JPH04369078A - In-house patent abstract creation system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To allow this industrial patent abstract forming system to quickly respond to a patent data forming demand to patent strategy or the like in an industry by effectively superposing and utilizing an industrial patent managing system and electronic application document data corresponding to electronic application. CONSTITUTION:The industrial patent abstract forming system for forming the abstracts of patents to be applied from the industry itself is provided with a patent management data base 18 for storing documentary item data relating to be patent application in the corporation, an application document data base storing application document data correspondingly to electronic application, a terminal equipment for inputting information specifying patent application whose abstract is to be formed, and an abstract forming means for retrieving the data base 18 based upon information specifying the application, inputting the documentary item data of the application concerned, inputting the invension contents data of the application from the data base 20, and forming an abstract based upon processing item data and the invension contents data.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an in-company patent abstract creation system that allows companies to efficiently create abstracts related to their own patent applications.

0002

[Prior Art] The conventional method for creating a patent abstract is to abstract the content of the invention by referring to patent publications, commercial abstracts, in-house materials, etc., and then add the latest examination progress information, in-house management information, etc. It is something to create. This flow will be explained with reference to FIG. In Fig. 2, when the need to create a patent abstract arises (21), target applications for the theme are extracted using the in-house patent management system or in-house application ledger 22 (23), and furthermore, these extracted applications are Abstract the content of the invention by referring to public bulletins or in-house materials 24 (25)
). In the next step, the latest examination progress information and internal management information regarding the application are investigated (26), and the information is added to the abstract (27). Furthermore, this abstract is edited, rearranged, etc. according to the purpose and completed (28).

0003

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] When a company formulates patent strategies, etc., it is important to quickly and accurately grasp the entire scope of applications on the subject. For this purpose, a so-called patent abstract, which is an abstract of the invention content, is suitable.
The conventional creation methods described above involve a lot of manual work, making it difficult to respond quickly to diverse needs, and there is an urgent need for early provision of problem-solving means.

On the other hand, the Japan Patent Office began accepting so-called electronic applications in December 1990, shifting the acceptance of application procedures from paper acceptance to online acceptance and acceptance of electronic applications such as FD. Under electronic filing, at least application documents, specifications, drawings, abstracts, and other application documents are digitized within a company, so these application documents, which previously had to be manually handled on paper, can be transferred to electronic devices such as computers. It is now possible to easily handle it using standard means.

[0005] Based on the above background, an object of the present invention is to improve internal patent strategies, etc. by effectively superimposing an in-company patent management system and digitized application document data compatible with electronic filing. Our objective is to provide an in-house patent abstract creation system that can immediately respond to patent document creation needs.

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, an in-company patent abstract creation system according to the present invention is a system for creating an abstract regarding the patent application of the company within the company, A patent management database storing bibliographic item data, an application document database compatible with electronic filing storing application document data, and a terminal device for inputting information specifying an application for which an abstract is to be created;
The patent management database is searched based on the information specifying the application, bibliographic item data of the corresponding application is imported, and invention content data of the application is imported from the application database, and the processing item data and the invention content are retrieved. and an abstract creation means for creating an abstract based on the data.

[0007]

[Operation] In-house patent abstracts generally need to include various bibliographical items before and after the application, as well as a summary of the application contents. Regarding the former, that is, various bibliographic items, companies that have an in-house patent management system have already constructed a patent management database under that system. On the other hand, in response to the electronic filing of applications to the Japan Patent Office, companies have started to maintain in-house application document databases that digitize all application contents (applications, specifications, drawings, and abstracts).

[0008] Therefore, in the present invention, by effectively utilizing both existing databases, it is possible to quickly create an abstract without having to do it manually as in the past. In addition, in order to create an abstract that meets the needs of the user, it is now possible to select the abstract content, output format, etc.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows a system configuration for creating an abstract according to the present invention in association with a flowchart of its processing.

The patent abstract creation system according to the present invention adds a patent abstract processing system 10 to an existing patent management system 17 having an in-house patent management database 18 and an electronic application system 19 having an application document database 20. This system 10 can be accessed from a workstation 16. In addition,
In reality, the patent abstract processing system 10 is a system that is implemented as a whole by programs in each workstation 10 and programs in a host computer (described later), etc., related to abstract creation.

