JP2010191807A - Information repeater system and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To distribute information stored in an information storage device when requested by a distribution destination in the case that a distribution source desires to distribute the information stored in the information storage device to the distribution destination inaccessible to the information storage device. <P>SOLUTION: When a distribution source user α distributes content X in a content server 230 to a distribution destination user β inaccessible to the content server 230, the distribution source user α notifies a relay server 100 thereof. The relay server 100 has an account 115 that can access the content server 230 and transmits an access ID associated with a link to the content X to the user β. When the user β logs in to the relay server 100 and presents the access ID, the relay server 100 uses the account 115, accesses the content server 230, acquires the content X and transfers the content X to the user β. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an information relay device and a program.

  In sharing or distributing information between users via a network, there is a case where the user of the sharing destination or the distribution destination is limited by authenticating the user who intends to acquire the information. In such a case, an authentication device that manages the authentication information of each registered user is provided in a server or network holding the information to be distributed, and a user who wants to acquire information is sent to the authentication device. Information is obtained from the server by presenting its own authentication information and receiving authentication.

When information is shared and distributed between different networks, there are many cases where these networks perform individual user management. For example, different departments A within the Intranet of one company (distribution source) and sector B (destination) is respectively using separate network N _A and N _B, separately they network N _A and N _B respectively user This is the case where management is performed. In this case, even if the user α in the department A tries to distribute the information X in the server S in the network N _{A to} the user β in the department B who operates the computer in the network N _B , the user β because they are not managed in _a can not access the server S in the network N _a. Although it is conceivable to send information X from user α to user β using e-mail, for example, if the user always wants to distribute the latest version of information X to user β, it is necessary to send e-mail for each update. It is complicated.

  Patent Document 1 classifies a large number of blog (Web log) servers by theme, and displays a web page of a blog portal screen that displays those blogs that correspond to the theme of interest registered in advance by each user. An information browsing apparatus is disclosed that provides a portal screen to a user who has logged in and logged in. When the user selects a blog that the user wants to browse on the portal screen, the apparatus acquires the blog page from the blog server and transfers it to the user.

  The information mediation system shown in Patent Document 2 is configured to set user preference information for providing user-desired information in a combination or form desired by the user in advance, and setting of the preference setting means. Information providing means for obtaining information desired by the user from a plurality of information providing sources and providing the obtained information to the user system in the combination and form desired by the user, and information about the provided information When the corresponding information is updated at the provider, the information providing unit acquires the updated information and provides the latest information to the user system.

JP 2007-122504 A JP 2003-016306 A

  The present invention relates to information stored in an information storage device when the distribution destination requests that the distribution source requests that the information stored in the information storage device be distributed to a distribution destination that cannot access the information storage device. It aims to be able to deliver.

