Linking information making apparatus and recording medium

• US 7,382,479 B2
• Filed: 04/16/2003
• Issued: 06/03/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujifilm Business Innovation Corp. (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fuji Xerox Limited (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Hirose, Akira, Michimura, Tadao, Ikegaya, Tadahiko, Shiraishi, Keiko
• Primary Examiner(s): Haskins; Twyler L.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Zheng; Jacky X.
• Application Number:
  US10/414,210
• Publication Number:
  US 20040080770A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,875 Days
• Field of Search: 358/1.15, 358/1.13, 358/402, 358/1.9, 709/203, 710/15, 715/763, 715/769, 715/762
• US Class Current: 358/1.15
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1204 resulting in reduced user or operator actions, e.g. presetting, automatic actions, using hardware token storing data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1275 Print workflow management, e.g. defining or changing a workflow, cross publishing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1285 Remote printer device, e.g. being remote from client or server

Abstract

An instruction sheet making section of an instruction sheet editor displays on a GUI icons of services capable of being executed by using a service list sent from a service search server. Further, the instruction sheet making section also displays logic icons of linking processing patterns of the respective services. An instruction sheet making section combines the services provided by one or more service processing sections and makes an instruction sheet, by using service icons and logic icons selected by a user, while referring to and utilizing I/F information sent by the service processing section. Therefore, it is possible to easily combine the services capable of being executed on a network and produce a workflow.

Claims

1. A linking information making apparatus comprising:

a service information obtaining section that obtains, via a network, information relating to respective services of performing a series of processing with respect to document data;

a service display section that displays service symbol information expressing the respective services based on the information relating to the respective services obtained by the service information obtaining section;

a logic information display section that displays logic symbol information expressing logic information that logically links the respective services, the logic information includes at least transition, branch, iteration, and termination of workflow processing; and

a linking information making section that generates a workflow processing information that logically links the respective services by dragging and dropping selected service symbol information selected from among the service symbol information displayed on the service display section and selected logic symbol information selected from among the logic symbol information displayed on the logic information display section to a linking information display section, properties of the selected services symbol information and the selected logic symbol information being displayed on a property display section and set by a user,

wherein the service display section, the logic information display section, the linking information display section, and the property display section are displayed on one screen, and

wherein the logic symbol information displayed on the logic information display section includes user specified properties which include at least a number of branches to link the respective services and conditions of each branch.

2. The linking information making apparatus of claim 1, the linking information making section further comprising a property setting section for setting a property relating to a service corresponding to the selected service symbol information.

3. The linking information making apparatus of claim 1, wherein

the information relating to the respective services includes information relating to input/output of the respective services, and

wherein the linking information making section determines if the link between the respective services is consistent based on the information relating to the input/output of the respective services corresponding to the selected service symbol information, and when the linking information making section determines that the link between the respective services is inconsistent, the linking information making section informs that there is inconsistency.

4. The linking information making apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an editing section that, after linking information is made by the linking information making section, edits the linking information.

5. The linking information making apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an execution-state display section for displaying a state of execution of the linking information made by the linking information making section.

6. The linking information making apparatus of claim 1, wherein the service symbol information is figures and/or sequences of characters expressing the respective services.

7. The linking information making apparatus of claim 1, wherein the logic symbol information is figures and/or sequences of characters expressing the logic information that logically links the respective services.

8. The linking information making apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a selection results display section that, before the linking information making section makes the linking information, displays information regarding the selected service symbol information selected from among the service symbol information displayed on the service display section and the selected logic symbol information selected from among logic symbol information displayed on the logic information display section.

9. The linking information making apparatus of claim 1, wherein the conditions of each branch include at least one of:

a time zone when the document data is inputted,

a receiver of the document data,

a status indicating whether or not the document data has been approved, and

a maker of the document data.

10. The linking information making apparatus of claim 1, wherein the linking information making section outputs the generated workflow processing information as an xml instruction file.

11. A computer-readable medium storing a computer program, the computer program:

obtaining, via a network, information that relates to respective services of performing a series of processing with respect to document data;

displaying service symbol information that expresses the respective services based on the information that relate to the respective services;

displaying logic symbol information that expresses logic information that logically links the respective services, the logic information includes at least transition, branch, iteration, and termination of workflow processing;

generating a workflow processing information that logically links the respective services by dragging and dropping service symbol information selected from among the displayed service symbol information expressing the respective services and logic symbol information selected from among the displayed logic symbol information expressing the logic information that logically links the respective services to displayed linking information, and

displaying properties of the selected services symbol information and the selected logic symbol information,

wherein the following are displayed on one screen;

(i) service symbol information;

(ii) logic symbol information; and

(iii) properties of the selected services symbol information and the selected logic symbol information,

wherein the logic symbol information displayed on the logic information display section includes user specified properties which include at least a number of branches to link the respective services and conditions of each branch, and

wherein the properties of the selected services symbol information and the selected logic symbol information are set by a user.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the conditions of each branch include at least one of:

a time zone when the document data is inputted,

a receiver of the document data,

a status indicating whether or not the document data has been approved, and

a maker of the document data.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the generated workflow processing information is output as an xml instruction file.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, the computer program:

setting a property relating to a service corresponding to the selected service symbol information.

15. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein:

the information relating to the respective services includes information relating to input/output of the respective services, and

the computer program determines if the link between the respective services is consistent based on the information relating to the input/output of the respective services corresponding to the selected service symbol information, and when the computer program determines that the link between the respective services is inconsistent, the computer program informs that there is inconsistency.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein:

the computer program edits the linking information.

17. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein:

the computer program displays displaying a state of execution of the linking information.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein:

the service symbol information is figures and/or sequences of characters expressing the respective services.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein:

the computer program displays information regarding the service symbol information selected from among the selected service symbol information, the information regarding the service symbol information selected from among the selected service symbol information being displayed before the linking information is created.