[0011] The general procedure for creating a patent abstract is as follows. First, regarding the target application for abstract creation (11) retrieved from the patent management database 18 used in the in-house patent management system 17, bibliographic data items among the data items to be displayed in the abstract (for example, application number, Application date, inventor, examination progress such as office directives and response processing, internal data such as invention evaluation, etc.) are imported from the patent management database (1
2) Next, the data representing the outline of the invention among the data items to be displayed regarding this application (for example, abstract of the invention, scope of claims, representative drawings, etc.) are stored in the electronic application system 19. Import from database 20 (13
), and, if necessary, other data other than the above to be displayed in the abstract (for example, the publisher (creator) of the abstract,
(15)
A series of processes are automatically performed by a computer.

[0012] The use of the electronic application system in the present invention is intended to improve efficiency by reducing unnecessary labor such as abstracting work of invention content and creating a database for the main purpose of abstract creation. Further, it is assumed that the above series of steps can be processed in real time while the user interacts with the workstation 16.

The workstation 16 is installed near the user and has the configuration shown in FIG. That is, the workstation 16 has a keyboard 81 as an input device.
・Scanner 83 ・Mouse 88 ・Other input devices (
handwriting input device, OCR, barcode reader, magnetic card reader, etc.) 89 and a display 82 as an output device
・Printer 85 ・Storage device (RAM, ROM, hard disk, optical disk, etc.) 86 ・5-inch FD device 84a
- Consists of a communication control device 87 for communicating between the 3-inch FD device 84b and other computers or terminals, and a central processing unit (CPU) for controlling these. This workstation is connected to other computers via a network such as a LAN, and these are connected to storage devices and
Various resources such as input/output devices can be shared.

FIG. 3 shows the abstract creation procedure in more detail.

[0015] First, the patent management database 18 is searched using an in-house search system or the like, and target applications for which patent abstracts are to be created are determined (31, 32). Next, data representing the content of the invention is determined. The data representing the content of the invention is the key to the abstract, and it is desirable that it be accurate and suitable for the purpose of use of the abstract. For example, when creating an abstract for the purpose of utilizing rights, etc., it is preferable to use "claims data" that allows detailed understanding of rights content, and when the main purpose is to use the patent for management purposes, the above data is suitable. The data is preferably "summary data" that makes it easy to quickly understand the content of the invention. Further, the drawing data can be used for different purposes, such as "representative drawings" and "selected drawings of abstracts" (34). In this embodiment, as described above, the user can appropriately select data representing the content of the invention according to the purpose of using the abstract (33). Depending on the selected data item (34), data such as the specification, abstract, drawings, etc. of the application are extracted from the application document database 20 accumulated in the electronic application system (35). Note that the selection of data representing the content of the invention in step 34 does not have to be selective, and a plurality of items may be selected at the same time. In addition, bibliographic data items other than the above data (for example, application number,
Users can also select internal data such as application date, inventor, applicant, examination progress for Office directives, etc., evaluation of inventions, etc.), but these are omitted from the figure. Next, in this embodiment, the user can appropriately select the output format of the abstract according to the purpose of the abstract (36). The "one item, one leaf type" (37) and the "list list type" (38) described in the figure are examples of the output formats.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the user can appropriately select the output destination of the abstract as a means of ensuring smooth operation of the system (39). As illustrated in the figure, a small amount of abstracts can be output to the workstation (WS) terminal printer (39a), a large amount can be output to the nearest high-speed common printer (39b), or a remote location Direct output to remote printers via network (3
9c) is also possible.

[0017] The abstract creation method according to the present invention that has been described above allows a system user to create and obtain an abstract in real time while interacting with a workstation.

FIG. 4 shows a method for creating an abstract according to the abstract format information selected in step 36 of FIG.

