Patent Publication Number: US-2007100815-A1

Title: Information management device, information management system, and computer usable medium

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
      This application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2005-288539, filed Sep. 30, 2005, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference into the present application.  
     TECHNICAL FIELD  
      Aspects of the present invention relate to an information management device and an information management system for managing a plurality of data as a management target and a program associated with the information management device.  
     BACKGROUND  
      In recent years, personal computers (hereinafter, referred to as “PC”) have been widely spread and used for a personal purpose or on business. For example, a PC is connected to an external device serving as an information input source or an external device for performing an operation based on a command from the PC in a communication-practicable manner. Specifically, the PC is supplied with a large amount of data from the external devices and the information is used and managed by the PC, while the processes based on the managed information are performed to the external devices. In the environment in which it is difficult to install a plurality of external devices corresponding to the processes, a so-called multifunction machine having a plurality of means for executing a plurality of functions is connected to the PC.  
      The PC and the external devices transmit and receive a large amount of information therebetween in association with operations of the external devices, and the large amount of information is managed by the PC (for example, see JP-A-2004-32085).  
      In the PC for managing a large amount of data, there have been suggested techniques for correlating data with each other so as to enhance the efficiency of works using the data to be managed.  
      For example, there is known an information management system which can perform the correlating operation by allowing a message requesting for an instruction of correlating conditions to be displayed and allowing a user to give an instruction in response to the display so as to correlate one data to be written or one data previously written with another data and which can display the another data correlated with the one data at the time of utilizing the one data (for example, see JP-A-2000-315203).  
     SUMMARY  
      Aspects the present invention provide an information management device which can manage data so that second data having a high degree of correlation with first data can be distinguished from another second data at the time of offering the second data correlated with the first data to a user, an information management system including the information management device, and a program for executing a predetermined operation to the information management device. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an information management system according to an illustrative aspect of the present invention;  
       FIG. 2  is a diagram illustrating a status table according to an illustrative aspect of the invention;  
       FIG. 3  is a diagram illustrating definitions of items stored in the status table according to a first illustrative aspect of the invention;  
       FIG. 4  is a diagram illustrating a document table according to an illustrative aspect of the invention;  
       FIG. 5  is a diagram illustrating a file information table according to an illustrative aspect of the invention;  
       FIG. 6  is a diagram illustrating a device designating table according to an illustrative aspect of the invention;  
       FIG. 7  is a diagram illustrating a flow of a main process performed by a PC according to an illustrative aspect of the invention;  
       FIG. 8  is a diagram illustrating a flow of a before-activation intellectual assistance process according to an illustrative aspect of the invention;  
       FIG. 9  is a diagram illustrating a flow of an event document search process according to an illustrative aspect of the invention;  
       FIGS. 10A, 10B , and  10 C are diagrams illustrating a display format resulting from the before-activation intellectual assistance process according to the invention;  
       FIG. 11  is a diagram illustrating a flow of a during-activation intellectual assistance process according to the first illustrative aspect of the invention;  
       FIG. 12  is a diagram illustrating a flow of a GID search condition setting process according to the first illustrative aspect of the invention;  
       FIG. 13  is a diagram illustrating a flow of a document search process according to an illustrative aspect of the invention;  
       FIG. 14  is a diagram illustrating a document-outputting search process according to an illustrative aspect of the invention;  
       FIG. 15  is a diagram illustrating a flow of the search result display process according to an illustrative aspect of the invention;  
       FIG. 16  is a diagram illustrating a display format (associated with the status table) of a search result in the during-activation intellectual assistance process according to an illustrative aspect of the invention;  
       FIG. 17  is a diagram illustrating a display format (associated with the document table) of a search result in the during-activation intellectual assistance process according to an illustrative aspect of the invention;  
       FIG. 18  is a diagram illustrating a display format (associated with the status table) of a search result in the during-activation intellectual assistance process according to an illustrative aspect of the invention;  
       FIG. 19  is a diagram illustrating a display format (associated with the document table) of a search result in the during-activation intellectual assistance process according to an illustrative aspect of the invention;  
       FIG. 20  is a diagram illustrating a flow of a status table registration process according to an illustrative aspect of the invention;  
       FIG. 21  is a diagram illustrating a flow of a manual intellectual assistance process according to an illustrative aspect of the invention;  
       FIG. 22  is a diagram illustrating a flow of the manual intellectual assistance process according to an illustrative aspect of the invention;  
       FIG. 23  is a diagram illustrating a flow of a document intellectual assistance process according to an illustrative aspect of the invention;  
       FIG. 24  is a diagram illustrating a display format (associated with the status table) of a search result in the manual intellectual assistance process according to an illustrative aspect of the invention;  
       FIG. 25  is a diagram illustrating a display format (associated with the document table) of a search result in the manual intellectual assistance process according to an illustrative aspect of the invention;  
       FIG. 26  is a diagram illustrating a flow of a document table updating process according to an illustrative aspect of the invention; and  
       FIG. 27  is a diagram illustrating a flow of the during-activation intellectual assistance process according to a second illustrative aspect of the invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
      General Overview  
      According to an aspect of the invention, it is possible to obtain an information management device which can classify and manage correlated data in accordance with a degree of correlation.  
      According to another aspect of the invention, it is possible to provide an information management system which can classify and manage data correlated with output data in accordance with a degree of correlation.  
      According to still another aspect of the present invention, an information management device which correlates first data with second data when a first period of time in which the first data are utilized overlaps with a second period of time in which the second data are utilized, gives a score to the correlation when the second data are utilized in the second period of time in a utilization form, and preferentially outputs second identification information to identify the second data as being correlated with the first data in accordance with the score.  
      According to still another aspect of the invention, there is provided an information management device comprising: a data storage unit that stores a plurality of data; a utilization unit that utilizes the data; a period specifying unit that specifies a period in which the data is utilized by the utilization unit; a utilization information specifying unit that specifies identification information to identify the data which is used by the utilization unit in the period specified by the period specifying unit and event information indicating a utilization form of the utilization unit; a utilization information storage unit that correlates and stores the period, the identification information, and the event information which are specified by the period specifying unit and the utilization information specifying unit; a correlation giving unit that correlates first data and second data with each other when a first period for the first data and a second period for the second data stored in the utilization information storage unit overlaps with each other; a relevant information output unit that outputs second identification information to identify the second data correlated with the first data by the correlation giving unit; an event information specifying unit that specifies the event information stored in the utilization information storage unit for the second data correlated by the correlation giving unit; a score giving unit that gives a score to the correlation of the first data with the second data when the event information specified by the event information specifying unit indicates one utilization form and the utilization in the utilization form is performed in the second period; and a relevant information output control unit that controls to output the second identification information, to which the score is given by the score giving unit, on the basis of the given score.  
      Accordingly, it is possible to correlate the first data and the second data, which are stored in the data storage unit and are utilized at the same time (in the same period), with each other on the basis of the utilization form of the second data at that time, thereby offering another data to a user in accordance with the degree of correlation with one data.  
      The “information management device” is a concept including a structure in which one or more means constituting the information management device constitute one device and a plurality of devices can be connected to each other in a communication-practicable manner, in addition to a structure having physically one device.  
      The “period” includes factors of time points.  
      The “identification information” may be “a file name”, “a thumbnail”, and other information to identify data, or may be data itself.  
      The “score” may be a point expressed by a “numeral” or may be information for distinguishing one data from another data which is not utilized by the utilization unit or is simply output by the output unit without being searched out by the search unit.  
      According to still another aspect of the invention, there is provided an information management system comprising: the information management device; and an external device which is connected to the information management device in a communication-practicable manner and has at least one function performing unit including an output unit that outputs data in response to a command from the information management device, wherein the external device comprises a transmission unit that transmits process specifying information, which is used to specify a process on condition that the process is performed by the function performing unit, to the information management device, wherein the information management device comprises: a reception unit that receives the process specifying information transmitted from the external device; a process information storage unit that correlates and stores the process specifying information received by the reception unit with third identification information to identify the data as a target of the process; and a process detail determining unit to determine that the process specifying information stored in the process information storage unit is associated with the output unit, wherein the utilization unit can instruct the external device to output the data, and wherein the correlation giving unit correlates data associated with the third identification information correlated and stored with the process specifying information as a target of the determination and a period correlated with the data associated with the third identification with each other as the first data and the first period, when the process detail determining unit determines that the process specifying information is associated with the output unit.  
      Accordingly, it is possible to correlate the second data, which are stored in the data storage unit and are repeatedly utilized at the same time (in the same period) as a period in which data (consequently the first data) of which the output is instructed to the external device are utilized, with each other on the basis of the utilization form of the second data at that time.  
      According to still another aspect of the invention, there is provided a computer usable medium having computer readable instructions stored thereon, the instructions enabling a computer to perform predetermined operations including the steps of: storing a plurality of data; utilizing the data; period specifying for specifying a period in which the data are utilized; utilization information specifying for specifying identification information to identify the data which is used by the utilizing in the period specified by the period specifying and event information indicating a utilization form of the utilizing; utilization information storing for correlating and storing the period, the identification information, and the event information which are specified by the period specifying and the utilization information specifying; correlation giving for correlating first data and second data with each other when a first period for the first data and a second period for the second data stored in the utilization information storing overlaps with each other; a relevant information outputting for outputting second identification information to identify the second data correlated with the first data by the correlation giving; event information specifying for specifying the event information stored in the utilization information storing for the second data correlated by the correlation giving; score giving for giving a score to the correlation of the first data with the second data when the event information specified by the event information specifying indicates one utilization form and the utilization in the utilization form is performed in the second period; and relevant information output controlling for controlling to output the second identification information, to which the score is given by the score giving, on the basis of the given score.  
