 300B.

  On the other hand, when the document management apparatus 300B receives the thumbnail acquisition request from the client terminal 10, the thumbnail generation unit 391 of the thumbnail management module 39 reads out the document information included in the thumbnail acquisition request from the corresponding confidential box 361. After that, the document information is processed according to the thumbnail generation condition included in the thumbnail acquisition request, thereby generating a thumbnail image in a format that satisfies the thumbnail generation condition and transmitting it to the client terminal 10.

In the client terminal 10, the thumbnail image transmitted from the document management apparatus 300B is received and taken into the thumbnail acquisition request unit 111, and the control unit 11 acquires the thumbnail image acquired from the document management apparatus 300B by the thumbnail acquisition request unit 111. A thumbnail image corresponding to the thumbnail acquisition request is displayed on the display unit 14.

  Also in the system of the present embodiment, the client terminal 10 performs a thumbnail acquisition request operation for a desired document using a certain application, as in the first embodiment, so that the processing capability of the client terminal or the display specifications / Thumbnail images composed of different formats according to the display function can be displayed.

  In addition, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above and shown in the drawings, and can be implemented by being appropriately modified within a range not changing the gist thereof.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, a multifunction peripheral (scanner device) that stores a FAX received document or a scanned document is exemplified as a device that stores and manages information on a generation source of thumbnail images to be browsed on the client terminal 10. As this type of apparatus, all document management apparatuses that store and manage various types of document information including word processing documents created on a PC can be applied.

  The present invention can be applied to all systems in which thumbnail images corresponding to document information stored in a document management apparatus are viewed on a client terminal on a network, and based on a thumbnail acquisition request from the client terminal, a thumbnail acquisition request from the document management apparatus By sharing the thumbnail management device that acquires the target document information, generates thumbnail images, and transmits them to the client terminals, each client terminal reduces the network communication load for acquiring the thumbnail image generation target document information it can. Also, the thumbnail management apparatus receives a request for generating a thumbnail image of a different format according to the processing capability of the terminal or the display specification / display function of the thumbnail acquisition request execution application from the client terminal, and generates a thumbnail image that satisfies the format. Therefore, thumbnail images of different formats can be displayed for the same document in each client terminal and each application.

1 is a block diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a document browsing system according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a client terminal according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a thumbnail management server according to the first embodiment. 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a document management apparatus according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a processing operation and a communication control sequence of each device according to the first embodiment. The figure which shows the management document list display screen of application A, and a thumbnail display screen. The figure which shows the example of a display of the thumbnail image of the same document by a different application. The figure which shows the example of a display of the thumbnail image of arbitrary pages. FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a thumbnail management server according to the second embodiment. 9 is a flowchart illustrating processing operations of a thumbnail management server according to the second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a document management apparatus according to a third embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a document browsing system according to a fourth embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a document browsing system according to a fifth embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10,10-1,10-2,10A, 10A-1,10A-2 ... Client terminal, 11 ... Control part, 111 ... Thumbnail acquisition request part, 112 ... Capability information storage part, 12 ... Input / operation part, 13 ... storage unit, 14 ... display unit, 141 ... management document list display screen, 143 ... search target display column, 145 ... list display column, 147 ... thumbnail display request tool, 15 ... communication interface (I / F) unit, 16 ... Thumbnail management module 161 ... Thumbnail generation unit 20, 20A ... Thumbnail management server, 21 ... Control unit, 22 ... Storage unit, 23 ... Thumbnail generation unit, 231 ... Storage determination unit, 24 ... Communication interface (I / F) unit , 25 ... storage device, 251 ... temporary storage area, 30, 30A, 30B, 300A, 300B ... document management device, 31, 37 ... communication interface (I / F) section, 32 ... display / operation section, 33 ... reading section (scanner), 35 ... control section, 36 ... storage section, 361, 361-1, 361-2, 361A1, 361A2 ... confidential box, 38 ... thumbnail generation unit, 39 ... thumbnail management module, 391 ... thumbnail generation unit, 40 ... local area network (LAN), 50 ... communication line, 60 ... network, 70, 70A, 70B, 70C ... thumbnail image, 71 ... Page movement cursor

Claims (11)

