Hierarchical based hyper-text document preparing and management apparatus

• US 6,336,123 B2
• Filed: 10/02/1997
• Issued: 01/01/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 10/02/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Kawaguchi, Kyoko, Inoue, Kazunori, Sakushima, Kazuo, Nakanishi, Yoshiaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Hong, Stephen S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bashore, William L.
• Application Number:
  US08/938,931
• Publication Number:
  US 20010011286A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,552 Days
• Field of Search: 345/357, 345/700, 395/710, 395/200.33, 707/1, 707/513, 707/501.1, 709/218, 709/227, 709/316
• US Class Current: 715/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/94 Hypermedia Hyperlinking G06F40/134
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing

Abstract

Contents of each of nodes indicating a plurality of hyper-text documents are prepared and revised in a node managing unit as node information. A connection-relationship between two nodes is established and revised for each of the nodes in a hierarchy structure managing unit as hierarchy structure information, and a hierarchy structure of the nodes is established. In this hierarchy structure, one node ranked to the top level is set as a parent node, and the other nodes are set to child nodes. Thereafter, a plurality of hyper-text documents arranged in the hierarchy structure are prepared from the node information and the hierarchy structure information. Therefore, because the contents of each node is managed in dependence of the preparation of the hierarchy structure, the hyper-text documents arranged in the hierarchy structure can be easily prepared.

Claims

1. A hyper-text document preparing apparatus, comprising:

receiving means for receiving pieces of character information respectively indicating characters for a hyper-text document indicated by a node, pieces of connection information respectively indicating a connection of a node or a group of nodes with another node or another group of nodes and an information selecting instruction from a user;

node managing means for preparing or revising each of a plurality of nodes according to the pieces of character information received by the receiving means to produce pieces of node information respectively indicating contents of each node;

hierarchy structure managing means for establishing or revising a connection-relationship between a node or a group of nodes and another node or another group of nodes according to one piece of connection information received by the receiving means for each of the nodes of which the pieces of node information are produced by the node managing means and producing hierarchy structure information indicating a hierarchy structure in which the nodes having the connection-relationships with each other are arranged, one node ranked to a level higher than that of another or other nodes in the hierarchy structure being classified as a parent node, and one or more nodes ranked to a level lower than the parent node being classified as child nodes;

link automatic production information storing means for storing pieces of link automatic production information which each are composed of connection type information indicating a connection-relationship between one parent node and one child node or one group of child nodes corresponding to the parent node, a function button template indicating a list of function buttons respectively denoting a one-directional link from one child node to one parent node of the child node or another child node, and a function button producing rule indicating one or more types of function buttons allocated to each child node,

wherein the function button producing rule indicates to allocate one type of function button, denoting a one-directional link from one child node to one parent node, to each child node in cases where the connection type information indicates a headline type connection;

link information automatic producing means for selecting a particular piece of link automatic production information from the pieces of link automatic production information stored in the link automatic production information storing means according to the information selecting instruction received by the receiving means for each set of one parent node and one group of child nodes arranged in the hierarchy structure, allocating one or more types of function buttons obtained from the particular piece of link automatic production information to each child node according to the function button producing rule of the particular piece of link automatic production information to automatically produce link information indicating a linking relationship among one parent node and one child node or one group of child nodes corresponding to the parent node for each parent node arranged in the hierarchy structure; and

hyper-text document preparing means for preparing a group of hyper-text documents, in which a plurality of hyper-text documents are arranged in the hierarchy structure according to the hierarchy structure information produced by the hierarchy structure managing means and are linked to each other in the linking relationships according to the link information transferred from the link information automatic producing means, from the node information produced by the node managing means and the hierarchy structure information produced by the hierarchy structure managing means to perform a referential movement from one hyper-text document corresponding to one parent node to another hyper-text document corresponding to one child node and another referential movement from the hyper-text document corresponding to the child node to another hyper-text document corresponding to another child node or the hyper-text document corresponding to the parent node according to each one-dimensional link.

2. A hyper-text document preparing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

displaying means for selecting a particular hyper-text document related to a remarked hyper-text document currently read by a user from the hyper-text documents prepared by the hyper-text document preparing means according to the hierarchy structure information produced by the hierarchy structure managing means and displaying the contents of the particular hyper-text document according to the corresponding piece of node information produced by the node managing means.

