Server device with electronic bulletin board function

【0001】

[Technical field to which the invention belongs]

The present invention relates to a server device having an electronic bulletin board function that is accessed by a large number of users via a communication network and the users exchange information with each other.

【0002】

[Conventional technology]

Electronic bulletin boards, which are written and read by a large number of users, are widely used for transmitting various information within a company and for a company or a local government to communicate with the general public. For example, it is often used as a plaza for various events or as an introduction to new products. In addition, when used within a company, it is possible to distribute pre-meeting materials and communicate various businesses using a mechanism called this electronic bulletin board system. In particular, within the company, business requests and their results are grasped, related materials are managed, and they are used. It is suitable for disclosing the situation and materials.

【0003】

The function of such an electronic bulletin board is realized by a system provided with a server device in which information to be posted on the electronic bulletin board is stored. In this electronic bulletin board system, new electronic bulletin board information registered from the user terminal is transmitted to the server device via the communication network. The new electronic bulletin board information received by the server device is stored in the database, added to the registered electronic bulletin board information, transmitted to the user terminal via the communication network, and displayed on the screen of the user terminal.

【0004】

On the other hand, in the electronic bulletin board system, there is an electronic bulletin board that allows not only text information of comments but also image information such as photographs to be posted (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In particular, a facsimile server or a digital multifunction device having a copying function, a facsimile function, a printing function, a scanner function, etc., which is connected to a communication line such as a public switched telephone network and has a facsimile transmission / reception function, and a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a personal computer). ) And other client devices are connected via LAN (Local Area Network). If the facsimile system has an electronic bulletin board function, the fax-received image or the image read by the scanner will be posted on the electronic bulletin board. Often.

【0005】

[Patent Document 1]

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-101114 [0006]

In an electronic bulletin board system that can also post the above images, the attached image may be more important as information than the content of the comment. For example, when the product development department exchanges product drawings via an electronic bulletin board system, or when order slips are circulated between business departments via an electronic bulletin board system, image information is more important than comments. In many cases, users often reply by only editing the image, such as writing a marker on the image or attaching a sticky note image.

【0007】

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

However, since conventional electronic bulletin boards are mainly text and images can only be used as an auxiliary, it is not possible to quickly grasp the presence or absence of images and process images. For example, in a conventional electronic bulletin board, a thread of a comment title is displayed on the display screen, but on this thread display screen, it is not possible to determine whether or not an image is attached to each comment, and each comment is referred to. Otherwise, the image attached to the comment cannot be accessed, so there is a problem that the operation is troublesome. Also, as described above, when the user only replies for image editing, the thread display list of the comment title simply displays the title with "RE:" added to the original title. There was also the problem that when the next user saw it, there was no way to check whether the image was edited, and all the documents in the thread had to be referenced from the document that was the source of the thread.

【0008】

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and can be handled in the same manner as text without auxiliary handling of images, and has an electronic bulletin board function that is most suitable for a system using a digital multifunction device or a scanner. The purpose is to provide a server device.

【0009】

[Means for solving problems]

The invention according to claim 1 is a server device having an electronic bulletin board function capable of handling image data and text data as a posted document and replying to a comment, replying to an image, and replying to image editing as a reply function to a comment. In the above, when there is a reply of image storage means for storing image data, comment storage means for storing text data, and only image editing or new image registration, there is a reply of image editing or new image registration. It is characterized by including a means for creating a comment to be shown and a means for creating electronic bulletin board information including the above-mentioned created comment and edited image, newly registered image, or shortcut information to those images.

【0010】

According to the invention according to claim 1 above, when there is a reply only for image editing or only for new image registration, a comment indicating that is automatically created, and then the electronic bulletin board is viewed. The user can easily recognize that there is image editing or new image registration. Further, since the edited image, the newly registered image, or the shortcut information to those images is displayed on the electronic bulletin board, the user can easily display the image.

【0011】

The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that, in the server device provided with the electronic bulletin board function according to claim 1, a means for performing version control of an image stored in the image storage means is provided. According to the invention of claim 2, it is possible to manage the version of each image attached to the posted document. For example, since it is sufficient to sequentially store the information of the image editing contents, the storage capacity of the image can be increased. In addition to being able to reduce the number, the version information allows the original image and image editing information to be combined to immediately display the required image.