  The invention according to claim 1 is an information relay device, the first storage means for storing the account information of the information relay device for the information storage device, and the distribution target information stored in the information storage device as the user of the distribution destination When a distribution instruction for distribution is received from a distribution source user, the user identification information of the distribution destination user is stored in a second storage unit in association with the access identification information associated with the distribution target information. And an access identification information transmitting means for transmitting the access identification information to the delivery destination user and an information delivery request associated with the user identification information and the access identification information of the user from the delivery destination user. In this case, if the access identification information is stored in the second storage unit in association with the user identification information, it is stored in the first storage unit. Distribution target information transmitting means for acquiring the distribution target information associated with the access identification information from the information storage device using the account information and transmitting the acquired distribution target information to the distribution destination user. Is an information relay device.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the access right designation accepting means for accepting designation of the type of access right to be given to the delivery destination user for the distribution target information and storing it in the third storage means When the operation instruction for the distribution target information is received from the distribution destination user, the operation instruction is stored in the third storage unit, and the distribution target information is given to the distribution destination user. Only when it matches the type of access right, the information storage device is accessed using the account information stored in the first storage means according to the operation instruction, and the information stored in the information storage device Operation means for performing an operation corresponding to the operation instruction on the distribution target information associated with the access identification information is further provided.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the invention, the distribution target information transmitting unit includes the distribution target information when the distribution target information acquired from the information storage device includes a first trackback URL. The first trackback URL is rewritten to a second trackback URL including the host name of the information relay apparatus and the identification information associated with the first trackback URL, and the distribution target information after this rewriting is changed. The transmission is transmitted to the distribution destination user, and when the operation means receives a trackback instruction for the second trackback URL as the operation instruction from the distribution destination user, the access that permits the distribution destination user to perform trackback If the right is granted, it is associated with the second trackback URL. Performing track back according to the trackback instruction to the first trackback URL, and wherein the.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to third aspects, the access identification information transmitting means further includes a point of time of the distribution instruction as the distribution instruction from the distribution source user. The access identification information from the information storage device using the account information stored in the first storage means when receiving an instruction to distribute the distribution target information to the distribution destination user The distribution target information associated with the distribution information is acquired, the acquired distribution target information is associated with the access identification information and stored in a fourth storage unit, and the distribution target information transmission unit further includes the distribution destination information. When an information distribution request associated with the user identification information and access identification information of the user is received from the user, the access identification information is associated with the user identification information before If the delivery target information stored in the second storage unit and corresponding to the access identification information is stored in the fourth storage unit, the delivery target stored in the fourth storage unit The information is transmitted to the delivery destination user.

  The invention according to claim 5 records, in the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 4, a relationship between a distribution source user, a distribution destination user, and distribution target information according to each distribution instruction received in the past. The distribution means obtains, from the recording means, distribution target information that the distribution source user has distributed to the distribution destination user in the past with respect to the recording means to perform and the distribution source user and the distribution destination user related to the current distribution instruction. Receiving means for accepting designation of the distribution target information related to the distribution target information related to the current distribution instruction and the relationship between the distribution target information from the distribution source user among the calculated distribution target information. The access identification information transmitting unit transmits information indicating the designated content received by the receiving unit to the user of the distribution destination in association with the access identification information.

  The invention according to claim 6 is a program for causing a computer to function as an information relay device, wherein the computer stores first account means for storing account information of the information relay device for the information storage device, information storage device When the distribution instruction for distributing the distribution target information stored in the distribution destination information to the distribution destination user is received from the distribution source user, the distribution target information is associated with the access identification information associated with the distribution target information. User identification information is stored in the second storage means, and the access identification information transmitting means for transmitting the access identification information to the delivery destination user. From the delivery destination user, the user identification information and the access identification information of the user When the information distribution request associated with is received, the access identification information is associated with the user identification information before If stored in the second storage means, the distribution target information associated with the access identification information is acquired from the information storage device using the account information stored in the first storage means, It is a program for functioning as distribution target information transmitting means for transmitting the acquired distribution target information to the distribution destination user.

  According to the invention according to claim 1 or 6, when the distribution source user desires to distribute the distribution target information in the information storage device to the distribution destination user who cannot access the information storage device, The distribution target information in the information storage device can be distributed when requested by the distribution destination user.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the operation performed on the distribution target information distributed by the distribution destination user is within a range compatible with the type of access right granted to the distribution destination by the distribution source user. It can be reflected in the distribution target information in the information storage device.

  According to the third aspect of the invention, trackback to the distribution target information in the information storage device can be realized via the information relay device.

  According to the invention of claim 4, which of the distribution target information at the time of the distribution instruction and the distribution target information at the time when the distribution destination user requests is transmitted to the distribution destination user. Can be switched according to the user's instructions.

  According to the fifth aspect of the invention, the distribution source user specifies which distribution target information to be distributed this time is related to which of the distribution target information distributed in the past, and can inform the distribution destination user. be able to.