First, when the user specifies the abstract format as "one file per case type" (FIG. 3-37), one application is created as a one-sheet abstract in the format shown in FIG. 3-37. The format includes bibliographic data 41 such as the application number, filing date, and inventor at the top, a summary of the invention (for example, abstract of the invention, scope of claims, etc.) 42 and drawings (for example, representative) at the bottom. Consists of data such as drawings, selected drawings) 43, etc. Same figure (
b) is an example of a format for outputting abstracts of 4 applications on 1 sheet among the "list type" described in FIG. 3-38. In the formats (a) and (b) above, the abstract output size is fixed, so the display of the summary data of the invention in the same format is within the limited number of characters in the output areas 42 and 44 (character size, line spacing, etc. are standard). Although the output is aborted at the value (value), it is also possible to select to output more information in the output areas 42 and 44 by reducing the font size, line spacing, etc. .

Furthermore, in the above-mentioned "list list type", the output area size corresponding to the amount of information of the invention summary data is set within a certain range, and the output area size in FIGS. This is an example of how the entire content can be displayed in the abstract. (c1) to (c3) are the first examples, and (d1)
~(d2) is the second example.

[0021] The format (c1) is an output format when all the contents of the invention summary data for all four applications fit within one sheet. (c2) and (c3) are cases where the entire content of the summary of the invention cannot be output in the abstract output size of the format (c1) in one of the four applications, and first, the abstract output size must be adjusted to the size of (c2). The system tries to enlarge and output 3 applications, and if it still does not fit, it further enlarges it to the size of (c3), and automatically adapts the output format by determining the amount of information in the application. This figure shows the processing method to proceed. Note that it is also possible to select a method of fixing and outputting in the format (c3) from the beginning.

(d1) to (d3) in the figure are methods for automatically determining and outputting an abstract output size that matches the information amount of the invention summary data for each application. In the example shown in the figure, abstracts of eight applications are created in succession, and the output sizes of the abstracts of the fourth application 45 and the sixth application 46 are larger than the others, so the output size of the abstracts of the third application P-1 is Application 47, P-
Since it cannot fit in the lower part of the fifth application 48 of No. 2, it is possible to automatically allocate each page to the next page and output them as shown in the figure. Note that this method (d) is designed to output as many applications as possible on one sheet, and is different from the method (c).

[0023] It is also possible to change the layout of the output area for each item as the abstract output size is changed.

Next, the operation of the abstract creation system according to the present invention will be explained with reference to FIG.

[0025] The system can be configured as a workstation type 51 or an intra-departmental LA as shown in the figure, depending on the scale of operation on the user side.
It is compatible with both N-type 52 and host computer-type 53 operation modes, and has also been devised to increase processing speed. An example of this will be explained with reference to the same figure. The figure is
This is an example showing the arrangement of data files and file access procedures to realize shortening of access time to various data files for abstracts. Specifically, all application data within the company is stored in the common file 56 of the host computer, and departmental data, field-specific data, etc. are also stored in the departmental common file 55, dedicated file 54, etc. . In addition to the aforementioned patent management database and application document database, the common file 56 of the host computer can also store an abstract database (described later). The contents of the patent management database will be added and updated one by one according to the progress status of each application in each department. The department common file 56 can store not only a database of application documents of the department, but also a database of abstracts of the department. In addition to a database of application documents related to the workstation, the dedicated file 54 can also store a database of their abstracts.

Next, a file access procedure for referring to an already created abstract database or for creating a new abstract will be explained. First, the dedicated file 54 in the workstation is accessed, and if the necessary data is found, the access process is terminated at that point. If no, the departmental file 55 is further accessed via LAN, and if the relevant data is found at this point, the access process is terminated; however, if no, the common file 56 in the host computer is accessed via the network. It is.

As described above, by distributing the files and giving preferential access to the nearest file, it is possible to speed up processing by eliminating the need for constant access to the host computer. The abstract can also be printed out by arbitrarily selecting a dedicated printer 57 in a workstation, a common printer 58 in a department, a remote common printer 59 in a host computer, or the like.

Furthermore, the configuration of another embodiment for speeding up file access processing will be explained with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.