In a document browsing system comprising a document management device for storing and managing document information, and a plurality of client terminals for browsing thumbnail images corresponding to the document information stored in the document management device,
A thumbnail acquisition request for arbitrary document information stored in the document management apparatus is received from the client terminal, and the document information of the thumbnail acquisition request target is acquired from the document management apparatus to generate a thumbnail image corresponding to the document information Thumbnail generation means for
A document management system comprising: a thumbnail management device including: a transmission unit configured to transmit a thumbnail image generated by the thumbnail generation unit to the client terminal that is the thumbnail acquisition request source; system. The client terminal is
When a thumbnail acquisition request operation is performed on arbitrary document information stored in the document management apparatus, a thumbnail acquisition request including thumbnail generation conditions of different formats corresponding to at least the processing capability of the application that has executed the thumbnail acquisition request operation is transmitted. A thumbnail acquisition request means for
The thumbnail generating means
A thumbnail image that satisfies the thumbnail generation condition is generated by subjecting the document information acquired from the document management apparatus to processing according to the thumbnail generation condition included in the thumbnail acquisition request from the thumbnail acquisition request unit. The document browsing system according to claim 1, wherein: The thumbnail acquisition request means includes
The thumbnail acquisition request including the generation of thumbnail images having different sizes according to display specifications or display functions of the thumbnail acquisition request operation execution application as the thumbnail generation condition is sent. Document browsing system. The thumbnail acquisition request means includes
4. The thumbnail acquisition request including sending a thumbnail image of an arbitrary page according to a display specification or a display function of the thumbnail acquisition request operation execution application as the thumbnail generation condition is transmitted. 5. Document browsing system described. The thumbnail acquisition request means includes
The thumbnail acquisition request including the generation of thumbnail images as the thumbnail generation condition is generated as a thumbnail generation condition according to the processing capability of the client terminal that has performed the thumbnail acquisition request operation. Any document viewing system. The thumbnail acquisition request means includes
6. The thumbnail acquisition request including sending as a thumbnail generation condition the generation of thumbnail images of the number of colors corresponding to the processing capability of the client terminal that has executed the thumbnail acquisition request operation. A document browsing system described in any of the above. The thumbnail management device
Storage means for storing the document information acquired by the thumbnail generation means;
Determination means for determining whether or not the document information of the thumbnail acquisition request target included in the thumbnail acquisition request from the client terminal exists in the storage means;
The document according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein when the document information of the thumbnail acquisition request target exists in the storage unit, the document information is read to generate a thumbnail image corresponding to the document information. Browsing system. The thumbnail management device
Thumbnail storage means for storing thumbnail images generated by the thumbnail generation means;
Thumbnail presence determination means for determining whether or not a thumbnail image corresponding to the document information of the thumbnail acquisition request target included in the thumbnail acquisition request from the client terminal exists in the thumbnail storage means;
The thumbnail image corresponding to the thumbnail acquisition request target document information is read out and transmitted to the client terminal of the thumbnail acquisition request source when the thumbnail storage unit includes the thumbnail image. Item 8. The document browsing system according to any one of Items 7 to 8. The document management apparatus includes:
Specific format thumbnail generation means for reading out the document information and generating a thumbnail image of a specific format corresponding to the document information based on a thumbnail image acquisition request for arbitrary document information from the thumbnail management device;
Means for transmitting the specific format thumbnail image generated by the specific format thumbnail generation means to the acquisition request source, and
The thumbnail management device
An acquisition request means for making an acquisition request for the thumbnail image corresponding to the document information of the thumbnail acquisition request target included in the thumbnail acquisition request from the client terminal to the document management device;
The thumbnail generating means
Generating the thumbnail image to be sent to the client terminal of the thumbnail acquisition request source by further processing the specific format thumbnail image sent from the document management device in response to the thumbnail image acquisition request to the document management device; The document browsing system according to claim 1. In a document browsing system comprising a document management device for storing and managing document information, and a plurality of client terminals for browsing thumbnail images corresponding to the document information stored in the document management device,
The client terminal is
A condition determining means for determining a thumbnail generation condition of a different format according to at least a processing capability of an application that has executed the thumbnail acquisition request operation when executing a thumbnail acquisition request operation for arbitrary document information stored in the document management apparatus; ,
Document information acquisition means for acquiring the document information of the thumbnail acquisition request target designated by the thumbnail acquisition request operation from the document management device;
Thumbnail generation means for generating a thumbnail image satisfying the thumbnail generation condition by performing a processing process on the document information acquired by the document information acquisition means according to the thumbnail generation condition determined by the condition determination means When,
And a display means for displaying the thumbnail image generated by the thumbnail generation means. In a document browsing system comprising a document management device for storing and managing document information, and a plurality of client terminals for browsing thumbnail images corresponding to the document information stored in the document management device,
The client terminal is
When executing a thumbnail acquisition request operation for arbitrary document information stored in the document management device, at least a thumbnail acquisition request including a thumbnail generation condition of a different format according to the processing capability of the application that has executed the thumbnail acquisition request operation A thumbnail acquisition request means for sending to the document management device,
The document management apparatus includes:
Accepting the thumbnail acquisition request from the client terminal, reading out the document information of the thumbnail acquisition request target from the storage unit, the thumbnail generation condition included in the thumbnail acquisition request from the thumbnail acquisition request means in the read document information Thumbnail generation means for generating a thumbnail image satisfying the thumbnail generation condition by performing processing according to
A document browsing system, comprising: a transmission unit configured to transmit a thumbnail image generated by the thumbnail generation unit to the client terminal that has made the thumbnail acquisition request.

Images