3. A hyper-text document preparing apparatus according to claim 1 in which each piece of link automatic production information further includes an index template indicating a list of child nodes, and an index producing rule indicating the number of child nodes existing in the list.

4. A hyper-text document preparing apparatus according to claim 1 in which each piece of node information produced by the node managing means includes title information indicating a title of a node corresponding to the node information, anchor information indicating an index of one or more titles of child nodes is obtained from the particular piece of link automatic production information and is allocated to each parent node of the child nodes, and the title information of the child nodes linked to the parent node are attached to the child nodes by the link information automatic producing means.

5. A hyper-text document preparing apparatus according to claim 4 in which an index information changing instruction indicating a change of a title of a particular child node linked to a parent node is received by the receiving means, the title allocated to the parent node is changed to a new title according to the index information changing instruction by the link information automatic producing means, the change of the title is informed the node managing means to change the title included in the node information corresponding to the particular child node to the new title, and the title attached to the particular child node is changed to new title by the link information automatic producing means.

6. A hyper-text document preparing apparatus according to claim 1 in which the function button producing rule indicates to allocate to a top child node a type of function button denoting a one-directional link from the top child node to one parent node and a type of function button denoting a one-directional link from the top child node to an intermediate child node;

to allocate to an intermediate child node a type of function button denoting a one-directional link from the intermediate child node to a top child node and a type of function button denoting a one-directional link from the intermediate child node to a final child node, and to allocate to a final child node a type of function button denoting a one-directional link from the final child node to an intermediate child node, in cases where the connection type information indicates a ranking type connection.

7. A hyper-text document preparing apparatus, comprising:

receiving means for receiving pieces of character information respectively indicating characters for a hyper-text document indicated by a node, pieces of connection information respectively indicating a connection of a node or a group of nodes with another node or another group of nodes and an information selecting instruction;

node managing means for preparing or revising each of a plurality of nodes according to the pieces of character information received by the receiving means to produce pieces of node information respectively indicating contents of each node;

hierarchy structure managing means for establishing or revising a connection-relationship between a node or a group of nodes and another node or another group of nodes according to one piece of connection information received by the receiving means for each of the nodes of which the pieces of node information are produced by the node managing means and producing hierarchy structure information indicating a hierarchy structure in which the nodes having the connection-relationships with each other are arranged, one node ranked to a level higher than that of another or other nodes in the hierarchy structure being classified as a parent node, and one or more nodes ranked to a level lower than the parent node being classified as child nodes;

link automatic production information storing means for storing pieces of link automatic production information which each are composed of connection type information indicating a connection-relationship between one parent node and one child node or one group of child nodes corresponding to the parent node, a function button template indicating a list of function buttons respectively denoting a one-directional link from one child node to one parent node of the child node or another child node, and a function button producing rule indicating one or more types of function buttons allocated to each child node,

wherein the function button producing rule indicates to allocate one type of function button, denoting a one-directional link from one child node to one parent node, to each child node in cases where the connection type information indicates a headline type connection;

link information automatic producing means for selecting a particular piece of link automatic production information from the pieces of link automatic production information stored in the link automatic production information storing means according to the information selecting instruction received by the receiving means for each set of one parent node and one group of child nodes arranged in the hierarchy structure, allocating one or more types of function buttons obtained from the particular piece of link automatic production information to each child node according to the function button producing rule of the particular piece of link automatic production information to automatically produce link information indicating a linking relationship among one parent node and one child node or one group of child nodes corresponding to the parent node for each parent node arranged in the hierarchy structure; and

hierarchy structure displaying means for preparing the hierarchy structure of the nodes, which are related to each other in the linking relationships according to the link information produced by the link information automatic producing means, from the hierarchy structure information produced by the hierarchy structure managing means and displaying the hierarchy structure of the nodes.

8. A hyper-text document preparing apparatus according to claim 7 in which each piece of node information produced by the node managing means includes title information indicating a title of a node corresponding to the node information, and titles of the nodes are displayed with the hierarchy structure of the nodes by the hierarchy structure displaying means.