It is a figure for demonstrating the schematic mechanism of the information (content) delivery in the system of embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of an internal structure of a relay server. It is a figure which shows an example of the data content of user DB (database). It is a figure which shows an example of the data content of link DB. It is a figure which shows another example of the data content of link DB. It is a figure which shows an example of the data content of access right DB. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process sequence of a delivery instruction | indication reception part. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process sequence of a delivery process part. It is a figure which shows the internal structure of the relay server of a 1st modification. It is a figure which shows an example of the data content of content DB which the relay server of a 1st modification has. It is a figure which shows an example of the data content of access right DB in a 2nd modification. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process sequence of the delivery process part in a 2nd modification. It is a figure which shows an example of the data content of content relation DB in a 3rd modification. It is a figure which shows an example of the input screen of the relationship between the contents in a 3rd modification.

With reference to FIG. 1, an outline of information (content) distribution in this embodiment will be described. In FIG. 1, content distribution from the network N _A 200 to the network N _B 300 is taken as an example. The network N _A 200 and the network N _B 300 are different computer networks, and are under the management of different account management / access control systems.

  Here, the account is the right to use resources in the network (for example, the network itself, devices such as computers and printers in the network, files and programs in the computer), and the entity (user or user) having the right. Identification information (hereinafter referred to as “ID”). The account is associated with authentication information such as a password for authenticating the subject. The access control is control as to whether or not the subject is permitted to access the resource and how to use the resource permitted to the subject when the subject is authorized (such as reading and writing when the resource is a file).

In the example of FIG. 1, it is assumed that account management / access control in the network N _A 200 is performed by one directory server 220. However, this is only an example. Alternatively, separate servers or computer account management (eg, user authentication) and access control and network N _A 200 may also be responsible. Further, the access control may be distributedly processed by a plurality of servers and computers. The same applies to access management.

On the other hand, also in the network N _B 300, system in charge of the account management and access control within the network exists.

The network N _A 200 and the network N _B 300 are, for example, networks constructed for each department of a company, and constitute a part (subnetwork) of the company intranet. In this example, the account of the user α belonging to the department A is managed by the directory server 220, or log in to the network N _A 200 by the account, access to the computer and the files in it in the network N _A 200 Can be. On the other hand, the account of the user β in department B is managed by the system in the network N _B 300, the directory server 220 and not registered. In this case, since the user β cannot pass the user authentication by the directory server 220, the user β cannot access the content server 230 in the network N _A 200. Therefore, the content X240 stored in the server 230 cannot be accessed. The content X240 may be any information as long as it is information distributed from the user to other users, and the data format may be basically any. The content X240 is stored in the content server 230 as a file, for example.

Under such circumstances, consider a case where the user α tries to distribute the content X240 stored in the content server 230 in the network N _A 200 to the user β who cannot access the content X240. In order to realize such distribution, the system of this embodiment includes a relay server 100. The relay server 100 is provided at a location accessible from both the network N _A 200 and the network N _B 300. The relay server 100 is assumed to have an account 115 to access network _N A 200 and the content server 230 in advance. That is, in this case, the ID and authentication information for this account 115 are registered in the directory server 220. The directory server 220 registers that the account 115 has the authority to access the content server 230 and download content. Such pre-registration may be performed, for example administrator of the relay server 100 or the network N _A 200 is. Although illustration is omitted, an account of the user α is registered in the relay server 100, and the user α can log in to the relay server 100 using this account and issue a content distribution instruction. Further, the user α has an access right to distribute the content X, and information on this access right is registered in the directory server 220, for example.

When the user α intends to distribute the content X 240 in the content server 230 to the user β, first, the user α operates the client PC (personal computer) 210 in the network N _A 200 to log in to the relay server 100. Then, for the relay server 100, the content X240 is designated as a delivery target and the user β is designated as a delivery destination.

  Here, the account b102 of the user β with respect to the relay server 100 is registered in advance or is created according to this designation. In addition, in the relay server 100, in order to send a notification to the user β, notification destination information (for example, an e-mail address) of the user β is registered in association with the account b102.

  Further, the relay server 100 generates the access ID 104 linked to the content X240 in the content server 230 in accordance with the designation of the distribution target and the distribution destination in the description. Then, using the notification destination information of the user β, the access ID 104 is transmitted to the user β.

