JPH02268365A - Information processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To input and retrieve information in a remote place by transmitting message information to a user through a communication network on the basis of time information at or near a designated time. CONSTITUTION:Schedule information inputted from the user through a communication network 3 is converted to a text by a network interface part 2, and specific information is extracted in a data analyzing/editing part 5, and it is preserved in a time information preserving part 6. A time comparing part 7 informs the preserving part 6 when the present time coincides with the designated time included in schedule information. In response to this information, the preserving part 6 takes out information of the pertinent date and time from preserved schedule information and sends it to the editing part 5. The editing part 5 edits message information of the user on the basis of sent schedule information and transmits it to the user from the network 3 through the interface part 2.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an information processing system that processes information via a communication network.

[Conventional technology]

With the development of electronic devices in recent years, electronic watches, electronic notebooks,
Furthermore, many devices such as electronic schedulers for managing personal schedule information and time information have been commercialized.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, since it is not possible to input or confirm information without these products at hand, it is necessary to carry them with you at all times. Moreover, since these systems are for individuals, they have the disadvantage that they cannot confirm or adjust the schedules of multiple people, or send messages to multiple people.

In order to solve these difficulties, schedule management systems based on network communication are being considered. However, the functions of these systems are limited to, for example, organizing information along a time axis, presenting information to users, and automatically adjusting when there is duplication of information. Moreover, since it does not have a timer function to manage time and notify when the scheduled time has arrived, or a function to automatically execute time-related processes, users must always be aware of how to handle information within the system. That was an annoyance. In addition, the only information handled is schedule information that is directly handled by the user, which has the disadvantage that it cannot be used, for example, to manage the execution time of calculation processing from an application on a computer.

The present invention is an information processing system that enables remote input and search of information, and handling of data from multiple people, as well as automatic execution of processing using a clock function and use from other applications. The purpose is to provide

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to solve the above problems, an information processing system according to the present invention includes a data analysis/editing means that analyzes schedule information input via a communication network and edits message information to the knee f-; a time information storage means for storing schedule information input from the analysis/editing means and controlling its registration and retrieval; a time comparison means having a clock function for comparing the current time and a designated time; network interface means for receiving time information input by a user through the network interface and providing message information to the user; the network interface means for editing message information based on the schedule information at or near a specified time; Information is transmitted to the user via the communication network. The system may also be provided with user interface means that has time information input/display/edit functions and provides interactive information services to the user.

[Effect]

The schedule information entered by the user via the communication network is transmitted to the network interface means;
The data is converted into text by the data analysis/editing means, and after specific information in the data is extracted by the data analysis/editing means, it is stored in the time information storage means. The time comparison means constantly manages the current time, and determines whether the current time has reached the specified time included in the schedule information or a time in the vicinity thereof, and if the current time has reached the specified time or a time in the vicinity thereof, , and notifies the time information storage means of this. In response to the notification from the time comparison means, the time information storage means extracts the corresponding date and time from the stored schedule information, and
Send to data analysis/editing means. The data analysis/editing means edits message information to the user based on the sent schedule information, and transmits the message information to the user from the communication network via the network interface means. Further, by using the user interface means, it is possible to input the above-mentioned data, confirm messages, etc. without going through a communication network.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the information processing system according to the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the basic configuration of an information processing system according to the present invention. This information processing system is
It basically consists of a time information processing section 1, a network interface section 2, and a communication network 3,
Furthermore, a user interface unit 4 is connected as a user side interface device.

The time information processing section 1 includes a received data analysis means 11 that analyzes data received via the communication network 3 and extracts specific information from the data, and a sent data editor that edits the data to be sent to the user. means 12; user request receiving means 13 for accepting requests from the user such as specifying the transmission time of the preview message and specifying the message presentation format; and storing schedule information (time information) input by the user; A data storage control means 14 that controls the registration and search, a memory 15 that stores the schedule information, etc., compares the specified time included in the schedule information with the current time, and compares the specified time included in the schedule information with the current time, and the specified time that the current time is set in advance. It consists of a time comparison section 7 that determines whether or not.