9. A hyper-text document preparing apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising

hierarchy structure changing means for changing the hierarchy structure information produced by the hierarchy structure managing means according to a hierarchy structure changing instruction received by the receiving means, a changed hierarchy structure of a plurality of nodes being prepared and displayed by the hierarchy structure displaying means according to the changed hierarchy structure information.

10. A hyper-text document preparing apparatus according to claim 7 in which the function button producing rule indicates to allocate to a top child node a type of function button denoting a one-directional link from the top child node to one parent node and a type of function button denoting a one-directional link from the top child node to an intermediate child node;

to allocate to an intermediate child node a type of function button denoting a one-directional link from the intermediate child node to a top child node and a type of function button denoting a one-directional link from the intermediate child node to a final child node, and to allocate to a final child node a type of function button denoting a one-directional link from the final child node to an intermediate child node, in cases where the connection type information indicates a ranking type connection.

11. A hyper-text document preparing apparatus, comprising:

receiving means for receiving pieces of character information respectively indicating characters for a hyper-text document indicated by a node, pieces of connection information respectively indicating a connection of a node or a group of nodes with another node or another group of nodes and an information selecting instruction from a user;

node managing means for preparing or revising each of a plurality of nodes according to the pieces of character information received by the receiving means to produce pieces of node information respectively indicating contents of each node;

hierarchy structure managing means for establishing or revising a connection-relationship between a node or a group of nodes and another node or another group of nodes according to one piece of connection information received by the receiving means for each of the nodes of which the pieces of node information are produced by the node managing means and producing hierarchy structure information indicating a hierarchy structure in which the nodes having the connection-relationships with each other are arranged, one node ranked to a level higher than that of another or other nodes in the hierarchy structure being classified as a parent node, and one or more nodes ranked to a level lower than the parent node being classified as child nodes;

link automatic production information storing means for storing pieces of link automatic production information which each are composed of connection type information indicating a connection-relationship between one parent node and one child node or one group of child nodes corresponding to the parent node, a function button template indicating a list of function buttons respectively denoting a one-directional link from one child node to one parent node of the child node or another child node, and a function button producing rule indicating one or more types of function buttons allocated to each child node,

wherein the function button producing rule indicates to allocate to a top child node a type of function button denoting a one-directional link from the top child node to one parent node and a type of function button denoting a one-directional link from the top child node to an intermediate child node;

to allocate to an intermediate child node a type of function button denoting a one-directional link from the intermediate child node to a top child node, a type of function button denoting a one-directional link from the intermediate child node to one parent node, and a type of function button denoting a one-directional link from the intermediate child node to a final child node; and

to allocate to a final child node a type of function button denoting a one-directional link from the final child node to an intermediate child node, a type of function button denoting a one-directional link from the final child node to a parent node, in cases where the connection type information indicates a headline and ranking type connection;

link information automatic producing means for selecting a particular piece of link automatic production information from the pieces of link automatic production information stored in the link automatic production information storing means according to the information selecting instruction received by the receiving means for each set of one parent node and one group of child nodes arranged in the hierarchy structure, allocating one or more types of function buttons obtained from the particular piece of link automatic production information to each child node according to the function button producing rule of the particular piece of link automatic production information to automatically produce link information indicating a linking relationship among one parent node and one child node or one group of child nodes corresponding to the parent node for each parent node arranged in the hierarchy structure; and

hyper-text document preparing means for preparing a group of hyper-text documents, in which a plurality of hyper-text documents are arranged in the hierarchy structure according to the hierarchy structure information produced by the hierarchy structure managing means and are linked to each other in the linking relationships according to the link information transferred from the link information automatic producing means, from the node information produced by the node managing means and the hierarchy structure information produced by the hierarchy structure managing means to perform a referential movement from one hyper-text document corresponding to one parent node to another hyper-text document corresponding to one child node and another referential movement from the hyper-text document corresponding to the child node to another hyper-text document corresponding to another child node or the hyper-text document corresponding to the parent node according to each one-dimensional link.

12. A hyper-text document preparing apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising:

displaying means for selecting a particular hyper-text document related to a remarked hyper-text document currently read by a user from the hyper-text documents prepared by the hyper-text document preparing means according to the hierarchy structure information produced by the hierarchy structure managing means and displaying the contents of the particular hyper-text document according to the corresponding piece of node information produced by the node managing means.