      Accordingly, it is possible to correlate the first data and the second data, which are repeatedly utilized at the same time (in the same period), with each other on the basis of the utilization form of the second data at that time.  
     FIRST EXAMPLE  
      Hereinafter, a specific information management system according to an illustrative aspect of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The invention is not limited to the configuration described below, but may employ a variety of configurations within the same technical spirit.  
      (Configuration of Information Management System)  
       FIG. 1  is a diagram illustrating an information management system. As can be seen from the figure, the information management system  1  comprises a PC  10  as an information processing device comprising an information management function, a multifunction machine  20  as an external device for performing a variety of functions, a book sensor  30  as an external device for sensing books  32  and  34  as a management target of the PC  10 , and a paper file reading section  40  as an external device for sensing paper files  42  and  46 , which are stationery for filing paper as a management target of the PC  10 , and printed materials  44  and  48 . The devices are all connected to each other through a network line  50 .  
      The PC  10  comprises a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM (not shown), and further comprises a control section  100  for controlling operations of the PC  10  (the entire PC  10 ) on the basis of programs stored in the ROM, a communication section  102 , which is connected to the network line  50  so as to control the network line  50 , an operation section  104  for receiving instructions from a user of the PC  10 , a display section  106  for displaying a variety of information, and a storage section  108  comprising a hard disk or the like.  
      The storage section  108  comprises a status table  1081 , a document table  1083 , a file information table  1085 , and a device designating table  1087 . Details of the tables will be described later.  
      The multifunction machine  20  comprises a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM (not shown), and further comprises a control section  200  for controlling operations of the multifunction machine  20  (the entire multifunction machine  20 ), a recording section  202  as an image forming unit, a reading section  204  as an image reading unit, a sound input section  206  as a microphone, a sound output section  208  as a speaker, and a media IF section  210  fitted with a removable media  2101 . The multifunction machine further comprises a line communication section, which is connected to a telephone line  60  so as to control the telephone line  60 , a communication section  214 , which is connected to the network line  50  so as to control the network line  50 , an operation section  216  for receiving instructions from a user of the multifunction machine  20 , and a display section  218  for displaying a variety of information.  
      A device ID (multifunction machine ID  1 ) indicating that it is a device constituting the information management system  1  is given to the multifunction machine  20 .  
      The book sensor  30  comprises a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM (not shown), and further comprises a control section  302  for controlling operations of the book sensor  30  (the entire book sensor  30 ), a communication section  304 , which is connected to the network line  50  so as to control the network line  50 , and a radio-frequency (RF) ID tag reading section  306  for reading information of RFID tags  322  and  324  given to books  32  and  34 .  
      The book sensor  30  serves as a device for storing information indicating what book is in a user&#39;s hands at what times (is being read or is ready to be read). That is, when the RFID tag read  306  is activated on the basis of the program stored in the ROM of the control section  302  and a response is read from the RFID tag  332  or  342  of the books  32  and  34 , the identification information on the RFID tag  332  or  342  and the present time (start time) are temporarily stored in the RAM of the control section  302 . Then, when the response read from the RFID tags  332  or  342  ends, the identification information on the RFID tag  332  or  342  and the start time temporarily stored in the RAM of the control section  302  and the present time (end time) are transmitted to the PC  10  through the communication section  304 . The PC  10  stores the information in the statue table  1081 .  
      A device ID (book sensor ID  2 ) indicating that it is a device constituting the information management system  1  is given to the book sensor  30 .  
      The paper file reading section  40  comprises a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM (not shown), and further comprises a control section  402  for controlling operations of the paper file reading section  40  (the entire paper file reading section  40 ), a communication section  404  connected to the network line  50  so as to control the network line  50 , and a barcode reading section  406  for reading barcodes  422 ,  442 ,  462 , and  482  given to the paper files  42  and  46  or the printed materials  44  and  48 . The paper file reading section  40  serves as an input section for forming information, which is used to correspond the paper files  42  and  46  with the printed materials  44  and  48  filed in the paper files, in a file information table  1085 . That is, the paper file reading section inputs the barcodes of the paper files through the barcode reading section  406  on the basis of a program stored in a ROM of the control section  402 , and then inputs the barcodes of the printed materials, in which the barcodes are temporarily stored in a RAM of the control section  402 . The input data temporarily stored are transmitted to the PC  10  through the communication section  404 . The PC  10  receives the information and adds the received information to the status table  1081  and the file information table  1085 .  
      A device ID (paper file reading section ID  3 ) indicating that it is a device constituting the information management system  1  is given to the paper file reading section  40 .  
      Now, information stored in the status table  1081 , the document table  1083 , the file information table  1085 , and the device designating table  1087 , which are all stored in the storage section  108  of the PC  10 , will be described.  
      As shown in  FIG. 2 , the status table  1081  stores a processing operation (status ID) executed by an execution unit of the multifunction machine  20 , start and end times of the processing operation (wherein it can be properly determined what time is set as the start time or the end time), information (hereinafter, referred to as “target document address”) indicating a location of a document which is a target of the processing operation (hereinafter, referred to as “target document”), a destination address for specifying a specific counter party when the processing operation is performed to the specific counter party, and an amount of the target document which is a target of the processing operation, as one record every time when the processing operation is performed. A unique ID for identifying the processing operation is given to each processing operation.  
      The status ID stored in the status table  1081  is defined as shown in  FIG. 3 . For example, when the PC  10  performs a print job using the recording section  202  of the multifunction machine  20  (this case is defined as a status “PC print” in  FIG. 3 ), the status ID is set to “PRN”, the destination address is set to “None”, the target document address is set to “Address of printed document”, and the amount is set to “Number of copies.” 
      Since the PC print operation is performed between the PC  10  and the multifunction machine  20 , the destination address is set to “None.” Since the document as a target of the processing operation is stored in the storage section  108  of the PC  10 , an address of the storage section  108  storing the target document or an address of a homepage (hereinafter, referred to as “HP”) when the target document is a specific HP is stored as the target document address. The amount is set to the “Number of sheets.” For example, when a sheet of target document is printed, the amount is “one copy.” 
      When a facsimile (hereinafter, referred to as “fax”) transmission is performed using the reading section  204  and the line communication section  212  of the multifunction machine  20  (this case is defined as a status “fax transmission” in  FIG. 3 ), the status ID is set to “FAX”, the destination address is set to “Destination FAX number”, the target document address is set to “Address of transmitted image (copied to PC)”, and the amount is set to “None.” 
      Since the fax transmission is performed between the multifunction machine  20  and a different facsimile machine, the destination address is set to “Destination FAX number.” In the information management system  1 , when the fax transmission is performed, the transmitted image as a target of the fax transmission is stored in the storage section  108  of the PC  10 . Accordingly, an address in the storage section  108  in which the transmitted image is stored (an address of the transmitted image (copied to the PC)) is defined as the “Target document address” (in the process (status) defined as “(copied to the PC)” in the target document address in  FIG. 3 , an address in the storage section  108  in which an image or sound is stored as a processing target as described above is defined as the target document address.).  
      When the books  32  and  34  managed by the PC  10  are used (this case is defined as a status “Book” in  FIG. 3 ), the status ID is set to “BKX”, the destination address is set to “Japanese book code (hereinafter, referred to “ISBN”)”, the target document address is “Book introducing HP address (searched)”, and the amount is set to “time (minute).” 
      ISBN used as the destination address serves to identify the books  32  and  34  and is stored in RFID tags  322  and  342 . The address of the HP introducing the books  32  and  34  is provided for a general purpose and is defined as the address stored as the target document address. The amount is set to the time (minute) for using the books  32  and  34 .  
      In addition to those described above, “PC fax transmission (the pc transmits image data and destination to the multifunction machine  20  through the communication section  102  and the multifunction machine  20  fax transmits received image data through the line communication section  212 )”, “PC fax reception (the line communication section  212  of the multifunction machine  20  transmits the received image data to the PC  10  through the communication section  214  and the PC  10  stores the received image data”, “Scan-to-PC (the multifunction machine  20  transmits the image data scanned by the reading section  204  to the PC  10  through the communication section  214  and the PC stores the received image data)”, “Scan-to-media (the image data scanned by the reading section  204  are stored in the removable media  2101  through a media interface (hereinafter, referred to as “media IF”) section  210 )”, “Scan-to-mail (the image data scanned by the reading section  204  are transmitted through the communication section  214 )”, “Fax reception (the image data received by the line communication section  212  are printed by the recording section  202 )”, “Copy (the image data read by the reading section  204  are printed by the recording section  202 )”, “Telephone transmission”, “Telephone reception”, and “Media print (the image data or the document data stored in the removable media  2101  are printed by the recording section  202 ) are defined respectively.  