Among the above-mentioned components, the received data analysis means 11, the transmitted data editing means 12, and the user request receiving means 13
constitutes a data analysis/editing section 5 that analyzes received data and edits data to be sent to the user. However, the user request receiving means 13 of the data analysis/editing section 5 may be provided as necessary.

The data storage control means 14 and the memory 15 constitute a time information storage section 6, which stores time information input by the user and controls its input/output.

The data analysis/editing section 5, time information storage section 6, and time comparison section 7 are composed of peripheral circuits whose main components include a central processing unit (CPU), a main storage device, an auxiliary storage device, etc., and perform processing to be described later. Control of various time information is performed based on the program.

The network interface unit 2 receives (collects) data input via the communication network 3 and also provides information services provided by the time information processing unit 1 to each user via the communication network 3. Specifically, it has the following functions:

■A function to pass time information sent from the user to the time information processing section 1.

■Function to send the message edited by the time information processing unit 1 to the user.

■A function that receives and passes requests from users such as searching for information and specifying time for advance notice messages to the time information processing section 1.

The user interface section 4 includes a mouse, a keyboard,
It is composed of an input/output device (not shown) such as a display, and a program that controls them and executes data exchange with the time information processing section 1. It is an information processing device that provides interactive information to the user via the device, and specifically has the following functions.

■A function to pass time information such as schedule information input by the user to the time information storage section 6.

■Function to display the information stored in the memory 15 of the time information storage section 6 in the form of a schedule table on a display or the like.

Note that since this information processing system performs sequential processing, processing via the network interface section 2, processing automatically started within the time information processing section 1,
It is necessary to switch between processing via the user interface section 4.

Methods of switching include a method of automatically switching at regular time intervals, and a method of performing interrupt processing in response to a request from the user via the user interface unit 4.

When using the above-described information processing system for schedule management, each user first inputs schedule information into the time information processing section 1 via the network interface section 2 or the user interface section 4. After receiving the time information processing unit 1, the received data analysis unit 1
1, and the schedule information is stored in the memory 15.

The time comparison unit 7 of the time information processing unit 1 constantly manages the current time and determines whether the current time has reached the specified time included in the schedule information in the memory 15. When the designated time has arrived, the user is notified that the designated time has arrived by sending a message or displaying the message on the screen. Additionally, a schedule notice message is presented before the designated time if necessary. Information in the memory 15 that is no longer needed after the above processing is completed is automatically deleted by the data storage control means 14 after a certain period of time has elapsed.

In addition, when a user requests a search for schedule information, as soon as the search request is received, the corresponding information is searched from the memory 15, the searched information is edited by the transmission data editing means 12, and the search is requested. Mainly send. Further, upon receiving a message transmission time specification or message presentation format instruction from the user, the user request receiving unit 13 determines the requested specification and stores this request item in the corresponding schedule information in the memory 15. Add.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of an information processing system to which a bus-type local area network (LAN) is applied as a communication network. A plurality of workstations 21 to 25 are connected to a LAN communication line 26, and among these, the workstation 21 is provided with the above-mentioned time information processing unit 1. In addition, workstation 2
The display 8 and input device 9 of No. 1 correspond to input/output devices of the user interface section 4 (FIG. 1).

It is also assumed here that e-mail is used as a means of transmitting time information and messages to users, and that each workstation is provided with a dedicated network interface for sending and receiving e-mail. However, it goes without saying that messages may be transmitted by means other than e-mail.

The basic operation of this system will be explained below using an example where Mr. A sends schedule information to the time information processing section 1 of the workstation 21 and sends a message to each of A to D, who are members of S group. Explain.

