Electronic document processing apparatus and processing method

• US 20030056171A1
• Filed: 09/23/2002
• Published: 03/20/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/24/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Dai Nippon Printing Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Dai Nippon Printing Company Limited
• Inventors: Sakamoto, Sanae, Tochihara, Seiichi, Yone, Yutaka
• Application Number:
  US10/239,467
• Publication Number:
  US 20030056171A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/505
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/93 Document management systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/174 Form filling; Merging

Abstract

An electronic document processing apparatus is connected to a user terminal and a related institution terminal via a network. Electronic forms of a plurality of documents are accumulated in a database. Each electronic form is constituted as an aggregation of constitution modules each corresponding to a part of each document. When a user designates a certain transaction, a document required for the transaction is specified, and the electronic form of the document is acquired from the database. Constitution modules constituting the electronic form are extracted based on the acquired electronic form. Each constitution module is presented to the user. When the user inputs necessary matters, constitution modules obtained after the input are combined to each other to create the electronic document of each necessary document. The created electronic document is filed to respective related institutions via the network. When necessary processes are performed by the related institutions, the log information of the processes is received by the electronic document processing apparatus, and the log information is stored to be correlated with a corresponding transaction. Therefore, log information related to the transaction is stored even after the transaction is executed to make it possible to perform a demand for reading or authentication.

Claims

1. An electronic document processing apparatus connected to a user terminal via a network, comprising:

a database in which an electronic form constituted as an aggregation of a plurality of constitution modules, each corresponding to a part of one document, is accumulated;

an electronic form acquiring device for acquiring an electronic form required for a transaction designated by a user from the database as the aggregation of constitution modules;

a presenting device for presenting the acquired constitution module to the user to request the user to input predetermined information; and

an electronic document creating device for combining the constitution modules, to which the user completed information input, to create an electronic document of the necessary document.

2. An electronic document processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the presenting device presents a constitution module which is commonly included in a plurality of electronic forms only once.

3. An electronic document processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a correction request device for receiving a constitution module to which the user completed information input, for checking the input information depending on a predetermined check process method, and, if the input item has an error, for showing that the input information has an error to the user to request the user to correct the error.

4. An electronic document processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a document filing device for transmitting a created document to a destination terminal device via the network; and

a report device for receiving a notification of completion of filing the document from the destination terminal device and making a report of completion of filing to the user.

5. An electronic document processing apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a time information recording device for recording information of a time when the document filing device transmits a document to a destination terminal and recording information of a time when the user receives the notification of completion of filing from the destination terminal device.

6. An electronic document processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the report device reports the time information recorded by the recording device such that the time information is included in the report of completion of filing.

7. An electronic document processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein each of the constitution modules includes check information, and wherein the correction request device makes a correction request with reference to the check information.

8. An electronic document processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the check information represents a type of a constitution module including the check information therein and a degree of importance of information input to the constitution module, and wherein the correction request device checks whether a correction request is made depending on the degree of importance and determines the degree of correction request.

9. An electronic document processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a constitution module creating device for acquiring a constitution module designated from the database depending on an operation of an operator and changes the constitution module to create a new constitution module.

10. An electronic document processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the constitution module includes display specifying information for specifying display information related to the constitution module, and wherein the presenting device presents the constitution module and the display information related to the constitution module to the user with reference to the display specifying information.

11. An electronic document processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an automatic input/output device for acquiring information to be input to the constitution module presented by the presenting device from an external storage medium to automatically input/output the information to the constitution module.

12. An electronic document processing method using an electronic document processing apparatus connected to a user terminal via a network and having a database in which an electronic form constituted as an aggregation of a plurality of constitution modules each corresponding to a part of one document is accumulated, comprising:

the process of acquiring an electronic form required for a transaction designated by a user from the database as the aggregation of constitution modules;

the process of presenting the acquired constitution module to the user to request the user to input a predetermined item; and

the process of combining the constitution modules to which the user input information to create an electronic document of the necessary document.

13. An electronic document processing apparatus connected to a user terminal and a related institution terminal via a network, comprising:

a constitution module acquiring device for acquiring a constitution module constituting an electronic form of a document required for a transaction designated by a user;

an electronic document creating device for transmitting the constitution module to the user via the network and receiving a constitution module subjected to a creating process by the user to create an electronic document as an aggregation of constitution modules;

a module log recording device for recording and storing a module log serving as log information of processes performed by the user and the electronic document creating device in creation of an electronic document by transmission/reception of the constitution module with the user.

14. An electronic document processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the module log recording device records and stores the log information as attribute data of constitution modules in units of constitution modules.

15. An electronic document processing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the module log recording device records log information at fineness levels on the basis of at least one of a type or a degree of importance of a constitution module, contents input to the constitution module and a combination of a plurality of constitution modules.

16. An electronic document processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the electronic document creating device appends a necessary electronic signature to each constitution module and requests the user to append the necessary electronic signature to each constitution module.

17. An electronic document processing apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the electronic document creating device determines the necessity of a request of an electronic signature to a user and a type of the electronic signature to be requested on the basis of at least one of a type or a degree of importance of a constitution module, contents input to the constitution module and a combination of a plurality of constitution modules.

18. An electronic document processing apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising:

a transmission device for transmitting an electronic document created by the electronic document creating device to a related institution terminal via the network; and

a transaction recording device for receiving log information of processes performed in the related institution and recording the log information as a transaction log such that the log information is correlated with the transaction.

19. An electronic document processing apparatus according to claim 18, further comprising:

a reception device for receiving a demand for reading the log information from the user; and

a log information providing device for acquiring a transaction log corresponding to a transaction designated by the demand for reading to provide the transaction log to the user.

20. An electronic document processing apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the log information providing device acquires the module log when the demand for reading includes designation of a constitution module, and provides the module log to the user.

21. An electronic document processing apparatus according to claim 18, further comprising:

a reception device for receiving a demand for verifying the log information from the user;

a verification device for acquiring a designated transaction log or a designated module log when the demand for verification is received, and performing verification related to the acquired log.

22. An electronic document processing apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising a degree-of-progress notification device for referring to a transaction log corresponding to a designated transaction and a module log related to the transaction when a degree of progress is inquired by the user, for acquiring the degree of progress of the transaction, and for notifying the user of the degree of progress.

23. An electronic document processing apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising a log output device for outputting the log information to a recording medium of the user.

24. An electronic document processing method executed by an electronic document processing apparatus connected to a user terminal and a related institution terminal via a network, comprising:

the process of acquiring a constitution module constituting an electronic form of a document required for a transaction designated by a user;

the process of transmitting the constitution module to the user via the network and receiving a constitution module subjected to a creating process by the user to create the electronic document as an aggregate of constitution modules; and

the process of recording and storing log information of processes performed by the user and the electronic document processing apparatus in creation of an electronic document by transmission/reception of the constitution module with the user.