Patent ID: 6199164
Filing Date: 2001-03-06
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
An information management system using an open network environment comprising:a user apparatus for receiving information including an information providing apparatus for providing the information to said user apparatus; anda connection managing apparatus for managing information that is necessary to provide the information from said information providing apparatus to said user apparatus and is interconnected by a network environment so that they can communicate with each other,wherein said user apparatus has a user processing unit for transmitting connection information to said connection managing apparatus when the connection to said network is started and receiving the information from said information providing apparatus, and said information providing apparatus has an information providing processing unit transmitting information to said user apparatus based on the connection information of the user obtained from said connection managing apparatus;a connection information processing unit for transmitting connection information including a self ID code, a network address, and a password of an information reception channel as said access permission information to said connection managing apparatus when a connection to the open network is started, allowing said connection information to be registered into a database of said connection managing apparatus, transmitting a connection end notification when the connection to said open network is finished, and allowing said connection information to be deleted from said database;a public personal information processing unit editing public personal information in which each of the self ID code, the kind of providing information, and a reception channel in which the reception of the information is permitted is designated, transmitting said edited public personal information as a part of said access permission information to said connection managing apparatus when the connection to the open network is started, and allowing said public personal information to be registered into said database;a special personal information processing unit editing a registration format of special personal information according to the kind of said providing information which is sent from said connection managing apparatus in association with the transmission of said public personal information, transmitting said edited registration format in response to a transmitting request of the registration format from said information providing apparatus, and allowing said registration format to be registered into a database of said information providing apparatus; anda reception display unit receiving the providing information from said information providing apparatus after the registration of said special personal information and displaying said providing information,a connection management processing unit of said connection managing apparatus comprises:a connection information managing unit registering said connection information transmitted at the start of the connection of said user apparatus to the open network into said database and deleting the relevant connection information from said database upon receipt of the connection end notification;a public personal information managing unit for updating and registering said public personal information transmitted from said user apparatus into said database;a registration format providing unit for transmitting the registration mat of said special personal information which has been predetermined according to the kind of said providing information designated by said public personal information to said user apparatus;a user retrieval responding unit for responding the personal inmation on the basis of the ID code of the user apparatus designating the access permission, the kind of information to be provided, and a predetermined registered publication permission by referring to said database when a retrieval request of a user who desires the information providing is received from said information providing apparatus; anda connection information retrieval responding unit for reading out the relevant connection information with reference to said database when a retrieval request of said connection information in which an ID code of a specific user apparatus is designated is received from said information providing apparatus, for recognizing items of a publication permission and items of a publication refusal in said connection information with reference to connection permission inmation in said database, and for responding said connection information by performing a masking process with respect to the items of the publication refusal, andsaid information providing processing unit of said information providing apparatus comprises:a user retrieval requesting unit requesting said connection managing apparatus so as to retrieve the ID code of the user designating the access permission, the kind of information to be provided, and personal information in which a publication is permitted;a connection information retrieval requesting unit requesting said connection managing apparatus so as to retrieve the connection information of said user apparatus by using a specific ID code obtained by said user retrieval requesting unit;a special personal information managing unit requesting said user apparatus so as to transmit the special personal information on the basis of the connection information obtained by said connection information retrieval requesting unit and registering said special personal information into the database; anda providing information managing unit transmitting said providing information to the user apparatus on the basis of the connection information obtained by the operation of said connection information retrieval requesting unit when said providing information adapted to the special personal information in said database is obtained.