First, Mr. A sends an email from the workstation 23 to the scheduler information registration email (3rd email) according to the predetermined format.
(see figure) is sent to the workstation 21. Network interface section 2 of workstation 21
automatically extracts the sent mail, converts it into text, and passes it to the data analysis/editing department 5. The received data analysis means 11 of the data analysis/editing section 5 analyzes the contents of the text and creates database registration information as shown in FIG. Here, "[" in the text,
The symbols ``[ ]'' and ``'' are analyzed as delimiters, and the data before and after this is combined as paired information to create database registration information.

The processing procedure of the received data analysis means 11 when creating database registration information will be explained based on the flowchart of FIG.

First, before creating the database registration information, the received data analysis means 11 stores the schedule information items to be registered in the database in the memory 15 (step 101).
). The items of the schedule information in this case are sender, date, time, schedule contents, persons involved, location, and processing status.

Next, when the received data analysis means 11 receives the schedule information registration email converted into text from the network interface unit 2 (step 102), it extracts one item from among the schedule information items and is converted into a character string (step 103). In this example, it is assumed that "due date" is extracted. Next, determine whether there are the same character strings in the text. Step 10
4) If there is a string, "[" after the string.
(step 105). In this example, data from 88.10.20 to CR (carriage return) are extracted.

Then, the characters after the last CR are removed (step 106). As a result, a character string of 88.10°20' is extracted. Next, the item retrieved in step 103 and the character string retrieved in step 105 are paired and stored in the memory 15 (step 107). In this example, the due date -'88.10.20'' is saved.Hereafter,
It is determined whether all items have been processed (step 108), and the above-described processing is repeated until the processing is completed.

The above-mentioned database registration information is stored in the memory 15 by the data storage control means 14. memory 1
5 is provided with a database, and this database has a hierarchical structure with dates as indexes, as shown in FIG.

When the data storage control means 14 receives the database registration information from the received data analysis means 11, it extracts the "due date" information and registers the database registration information under the corresponding index in the database. In the example of FIG. 6, October 20, 1988 is registered below, but if there is a plurality of schedule information under the same date, the schedules are sorted and saved in descending order of start time.

The time comparison unit 7 of the time information processing unit 1 periodically (at least once every 1 to 5 minutes) receives the current time from a time server (not shown) connected to the communication network 3 via the network interface unit 2. The time is extracted and compared with the time specified in the schedule information in the database. When the specified time has arrived, the system notifies the user that the specified time has arrived, and also sends a schedule notice message before the specified time, if necessary.

Next, the processing procedure of the time information processing unit 1 when transmitting a schedule notice message before the specified time is explained in the seventh section.
This will be explained using a flowchart in the figure.

First, the time comparator 7 extracts the current time from the time server (step 201), and the time in the database.
Extract the schedule information whose processing status is "Not yet" from below the index corresponding to today's date (Step 2
02). In this example, assume that the current time is 14:01. Next, among the schedule information extracted,
Step 20: Pick out the one that started early
3) Compare the time one hour before the start time of the retrieved schedule with the current time (step 204). In this example, the starting time is 15:00, so 14:01> (15:00-1:00), and the current time has passed one hour ago, so the time comparison unit 7 This is notified to the data storage control means 14 (step 205). The data storage control means 14 includes a memory 15
Applicable schedule information from! and sends it to the transmission data editing means 12 (step 206).

The transmission data editing means 12 edits the notice message shown in FIG. 8 based on the sent data and sends it to one person concerned (S
(Everyone in the group) (Step 2)
07). When the advance notice message is sent (step 208), the data storage control means 14 sets the processing status (■) of the schedule information in the database to "completed" (step 209).

Thereafter, it is determined whether all the retrieved schedules have been processed (step 210), and the above-described processing is repeated until the processing is completed.

The processing procedure of the transmission data editing means 12 when editing the notice message (FIG. 8) in step 207 described above will be explained using the flowchart of FIG. 9.