【0012】

Further, the invention according to claim 3 is an image storage means for storing image data and a comment storage for storing text data in a server device having an electronic bulletin board function capable of handling image data and text data as a posted document. The means for creating the electronic bulletin board information includes means and means for creating the electronic bulletin board information, and the means for creating the electronic bulletin board information displays a thread display of comments, a list of images included in the selected thread, and the above list display. It is characterized in that electronic bulletin board information focusing on the image that is the source of the selected thread is created among the images of. According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the images in the thread are displayed in a list by thumbnails or the like, the images can be easily recognized and the image that is the source of the thread is focused, so that the original image. Can be easily recognized.

【0013】

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, embodiments of the server device provided with the electronic bulletin board function of the present invention implemented using a facsimile server will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a network configuration of a system including a facsimile server according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a facsimile server, and FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing this facsimile server in terms of functions. is there.

【0014】

In the network configuration diagram shown in FIG. 1, 1 is a facsimile server, 23, 4, ... Is a client computer, 5 is a LAN, 6 is a public switched telephone network (PSTN), and 7 is an Internet network. The facsimile server 1 is connected to PSTN6 and is also connected to LAN5, which is one of the communication networks, as a communication network, and a plurality of client personal computers 2, 3, 4, ... Are connected to this LAN5. At the same time, it is also connected to the Internet network 7.

【0015】

The above-mentioned facsimile server 1 can transfer the image data facsimile-received through PSTN6 to the transfer destination client computer and other facsimile devices connected to the Internet according to the corresponding protocols, and the client computer. It is also possible to receive data from 2, 3, 4, ... And send it to the destination specified by the client. Further, the facsimile server 1 includes images received by facsimile, images transmitted from client computers 2, 3, 4, ..., Images received by Internet facsimile using e-mail, or images read by a reading unit. Create electronic bulletin board information using documents as information.

【0016】

The hardware configuration of the facsimile server 1 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the facsimile server 1 includes a CPU 11, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 13, a hard disk drive (HDD) 14, a display unit 15, an operation unit 16, a reading unit 17, and an image. It consists of a memory 18, a recording unit 19, a modem 20, a network control unit (NCU) 21, and a LAN interface 22, and each unit is connected via a bus 23.

【0017】

The CPU 11 controls each part of the hardware of the facsimile server 1 via the bus 23, and executes various programs based on the program stored in the ROM 12. RAM 13 is composed of SRAM and the like, and stores temporary data generated when a program is executed. It is also possible to use a flash memory for the RAM 13, and in this case, the stored contents will not be lost even in the event of a power failure or the power supply of the facsimile server 1 is cut off. In addition, the HDD 14 stores the text data and image data of the comment registered in the electronic bulletin board, and also stores the created electronic bulletin board information.

【0018】

The display unit 15 is a display device such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a CRT display, and displays the operating status of the facsimile server 1 and displays operation screens of various functions. The operation unit 16 includes various function keys such as a character key, a numeric keypad, an abbreviated dial key, and a help key necessary for operating the facsimile server 1. By using the touch panel system for the display unit 15, some or all of the various keys of the operation unit 16 can be substituted.

【0019】

The scanning unit 17 reads the original with a scanner using a CCD or the like, and outputs the dot image data converted into black and white binary. The image memory 18 is configured by using DRAM or the like, and stores image data to be transmitted or received image data. The recording unit 19 is provided with a printer device such as an electrophotographic system, and prints out the received data as a hard copy.

【0020】

The modem 20 is connected to the bus 23 and has a function as a fax modem capable of facsimile communication, and the modem 20 is also connected to the NCU 21 connected to the bus 23. The NCU21 is hardware that closes and opens the analog line, and connects the modem 20 to the PSTN6 as needed. Further, the LAN interface 22 is connected to LAN5 and receives signals and data from LAN5, while transmitting signals and data to LAN5, and executes interface processing such as signal conversion and protocol conversion.

【0021】

The facsimile server 1 has the above configuration. At the time of facsimile transmission, the image data of the original is read by the reading unit 17 and stored in the image memory 18, then modulated by the modem 20 and communicated from the NCU 21 through the PSTN 6. It is sent to the other party. Further, at the time of facsimile reception, the received image data is demodulated by the modem 20 and stored in the image memory 18, and then printed by the recording unit 19.