      The paper file ID used as the destination address serves to identify the paper files  42  and  46  or the printed materials  44  and  48  and are given as barcodes to the paper files  42  and  46  or the printed materials  44  and  48 . The address stored as the target document address is set to an address in the storage section  108  storing the document data constituting the documents or printed materials  44  and  48  filed in the paper files  42  and  46 .  
      “GID (Group ID)” defined in  FIG. 3  is an individual ID given to respective groups into which the respective processing operations (statuses) are divided. Specifically, GID “ 2 ” is given to the processing operation of which the destination address is stored, but “0” and “1” are given to the processing operations of which the destination address is set to “None.” GID “ 1 ” is given to a processing operation (only “PC print” in the illustrative aspect) using target document data previously stored in the storage section  108 , and GID “ 0 ” is given to a processing operation of which target document data are stored by performing the processing operation.  
      The document table  1083  stores a work or instruction performed to a document. Here, as shown in  FIG. 4 , an ID is given to a time when the work or the like is performed (wherein it can be properly determined what time the work or the like is performed), information indicating a location of the document, a work or the like (event) performed to the document, a device performing the work or the like (operating application), and a user carrying out the work.  
      Data treated in the document table  1083  comprise the document data, image data, and sound data.  
      Here, as a work (event) performed to a document, “create”, “open”, “update”, “print”, “send”, and “close” are defined. More specifically describing the events, when a new document is prepared, for example, when a document is prepared by a manipulation of the operation section  104  of the PC  10 , when a document is scanned or copied by the use of the reading section  204  of the multifunction machine  20 , the document is received in fax or in PC fax by the use of the line communication section  212 , or when a communication sound is stored through telephone transmission or telephone reception using the line communication section  212 , “create” is stored as an event in the document table  1083 .  
      When the document data, the image data, or the sound data stored in the storage section  108  of the PC are opened by the use of the operation section  104  and when an HP is opened by the use of the operation section  104 , “open” is stored as an event in the document table  1083 . When the document data or the like are closed, “close” is stored.  
      When the document data, the image data, or the sound data previously stored in the storage section  108  are updated by an editor stored in the PC  10 , “update” is stored as an event in the document table  1083 .  
      When the document data or the image data previously stored in the storage section  108  are printed by the editor, “print” is stored as an event in the document table  1083 .  
      When the document data, the image data, or the sound data previously stored in the storage section  108  are transmitted by a mail transmitting and receiving application stored in the PC  10 , or when the document data or the image data previously stored in the storage section  108  are transmitted through the PC fax transmission or the fax transmission of the multifunction machine  20 , “send” is stored as an event in the document table  1083 .  
      In the document table  1083 , one of the above-mentioned items is stored as a record every time when a work is performed to a document, like in the status table  1081 .  
      Here, the status table  1081  and the document table  1083  need not be two tables different from each other, but may be one table if only the items constituting the records of the tables can be specified.  
      As shown in  FIG. 5 , a unique ID for identifying a record, a time when the record is written, a paper file ID for identifying the paper files  42  and  46 , and a document address for specifying the printed materials  44  and  48  filed in the paper files  42  and  46  are stored as a record in the file information table  1085 .  
      The paper file ID serves to identify the paper files  42  and  46  and is written in barcodes  442  and  462 . The document address stored as the target document address serves to correlate the paper files  42  and  46  with the printed materials  44  and  48  filed therein and denotes an address of an electronic document resulting in the printed materials  44  and  48 . That is, when the electronic document resulting in the printed materials  44  and  48  is stored in the storage section  108  of the PC  10 , the address in the storage section  108  storing the electronic document is stored as the document address, or when the electronic document is an HP, the address of the HP is stored as the document address. The information is written to the barcodes  442  and  448  recorded in the printed materials  44  and  46 .  
      When a plurality of multifunction machines  20 , the book sensor  30 , and the paper file reading section are connected to the network line  50 , the device designating table  1087  is a table, which specifies and stores a target of the information management system  1  among the multifunction machines  20  and the like. The device designating table comprises the structure shown in  FIG. 6 .  
      (Process 1 of Information Management System)  
      Next, process (1) of the information management system illustrated as above will be described with reference to the figures.  
       FIG. 7  is a diagram illustrating a flow of a main process performed by the PC  10 . The process shown in the flow is performed by the control section  100  of the PC  10 , and more specifically, the CPU of the control section  100  performs the process by the use of a program stored in the ROM or the like.  
      First, the control section  100  waits until an instruction for performing any one process is input through the operation section  104  of the PC  10  or the communication section  102  from a designated external device shown in  FIG. 6 , such as the multifunction machine  20 , the book sensor  30 , and the paper file reading section  40  (step  701 ).  
      Thereafter, when it is detected in step  701  that an instruction is given, the process is specified. That is, when an instruction is input to the control section  100  first determines whether the instruction is an instruction for activating a printer driver controlling the recording section  202  of the multifunction machine  20  or an instruction for preparing for activation of the external device such as activation of a multifunction machine utility for using the reading section  204  of the multifunction machine  20  (step  703 ).  
      When it is determined in step  703  that the input instruction is to prepare for the activation of the external device (step  703 : YES), the control section  100  of the PC  10  performs a before-activation intellectual assistance process to be described later (step  705 ) and waits until an instruction for performing a process is input (step  701 ).  
      The before-activation intellectual assistance process means a process of alarming a user having given the instruction so as to prevent the redundant printing when an instruction for printing the specified document data is given to the recording section  202  of the multifunction machine  20  from the PC  10  but the process of printing the document is previously performed within a predetermined time. The before-activation intellectual assistance process comprises a process of alarming a user having given a fax transmission instruction so as to prevent the redundant fax transmission when the fax transmission instruction for transmitting specific document data to a specific counter party is given to the line communication section  212  of the multifunction machine  20  from the PC  10  but the document data are previously transmitted to the counter party.  
      On the other hand, when the input instruction is not to prepare for the activation of the external device (step  703 : NO), it is determined whether the instruction detected in step  701  is an instruction from one of the multifunction machine  20 , the book sensor  30 , and the paper file reading section  40  designated in  FIG. 6  and an instruction for detecting the activation of the external device (step  707 ).  
      When it is determined in step  707  that the instruction is to detect the activation of the external device (step  707 : YES), the control section  100  receives the information defined in  FIG. 3 , that is, the status ID, the destination address, the target document address, and the amount, from the external device (step  709 ). The status ID and the like are stored in the RAM of the control section  100 . When the activation of the external device results from the instruction from the PC  10 , the PC  10  may store a document address as a target (target document address) of the instruction (in this case, the external device need not transmit the target document address).  
      Then, the control section performs a during-activation intellectual assistance process (step  711 ) and then waits until an instruction for performing another process is input when the process is finished (step  701 ).  
      The during-activation intellectual assistance process means a process for providing the information used until that time as information associated with a present work when a process corresponding to the same instruction as the instruction from the external device was performed in the past.  
      When the input instruction is not to prepare for the activation of the external device (step  707 : NO), it is determined whether the instruction detected in step  701  is to detect the end of the detected activation of the external device (step  713 ).  
      When it is determined in step  707  that the instruction is to detect the end of the activation of the external device (step  713 : YES), the control section  100  performs a status-table registration process to be described later (step  715 ) and then waits until an instruction for performing another process is input when the status-table registration process is finished (step  701 ).  
      When the input instruction is not to end the activation of the external device (step  713 : NO), it is determined whether the instruction detected in step  701  is to call a search function (step  717 ).  
      When it is determined in step  717  that the input instruction is to call a search function (step  717 : YES), the control section performs a manual intellectual assistance process to be described later (step  719 ) and then waits until an instruction for performing another process is input when the manual intellectual assistance process is finished (step S 701 ).  
      The manual intellectual assistance process is to provide a user with information associated with a user&#39; present work in response to a condition designated by the user.  
      When the input instruction is not the manual intellectual assistance process (step  717 : NO), it is determined whether the instruction detected in step  701  is to shut down the PC  10  (step  721 ). When the instruction is to shut down the PC  10  (step  721 : YES), the PC  10  is shut off. When the instruction is not to shut down the PC (step  721 : NO), a process corresponding to the instruction is performed (step  723 ). After performing the process, the control section waits until an instruction for performing another process is input (step  701 ).  
      (Before-Activation Intellectual Assistance Process)  
       FIG. 8  is a diagram illustrating a flow of a before-activation intellectual assistance process.  
      When the before-activation intellectual assistance process is performed in step  705 , it is first determined whether the input instruction for preparing for the activation of the external device is a printing instruction to the recording section  202  (step  801 ). When the input instruction is the printing instruction (step  801 : YES), step  802  is performed. On the other hand, when the input instruction is not the printing instruction (step  801 : NO), it is determined whether the input instruction for preparing for the activation of the external device is a PC fax transmission instruction to the line transmission section  212  (step  803 ). When the input illustration is the fax transmission instruction (step  803 : YES), the process proceeds to step  804 . When the input instruction is not the PC fax transmission instruction (step  803 : NO), the control section ends the before-activation intellectual assistance process and waits again in step  701  until an instruction for performing another process is input.  
      In step  802 , in order to confirm whether the same document data as the document data to be printed exist in the previously printed documents, that is, in the documents of which the event is stored as “print” in the document table shown in  FIG. 4 , the event “print” and the address of the document data to be printed are set as search conditions and an event document search process is performed on the basis of the two search conditions (step  805 ).  
