Database creating method using image information

• US 5,930,799 A
• Filed: 04/17/1997
• Issued: 07/27/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 04/19/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Tamano, Maki, Okuda, Hiroyuki, Yoshimura, Mitsuhiko, Murakami, Noriyuki, Yoshikawa, Yoshiaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Kulik, Paul V.
• Assistant Examiner(s): HOMERE, JEAN RAYMOND
• Application Number:
  US08/843,859
• Time in Patent Office: 831 Days
• Field of Search: 707/506, 707/503, 707/501, 707/102, 345/127, 345/113
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/00 Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface

Abstract

Representative item information concerning an item name represented on a form, parts control information for controlling a part or input/output area forming a display screen for inputting data to a database, and data attribute information including field name and data type referred to in defining a table in the database, are created for each item name beforehand. In accordance with an input from a user for image information of the form inputted beforehand, there is generated link information which includes positional information for distinguishing a position on the image information and sub referential information for distinguishing a field of the database. On the parts control information, a part is displayed on the image information displayed on a display device. A table of the database is defined on the basis of the data attribute information.

Claims

1. A database creating method using image information and a computer, comprising the steps of:

(a) providing referential information in which representative item information concerning an item name represented on a form, parts control information for controlling a part as an input/output area forming a display screen for inputting data to a database, and data attribute information including field name and data type referred to in defining a table in the database are created for each item name beforehand;

(b) generating, on the basis of an input from a user for image information of the form inputted beforehand, link information which includes positional information for uniquely distinguishing a displaying position of a part on the image information, and sub referential information created on the basis of the referential information for uniquely distinguishing a field of the database by designating said part on the image information;

(c) displaying a part on the image information displayed on said display device on the basis of the parts control information, the representative item information and the positional information; and

(d) defining a table in the data on the basis of the data attribute information included in the link information.

2. A database creating method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

(e) displaying a display screen for input to the database on the basis of the image information inputted beforehand and the link information; and

(f) storing input data from the input display screen into the table of the database defined in said step (d) on the basis of the parts control information and the data attribute information.

3. A database creating program stored in a computer readable storage medium, the program comprising the steps of:

(a) providing referential information in which representative item information concerning an item name represented on a form, parts control information for controlling a part as an input/output area forming a display screen for inputting data to a database, and data attribute information including field name and data type referred to in defining a table in the database are created for each item name beforehand;

(b) generating, on the basis of an input from a user for image information of the form inputted beforehand, link information which includes positional information for uniquely distinguishing a displaying position of a part on the image information and sub referential information created on the basis of the referential information for uniquely distinguishing a field of the database by designating said part on the image information;

(c) displaying a part on the image information displayed on said display device on the basis of the parts control information, the representative item information and the positional information;

(d) defining a table in the database on the basis of the data attribute information included in the link information;

(e) displaying a display screen for input to the database on the basis of the image information inputted beforehand and the link information; and

(f) storing input data from the input display screen into the table of the database defined in said step (d) on the basis of the parts control information and the data attribute information.

4. A data processing method comprising the steps of:

(a) displaying an image on a display device on the basis of image data stored in a storage device;

(b) responding to an instruction for reservation of an area on the displayed image to reserve the area; and

(c) responding to the input of at least one of the name of said area and input information for said area so that a correspondence relationship between the position of said area on the displayed image and said at least one of the name of said area and the input information for said area are stored into said storage device in association with the image data stored in said storage device.

5. A data processing method according to claim 4, wherein in said step (c), the result of character recognition for a part of the image is stored as the name of said area or the input information for said area.

6. A data processing system comprising:

a first storage device for storing image data;

a display device for displaying the stored image data of said first storage device as an image;

an input device for inputting an instruction for reservation of an area on the image displayed on said display device and at least one of the name of said area and input information for said area; and

a second storage device for storing, in response to the input of said at least one of the name of said area and input information for said area, a correspondence relationship between the position of said area on the displayed image and said at least one of the name of said area and the input information for said area in association with the image data stored in said first storage device.

7. A data processing system according to claim 6, wherein said first storage device is the same as said second storage device.

8. A computer readable recording medium in which image data is stored in association with the position of an area on a displayed image of the image data and at least one of the name of said area and input information for said area.

9. A computer readable recording medium in which image data is stored in association with the position of an area on a displayed image of the image data and the data type of input information for said area.

10. A computer program executed on a computer to cause the computer to perform a process comprising the steps of:

displaying an image on a display device on the basis of image data stored in a storage device;

responding to an instruction for reservation of an area on the displayed image to reserve the area; and

responding to the input of at least one of the name of said area and input information for said area so that a correspondence relationship between the position of said area on the displayed image and said at least one of the name of said area and the input information for said area are stored into said storage device association with the image data stored in said storage device.

11. A method for creating a database using image information and a computer system, comprising the steps of:

(a) inputting referential information storing a correspondence relationship of name and attribute information of data items displayed on said image information and a data field included in said database;

(b) displaying on a display device said image information;

(c) extracting said name and said attribute information of said field of said database on the basis of said referential information by designating a data item on said image information with a position input device, to generate a detail table defining said database;

(d) extracting positional information of an input/output area by designating a data input/output area corresponding to said data item with said position input device;

(e) generating link information in which said detail table is linked with said positional information for each of said data items; and

(f) generating a database by reserving a data storage area on the basis of said detail table.

12. A method for creating a database using image information and a computer system, comprising the steps of:

(a) inputting link information in which a detail table is linked with positional information of an input/output area for each of a plurality of data items included in said image information, wherein said detail table is constructed with name and attribute information of a field included in said database, and said field stores a mutual correspondence relationship for said data items;

(b) displaying said image information on a display device in order to input data into said database;

(c) inputting data into said input/output area on said image information by designating said input/output area with a position input device; and

(d) storing said inputted data into a field of said database on the basis of said link information, wherein said field corresponds to said data item included in said image information.