  Upon receiving this notification, the user β logs in to the relay server 100 using the account b102 when the content X is needed, and presents the access ID 104 to the relay server 100 to request the content X.

  Upon receiving this request, the relay server 100 logs in to the content server 230 using the account 115 and downloads the content X 240 linked to the access ID 104 from the content server 230. In response to a request from the user β, the content X240 is returned to the user β.

  As described above, in the system of this embodiment, the relay server 100 acquires the content X and provides it to the user β instead of the user β who cannot directly access the content X240. Once the distribution source user α designates the distribution target and the distribution destination in the relay server 100, the user β acquires the latest version of the content X in the content server 230 as many times as necessary. Can do.

  Next, an example of the internal configuration of the relay server 100 will be described with reference to FIG. In this example, the relay server 100 includes an account storage unit 110, a user DB (database) 120, a link DB 130, an access right DB 140, a distribution instruction receiving unit 150, and a distribution processing unit 160. The account storage unit 110 is a set of an account 115 (for example, an ID of the relay server 100 and authentication information such as a password) for the content server 230 of the relay server 100, and the set of the set registered in the directory server 220. Corresponding to the value).

The user DB 120 stores account information of each user registered in the relay server 100. For example, in the user DB 120, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the user name and e-mail address (an example of notification destination information) of the user are registered in association with the user ID. This “user ID” is user identification information in the relay server 100, and is a unique value for each user assigned by the relay server 100, for example. This user ID may be assigned independently of a user ID used in user management (for example, management by the directory server 220) in the networks N _A and N _B. The “user name” is a name of a user mainly for human beings to identify each user. This user name may be registered by the user himself / herself, or the user of the distribution source may register the user name of the user of the distribution destination, as will be described later. In addition to the user name and the e-mail address, other information describing the distribution source user, such as a department or job title / role, may be registered in the user DB 120.

  Note that a user group may be registered in the user DB 120. An entry for a group in the user DB 120 may include a list of IDs of users belonging to the group, for example.

  As illustrated in FIG. 4, the link DB 130 is a database in which links to content to be distributed are stored in association with access IDs. Here, the “access ID” is identification information that uniquely represents the access right of the distribution target content given to the distribution destination user by the distribution source user. The access ID is different at least for each content to be distributed. Further, even if the distribution target content is the same, the access ID may be different for each distribution “destination” user. Similarly, even if the content to be distributed is the same, the access ID may be different for each distribution “original” user.

  In the example of FIG. 4, the link to the content to be distributed is expressed by a URL (Uniform Resource Locator). That is, in this example, the content server 230 provides the distribution target content according to HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol). More specifically, the distribution target content in the example of FIG. 4 is data described in RSS (Real Simple Syndication, Rich Site Summary, or RDF Site Summary) format. RSS is used, for example, as a format for easily distributing update information of websites. Some versions of RSS use Resource Description Framework (RDF) as a framework that is the basis of the data format.

  The content to be distributed is not limited to RSS-compliant summary data. For example, it may be data that conforms to Atom Synthesis Format (RFC4287) or a general HTML file. Further, it may be a PDF file or a file created by an application such as a word processor.

  Further, the protocol used by the content server 230 for providing (distributing) data is not limited to HTTP, but may be another protocol such as FTP (File Transfer Protocol).

As the access ID, a link (for example, URL) itself to the distribution target content may be used. However, when adopting the position that the link itself does not minimize leakage to the external network N _A as the access ID, using unpredictable link itself values. In this case, the access ID may be determined by the relay server 100 by automatic numbering, for example. Alternatively, if the hash value of the link character string (or the distribution target content itself) is used as the access ID, the access ID is different for each distribution target content. Further, if the access ID is a hash value of a value obtained by combining the link character string (or the distribution target content itself) and the distribution destination (or distribution source) user ID, the access ID is the distribution target content and the distribution destination (or Distribution source) Different for each combination of users. Further, by combining the date and time when the access ID is issued, even if the combination of the distribution target content and the distribution destination (or distribution source) user is the same, the access ID can be made different for each issue.