      In step  804 , in order to confirm whether the same document data as the document data to be transmitted in a PC fax manner and a record of transmission to the same designation exist in the previously transmitted documents, that is, in the documents of which the event is stored as “send” in the document table shown in  FIG. 3 , the event “send”, the destination address (fax number) of the PC fax transmission, and the address of the document data to be transmitted are set as search conditions and the event document search process is performed on the basis of the two search conditions (step  805 ).  
       FIG. 9  is a diagram illustrating a flow of the event document search process. When the process starts, the control section  100  first reads one record, to which the process is not performed yet, from a document database  1083  (step  901 ). Then, the control section determines whether an event of the record to be processed is matched with the event “print” (“send”) set as the search condition in step  802  (or step  804 ) (step  903 ). Here, when the event of the record to be processed is not “print” (“send”) (step  903 : NO), the record is excluded from the processing target and the process of step  901  is performed again.  
      On the other hand, when the event of the record to be processed is “print” (“send”) (step  903 : YES), the control section determines whether the document address is set as the search condition of step  802  (or step  804 ) (step  905 ).  
      When it is determined in step  905  that the document address is set as the search condition of step  802  (or step  804 ) (step  905 : YES), it is determined whether the document address of the record to be processed is matched with the document address designated as the search condition (step  907 ). When it is determined that the document addresses are matched with each other (step  907 : YES), the process of step  909  is performed. When it is determined that the document addresses are not matched with each other (step  907 : NO), the process of step  901  is performed again.  
      When it is determined in step  905  that the document address is not set as the search condition (step  905 : NO), the process of step  907  is not performed, but the process of step  909  is performed.  
      When it is determined in step  909  that the destination address is set as the search condition of step  802  (or step  804 ) (that is, step  909 : YES, when step  804  is performed), it is determined whether the destination address of the record to be processed is matched with the destination address designated as the search condition (step  911 ). When it is determined that the destination addresses are matched with each other (step  911 : YES), the process of step  913  is performed. When it is determined that the destination addresses are not matched with each other (step  911 : NO), the process of step  901  is performed.  
      When it is determined in step  909  that the destination address is not set as the search condition (that is, step  909 : NO, when step  802  is performed), the process of step  911  is not performed, but the process of step  913  is performed.  
      When it is not determined in step  911  whether the destination addresses are matched with each other (step  905 : NO or step  907 : YES and step  909 : NO), or when it is determined in step  911  that the destination addresses are matched with each other (step  905 : NO or step  907 : YES, step  909 : YES, and step  911 : YES), it is considered that the document data set as the search condition are previously printed or the document data set as the search condition are previously transmitted to the same designation, and thus the record to be processed is added to the search result (step  913 ).  
      Thereafter, it is determined in step  915  whether the event document search process has been performed to all the records of the document table. When the process has not been performed to all the records (step  915 : NO), the process of step  901  is performed again. When the process has been performed to all the records (step  915 : YES), the event document search process is finished and the process of step  807  is performed.  
      In step  807 , it is determined whether the same document exists through the event document search process of step  805 . Here, when it is determined that the same document does not exist (step  807 : NO), the document data to be processed are not printed or transmitted to the same designation. Accordingly, the control section does not perform the subsequent processes (that is, performs the print or transmission process), but waits in step  701  until the next input is performed.  
      On the contrary, when the same document exists (step  807 : YES), the ID and time associated with the latest record (finally printed or transmitted) are read from the records, which determined to be identical (step  809 ) and it is then determined whether the time passes 6 months from the present time (step  811 ).  
      When it is determined that the time passes 6 months (step  811 : YES), the document data to be processed are redundantly printed or transmitted to the same designation. However, since a considerable time has passed from the final print or transmission, the control section does not perform the subsequent processes (that is, performs the print or transmission process), but waits again in step  701  until the next input is performed.  
      On the contrary, when it is determined that the time does not pass 6 months (step  811 : NO), it is determined from the document table (see  FIG. 4 ) whether the same document is updated (event “update”) after finally printed (event “print”) or transmitted (event “send”) (step  813 ).  
      When it is determined in step  815  that the same document is updated (step  815 : YES), the control section performs the print or transmission process and then waits in step  701  until the next input is performed. On the other hand, when it is determined that the same document is not updated (step  815 : NO), the type of manipulation is determined. When the manipulation indicates a print process (step  816 : YES), the paper file ID corresponding to the document address is read from the file information table  1085  (step  817 ) so as to determine whether the previously printed document is managed in the file information table  1085  (see  FIG. 5 ) along with the paper file ID thereof.  
      When it is determined in step  817  that the corresponding paper file ID exists in the file information table  1085 , it is notified to the user in the manner shown in  FIG. 10A  that this print job is to redundantly print the non-updated document with the paper file ID (step  821 ).  
      On the other hand, when the corresponding paper file ID does not exist in the file information table  1085 , it is notified to the user in the manner shown in  FIG. 10B  that the non-updated document is redundantly printed (step  823 ).  
      When the manipulation indicates a PC fax transmission (step  816 : NO), it is notified to the user in the manner shown in  FIG. 10C  that the same document is transmitted to the same designation (step  824 ).  
      (During-Activation Intellectual Assistance Process)  
       FIG. 11  is a diagram illustrating a flow of a during-activation intellectual assistance process.  
      In step  711 , when the during-activation intellectual assistance process is performed, the control section  100  of the PC  10  first reads the status ID, the destination address, and the target document address input (detected) from the external device in step  709  (step  1101 ) and performs a GID search condition setting process (step  1103 ).  
       FIG. 12  is a diagram illustrating a flow of a GID search condition setting process. First, the status ID (see  FIGS. 2 and 3 ) is set as the search condition (step  1201 ). Next, in order to specify a search condition for performing the search in a so-called “AND condition” with the status ID set in step  1201  when the document search process of step  1105  is performed, the format of a GID is determined to extract a search condition specific to the respective processing operations. That is, it is first determined whether the GID of the status ID set in step  1201  is “1” (see  FIG. 3 ) (step  1203 ).  
      When it is determined in step  1203  that the GID is “1” (step  1203 : YES), the target document address is added as the search condition (step  1205 ) and the process of step  1207  is performed. When it is determined in step  1203  that the GID is not “1”, the process of step  1205  is not performed, but the process of step  1207  is performed.  
      In step  1207 , it is determined whether the GID of the status ID set in step  1201  is “2” (see  FIG. 3 ) (step  1207 ).  
      When it is determined in step  1207  that the GID is “2” (step  1207 : YES), the destination address is added as the search condition (step  1209 ). The GID search condition setting process is finished and then the document search process (step  1105 ) is performed using the search conditions specified through the GID search condition setting process.  
      On the other hand, when it is determined in step  1207  that the GID is not “2”, the GID search condition setting process is finished. Then, the document search process (step  1105 ) is performed using the search conditions specified through the GID search condition setting process.  
      When “NO” is determined together in steps  1203  and  1207 , it is the case in which the GID corresponding to the status ID is “0.” 
       FIG. 13  is a diagram illustrating a flow of the document search process (step  1105 ). First, all the records of the status table  1081  and the document table  1083  are set to the initial value of a search result record (step  1301 ).  
      Next, in order to specify a target document associated with a specific record from the status table  1081 , a search process is performed with the search conditions set in the GID search condition setting process (step  1103 ) previously performed.  
      That is, first, it is determined in step  1303  whether the status ID is designated as the search condition. In the during-activation intellectual assistance process (step  711 ), the status ID is generally set as the search condition in step  1201 . Accordingly, the determination of step  1303  is “YES”, a record corresponding to the status ID set as the search condition from the status table  1081  is stored as a new search result record (step  1305 ), and then the process of step  1307  is performed.  
      In step  1307 , it is determined whether the destination address is set as the search condition, that is, whether the determination of step  1207  is “YES” and the destination address is added as the search condition in step  1209 . When it is determined that the destination address is set (step  1307 : YES), a record corresponding to the destination address designated as the search condition from the search result records stored in step  1305  is stored as anew search result record (step  1309 ), and then the process of step  1311  is performed. When it is determined in step  1307  that the destination address is not set as the search condition (step  1307 : NO), the process of step  1309  is not performed, but the process of step  1311  is performed.  
      It is determined in step  1311  whether the target document address is set as the search condition, that is, whether the determination of step  1203  is “YES” and the target document address is set as the search condition in step  1205 . When it is determined that the target document address is set (step  1311 : YES), a record corresponding to the target document address designated as the search condition from the search result records stored in step  1305  is stored as a new search result record (step  1313 ), and then the process of step  1315  is performed. When it is determined in step  1311  that the target document address is not set as the search condition (step  1311 : NO), the process of step  1313  is not performed, but the process of step  1315  is performed.  
      In steps  1309  and  1313 , a new search result record corresponding to the respective search conditions is stored on the basis of the search result record specified in step  1305 . This is because only one GID corresponding to the respective status ID is set (see  FIG. 3 ).  
      In step  1315 , in order to perform the processes subsequent to the process of step  1317 , one non-processed search result record (substantially one record in the status table  1081 ) is read from the search result records specified in steps  1303  to  1313  and the process of step  1317  is performed. A document indicated by the target document address included in the read non-processed search result is referred to as document “A.” 