【0022】

On the other hand, FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing each part that executes the electronic bulletin board function of the facsimile server 1, and is a control unit 31, an image storage unit 32, a difference image information storage unit 33, a comment storage unit 34, and an image version information management. It consists of a section 35, a comment link information management section 36, an electronic bulletin board information creation section 37, and a comment automatic creation section 38. When the comment and the image are registered, the control unit 31 adds identification information to the registered image and the comment, and sends the new image to which the identification information is added to the image storage unit 32 only for the edited part of the edited image. In the difference image information storage unit 33, the comment is stored in the comment storage unit 34, and the new image stored in the image storage unit 32 and the difference image information storage unit 33, the link information of the difference image, and the link information of each comment are generated. Then, it is transmitted to the image version information management unit 35 and the comment link information management unit 36, respectively. In addition, when a comment or an image is newly registered, a comment is replied, or an image is edited, the control unit 31 instructs the electronic bulletin board information creation unit 37 to create new electronic bulletin board information, and electronically. The electronic bulletin board information created by the bulletin board information creation unit 37 is transmitted to the client computer. Further, when the control unit 31 only replies the new image or the edited image as a reply and the comment is not returned, the control unit 31 sends a comment indicating a new image reply or an edited image reply to the comment automatic creation unit 38. To create.

【0023】

Further, the image storage unit 32 stores the image data of the new image registered in the electronic bulletin board, and the difference image information storage unit 33 stores the image before editing and the image after editing when the image posted on the electronic bulletin board is edited. Save the difference information of the image of. The comment storage unit 34 stores text data consisting of the title and body of the newly registered comment or reply comment. Further, the image version information management unit 35 creates and saves an image link, that is, version information, based on the image link information generated by the control unit 31, and the comment link information management unit 36 is generated by the control unit 31. Create and save a comment link based on the comment link information.

【0024】

The electronic bulletin board information creation unit 37 is for each thread based on the link information from the comment link information management unit 36 and the image version information management unit 35 and the information from the image storage unit 32, the difference image information storage unit 33, and the comment storage unit 34. The title of the comment, the image icon, the title of the currently selected comment, the body and the information of the image if it is attached to the comment, and all the information contained in the selected thread. Create electronic bulletin board information with information for displaying thumbnail lists of images. Further, the comment automatic creation unit 38 is a fixed phrase in which a comment indicating that an image edit or a new image has been replied has been stored when the comment has not been added when the image has been edited or a new image has been replied. Select from to create automatically. Each of these parts is composed of CPU11, ROM12, RAM13, and HDD14 in FIG. 2, and the functions of each part are executed by a software program.

【0025】

Next, the operation of the facsimile server 1 when a comment, an image registration, a reply, or an image editing of an electronic bulletin board is performed will be described with reference to the functional block diagram of FIG. 3 and the flowchart of FIG. When the user accesses the electronic bulletin board using the client personal computer 2, the control unit 31 determines that the access has been made (step 101), and transfers the electronic bulletin board information including the registered comment and image information to the client personal computer 2. Send (step 102). Then, when the user clicks on a title from the titles displayed in the thread on the electronic bulletin board and refers to it, the control unit 31 determines that the reference has been made (step 103) and instructs the electronic bulletin board information creation unit 37. The electronic bulletin board information including the text and the image of the comment is newly created, and the created electronic bulletin board information is sent to the client personal computer 2 (step 104). As a result, the electronic bulletin board as shown in FIG. 5 is displayed on the display screen of the client personal computer 2.

【0026】

As shown in Fig. 5, a thread display title list arranged in thread order is displayed at the top of the electronic bulletin board, and if a new image is attached to each comment or if there is an edited image, An image icon is displayed next to the title of the comment. This thread display expresses the parent-child relationship of each comment, and when someone replies to a certain comment, the reply comment becomes a child derived from the original comment. As shown in the figure, for the title of a comment, the title of the reply comment to that comment is displayed one step lower, and similarly, the title of the reply to this is displayed one step lower. .. The entire comment group derived from one comment by such a relationship such as a reply is a thread, and in the example of FIG. 5, two threads are displayed.