  Another example of the data contents of the link DB 130 is shown in FIG. This example is an example where the distribution target content follows the data structure of RSS 1.0. In this case, in the link DB 130, each value of title (link), description (description), and items (item) included in the content to be distributed is an access ID corresponding to the content to be distributed. Registered in association.

  In the access right DB 140, as illustrated in FIG. 6, for each distribution destination user, an access ID given to the user is registered. The access right DB 140 is used, for example, to identify the distribution target content accessible by the distribution destination user. The user ID of the delivery destination user is recorded in the delivery destination user column. In the example of FIG. 6, the user ID of the distribution source user is recorded for each pair of the distribution destination user and the access ID. For example, the distribution source user information specifies the distribution source of the access ID. Used to do. If it is sufficient to simply distribute the content to be distributed to the distribution destination user, the distribution source user information need not be recorded.

  Note that the link DB 130 and the access right DB 140 may be constructed as an integrated database.

  Returning to the description of FIG. 2 again, the distribution instruction receiving unit 150 receives a distribution instruction from the client PC 210 operated by the distribution source user, and executes preparation processing for distribution (such as sending an access ID to the distribution destination user). (Details will be described later). Also, the distribution processing unit 160 acquires content from the content server 240 and provides it to the client PC 310 in response to a request with an access ID from the distribution destination user's PC 310 (details will be described later).

Next, an example of processing of the distribution instruction receiving unit 150 when the distribution source user issues a distribution instruction will be described with reference to FIG. Note that it is assumed that the user of the distribution source user α has already been registered in the relay server 100 before the processing of FIG. 7 is performed. That is, at the start of the processing of FIG. 7, the distribution source user α has an account (for example, a pair of user ID and authentication information) for the relay server 100, and the account information is registered in the relay server 100. Further, before step S10 of the processing procedure of FIG. 7 is started, the distribution source user α has logged in to the relay server 100 from the client PC 210 using the account, and the relay server 100 uses the account 115 to connect to the network. it is assumed you are logged in to the N _a.

  In the procedure of FIG. 7, first, the distribution source user α designates the distribution target content X240 (see FIG. 1) and the distribution destination user β in the content server 230 with respect to the relay server 100 (S10). The relay server 100 provides an input screen for this designation to the client PC 210.

For example, an input screen for specifying the delivery target content, for example, computers in the network N _A, folder, and displays the hierarchical structure of the file, there at a graphical user interface screen can select a file to be distributed contents from the May be. In this case, the the input screen, the computer in the network N _A, folder, among the files, the delivery source user α may be displayed only those with permission. The computer, folder, and file to which the distribution source user α has access right may be obtained from the information held by the directory server 220. Further, when there is a stage in the access right, only the file for which the distribution source user α has an access right of “distributable” or higher may be displayed. In the example of FIG. 1, it is assumed that the distribution source user α has an access right equal to or higher than a distributable level for the content X240 selected as a distribution target.

  In addition, the input screen for designating a distribution destination user displays, for example, a list of user names and e-mail addresses registered in the user DB 120 of the relay server 100 so that a distribution destination can be selected from the list. It may be a configured graphical user interface screen. Information indicating the selected user is transmitted to the relay server 100. In this case, the determination result of step S12 is Yes, and the distribution instruction receiving unit 150 proceeds to step S16 without passing through step S14.

  The input screen may include an input field for inputting a user name and an e-mail address of a new user. If the distribution destination user β desired by the distribution source user α is not registered in the user DB 120, the user α inputs the user β's user name and e-mail address in the input fields and transmits them to the relay server 100. Good (No in S12) In this case, the relay server 100 creates the account b of the user β in the user DB 120 (S14). That is, a new account entry is created in the user DB 120, the newly generated user ID value is stored in the user ID column of the entry, and the received user name and e-mail address are stored in the user name column and mail address column of the entry. Respectively. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S16.