      It is determined whether the status ID of the read record indicates a document output process (for example, “PRN” or FPT”) (step  1317 ). When it is determined that the record indicates the document output process (step  1317 : YES), a document-outputting search process is performed in step  1319 .  
       FIG. 14  is a diagram illustrating a flow of the document-outputting search process.  
      In the document-outputting search process, first, a period in which the document “A” indicated by the non-processed record read in step  1315  was previously utilized by the information processing device  10  is extracted. Specifically, records having the target document address indicating the document “A” and recording “open” as the event are searched in the document table  1083 . Further, records having the target document address indicating the document “A” and recording “close” as the event are searched. A combination of times of the records in which “open” and “close” are recorded as the event is extracted as a history (step  1401 ) from the document table  1083 , and then the process of step  1403  is performed.  
      The case where the document “A” was opened or closed several times in the past is considered. In this case, the number of combinations of the records of which the events are “open” and “close” for the document “A” extracted in step  1401  is plural. In this case, as for the time of “open” and the time of “close”, the records in which the time of “close” is closest to the time of “open” right before are combined and are used as the period in which the document “A” is utilized by the information processing device  10 .  
      In step  1403 , one non-processed search result record which is not processed in steps  1405  to  1415  is read from the document table  1083 . A document indicated by the document address included in the record is referred to as document “B.” 
      Then, it is determined whether the time recorded in the record having a document address for identifying the document “B” and having one event of “create”, “open”, and “close” is included in the period in which the document “A” is utilized, that is, the period from the open time to the close time of the document “A” extracted in step  1401  (when the number of periods extracted is plural as described above, one of the periods) (step  1405 ).  
      When it is determined in step  1405  that the time of the record for the document “B” is included in the period obtained in step  1401  (step  1405 : YES), the process of step  1409  is performed. When it is determined that the period is not included therein (step  1405 : NO), the process of step  1407  is performed.  
      It is determined in step  1407  whether the period obtained in step  1401  is included in the period from the open time to the close time of the document “B.” When it is determined that the times of “open” and “close” of the document “A” are included in the period from the “open” time to the “close” time of the document “B” (step  1407 : YES), the process of step  1409  is performed. On the other hand, when the times are not included therein (step  1407 : NO), the process of step  1415  is performed.  
      In step  1407 , when the “open” time of the document “B” in step  1405  is prior to the “open” time of the document “A” and the “close” time of the document “B” is posterior to the “close” time of the document “A”, it is possible to prevent the correlation from being non-processed in the document-outputting search process.  
      It is determined in step  1409  whether the document “B” is updated in the period from the open time to the close time of the document “B”, specifically, whether a record having a document address associated with the document “B”, a time included in the period, and an event “update” exists in the records read in step  1403 . When this condition is satisfied (step  1409 : YES), a correlation score p is given to the correlation of the document “B” with the document “A”, the record read from the document table  1083  in step  1403  is stored as the search result record (step  1413 ), and then the process of step  1415  is performed.  
      On the other hand, when it is determined in step  1409  that a record having the document address associated with the document “B”, the time included in the period, and the event “update” does not exist (step  1409 : NO), the document “B” is correlated with the document “A” without performing the process of step  1411 , the record read in step  1403  is stored as the search result record (step  1413 ), and then the process of step  1415  is performed.  
      The search result record when the process of step  1415  is performed directly after the process of step  1411  (step  1411 : NO) is different from the search result record when the process of step  1413  is performed (step  1409 : YES), in that the correlation score p given in step  1413  is stored or not. As for the other items, they are equal to each other.  
      It is determined in step  1415  whether a non-processed record remains in the document table  1083 . When it is determined that anon-processed record remains (step  1415 : NO), the process of step  1403  is performed again. When it is determined that all the records are processed (step  1415 : YES), the document-outputting search process is ended and then the process of step  1323  is performed.  
      In this way, by performing the processes of step  1405  to  1413 , the document data (document “A” and document “B”) stored in the storage unit  108  can be correlated with each other on the basis of the period in which the document data are utilized by an editor or the like installed in the PC  10  or the external device  20  to be managed by the PC  10  (generally referred to as “operating application”). In addition, when the document “B” correlated with the document “A” is updated in the period in which the document “B” is utilized, the correlation score can be given to the document “B” as being correlated with the document “A.” 
      When it is determined in step  1317  that the status ID of the read non-processed record does not indicate the document output (step  1317 : NO), the process of step  1321  is performed.  
      In step  1321 , in the records stored in the document table  1083  and set to the initial value of the search result record in step  1301 , when a period from the time registered in the record having the event “create” or “open” to the time registered in the record having the event “close” and the same document address as the document address of the record having the event “create” (that is, a period when it can be determined that the same document is “opened” or “treated” by the PC  10 ) overlaps with the period from the start time to the end time of the record read from the status table  1081  in step  1315 , the record to be processed in the document table  1083  is stored as the search result record (step  1321 ).  
      That is, in the process (step  1321 ), the status of the external device suitable for the instructed search condition and the documents which it is determined to be opened or utilized at the same period are extracted.  
      In the information management system  1  according to the first illustrative aspect, when it is intended to utilize again the data having been utilized at that time by using a user&#39;s behavior as a key, the document data having been utilized in the same period as the processing operation of the multifunction machine  20  or the like connected to the PC  10  can be considered as being correlated with the processing operation by using the processing operation as the information indirectly indicating the user&#39;s behavior. As a result, the document data having been utilized in the same period as the target document (address) as the target of the processing operation can be considered as being correlated with each other. Accordingly, the records having the event “create” or “open” of which the processing times overlap with each other are stored as the search result records.  
      In human behaviors, a user&#39; behavior may be a “work having been performed a few days ago (for example, PC print work)”, in other words, maybe to utilize the document (target document) again used at that time by using the user&#39;s behavior as a key. In this case, in the information management system  1  according to the first illustrative aspect of the invention, since the document data having utilized in the same period as the processing operation can be considered as being correlated with each other as described above, it is possible to select and utilize a document having a high degree of correlation among a plurality of documents correlated with the target document by using another data having a high frequency of utilization and using the “work having been performed a few days ago” as a key.  
      When the period from the time registered in the record comprising the event “create” or “open” to the time registered in the record comprising the event “close” and comprising the same document address as the document address of the record comprising the event “create” is determined, the identity of the user (operator in  FIG. 3 ) is considered.  
      In step  1323 , it is determined whether the processes of step  1319  and step  1321  are performed to all the records stored as the search result records in the status table  1081 . When it is determined that the process is performed to all the records (step  1323 : YES), search result information is prepared from the search result record based on the above-mentioned process (step  1325 ), and then the document search process (step  1105 ) ends. When it is determined that the process is not performed to all the records (step  1323 : NO), the processes repeat from step  1315 .  
      In the information management system  1  according to the illustrative aspect, since the records stored in the status table  1081  are stored as records in the document table at the time of performing the processing operation (see “Document Table Updating Process” to be described later), the records in both tables satisfy the search conditions in step  1321  and are stored as the search result records.  
      Accordingly, since the search result records stored based on the records stored through the same process is excluded, the start time or the end time of the search result record specified from the status table  1081  is preferably equal to the time of the document table  1083 . In addition, even when the condition of step  1321  is satisfied, the search result records in which the target document address and the document address are identical are preferably not stored in step  1321 .  
      When the document search process (step  1105 ) is finished, the control section  100  performs a process of displaying the search result based on the document search process (step  1105 ) (step  1107 ).  
      In the document search process step  1321 , the determination using the overlapping of two periods has been performed. However, when the time registered in the record comprising the event “create”, “open”, or “close” is comprised in the period from the start time to the end time of the records in the status table  1081 , both periods necessarily overlap with each other. Accordingly, except for the case in which the period from the start time to the end time of the record in the status table  1081  is all comprised in the period from the time registered in the record comprising the event “create” or “open” to the time registered in the record comprising the event “close” and comprising the same document address as the document address of the record comprising the event “create” or the like, it is preferable in view of rapid determination to employ this simple determination along with the determination of step  1321 .  
      Similarly, when one of the start time and the end time of the record of the status table  1081  is comprised in the period from the start time of the record comprising the event “create” or “open” to the time registered in the record comprising the event “close” and comprising the same document address as the document address of the record comprising the event “create” or the like, both periods necessarily overlap with each other. Accordingly, as described above, it is preferable in view of rapid determination to employ this simple determination along with the determination of step  1321 .  
      When the time registered in the record comprising the event “create”, “open”, or “close” overlaps with one of the start time or the end time of the record in the status table  1081 , both periods necessarily overlap with each other. Accordingly, as described above, it is preferable in view of rapid determination to employ this simple determination along with the determination of step  1321 .  
       FIG. 15  is a diagram illustrating a flow of a search result display process (step  1107 ). First, at the time of starting the process, the date and the reference sort flag are set to OFF (step  1901 ).  
      Next, the search result records specified as the search result information prepared in step  1325  are classified into search result records specified from the status table  1081  (specified through steps  1303  to  1313 ), search result records specified from the document table  1083  (search result records specified by performing the process of step  1321 ), and search result records specified by performing the document-outputting search process (step  1319 ) to the document table  1083 . That is, both search results are classified into a search result classified in step  1503  with the target document, a search result classified in step  1503  with the utilization document, and a search result classified in step  1503  with the utilization document (document output) (step  1503 ).  