FIG. 6 shows an example of constructing a compact abstract database exclusively for abstracts by extracting various data necessary for abstract creation from various existing databases in advance, and FIG. 7 shows the structure of this database. This is what is shown. First, FIG. 6 will be explained. The title of the invention 62 and the scope of claims 6 are data items used for abstracting from the application document database 20 stored in the electronic application system.
3. Extract the abstract 64, representative drawings, selected drawings 65, etc. Next, bibliographic data items 67 such as application number, filing date, and examination progress are extracted from the patent management database 18 stored in the patent management system. These bibliographic data items are included in application data 68 of the application document database.
It may be extracted from.

Next, the abstract database 69 is constructed by organizing the various data extracted as described above in units of application numbers or in-house serial numbers.

Next, the structure of the abstract database will be explained using the example shown in FIG. This database uses the application number or internal reference number as the key item 71, and the name of the invention 72.
, claims 74, abstract 75, representative diagram 76, selection diagram 77, bibliographic data 78, and other data are subordinated thereto. In addition, depending on the dependent data items, the contents at the time of filing and the latest contents after amendments are included, making it possible to respond to a variety of needs. For example, regarding the name of the invention,
The latest content is placed at the top, such as "Name of latest invention" 72 and "Name of invention as filed" 73, to shorten access time. Also, claim 74
is structured so that it can be handled on a claim-by-claim basis. Further, the summary 75 is also configured to be subdivided into purpose, structure, effect, etc., and to enable processing of each item.

FIG. 9 shows steps 33, 36, and 39 of FIG.
An example of the menu screen when selecting the various conditions for abstract creation described in section 2 from the workstation is shown below.

In the figure, the display screen 91 is
This corresponds to the display 82 of the workstation shown in FIG. The part in parentheses (underlined part) on the screen is the input area part for selection items.

An example of the procedure for selecting various conditions will be explained below. First, a method for selecting an outline of the invention and drawings, which are items representing the content of the invention, will be described. Position the cursor in the area 92 on the screen, which is the selection content input area for this item, and pick the mouse 88 to display the name of the summary item registered in advance as the summary item of the invention on the pop-up screen (
96), further move the cursor over the display item name of the summary item you wish to select from within the same pop-up screen, and select it by picking the mouse again. The selected item name is displayed in the selection item input area 92. Further, areas 93 to 95 on the screen are areas for selecting "Claim" in the above and inputting the claim number when narrowing down to a specific claim. Selection of drawings is also performed in the same procedure as described above (97-99). The on-screen area 98 is an area for inputting the figure number in numbers when "specify figure number" is selected on the pop-up screen 99.

Next, a method for selecting an output format for an abstract will be described. The method for selecting an output format is to pick a format image to be selected from format images 9b and 9c displayed on the screen with a mouse. The selected format name is displayed in the format name input area 9a. In addition, in order to facilitate confirmation of the selected format on the screen, consideration was given to inverting the format image display areas 9b and 9c (or changing the color or displaying them to distinguish them from others, such as by blinking). . When selecting "List list" 9c, there are several more output formats as explained in Figure 4, so to select one of these, first pick the format image 9c with the mouse. Each format name in the list is displayed as a pop-up (9d), the cursor is positioned on the format name to be selected, and the mouse is picked again. By displaying the new format image selected in this manner on the screen 9c, consideration has been given to facilitating selection confirmation. Note that the output format can be changed by selecting the other format image again.

Next, a method for selecting an abstract output destination will be described. When the cursor is moved to the output destination in the output destination list 9f on the screen and picked with the mouse, the name of the output destination is displayed in the output destination input area 9e on the screen, and the selection is completed. When "remote printer" (item number 3 of 9f) is selected, specific output destinations are displayed on the pop-up screen 9g, and the user selects the output destination from among them by picking it with the mouse.

Finally, a method for selecting the abstract creation source and other information will be described. For abstract creators and content inquiries, please contact:
This is output as an annotation on the abstract. these are,
Select from the pop-up screen 9i using the same procedure as each selection method described above.