First, the transmission data editing means 12 accesses the memory 15 via the data storage control means 14, and retrieves the "schedule content" of the schedule information (FIG. 4) from the database.
Extract the data paired with the item (Step 3)
01). In this example, "meeting" is extracted. Next, the character string "notice of" is added to this data and copied to the [subject] part of the e-mail (step 302). In this example, it is "[Subject] Meeting Notice". Then, write the e-mail address of the machine used in the sender section of the e-mail (step 303). In this example, it is "[sender] workstation 1". Similarly, the data paired with "related party" is extracted from the database and copied to the C destination section of the e-mail (step 3o4).In this example, it becomes the "[destination] S group."

Next, the data paired with the "time" and "place" items are retrieved from the database, and the email content is edited in accordance with the "schedule content" and "persons involved" (step 305). In this example, "There will be a meeting today from 15:00. The location is F meeting room and S group." Then, the transmission data editing unit 12 sends an e-mail (step 306).

Next, the processing procedure of the time information processing section 1 when transmitting a paging message at the designated time will be explained using the flowchart shown in FIG.

In step 401), the time comparison unit 7 retrieves the current time from the time server, and from the bottom of the index corresponding to today's date in the database, the processing status ■ is "
Extract the schedule information of "Not yet completed" (Step 402)
. In this example, assume that the current time is 14:57. Next, from the retrieved schedule information,
Pick out one that starts early (step 40).
3).

Then, determine whether the current time is within 5 minutes before or after the start time of the retrieved schedule (
Step 404). In this example, the starting time is 15:
00, 14:55<14:57<15:05, and the current time is within 5 minutes before and after the start time of the schedule, so the time comparison unit 7 notifies the data storage control means 14 of this. (step 405). The data storage control means 14 extracts the data of the corresponding schedule information from the database registration information in the memory 15, and sends it to the transmission data editing means 12 (step 406).

The transmission data editing means 12 edits the calling message shown in FIG. 11 based on the sent data, and sends it to related parties (all members of the S group) by e-mail (step 407). When the calling message is sent (step 408), the data storage control means 14 sets the processing status (2) of the schedule information in the database to "completed" (step 409). Thereafter, it is determined whether all the retrieved schedules have been processed (step 410), and the above-described processing is repeated until the processing is completed.

Note that the data storage control means 14 periodically deletes schedule information that has been processed. Specifically, the processing status of the schedule from the previous day is periodically checked.
Make sure that ■ is set to ``Completed,'' and the data will be automatically deleted.

Next, the processing procedure when a search request for schedule information is received from a user in the above-mentioned information management system will be explained based on the flowchart shown in FIG. 112. In order to carry out the process, the user sends a schedule information search request email as shown in FIG. 13 to the time information processing section 1 from the workstation closest to him/her. In this example, it is assumed that r"retrieval request for afternoon schedule on 88.10.20" has been sent.

When the network interface unit 2 receives the schedule information search request email (step 501), it converts it into text and sends it to the received data analysis means 11 (step 502).

The received data analysis means 11 analyzes text.

Here, we search for "" and "3" from the text content,
Combine the data before and after that and add it to the internal list,
Search conditions are extracted (step 503). In this example, the list includes due date -88°10.20, time -12:
00-i7: Add oo. Then, it is determined whether all "[" and []] in the text have been processed (Step 504), and when the processing is completed, the listed search conditions are sent to the data storage control unit 14 (
Step 505). The data storage control unit 14 includes a memory 1
5, the schedule information matching the conditions of all the data in the list is searched out and sent to the transmission data editing means 12 (step 506). In this example, the due date is 88°10.20, and the time is 12:00-12:00.
Take out everything contained in 7:00. Next, the transmission data editing means 12 writes the subject, sender, and destination of the email, edits the schedule search result email as shown in FIG. 14 (Step 5o7), and converts all the retrieved schedule information into text. and copy them into the email content section of the email (step 508).
). Then, the edited search result email is sent to the requester (user) (step 509). Note that the search result email may be sent to a specified user in addition to the email sent to the user.

Further, as in this embodiment, schedule information can be displayed in the form of a table on the display of a workstation equipped with the user interface section 4. This is displayed by receiving and receiving a schedule information display request from the input device of the workstation. FIG. 15 shows an example of displaying the schedule for two weeks from October 9th to October 22nd.