      When the process of step  1503  is finished and then the search result information classified into the utilization documents and the target documents in step  1503  is displayed, a process of determining in what order the utilization documents and the target documents are displayed is performed.  
      First, it is determined in step  1505  whether a time sorting method is selected for the display order (step  1505 ).  
      The display of the search result associated with the target document and the search result associated with the utilization document, which are classified in step  1503 , will be first described. When the reference-number sorting method is selected, that is, when the time sorting method is not selected (step  1505 : NO), the search result records having been classified into the utilization documents and the target documents in step  1503  are sequentially sorted from the search result record having the largest reference number in the order of decreasing the reference number (step  1511 ), and then the time sort flag is set to ON (step  1513 ). Thereafter, the process of step  1515  is performed.  
      On the other hand, when the time sorting method is selected (step  1505 : YES), the control section  100  sequentially sorts the search results obtained in step  1503  from the search result record having the latest time (step  1511 ), and then the time sort flag is set to ON (step  1513 ). Thereafter, the process of step  1515  is performed as described above.  
      The display of the search result associated with the utilization document (document output) which is classified in step  1503  will be described. When the time sorting method is not selected (step  1505 : NO), the records are sequentially sorted in the order of decreasing the correlation score stored in step  1415  or the records having the same correlation score or the records having no correlation score are sorted in the order of decreasing the reference number, and the reference-number sort flag is set to ON (step  1509 ). Then, the process of step  1515  is performed.  
      On the other hand, when the time sorting method is selected (step  1505 : YES), the control section  100  sequentially sorts the search result records in the order of the correlation scores set in step  1415 , or sorts the records having the same correlation score or the records having no correlation score from the search result record having the latest time (step  1511 ), and then the time sort flag is set to ON (step  1513 ). Thereafter, the process of step  1515  is performed as described above.  
      In the information management system according to the first illustrative aspect, the search results can be sorted by the use of two items of the time and the reference number at the time of displaying the search results. Accordingly, it can be determined as follows by the use of which of the time and the reference number the search results are sorted. Only by determining whether the search results are sorted in one item, specifically, by determining whether the time sorting method is selected, it can be determined whether a user intends to sort the search results in which of the time and the reference number (when the time sorting method is not selected, it is considered that the reference number sorting method is selected).  
      When the search results are sorted in the order of the time or the reference number, which is used to sort the search results may be selected by the user through the operation section  104 , for example, after performing the process of step  1901  and before performing the process of step  1905 .  
      In step  1915 , lists of the utilization documents, the target documents and the utilization document (document output) are prepared so as to access the documents on the basis of the search result records sorted in accordance with the condition selected in step  1907  or  1911 . The lists are displayed in step  1917 .  
      In the information management system  1  according to the first illustrative aspect, when the activation of the external device is detected in step  707 , the during-activation intellectual assistance process (step  711 ) is performed in response to the detection. Accordingly, since the documents, which are considered as being opened or treated at the same time in the past can be notified to the user with the document data to be processed or the detecting operation. As a result, when a process is necessary for the documents associated with this process, the necessary process can be performed at the same time.  
      For example, in case of fax transmission, it is possible to determine whether the documents opened at the time of the previous fax transmission should be transmitted by opening the documents.  
      FIGS.  20  to  23  are diagrams illustrating the process results of the during-activation intellectual assistance process displayed on the display section  106  of the PC  10  by performing step  1917 .  
      Specifically,  FIG. 20  shows a search result associated with the target document specified by performing the during-activation intellectual assistance process (step  711 ) when an instruction of printing documents data stored in the storage section  108  is given to the recording section  202  of the multifunctional machine  20  from the PC  10  (a PC print operation is performed as the processing operation: see  FIG. 3 ).  
      That is, when the PC print operation is performed, the document search process (step  1105 ) is performed on the basis of the target document address as a processing target of the PC print operation. As a result, the time when the target document data as a print target of the print operation were printed is displayed in the format shown in  FIG. 20 . In this case, the addresses and the reference numbers in  FIG. 20  are displayed to be identical.  
       FIG. 17  shows a search result associated with the utilization document (document output) specified by performing the document-outputting search process (step  1319 ).  
      For example, when the PC print process is set to the ID in  FIG. 2  “sid 5 ” (the address of the target document (corresponding to the document “A” in the above description) in the record is “file://***/***/d 1 ”), the ID “did 5 ” in FIG.  4  is extracted as the time of the event “open” and the ID “did 9 ” is extracted as the time of the event “close” in step  1401  of the document-outputting search process (step  1319 ). Then, the subsequent processes are performed. An address “file://***/***/d 3 ” associated with the ID “did 6 ” to the ID “did 8 ” is correlated as the document “B” with the document “A” (step  1405 : YES) and a correlation score is given to the correlation (step  1409 : YES, step  1411 ). Then, it is stored as a search result record (step  1415 ).  
      Accordingly, as shown in  FIG. 17 , the address “file://***/***/d 3 ” having the correlation score is displayed at the uppermost position (it is assumed that the correlation score is not given to the other documents).  
      In the above-mentioned example, all the records associated with the ID “did 6 ” to the ID “did 8 ” are stored as the search result records, but since they are a record of the same document, the records are displayed uniquely as “file://***/***/d 3 ” as shown in  FIG. 17 .  
      FIGS.  18  (display based on the search result associated with the target document) and  19  (display based on the search result associated with the utilization document) show display examples when the communication results from the emission of a telephone call (event “TLT” in  FIG. 3 ) or the reception of a telephone call (event “TLR” in  FIG. 3 ) through the line communication unit  212  of the multifunction machine  20  in step  707 ) and it is determined in step  1317  that the status ID does not indicate the document output (step  1317 : NO) (the course to the display is the same as described with reference to  FIG. 14  and thus is omitted).  
      In  FIG. 20 , since the processing operation is a PC print operation, the GID is “1” (see  FIG. 3 ), and the document search process (step  1105 ) is performed using the document address as the search condition, the addresses and the reference numbers are identical and only the times are different from each other. However, in case of the telephone transmission or the telephone reception, the GID is “2” (see  FIG. 3 ) and the document search process (step  1105 ) is performed without using the document address as the search condition. Accordingly, the target document addresses shown in “Address” of  FIG. 22  are different from each other.  
      In the information management system  1  according to the first illustrative aspect, the addresses in FIGS.  20  to  23  are displayed in the hyperlink format (step  1917 ), and when the hyperlinks are selected using the operation section  104 , the document data associated with the address are read from the storage section  108  and are displayed on the display section  106 .  
      (Status Table Registering Process)  
       FIG. 24  is a diagram illustrating a flow of a registering process in the status table  1081  shown in  FIG. 2A .  
      When the status table registering process is performed in step  715 , the control section  100  of the PC  10  additionally creates a unique ID of a record to be registered in the status table  1081 . Then, the control section registers the unique ID as an ID of the new record (step  2401 ) and then performs the process of step  2403 .  
      In step  2403 , the time when the activation of the external device is detected in step  707  and the time when the activation end of the external device of which the activation has been detected in step  707  is detected in step  713  are registered as the start time and the end time of the new record in step  2401 , respectively, and the status ID, the destination address, the target document address, and the amount, which are input from the external device of which the activation has been detected and stored in the RAM or the like of the control section  100  in step  709  before the during-activation intellectual assistance process (step  711 ), are similarly registered in the new record in step  2401 .  
      (Manual Intellectual Assistance Process)  
       FIGS. 21 and 22  are diagrams illustrating a flow of the manual intellectual assistance process.  FIG. 24  is a diagram illustrating a display format of information displayed on the display section  106  of the PC with the performing of the manual intellectual assistance process.  
      In step  719 , with the start of the manual intellectual assistance process, this process starts. This process operates in parallel to the PC main process shown in  FIG. 7 . That is, the process of step  719  proceeds to the process of step  701  without waiting for the end of the manual intellectual assistance process after the manual intellectual assistance process starts.  
      The control section  100  of the PC  10  creates a set of status IDs from the records of the status table  1081 , performs a process of sorting the records of the set of status IDs in the order of start times (step  2101 ), and displays the result of the process on the display section  106  of the PC  10  (step  2503 ).  
      Here, in step  2103 , the entire statuses are displayed in a contracted format, and specifically, only the titles of the processing operations indicated by the status IDs are displayed (see the display format of the PC print operation in  FIG. 24 ).  
      In step  2105 , in the display format displayed through the process of step  2103 , a radio button  2407  (see  FIG. 24 ) of the head record (the record sorted in the head in step  2101 ) of the status  2405  displayed at the uppermost position (PC print in  FIG. 24 ) is set to ON with the initial setting (step  2405 ).  
      In the state in which the processes up to step  2105  are performed after the manual intellectual assistance process starts (step  719 ), the control section  100  waits until a user manipulates by the use of the operation section  104  (step  2107 ).  
      In the wait state (step  2107 ), when the user input an instruction by the use of the operation section  104 , the control section  100  determines whether the instruction is to press an expanded icon  2401  (see  FIG. 24 ) (step  2109 ).  