【0027】

Further, at the bottom of the title list screen of the thread display, the title and body of the currently selected comment and, if an image is attached, the image are displayed. Furthermore, on the right side of the electronic bulletin board screen, a list of all images contained in the selected thread is displayed as thumbnails, and the image that is the source of the displayed comment (Image 3 in the illustrated example). Is focused on. You can also refer to the image and comment corresponding to the thumbnail display by clicking one of the thumbnail-displayed lists.

【0028】

Then, when the user clicks "Reply", "New", or "Exit" in the center of the screen, this information is sent to the facsimile server 1, so that the control unit 31 of the facsimile server 1 determines whether or not it is "Exit". (Step 105), in the case of "end", the control unit 31 ends the program. On the other hand, if it is not "finished", it is determined whether it is "reply" or "new" (step 106), and if it is "new", a new registration screen (not shown) is sent to the client computer 2 (not shown). Step 107). Then, when the user inputs an image and a comment on the new registration screen and transmits the image, the control unit 31 adds identification information to the transmitted image and comment, and identifies the image to which the identification information is added to the image storage unit 32. The comment to which the information is added is stored in the comment storage unit 34, and the image link information and the comment link information are newly generated and transmitted to the image version information management unit 35 and the comment link information management unit 36 (step 108). .. After that, the control unit 31 instructs the electronic bulletin board information creation unit 37 to create new electronic bulletin board information, and the electronic bulletin board creation unit 37 gives the link information and images from the comment link information management unit 36 and the image version information management unit 35. Electronic bulletin board information is created based on the information from the storage unit 32, the difference image information storage unit 33, and the comment storage unit 34, and the control unit 31 transmits the newly created electronic bulletin board information to the client personal computer 2 (step 104). ).

【0029】

On the other hand, when the user clicks "Reply", the control unit 31 causes the electronic bulletin board information creation unit 37 to create the reply screen shown in FIG. 6 and sends it to the client personal computer (step 109). As shown in Fig. 6, the image of the selected comment is displayed on the left side of this reply screen, and on the right side of the screen, the title entry field, text entry field, registrant name entry field of the reply comment, And there is a column for entering attached files such as new images.

【0030】

On this reply screen, when the user fills in the reply comment and clicks "Execute", the reply comment is sent to the facsimile server 1, and the list of files is displayed by clicking "Browse" in the attached file field. Select an image by selecting the corresponding file from the list, and then click "Execute" to send the selected file to the facsimile server 1 as a new image. Also, when the user clicks "Edit image", the image on the left side can be edited, and when the user clicks "Execute" after performing image editing such as entering a marker on the image or attaching a sticker image. , The edited information is sent to the facsimile server 1.

【0031】

Then, the control unit 31 of the facsimile server 1 determines whether or not there is a new image from the transmitted information (step 110), and if there is a new image, adds identification information to the transmitted image. , The image to which the identification information is added is stored in the image storage unit 32, and the link information for linking the image to the original image is transmitted to the image version information management unit 35, and the image version information management unit 35 is used to create a new image. Generate and save version information (step 111).

【0032】

Next, the control unit 31 determines whether or not the comment has been transmitted (step 112), and if there is a comment, adds identification information to the comment, and sends the comment to which the identification information is given to the comment storage unit 34. While storing, the link information for linking the comment to the original comment is transmitted to the comment link information management unit 36, and the comment link information management unit 36 generates and saves a new comment link. On the other hand, when there is no comment, the control unit 31 instructs the comment automatic creation unit 38 to create a comment for a new image reply (step 113). The comment automatic creation unit 38 selects the title "additional information" and the text "an image has been added" from the registered comment information and sends it to the control unit 31, and the control unit 31 adds identification information to this comment. Is added and stored in the comment storage unit 34, and the comment link information is transmitted to the comment link information management unit 36 (step 118). Then, as in the case of new registration, the control unit 31 instructs the electronic bulletin board information creation unit 37 to create new electronic bulletin board information, and the control unit 31 transmits the newly created electronic bulletin board information to the client personal computer 2. (Step 104).

【0033】

On the other hand, in step 110, if it is determined that there is no new image, the control unit 31 determines whether or not the image has been edited (step 114), and if there is no image editing, only a comment is returned. Therefore, the control unit 31 adds identification information to the comment, stores the comment to which the identification information is added in the comment storage unit 34, and stores the link information for linking the comment to the original comment in the comment link information management unit 36. After sending to (step 118), instruct the electronic bulletin board information creation unit 37 to create new electronic bulletin board information, and send the newly created electronic bulletin board information to the client personal computer 2 (step 104). ).