In the schedule management of the above embodiment, the time is judged in increments of - days and a warning message is automatically sent one hour before the scheduled schedule time. It is also possible to determine the schedule information based on the time (for example - weeks) and send a preview message the day before or three days in advance. Further, such advance notice processing and a message informing the user that the time has come can be performed according to the user's specifications.

Also, the schedule information for sending messages is automatically deleted, but if it is necessary to store it for a particularly long period of time, the data storage period can be adjusted by the user's designation.

Furthermore, conventional schedule management systems were simply for users to manage schedule information, but this system allows application programs such as electronic bulletin boards and questionnaire survey systems to be used to manage time-related information. It can also be used for. For example, if it is an electronic bulletin board version, it can be used to manage the posting deadline of a bulletin board, and if it is a questionnaire survey system, it can be used to manage the deadline for collecting responses. In this case, the application program registers the bulletin board deadline, aggregation deadline, and the processing to be performed at that time (updating the bulletin board contents, compiling the questionnaire) in the information processing system. The information processing system periodically judges the time, and when it determines that the posting deadline or aggregation deadline has arrived, it automatically starts the relevant application program and collects the necessary data held by the system (such as the type of processing). is passed to the application program. In this way, it becomes possible to automatically update the display contents of the electronic bulletin board, compile the questionnaires of the questionnaire survey system, etc.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, the information processing system according to the present invention has the following unique effects.

■Since information can be entered and searched remotely via a communication network, users can easily manipulate information from a nearby workstation.

■Since data from multiple people can be handled, it is possible to check and adjust schedules for multiple people and manage shared information.

■Since it is equipped with a clock function, it is possible to judge whether the scheduled time has arrived, display it, and automatically execute related processes such as sending messages and automatically erasing unnecessary data. Therefore, the user does not have to worry about information in the system, which can reduce the burden on the user.

■In addition to schedule information directly handled by users,
For example, it can be used from an application program on a computer, such as managing electronic bulletin boards or managing aggregation dates for a questionnaire survey system.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the basic configuration of an information processing system according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of an information processing system using LAN, FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a schedule information registration email, and FIG. An explanatory diagram of database registration information, Figure 5 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the received data analysis means when creating database registration information, Figure 6 is an explanatory diagram of the hierarchical structure of the database, and Figure 7 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the received data analysis means when creating database registration information. Flowchart showing the processing procedure of the time information processing unit when sending a schedule notice message in advance, No. 8
Figure 9 is an explanatory diagram of a notice message, Figure 9 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the transmission data editing means when editing a notice message, and Figure 10 is time information when a call message is sent at a specified time. A flowchart showing the processing procedure of the processing unit, Fig. 11 is an explanatory diagram of the call message, Fig. 12 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure when a schedule information search request is received from a user, and Fig. 13 is a schedule information search request email FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of a schedule search result email, and FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of displaying a schedule. 1... Time information processing section, 2... Network interface section, 3... Communication network, 4...
User interface section, 5... Data analysis/editing section, 6... Time information storage means, 7... Time comparison section, 11... Received data analysis means, 12... Transmission data transmission means, 13 ...User request receiving means, 14.
...Data storage control means, 15...Memory, 21-2
5...Workstation, 26...Communication line. Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure 8 Figure 11 Figure 14 Figure 9

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) In an information processing system that processes information using a communication network, the data analysis/editing means analyzes time information input via the communication network and edits message information to the user; and the data a time information storage means that stores time information input from the analysis/editing means and controls its registration and retrieval; a time comparison means that has a clock function and compares the current time with a specified time; and the communication network. network interface means for receiving time information input by a user through the network interface and providing message information to the user; and at or near a specified time, the network interface means edits message information based on the time information and sends the message to the user. An information processing system that transmits information to a user via the communication network. (2) The information processing system according to claim (1), further comprising user interface means that has time information input/display/edit functions and provides information services interactively to the user.