  In this way, when the account of the distribution destination user β is newly created in accordance with the instruction from the distribution source user α, the distribution instruction receiving unit 150 sends the account information (for example, input by the distribution source user) to the distribution destination user β. User name and password). This notification may be performed by sending an e-mail describing the account information to the distribution destination user β. The delivery destination user β can log in to the relay server 100 using the received account information and change the password to his / her desired one, and can change the user name if necessary. Further, other information such as the department to which the user belongs can be registered or changed in the relay server 100.

  Note that this new account creation notification may include information (user name, etc.) describing the distribution source user that triggered the account creation. In addition, this notification may be performed by one e-mail together with the notification of the access ID performed in step S20.

  In step S16, the distribution instruction receiving unit 150 determines whether or not the specified distribution target content X240 has already been distributed to the specified distribution destination user β with reference to the link DB 130 and the access right DB 140. . In this determination, if an access ID corresponding to the distribution target content X is registered in the link DB 130 and a pair of the access ID and the distribution destination user β is registered in the access right DB 140, the distribution is performed in the past. It determines with having been completed (the determination result of S16 is Yes). In this case, the distribution instruction receiving unit 150 transmits an e-mail displaying the access ID distributed in the past to the e-mail address of the distribution destination user β (S20).

  In this example, even if the distribution target content X has been distributed to the distribution destination user β in the past, an access ID for the distribution target content X is provided to the user β again if instructed. Instead, it may be controlled so that the distribution target content X distributed in the past is not distributed to the distribution destination user β. In this case, if the determination result in step S16 is Yes, the distribution instruction receiving unit 150 does not execute step S20, but returns a message indicating that the distribution has been performed, for example, to the distribution source user α, and performs processing. Just finish.

  When the determination result in step S16 is Yes, the distribution source user α is notified that the content has been distributed in the past, and the user α is confirmed whether to distribute the same content again. Also good.

  When the distribution target content X has not been distributed to the distribution destination user β in the past, the distribution instruction receiving unit 150 assigns a unique access ID to the combination of the distribution destination user β and the distribution target content X. Generate (S18). Then, the access ID is registered in the link DB 130 in association with the link of the distribution target content X, and the pair of the access ID and the distribution destination user β (and the distribution source user α) is registered in the access right DB 140. Thereafter, the distribution instruction receiving unit 150 notifies the distribution destination user β of the access ID by electronic mail (S20).

  Here, the e-mail notifying the access ID may include, for example, a virtual URL indicating the access ID. The virtual URL includes a character string (for example, “http: //”) that specifies a communication protocol between the client PC and the relay server 100, a host name of the relay server 100, and an access ID that follows. Things can be used. The delivery destination user β who has received this e-mail accesses the relay server 100 via the web browser by selecting the URL displayed on the user interface screen of the mail client software on the client PC 310 by clicking or the like. ID can be transmitted.

  The use of e-mail as the access ID notification means is merely an example. Notification means according to other protocols may be used.

  The e-mail notifying the access ID may include an explanatory text for the distribution destination user β in addition to the access ID. The explanatory text may include, for example, information of the distribution source user and a description of the distribution target content X. The information of the distribution source user is, for example, a user name, a department, a title, etc., and these may be acquired from the user DB 120 or the directory server 220. The description of the distribution target content X may be extracted from the attribute information in the content X (for example, a predetermined attribute item is automatically extracted) or input in association with the distribution target content selected by the distribution source user. May be.

  Next, an example of a processing procedure executed by the distribution processing unit 160 in response to a request from the distribution destination user β will be described with reference to FIG.