13. A hyper-text document preparing apparatus according to claim 11 in which each piece of link automatic production information further includes an index template indicating a list of child nodes, and an index producing rule indicating the number of child nodes existing in the list.

14. A hyper-text document preparing apparatus according to claim 11 in which each piece of node information produced by the node managing means includes title information indicating a title of a node corresponding to the node information, anchor information indicating an index of one or more titles of child nodes is obtained from the particular piece of link automatic production information and is allocated to each parent node of the child nodes, and the title information of the child nodes linked to the parent node are attached to the child nodes by the link information automatic producing means.

15. A hyper-text document preparing apparatus according to claim 14 in which an index information changing instruction indicating a change of a title of a particular child node linked to a parent node is received by the receiving means, the title allocated to the parent node is changed to a new title according to the index information changing instruction by the link information automatic producing means, the change of the title is informed the node managing means to change the title included in the node information corresponding to the particular child node to the new title, and the title attached to the particular child node is changed to new title by the link information automatic producing means.

16. A hyper-text document preparing apparatus, comprising:

receiving means for receiving pieces of character information respectively indicating characters for a hyper-text document indicated by a node, pieces of connection information respectively indicating a connection of a node or a group of nodes with another node or another group of nodes and an information selecting instruction;

node managing means for preparing or revising each of a plurality of nodes according to the pieces of character information received by the receiving means to produce pieces of node information respectively indicating contents of each node;

hierarchy structure managing means for establishing or revising a connection-relationship between a node or a group of nodes and another node or another group of nodes according to one piece of connection information received by the receiving means for each of the nodes of which the pieces of node information are produced by the node managing means and producing hierarchy structure information indicating a hierarchy structure in which the nodes having the connection-relationships with each other are arranged, one node ranked to a level higher than that of another or other nodes in the hierarchy structure being classified as a parent node, and one or more nodes ranked to a level lower than the parent node being classified as child nodes;

link automatic production information storing means for storing pieces of link automatic production information which each are composed of connection type information indicating a connection-relationship between one parent node and one child node or one group of child nodes corresponding to the parent node, a function button template indicating a list of function buttons respectively denoting a one-directional link from one child node to one parent node of the child node or another child node, and a function button producing rule indicating one or more types of function buttons allocated to each child node,

wherein the function button producing rule indicates to allocate to a top child node a type of function button denoting a one-directional link from the top child node to one parent node and a type of function button denoting a one-directional link from the top child node to an intermediate child node;

to allocate to an intermediate child node a type of function button denoting a one-directional link from the intermediate child node to a top child node, a type of function button denoting a one-directional link from the intermediate child node to one parent node, and a type of function button denoting a one-directional link from the intermediate child node to a final child node; and

to allocate to a final child node a type of function button denoting a one-directional link from the final child node to an intermediate child node, a type of function button denoting a one-directional link from the final child node to a parent node, in cases where the connection type information indicates a headline and ranking type connection;

link information automatic producing means for selecting a particular piece of link automatic production information from the pieces of link automatic production information stored in the link automatic production information storing means according to the information selecting instruction received by the receiving means for each set of one parent node and one group of child nodes arranged in the hierarchy structure, allocating one or more types of function buttons obtained from the particular piece of link automatic production information to each child node according to the function button producing rule of the particular piece of link automatic production information to automatically produce link information indicating a linking relationship among one parent node and one child node or one group of child nodes corresponding to the parent node for each parent node arranged in the hierarchy structure; and

hierarchy structure displaying means for preparing the hierarchy structure of the nodes, which are related to each other in the linking relationships according to the link information produced by the link information automatic producing means, from the hierarchy structure information produced by the hierarchy structure managing means and displaying the hierarchy structure of the nodes.

17. A hyper-text document preparing apparatus according to claim 16 in which each piece of node information produced by the node managing means includes title information indicating a title of a node corresponding to the node information, and titles of the nodes are displayed with the hierarchy structure of the nodes by the hierarchy structure displaying means.

18. A hyper-text document preparing apparatus according to claim 16, further comprising hierarchy structure changing means for changing the hiera structure information produced by the hierarchy structure managing means according to a hierarchy structure changing instruction received by the receiving means, a changed hierarchy structure of a plurality of nodes being prepared displayed by the hierarchy structure displaying means according to the changed hierarchy structure information.