As described above, an example of the selection procedure using a pop-up screen and a mouse has been shown, but on the other hand, it is also possible to enter the above conditions from the keyboard 91 in each input area (92, 97, 97,
9a, 9e, 9h, 9j) is also possible. Further, by displaying standard conditions or application-specific conditions in each input area in advance (changing only the necessary parts), consideration can be given to reducing the load of selection work each time. Further, various selection information on the screen can be changed arbitrarily before picking "Confirm" (9m).

In the above embodiments, only patents have been described, but the present invention can also be applied to utility models, either separately or in combination.

[0040]

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, by effectively superimposing and using an in-house patent management system and digitized application document data compatible with electronic filing, the needs for creating patent materials for in-house patent strategies, etc. can be met. It becomes possible to respond immediately.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a patent abstract creation system according to the present invention and its basic processing procedure.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a conventional process procedure for creating a patent abstract.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of specific abstract creation processing performed by the patent abstract creation system of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an abstract output format and its output specifications in an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing one operational form of the patent abstract creation system of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of another embodiment of the present invention regarding the construction of an abstract-only database that aggregates abstract data items.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the structure of the abstract-only database.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a workstation used in the patent abstract creation system of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of the conditions for abstract creation from a workstation used in the patent abstract creation system of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

10...Patent abstract processing system, 16...Workstation, 17...Patent management system, 18...Patent management database, 19...Electronic application system, 20...Application document database, 69...Abstract database.

Claims (13)

[Claims] [Claim 1] An in-house patent abstract creation system for creating abstracts related to the company's patent applications within a company, comprising a patent management database that stores bibliographic item data related to the company's patent applications and application document data. searching the patent management database based on an application document database compatible with electronic filing, a terminal device for inputting information specifying an application for which an abstract is to be created, and information specifying the application;
In addition to importing the bibliographic data of the applicable application,
An in-house patent abstract creation system comprising: abstract creation means for importing invention content data of the application from the application database and creating an abstract based on the processing matter data and invention content data. 2. The in-house patent abstract creation system according to claim 1, wherein the terminal device has display means for displaying the created abstract. 3. The in-house patent abstract creation system according to claim 1, further comprising a printing device for printing the created abstract. 4. In-house patent abstract creation according to claim 1, wherein the terminal device has means for selecting at least one of claims, abstracts, and drawings as the invention content. system. 5. The in-house patent abstract creation system according to claim 1, wherein the abstract creation means makes the output size of the abstract of each application constant. 6. The abstract creation means according to claim 5, wherein when the data on the invention content cannot be stored in the predetermined output size, the abstract creation means stops storing the data on the invention content midway. In-house patent abstract creation system. 7. The in-house company according to claim 5, wherein the abstract creation means reduces the data on the invention content when the data on the invention content cannot be stored in the predetermined output size. Patent abstract creation system. 8. The abstract creation means changes the certain size to match an output size that can accommodate an application that requires the largest output size among the applications for which the abstract is created. In-house patent abstract creation system described in Section 5. 9. The in-house patent abstract creation system according to claim 1, wherein the abstract creation means varies the output size of the abstract for each application for which the abstract is created. Claim 10: A claim characterized in that when outputting abstracts of multiple applications on multiple pages, if the last abstract on one page spans the next page, the entire last abstract is output on the next page. In-house patent abstract creation system as described in item 9. Claim 11: Claim 1 further comprising an abstract database for storing data of the created abstract.
In-house patent abstract creation system described. 12. Information specifying an output destination of the abstract is input from the terminal device, and the abstract creation means transfers data of the created abstract to the output destination.
In-house abstract creation system as described. Claim 13: An in-house patent abstract creation system for creating abstracts related to the company's patent applications within the company, comprising an in-house common file including a patent management database that stores bibliographic data of all patent applications within the company. a host computer, a plurality of local area networks (LANs) constructed for each department and connected to the host computer via a communication network, and a common area network for each department that stores at least application document data for the department in each of the plurality of LANs. file, and a dedicated file for storing at least application document data, which is dedicated to each terminal device in each of the LANs, and the necessary data is sequentially transmitted from each terminal device to the dedicated file, the department common file, and the department common file. An in-house patent abstract creation system that is characterized by searching necessary data in the order of internal common files and creating patent abstracts.