Document Management Server, Method, Storage Medium And Computer Data Signal, And System For Managing Document Use

• US 20070299969A1
• Filed: 02/06/2007
• Published: 12/27/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/22/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujifilm Business Innovation Corp. (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fuji Xerox Company Limited (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Kunitake, Setsu, Kawabe, Shigehisa, Terao, Taro
• Granted Patent: US 8,069,243 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/225
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/93 Document management systems

Abstract

There is provided a document management server including a receiving unit that receives an access request and a first ID representing a document to be an object of the access request, an ID processing unit that issues, when an operation is performed on the document in response to the access request, a second ID corresponding to the operation, and records a derivation relationship having the second ID as a child of the first ID, an attribute recording unit that records attribute information relating to the operation by association with the first ID or the second ID, and a response data provider unit that provides, when the document is provided to the client in response to the access request, response data including attribute information associated with at least one ID appearing in a path from the received ID accompanying the access request to a root of a derivation relationship.

Claims

1. A document management server for managing document use comprising:

a receiving unit that receives an access request from a client and a first ID representing a document to be an object of the access request;

an ID processing unit that issues, when an operation is performed on the document in response to the access request, a second ID corresponding to the operation, and records a derivation relationship having the second ID as a child of the first ID;

an attribute recording unit that records attribute information relating to the operation by association with the first ID or the second ID; and

a response data provider unit that provides to the client, when the document is provided to the client in response to the access request, response data including attribute information associated with at least one ID appearing in a path in the derivation relationship from the received ID accompanying the access request to a root of the derivation relationship.

2. The document management server according to claim 1, further comprising:

an information control unit that controls disclosure of the attribute information for each ID in the derivation relationship; and

wherein the response data provider unit controls whether or not to include attribute information associated with at least one ID appearing in a path in the derivation relationship from the received ID accompanying the access request to the root of the derivation relationship into the response data in accordance with the information control unit.

3. The document management server according to claim 2, wherein the information control unit specifies a disclosure condition for the attribute information recorded in association with the ID.

4. The document management server according to claim 2, wherein, the information control unit specifies a disclosure condition for attribute information recorded in association with a descendent ID, for a given ID, in the derivation relationship.

5. The document management server according to claim 2, wherein the information control unit specifies a disclosure condition for attribute information recorded in association with at least one ID appearing in a path until the root of the derivation relationship from the received ID accompanying the access request.

6. The document management server according to claim 1, wherein:

the attribute information includes update information of the document or additional information that is appended to the document;

the response data provider unit provides response data that includes update information or additional information that has been associated with at least one ID appearing in a path until the root of the derivation relationship from the received ID accompanying the access request and a document corresponding to the ID.

7. The document management server according to claim 1 further comprising:

an information control unit that controls whether or not to permit an update or an addition of additional information to the document at an ID in the derivation relationship; and

an update control unit that controls so as to prohibit an update or an addition of additional information to the document when there is an ID that prohibits the update or the addition of additional information to the document in a path from the received ID accompanying the access request from the client to the root of the derivation relationship.

8. The document management server according to claim 1, wherein:

the attribute information that is associated and recorded with the ID includes document data of an updated version obtained as a result of an update operation on the document; and

the response data provider unit provides response data including document data of the updated version associated and recorded with an ID appearing in a path from the received ID accompanying the access request to the root of the derivation relationship.

9. The document management server according to claim 8 further comprising:

an information control unit that specifies which one of an original and at least one updated version of the document to be provided to the client in association with an ID in the derivation relationship;

and wherein the response data provider unit selects one of the original and at least one updated version of the document that has been associated with an ID appearing in a path from the received ID accompanying the access request to the root of the derivation relationship according to control by the information control unit, and incorporates the selected document into the response data in the response data.

10. The document management server according to claim 1, wherein:

the response data provider unit obtains a derived ID which is a descendant of an ID received together with the access request in the derivation relationship, and provides to the user response data including attribute information associated with at least one ID appearing in a path from the derived ID to the root of the derivation relationship.

11. A method for managing document use in a system including a document management server that manages documents and a client that uses documents, the method comprising:

receiving an access request from a client and a first ID representing a document to be an object of the access request;

issuing, when an operation is performed on the document in response to the access request, a second ID corresponding to the operation;

recording a derivation relationship having the second ID as a child of the first ID;

recording attribute information relating to the operation by association with the first ID or the second ID; and

providing to the client, when the document is provided to the client in response to the access request, response data including attribute information associated with at least one ID appearing in a path in the derivation relationship from the received ID accompanying the access request to a root of the derivation relationship.

