Apparatus managing document distribution

• US 7,152,208 B2
• Filed: 12/30/1998
• Issued: 12/19/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/24/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Ohashi, Tadashi
• Primary Examiner(s): HUYNH, CONG LAC T
• Application Number:
  US09/222,833
• Publication Number:
  US 20010042077A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,911 Days
• Field of Search: 707/500, 707/6, 707/10, 707/509, 707/200, 707/505, 707/530, 715/530, 715/500, 715/531, 709/203
• US Class Current: 715/229
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2365 Ensuring data consistency and integrity
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/93 Document management systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

A document management apparatus having a constitution for periodically checking whether the attribute information in a document managed by a user conflicts with master information of the attribute information managed by a Personnel server or Enterprise-Department servers or not, and changing the attribute information in the document to the attribute information in the servers when both of the information conflict with each other.

Claims

1. An electronic multimedia object management apparatus for managing electronic multimedia objects related to jobs performed in corporate organizations and to be distributed to the corporate organizations, comprising:

a storage unit which stores the electronic multimedia objects and a plurality of distribution target management tables corresponding to the electronic multimedia objects, each distribution target management table including attribute information comprising at least a corporate organization code and a corporate organization name corresponding to a distribution target of the corresponding electronic multimedia object;

a communication unit in communication with a plurality of enterprise department servers and a master server, each enterprise department server managing at least one corporate organization and storing job information defining a job of the at least one corporate organization, the master server storing a plurality of master tables corresponding to the enterprise department servers, each master table including master attribute information comprising at least a master corporate organization code and a master corporate organization name of the at least one corporate organization man aged by the corresponding enterprise department server;

a processing unit which, according to a predetermined cycle, for each electronic multimedia object stored in the storage unit,

reads the attribute information in the corresponding distribution target management table stored in the storage unit, and reads the master attribute information in the master tables stored in the master server through the communication unit,

compares the corporate organization code and the corporate organization name of the read attribute information of the distribution target management table with the master corporate organization code and the master corporate organization name of the read master attribute information,

retrieves from the enterprise department server corresponding to the master corporate organization code of the read master attribute information, through the communication unit, the job information defining the job of the at least one corporate organization stored in the enterprise department server, if determined that at least one of the corporate organization code and the corporate organization name of the read attribute information of the distribution target management table coincides with at least one of the master corporate organization code and the master corporate organization name of the read master attribute information,

determines whether the job defined by the retrieved job information coincides with a job to which the electronic multimedia object relates; and

rewrites the attribute information in the corresponding distribution target management table of the electronic multimedia object, if determined that the attribute information of the distribution target management table does not coincide with the master attribute information and that the retrieved job information coincides with the job to which the electronic multimedia object relates, by replacing one of the corporate organization code and the corporate organization name of the read attribute information included in the distribution target management table, which does not coincide with a respective one of the master corporate organization code and the master corporate organization name of the read master attribute information, with the respective one of the master corporate organization code and the master corporate organization name of the read master attribute information, such that the read attribute information in the distribution target management table of the electronic multimedia object coincides with the master attribute information,

an electronic mail outputting unit which automatically outputs an electronic email to a corporate organization identified by the one of the master corporate organization code and the master corporate organization name as a target organization in distributing a multimedia object to confirm that the identified corporate organization is in charge of the target job described in the job information at the target organization, if said corporate organization is in charge of the target job, an email is outputted for confirming the contents of the distribution target management table to be corrected to the corresponding organization if determined that said contents need to be corrected, and said electronic mail outputting unit communicates to the processing unit to rewrite the attribute information in the corresponding distribution management table of the electronic multimedia object when a reply to this email is received within a predetermined period of time.