Electrical computers and digital processing systems: support – Multiple computer communication using cryptography – Protection at a particular protocol layer
Reexamination Certificate
1998-01-09
2001-03-06
Wiley, David A. (Department: 2781)
Electrical computers and digital processing systems: support
Multiple computer communication using cryptography
Protection at a particular protocol layer
C709S200000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06199164
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The prevent invention relates to information management system and apparatus using an open network environment in which necessary information is provided from an information providing server to a client by using an open network environment such as internet or the like and relates to a storage medium in which a control program of the apparatus has been stored and which can be read by a computer. More particularly, the invention relates to information management system and apparatus in which a connection management server for managing connection information and public personal information necessary to provide information is provided between an information providing server and a client and the client is allowed to have domination regarding providing of information and relates to a storage medium in which a control program of the apparatus has been stored and which can be read by a computer.
Hitherto, as a system for providing necessary information from a server to a client by using an open network environment, systems such as WWW (World Wide Web) using the internet, electronic mail, groupware, and the like have been known. According to the WWW, when a client accesses a server in which necessary information exists, the server transmits the necessary information in response to a request of the client. According to the electronic mail or the groupware, a mail server or a groupware server manages information by receiving and accumulating the information into a spool and the client accesses the spool and takes out the information received and accumulated.
The freshness and secrecy of information will now be considered as follows with respect to such an information management system using the open network environment. In the WWW, all information from the server is provided on the basis of an accessing request from the client and necessary information is retrieved and obtained in a real-time manner. The freshness of the information depends on a frequency of the access to the server. In order to obtain the latest information, it is necessary to frequently access the server. Data is open in principle and is not suitable for transmission and reception of personal information which needs to be non-public. In the electronic mail or the groupware, since the client accesses the spool and extracts the information received and accumulated in the spool, the freshness of the information depends on the frequency of the access to the spool. Although the secrecy of data depends on reliability of the mail server or the groupware server, a provider who manages the server can see the data, so that the secrecy is not so high. On the other hand, as for an information providing service using the WWW, electronic mail, or the like, personal information of the user to receive the service which is provided is necessary. Generally, the service provider registers the personal information of the users into a database in a lump and manages them. The user, therefore, has to provide the user personal information every service and the user personal information which needs to be collected is different every service. There is not an example such that the user information is commonly used by the service providers. Even if the user information is commonly used by an existing technique, it is hard to collect and manage the user information under the present situation. Further, the user who desires to receive information is difficult to determine a specific service provider from the beginning and the user strongly desires to finally determine a provider of necessary information after he received information from a plurality of service providers. In such a case as well, if the user does not open all of the personal information that is required by a service provider from the beginning, he cannot receive the information provided. If the user opens his personal information to a number of service providers, however, since a possibility that the public information is abused is high, he cannot usually do it. Consequently, it is actually difficult for the user to decide a specific service provider while making contacting with a number of service providers. A service provider has to be decided from the beginning. Thus, an advantage of the open network such that necessary information can be widely collected cannot be sufficiently used.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention, there is provided an information management system of an open network environment in which the user side is allowed to take a leadership, necessary minimum personal information is opened to the public, an access from a service provider is permitted, and detailed user personal information is provided to the service provider who accessed by a judgment of the user, thereby enabling the information providing and a service work to be performed.
According to the invention, there is provided an information management system in which a user apparatus (peer client) for receiving information which is provided, an information providing apparatus (IP server) for providing information to the user apparatus, and a connection managing apparatus (connection server) for managing various information necessary for providing information from the information providing apparatus to the user apparatus are interconnected by an open network environment such as the internet or the like so that they can communicate with each other.
In such an information management system, when the connection to the open network is started, the user apparatus transmits necessary minimum access permission information which is necessary to provide information to the connection managing apparatus, allows the access permission information to be registered into a database, responds to a transmitting request of predetermined personal information defined as special personal information from the information providing apparatus based on the access permission information, allows the special personal information to be registered into the database, and receives providing information adapted to the special personal information from the information providing apparatus. The connection managing apparatus registers the access permission information transmitted at the time of the start of the connection of the user apparatus to the open network into the database and responds the relevant access permission information to a retrieval request from the information providing apparatus by referring to the database. The information providing apparatus obtains the predetermined personal information defined as special personal information by the transmitting request based on the access permission information obtained by the retrieval request to the connection managing apparatus and registers it into the database. When the providing information adapted to the special personal information is obtained, the information providing apparatus transmits it to the user apparatus. According to such an information management system, the user who desires to receive information provided can receive initial contacts from a plurality of information providing apparatuses merely by disclosing the minimum access permission information necessary for the contact from the information providing apparatus to the connection managing apparatus by the user apparatus.
The initial contact from the information providing apparatus is the transmitting request of personal information of the user which is necessary to provide necessary information or service to the user, that is, what is called the special personal information. The user selects an information providing destination which can be determined to be proper, sends the requested special personal information thereto, registers it into the database of the information providing apparatus, and can receive information or service provided. That is, in a conventional open network environment, the user apparatus serving as a client is branched under the information providing apparatus serving as an IP server and the client is positioned lower than the IP server. On the con
Fuku Hirokuni
Nishimoto Atsushi
Watanabe Minami
Fujitsu Limited
Staas & Halsey , LLP
Wiley David A.
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