12. The method according to claim 11, further comprising:

recording control information that controls disclosure of the attribute information for each ID in the derivation relationship; and

wherein providing the response data to the client comprises controlling whether or not to include attribute information associated with at least one ID appearing in a path in the derivation relationship from the received ID accompanying the access request to the root of the derivation relationship into the response data in accordance with the control information.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein:

the attribute information includes update information for the document or additional information added to the document; and

wherein providing the response data to the client comprises providing, in the response data, update information or additional information associated with at least one ID appearing in a path from the received ID accompanying the access request to the root of the derivation relationship and a document associated with the ID.

14. The method according to claim 11, wherein providing the response data to the client comprises obtaining a derived ID which is a descendant of an ID received together with the access request in the derivation relationship, and providing to the user response data including attribute information associated with at least one ID appearing in a path from the derived ID to the root of the derivation relationship.

15. A computer readable medium storing a program causing a computer to execute a process for document management, the process comprising:

receiving an access request from a client and a first ID representing a document to be an object of the access request;

issuing, when an operation is performed on the document in response to the access request, a second ID corresponding to the operation;

recording a derivation relationship having the second ID as a child of the first ID;

recording attribute information relating to the operation by association with the first ID or the second ID; and

providing to the client, when the document is provided to the client in response to the access request, response data including attribute information associated with at least one ID appearing in a path in the derivation relationship from the received ID accompanying the access request to a root of the derivation relationship.

16. The medium according to claim 15, the process further comprising:

recording control information that controls disclosure of the attribute information for each ID in the derivation relationship; and

wherein providing the response data to the client comprises controlling whether or not to include attribute information associated with at least one ID appearing in a path in the derivation relationship from the received ID accompanying the access request to the root of the derivation relationship into the response data in accordance with the control information.

17. The medium according to claim 15, wherein:

the attribute information includes update information for the document or additional information added to the document; and

wherein providing the response data to the client comprises providing, in the response data, update information or additional information associated with at least one ID appearing in a path from the received ID accompanying the access request to the root of the derivation relationship and a document associated with the ID.

18. The medium according to claim 15, wherein providing the response data to the client comprises obtaining a derived ID which is a descendant of an ID received together with the access request in the derivation relationship, and providing to the user response data including attribute information associated with at least one ID appearing in a path from the derived ID to the root of the derivation relationship.

19. A computer data signal implemented on a carrier wave to make it possible to execute a process for document management on a computer, the process comprising:

receiving an access request from a client and a first ID representing a document to be an object of the access request;

issuing, when an operation is performed on the document in response to the access request, a second ID corresponding to the operation;

recording a derivation relationship having the second ID as a child of the first ID;

recording attribute information relating to the operation by association with the first ID or the second ID; and

providing to the client, when the document is provided to the client in response to the access request, response data including attribute information associated with at least one ID appearing in a path in the derivation relationship from the received ID accompanying the access request to a root of the derivation relationship.

20. A document management server for managing document use, comprising:

an ID management unit that manages a derivation relationship including a relationship of a first ID representing a document as an object of an access request from a client and a second ID that is issued in association with an operation performed on the document in response to the access request; and

a response data provider unit that provides, when the document is provided to the client in response to the access request, response data including attribute information associated with at least one ID appearing in a path in the derivation relationship from the received ID accompanying the access request to the root of a derivation relationship.

21. A system for managing document use including a document management server that manages documents and a client that uses documents;

the document management server comprising;

a receiving unit that receives an access request from a client and a first ID representing a document to be an object of the access request;

an ID processing unit that issues, when an operation is performed on the document in response to the access request, a second ID corresponding to the operation, and records a derivation relationship having the second ID as a child of the first ID;

an attribute recording unit that records attribute information relating to the operation by association with the first ID or the second ID; and

a response data provider unit that provides to the client, when the document is provided to the client in response to the access request, response data including attribute information associated with at least one ID appearing in a path in the derivation relationship from the received ID accompanying the access request to a root of the derivation relationship;

the client comprising;

an ID management unit that stores an ID that is included in response data received from the document management server in response to an access request relating to a document as an ID representing the document; and

a transmitting unit that transmits, when sending an access request to the document management server, an ID representing a document to be an object of the access request.