【0034】

Further, in step 114, when it is determined that the image is edited, identification information is added to the edited image such as the sticker image or the entered marker, and the image to which the identification information is added is stored in the difference image information storage unit 33. At the same time, link information for linking the difference image to the original image is transmitted to the image version information management unit 35, and the image version information management unit 35 generates and saves new version information of the image.

【0035】

Next, the control unit 31 determines whether or not the comment has been transmitted (step 116), and if there is a comment, adds identification information to the comment, and sends the comment to which the identification information is given to the comment storage unit 34. While storing, the link information for linking the comment to the original comment is transmitted to the comment link information management unit 36 (step 118). On the other hand, when there is no comment, the control unit 31 instructs the comment automatic creation unit 38 to create a comment for image editing (step 117). The comment automatic creation unit 38 selects the title "correction information" and the text "edited the image" from the registered comment information and sends it to the control unit 31, and the control unit 31 identifies the information in this comment. Is added, the comment to which the identification information is added is stored in the comment storage unit 34, and the link information for linking the comment to the original comment is transmitted to the comment link information management unit 36 (step 118). Then, the control unit 31 instructs the electronic bulletin board information creation unit 37 to create new electronic bulletin board information, and transmits the newly created electronic bulletin board information to the client personal computer 2 (step 104). As described above, if there is a reply only for image editing or only for new image registration and there is no reply for the comment, a comment consisting of a title and text indicating that there was image editing or new image registration is automatically created. Therefore, the user who sees the electronic bulletin board after that can easily recognize that there is an image editing or a new image registration. Furthermore, it is also possible to describe the name of the image editor and the edited part in the body of the automatically created comment, and in this way, more effective information can be provided to the user. ..

【0036】

In the above embodiment, an example of realizing the server device having the electronic bulletin board function of the present invention by a facsimile server has been described, but the server device having the electronic bulletin board function of the present invention is not limited to the facsimile server and is usually used. It can also be implemented by a server device or personal computer. Further, in the above embodiment, when there is a reply of only image editing or only new image registration, a comment consisting of a title and a text indicating that is created, but only the image editing or new image registration is performed with only the title. It is not necessary to create the text because it is possible to recognize that only the reply was received. Further, in the above embodiment, a difference image information storage unit is provided, and when the image is edited, the difference information between the edited image and the original image is stored in the difference image information storage unit. It is also possible to store the entire image in the same image storage unit as the image storage unit of the new image.

【0037】

[Effect of the invention]

As described in detail above, the server device provided with the electronic bulletin board function of the present invention automatically creates a comment indicating that when there is a reply of only image editing or only new image registration. After that, the user who sees the electronic bulletin board can easily recognize that there is image editing or new image registration. Further, when there is an edited image or a newly registered image, the image icon as the image or shortcut information is displayed on the electronic bulletin board, so that the user can easily display the image.

【0038】

Further, if a means for managing the version of the image attached to the comment is provided, for example, when the image is edited, it is sufficient to store the image of only the edited content, and the storage capacity of the image is reduced. In addition, the version information allows the original image and the edited image to be combined to immediately display the required image. Furthermore, if you list the thumbnails of all the images contained in the thread selected on the electronic bulletin board and focus on the image that was the source of the selected thread from the images in the list display, the image will be displayed. Can be easily recognized, and the image that is the source of the thread can also be easily recognized.

[Simple explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a network configuration example of a system in which a server device having an electronic bulletin board function according to the present invention is implemented by using a facsimile server.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a facsimile server.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing an electronic bulletin board function executed by a facsimile server.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation when the electronic bulletin board function is executed.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a display screen of an electronic bulletin board system.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a reply screen on an electronic bulletin board system.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Facsimile server 2, 3, 4 Client computer 5 LAN6 PSTN7 Internet network 11 CPU12 ROM13 RAM14 HDD15 Display 16 Operation unit 17 Reading unit 18 Image memory 19 Recording unit 20 Modem 21 Network control unit 22 LAN interface 23 Bus 31 Control unit 32 Image storage Department 33 Difference image information storage unit 34 Comment storage unit 35 Image version information management unit 36 Comment link information management unit 37 Electronic bulletin board creation unit 38 Comment automatic creation unit