      Here, when the input instruction is to press the expanded icon  2401  (step  2109 : YES), the record information of the status  2405  corresponding to the pressed expanded icon  2401  is displayed in a list format in response to the sorting process of step  2101  (step  2111 ) and the expanded icon  2401  of the expanded status  2405  is changed to a contracted icon  2403  (step  2113 ).  
      The processes of steps  2111  and  2113  are specifically described with reference to  FIG. 24 . In case of the PC fax transmission operation, the status  2405  is displayed along with the expanded icon  2401 , similarly to the PC print operation, before the expanded icon  2401  is pressed (step  2109 ) (in other words, the list (records) is not displayed).  
      In this state, when the process of step  2109  is performed to the expanded icon  2401  for the PC fax transmission (step  2109 : YES), the records of which the status IDs are marked “FPT” in the status table  1081  are displayed in the format shown in  FIG. 24  in the sorting order of step  2101  (step  2111 ), and the expanded icon  2401  associated with the PC fax transmission is changed to the contracted icon  2403  (step  2113 : the display is changed from “+” to “−”). At the time of first ending the process of step  2113 , the process of step  2105  is valid, and all the radio buttons  2407  are set to OFF in the records displayed associated with the PC fax transmission.  
      On the other hand, in the wait state of step  2107 , when the input instruction is not to press the expanded icon  2401  (step  2109 : NO), but to press the contracted icon  2403  (step  2115 : YES), the display in the PC fax transmission format shown in  FIG. 24  is changed to the PC print format. That is, the display of the record list of the corresponding status  2405  is erased (step  2117 ) and the contracted icon  2403  is changed to the expanded icon  2401  (step  2119 ).  
      In the wait state of step  2107 , when the input instruction is not to press the contracted icon  2403  (step  2115 : NO), but to press the radio button  2407  (step  2121 : YES), the radio button  2407  set to ON for a predetermined record (the head record of the uppermost status  2405  in the initial state) is changed to OFF (step  2123 ) and the radio button  2407  corresponding to the user&#39;s manipulation is set to ON (step  2125 ).  
      After the processes of step  2113 ,  2119 , and  2125  are performed, the control section waits in step  2107  until the user&#39;s manipulation is performed.  
      Here, in the wait state of step  2107 , when the instruction input by the user&#39;s manipulation is not to press any one of the expanded icon  2401 , the contracted icon  2403 , and the radio button  2407  (steps  2109 ,  2115 , and  2121 : NO), the process shown in  FIG. 22  is performed.  
      That is, the control section  100  of the PC  10  determines whether the instruction input by the user&#39;s manipulation is the end of the manual intellectual assistance process, specifically, whether a closing button  2417  is pressed (step  2201 ). When it is YES (step  2201 : YES), the process ends.  
      On the contrary, when the instruction is not to press the closing button  2417  (step  2201 : NO), the instruction is to press a list display button  2409 , a memory storage button  2411 , an all display button  2413 , or an all print button  2415 . Accordingly, in order to perform the processes corresponding to the buttons, the records of which the radio button is set to ON (status ID, GID, destination address, target document) are read (step  2203 ).  
      The GID search condition setting process (step  2205 ) and the document search process (step  2207 ) are performed on the basis of the read information, and then the process of step  2209  is performed. Both processes performed in steps  2205  and  2207  are similar to the GID search condition setting process (step  1103 ) and the document search process (step  1105 ) performed in the during-activation intellectual assistance process (step  711 ), and thus description thereof is omitted.  
      In step  2209 , it is determined whether the instruction, which is input through the user&#39;s manipulation of the operation section  104  and which results in the performing of the process of step  2203  is to press the list display button  2409 .  
      When the instruction is to press the list display button  2409  (step  2209 : YES), the document intellectual assistance process is activated by the use of the result of the document search process of step  2207  (step  2211 ). The details of the document intellectual assistance process are described later with reference to  FIG. 23 .  
      On the contrary, when the instruction is not to press the list display button  2409  (step  2209 : NO), it is determined whether the instruction is to press the memory storage button  2411  (step  2213 ). When it is YES (step  2213 : YES), the control section  100  instructs the multifunction machine  20  to write the document data of the document address described in the search result record obtained through the document search process (step  2207 ) to a removable media  2101 , and transmits the corresponding document data from the storage section  108  to the multifunction machine  20  through the communication section  102 . On the other hand, the control section  200  of the multifunction machine  20  writes the corresponding document data received through the communication section  214  in response to the instruction to the removable media  2101  (step  2215 ).  
      When the instruction is not to press the memory storage button  2411  (step  2213 : NO), it is determined whether the instruction is to press the all display button  2413  (step  2217 ). When it is YES (step  2317 : YES), the control section  100  opens the document data of the document address described in the search result record obtained through the document search process (step  2207 ), and sequentially displays the contents on the display section  106  with a predetermined interval of time, for example, 2 seconds (step  2219 ).  
      When the instruction is not to press the all display button  2413  (step  2217 : NO), it is determined whether the instruction is to press the all print button  2415  (step  2217 ). When it is YES (step  2217 : YES), the control section  100  transits the document data of the document address described in the search result record obtained through the document search process (step  2207 ) to the multifunction machine  20  through the communication section  102 , and allows the recording section  202  of the multifunction machine  20  to print the document data (step  2223 ).  
      When the instruction is not to press the all print button  2415  (step  2221 : NO), a process corresponding to the press is performed or it is determined that the press is erroneous. Then, the control section waits until the user&#39;s manipulation is performed (step  2107 ).  
      When the processes of steps  2211 ,  2215 ,  2219 , and  2223  are finished, the control section waits in step  2107  until the user&#39;s input is performed.  
       FIG. 23  is a diagram illustrating a flow of the document intellectual assistance process started in step  2211 .  FIG. 25  is a diagram illustrating a display format of information displayed on the display section  106  of the PC  10  at the time of performing the document intellectual assistance process.  
      First, in step  2301 , the control section  100  of the PC  10  collects the number of reference to the document data (the number of records of which the event is “open”) of the same document address and the final access time (time described in the latest record) from the search result records obtained through the document search process (step  2207 ) by the use of the records comprising the same document address (step  2301 ), and then performs the process of step  2303 .  
      In step  2303 , the collection result is displayed in the format shown in  FIG. 25  on the display unit  106 . At this time, the radio button of the head record among the displayed records is set to ON (step  2305 ). In step  2303 , the display process maybe performed by performing the same processes as steps  1505  to  1513  of the search result display process (step  1107 ). However, in the first illustrative aspect, the display process is performed on the basis of only the collection of step  2301 . More specifically speaking, since the search result associated with the utilization document and the search result associated with the utilization document (document output) are collected without distinguishment in step  2301 , the collection result is not displayed in consideration of the correlation score, unlike the search result display process (step  1107 ).  
      Here, in the state in which the processes up to step  2305  are performed after the document intellectual assistance process starts (step  2211 ), the control section  100  waits until the user manipulates the operation section  104  (step  2307 ).  
      In the wait state (step  2307 ), when the user input an instruction through the operation section  104 , the control section  100  determines whether the input instruction is to press the radio button  2501  (see  FIG. 25 ) (step  2309 ). When it is YES (step  2309 : YES), the process of step  2301  is performed.  
      In step  2307 , the radio button  2501  set to ON in a predetermined record (the head record in the initial state) is set to OFF (step  2311 ) and the radio button  2501  corresponding to the user&#39;s manipulation is set to ON (step  2313 ).  
      On the other hand, when it is determined in step  2309  that the input instruction is not to press the radio button  2501 , it is determined whether the input instruction is to press the display button  2403  (step  2315 ). When it is YES (step  2315 : YES), the process of step  2317  is performed.  
      In step  2317 , the document data of the document address in which the radio button is set to ON is opened and displayed on the display section  106 .  
      When it is determined in step  2315  that the input instruction is not to press the display button  2503 , it is determined whether the input instruction is to press the print button  2505  (step  2319 ). When it is YES (step  2319 : YES), the process of step  2321  is performed.  
      In step  2321 , the control section  100  reads the document data of the document address, in which the radio button is set to ON, from the storage section  108  and transmits the document data to the multifunction machine  20  through the communication section  102 , and the recording section  202  of the multifunction machine  20  prints the document data.  
      When it is determined in step  2319  that the input instruction is not to press the print button  2505 , it is determined whether the input instruction is to press a relevant document button  2407  (step  2323 ). When it is YES (step  2323 : YES), the process of step  2325  is performed.  
      In step  2325 , all the records of which the event is “open” in the period (between open and close) when the document data of the document address in which the radio button  2501  is set to ON are opened are extracted from the document table  1081  (step  2325 ).  
      Specifically describing the process with reference to  FIG. 25 , since the document data stored at the document address “file:/###/###/### 2 ” comprises the number of reference of r2, the document data are opened r2 times. Accordingly, the extraction is performed to all the r2 periods.  
      When the period when the document data of the document address in which the radio button  2501  is set to ON is determined, the identity of the user (operator in  FIG. 4 ) is considered.  
      The document intellectual assistance process starts again with respect to the search result records obtained through the extraction process of step  2325  (step  2327 ).  
      That is, the user can sequentially see documents associated with a document by performing the document intellectual assistance process.  
