INFORMATION PROCESSING TERMINAL AND METHOD, AND INFORMATION MANAGEMENT APPARATUS AND METHOD

• US 20150006573A1
• Filed: 09/11/2014
• Published: 01/01/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: FUSUME, Kosei, SUZUKI, Masaru, MORITA, Masahiro
• Granted Patent: US 10,417,267 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/771
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/334 Query execution G06F16/335 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/3344 using natural language analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/169 Annotation, e.g. comment data or footnotes

Abstract

According to one embodiment, an information processing terminal includes a generator, an acquisition unit, and an output unit. The generator analyzes an electronic document to generate a metadata item including text information in an electronic document and structure information on the electronic document. The acquisition unit transmits the metadata item to an information management apparatus, causes the information management apparatus to estimate a similar metadata item similar to the metadata item and acquires an annotation information item corresponding to the similar metadata item. The output unit outputs the annotation information item in association with the electronic document.

Claims

1. An information processing terminal permitted to be connected to an information management apparatus for managing metadata items on electronic documents and annotation information items corresponding to the metadata items, the annotation information items on the electronic documents being generated by users, comprising:

a generator configured to analyze an electronic document to generate a metadata item including text information in the electronic document and structure information on the electronic document;

an acquisition unit configured to transmit the metadata item to the information management apparatus, to cause the information management apparatus to estimate a similar metadata item similar to the metadata item and to acquire a certain annotation information item corresponding to the similar metadata item, the certain annotation information item being included in the annotation information items; and

an output unit configured to output the annotation information item in association with the electronic document.

2. The terminal according to claim 1, wherein the annotation information item is comment information indicating comments added by the users to the electronic document, or is audio information corresponding to the electronic document.

3. The terminal according to claim 2, further comprising an analysis unit configured to analyze the comment information added by the users, and wherein the acquisition unit transmits, to the information management apparatus, the comment information and the metadata item in association with each other.

4. The terminal according to claim 3, wherein the output unit modifies an output form of the annotation information item in accordance with a degree of similarity between the metadata item and the similar metadata item.

14. The terminal according to claim 1, wherein the metadata items include indent number, the numbers of characters, signs, numerals, and text sets, font size, logical elements, layout information.

5. An information management apparatus permitted to receive metadata items on electronic documents from an information processing terminal, comprising:

a storage configured to store the metadata items and annotation information items corresponding to the metadata items, the metadata items including structure information items on the electronic documents and text information items in the electronic documents, the annotation information items on the electronic documents being generated by users;

an acquisition unit configured to acquire a first metadata item as a search target from the information processing terminal;

an extraction unit configured to search the storage for a similar metadata item similar to the first metadata item, and to extract a certain annotation information item corresponding to the similar metadata item, the certain annotation information item being included in the annotation information items; and

a transmitter configured to transmit the extracted annotation information item to the information processing terminal.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the extraction unit extracts a second metadata item as the similar metadata item, if text information and structure information included in the second metadata item are similar to the text information and the structure information included in the first metadata item.

13. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the certain annotation information item is comment information indicating comments added by the users to the electronic document, or is audio information corresponding to the electronic document.

7. An information processing method for controlling an information processing terminal permitted to be connected to an information management apparatus for managing metadata items on electronic documents and annotation information items corresponding to the metadata items, the annotation information items on the electronic documents being generated by users, comprising:

analyzing an electronic document to generate a metadata item including text information in the electronic document and structure information on the electronic document;

transmitting the metadata item to the information management apparatus;

causing the information management apparatus to estimate a similar metadata item similar to the metadata item;

acquiring a certain annotation information item corresponding to the similar metadata item, the certain annotation information item being included in the annotation information items; and

outputting the annotation information item in association with the electronic document.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the annotation information item is comment information indicating comments added by the users to the electronic document, or is audio information corresponding to the electronic document.

9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising analyzing the comment information added by the users, and wherein the transmitting the metadata item transmits, to the information management apparatus, the comment information and the metadata item in association with each other.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the outputting the annotation information item modifies an output form of the annotation information item in accordance with a degree of similarity between the metadata item and the similar metadata item.

11. An information processing method for use in an information management apparatus permitted to receive metadata items on electronic documents from an information processing terminal, comprising:

acquiring a metadata item as a search target from the information processing terminal;

searching a storage which stores the metadata items and annotation information items corresponding to the metadata items, the metadata items including structure information items on the electronic documents and text information items in the electronic documents, the annotation information items on the electronic documents being generated by users, to detect a similar metadata item similar to the acquired metadata item, and to extract a certain annotation information item corresponding to the similar metadata item, the certain annotation information item being included in the annotation information items; and

transmitting the extracted annotation information item to the information processing terminal.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the searching the storage extracts a second metadata item as the similar metadata item, if text information and structure information included in the second metadata item are similar to the text information and the structure information included in the first metadata item.