      When it is determined in step  2323  that the input instruction is not to press the relevant document button  2507 , the control section  100  determines whether the input instruction is to press the closing button  2509  (step  2329 ). When it is YES (step  2329 : YES), the control section ends the document intellectual assistance process (step  2211 ) and waits in step  2107  until the user&#39;s manipulation is performed.  
      On the other hand, when it is determined that the input instruction is not to press the closing button  2509  (step  2329 : NO), the control section performs a process corresponding to the press or determines that the press is erroneous, and waits until the user&#39;s manipulation is performed (step  2307 ).  
      After performing the processes of steps  2313 ,  2317 ,  2321 , and  2327 , the control section waits again in step  2307  until the user&#39;s input is performed.  
      (Process 2 of Information Management System)  
      Next, a process (2) of the information management system  1  comprising the above-mentioned configuration is described with reference to the drawings. The process (2) starts in parallel to the process (1).  
       FIG. 26  is a diagram illustrating a flow of a process of updating the document table  1083  performed by the PC  10 . The process ( 2 ) shown in the flow is performed by the control section  100  of the PC  10 , and more specifically, is performed by the CPU of the control section  10  by the use of the program stored in the ROM or the like.  
      First, when the document data stored in the storage section  108  are manipulated by the use of the operation section  104  or the operation of the multifunction  20  is carried out, that is, when the target document data are transmitted to the PC  10  from the multifunction machine  20  by starting the processing operation (status) described as “(copied to PC)” among the items of the “target document address” of  FIG. 3 , the target document data are newly stored in the storage section  108 , the RFID tags  322  and  324  of the books  32  and  34  are read by the RFID tag reading section  306  of the book sensor  30 , and the information is transmitted to the PC  10  through the communication section  34 , the control section  100  determines whether a homepage (hereinafter, referred to as “HP”) on Internet  70 , which introduces the book  32  or the like associated with the transmission from the book sensor  30 , is opened (hereinafter, the manipulations or processes are referred to as “file manipulation”) (step  2601 ).  
      When it is determined in step  2601  that the file manipulation is performed (step  2601 : YES), the control section  100  adds a record to the document table  1083 , creates an ID unique to the record, registers the unique ID (step  2603 ), and then performs the process of step  2605 .  
      When it is determined in step  2601  that the condition is not satisfied (step  2601 : NO), the control section waits until the file manipulation is performed.  
      In step  2605 , the present time is registered to the record added in step  2603 , registers an application obtained by preparing a full pass name of the target file with a application to the document address, and registers the type of the operator to the operator.  
      Thereafter, a process of determining information to be registered to the “event” not yet registered is performed (steps  2607  to  2633 ).  
      First, the control section  100  determines whether the file manipulation performed in step  2601  is to store a new document file in the storage section  108  (hereinafter, referred to as “file creation” (step  2607 ). The control section registers “create” as an event, when the file manipulation is the file creation (step  2607 : YES).  
      On the other hand, when the file manipulation is not the file creation (step  2607 : NO), the control section determines whether the file manipulation is to open the document file stored in the storage section  108  (hereinafter, referred to as “file opening”) (step  2611 ). When it is YES (step  2611 : YES), the control section registers “open” as an event (step  2613 ).  
      When it is not YES in step  2611  (step  2611 : NO), it is determined whether the document data stored in the storage section  108  is updated (overwritten) (step  2615 ). When it is YES (step  2615 : YES), “update” is registered as an event (step  2113 ).  
      When it is not YES in step  2615  (step  2615 : NO), it is determined whether the document data stored in the storage section  108  is transmitted (the PC fax transmission is comprised) (step  2619 ). When it is YES (step  2619 : YES), “send” is registered as an event (step  2621 ).  
      When it is not YES in step  2619  (step  2619 : NO), it is determined whether the document data stored in the storage section  108  is printed (which corresponds to the status “PC fax transmission” in  FIG. 3 ) (step  2619 ). When it is YES (step  2619 : YES), “send” is registered as an event (step  2621 ).  
      When it is not YES in step  2615  (step  2615 : NO), it is determined whether the document data stored in the storage section  108  is printed (the recording section  202  of the multifunction machine  20  is used) (step  2623 ). When it is YES (step  2623 : YES), “print” is registered as an event (step  2625 ).  
      When it is not YES in step  2623  (step  2623 : NO), it is determined whether the HP is opened (step  2627 ). When it is YES (step  2627 : YES), “open” is registered as an event (step  2629 ).  
      When it is not YES in step  2627  (step  2627 : NO), it is determined whether the file or HP is closed, which corresponds to the file opening (step  2611 ) or the HP opening (step  2627 ) (step  2631 ). When it is YES (step  2631 : YES), “close” is registered as an event (step  2629 ).  
      When it is not YES in step  2631  (step  2631 : NO), the control section  100  waits until a file manipulation is performed again, after finishing the process of step  2609 ,  2613 ,  2617 ,  2621 ,  2625 ,  2629 , or  2633 .  
      Hitherto, the “document data” have been mainly exemplified in the description according to the first illustrative aspect. However, the data as a target of the information management system  1  are not limited to the “document data”, but the same details (processes) may be performed to, for example, “image data”, “sound data”, other data, or mixtures of the data.  
     SECOND EXAMPLE  
      Hereinafter, an information management system different from the first illustrative aspect will be described specifically.  
      A second illustrative aspect of the invention is different from the first illustrative aspect, in that the “GID” used in the first illustrative aspect is not provided, that is, the “GID” is not defined in  FIG. 3  and the “GID search condition setting process” is not performed in the during-activation intellectual assistance process and the manual intellectual assistance process. Therefore, the details of the same configuration and process order are omitted but only differences are described in the following description (since the process order in the manual intellectual assistance process is similar to the during-activation intellectual assistance process, the during-activation intellectual assistance process is substantially described in the second illustrative aspect).  
      (During-Activation Intellectual Assistance Process)  
       FIG. 27  is a diagram illustrating a flow of the during-activation intellectual assistance process.  
      When the during-activation intellectual assistance process is performed in step  711  of  FIG. 7 , the control section  100  of the PC  10  first reads the status ID, the destination address, and the target document address input (detected) by the external device from the RAM in step  709 . The control section sets the data selected by the user through the operation section  104  as a search condition (step  2701 ), and performs the document search process (step  2703 ).  
       FIG. 13  is a diagram illustrating a flow of the document search process (step  2703 ). First, all the records in the status table  1081  and the document table  1083  are set to the initial values of the search result records (step  1301 ).  
      Next, in order to specify the target document associated with a specific record from the status table  1081 , a search process is performed on the basis of the search condition selected in step  2703 .  
      That is, in step  1303 , it is determined whether the status ID is set as the search condition (step  1303 ). When it is YES (step  1303 : YES), the record corresponding to the status ID set as the search condition in the status table  1081  is stored as the search result record (step  1305 ) and the process of step  1307  is performed. When the status ID is not set as the search condition (step  1303 : NO), the process of step  1307  is performed without performing the process of step  1305 .  
      In step  1307 , it is determined whether the destination address is added as the search condition. When it is YES (step  1307 : YES), the record corresponding to the destination address designated as the search condition among the search result records stored in step  1305  is stored as the search result record (step  1309 ) and then the process of step  1311  is performed. In step  1307 , when the destination address is not added as the search condition (step  1307 : NO), the process of step  1311  is performed without performing the process of step  1309 .  
      In step  1311 , it is determined whether the target document address is added as the search condition. When it is determined that the target document address is set (step  1311 : YES), the record corresponding to the target document address designated as the search condition among the search result records stored in step  1305  and the like is stored as the search result record (step  1313 ) and then the process of step  1315  is performed. When it is determined in step  1311  that the target document address is not added as the search condition (step  1311 : NO), the process of step  1315  is performed without performing the process of step  1313 .  
      Here, the search result records obtained through the processes of steps  1303  to  1313  will be described in more detail.  
      When it is YES in steps  1303 ,  1307 , and  1311 , the final search result records comprise the records in the same status table  1081  as being stored in step  1313 .  
      When it is YES in steps  1303  and  1307  and it is NO in step  1311 , the final search result records comprise the records in the same status table  1081  as being stored in step  1309 .  
      When it is YES in steps  1303  and  1311  and it is NO in step  1307 , the final search result records comprise the records in the same status table  1081  as being stored in step  1313 .  
      When it is YES in step  1303  and it is NO in steps  1307  and  1311 , the final search result records comprise the records in the same status table  1081  as being stored in step  1305 .  
      When it is NO in step  1303  and it is YES in steps  1307  and  1311 , the final search result records comprise the records in the same status table  1081  as being stored in step  1313 .  
      When it is NO in steps  1303  and  1311  and it is YES in step  1307 , the final search result records comprise the records in the same status table  1081  as being stored in step  1309 .  
      When it is NO in steps  1303  and  1307  and it is YES in step  1311 , the final search result records comprise the records in the same status table  1081  as being stored in step  1313 .  
      When it is NO in steps  1303 ,  1307  and  1311 , the final search result records comprise the records in the same status table  1081  as the status table  1081  set as an initial value in step  1301 .  
      In step  1315 , in order to perform the processes subsequent to step  1317 , a non-processed search result record is read from the search result records specified in steps  1303  to  1313  and then the process of step  1317  is performed.  
      The processes after step  1317  are similar to those of the first illustrative aspect including the search result display process  2605 , and thus details thereof are not described.