  The distribution destination user β who has received the access ID from the relay server 100 logs in to the relay server 100 using his / her account when the content indicated by the access ID is required, and the access ID to the relay server 100 To request the content (S30). Specifically, for example, when the distribution destination user β clicks the URL (including the host name and access ID of the relay server) indicated in the e-mail received from the relay server 100, the web browser on the client PC 310 displays the relay server. An HTTP request is transmitted to 100. In response to this request, the distribution processing unit 160 of the relay server 100 returns a login screen to the browser. The distribution destination user β inputs the user name and password (or other type of authentication information) of his / her account on the login screen displayed on the browser, and transmits the input result to the distribution processing unit 160 in the browser. To instruct. In this example, the account information of the distribution destination user β and the access ID corresponding to the requested content are transmitted to the distribution processing unit 160 of the relay server 100 as described above.

  Receiving such information, the distribution processing unit 160 first checks whether the input account information is correct information registered in the user DB 120 (S32: user authentication). If not correct, an error message is returned to the browser of the client PC 310 (S34), and the process is terminated. If the user authentication is successful, it is determined with reference to the access right DB 140 whether the access ID received in step S30 is given to the user (S36). If the access ID is registered in the access right DB 140 in association with the user ID, the result of this determination is Yes, and the process proceeds to step S40. If the result of this determination is No, an error message is returned to the browser of the client PC 310 (S38), and the process ends.

  If the determination result in step S36 is Yes, the distribution processing unit 160 refers to the link DB 130 to obtain link information corresponding to the access ID, and requests content from the content server 230 using the link information ( S40). For example, if the data content of the link DB 130 is as shown in FIG. 4 and the access ID is “Abc21342”, the distribution processing unit 160 will send the URL “http://uuu.ddd.co” as the link information. An HTTP request corresponding to “.jp / hoge.rss” is transmitted. Here, if “uuu.ddd.co.jp” is the host name of the content server 230, the request reaches the content server 230.

The relay server 100 because it has an account 115, it is possible to log into the network N _A using the account to log in to the content server 230. Therefore, the above-described request is accepted by the content server 230.

  If the content requested from the relay server 100 exists, the content server 230 returns the content, and otherwise returns an error message indicating that the content does not exist. When this error message is received, the distribution processing unit 160 returns the error message to the browser of the client PC 310 (S42), and ends the process. When the content according to the request is received from the content server 230, the distribution processing unit 160 transmits the content to the browser as a reply to the request from the browser of the client PC 310 received in step S30 (S44). Thereby, the delivery destination user β can browse the content (for example, RSS data) corresponding to the access ID received from the relay server 100 with the browser.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the relay server 100 acquires content on the content server 230 for which the distribution destination user β does not have an account, and provides it to the distribution destination user β.

  In the above, the case where the distribution source user α designates one user as the distribution destination has been described as a main example. However, the distribution source user α may designate a plurality of users as the distribution destination. In this case, the distribution source user α can specify whether to give the same access ID to the plurality of distribution destination users or to give different access IDs (the distribution target content itself is the same) for each user. May be.

  In addition, when a plurality of users are designated as distribution destinations of the same content, information (for example, user names) of other distribution destination users is notified to each of the distribution destination users (for example, included in the notification of the access ID). May be. For example, when the distribution source user α designates β, γ, and δ as distribution destinations, the distribution destination content is notified that the distribution target content has been distributed to β, γ, and δ. Further, the distribution source user α may be allowed to specify whether or not to perform such notification. Without such notification, the distribution destination user does not know to which other users the same content is distributed.

  Similarly, the distribution source user α may be allowed to specify a plurality of contents simultaneously (in one input screen) as distribution targets for the distribution destination (one person or plural persons). In this case, the access ID has a different value for each content.

  Further, the relay server 100 may provide the user with a screen displaying a list of contents distributed by the user in the past and their distribution destinations. Similarly, the user may be provided with a screen displaying a list of contents and distribution sources that the user has received in the past.

Further, in FIG. 1, the network N _A shows only one content server 230, the relay server 100, even if the server providing the content is more than in the network N _A, similar to the above Relay processing may be performed. Of course, one relay server 100 may relay content distribution from a plurality of networks.

  Next, a first modification of the embodiment will be described. In the above embodiment, the distribution source user α provides the access ID associated with the link of the distribution target content X240 to the distribution destination user β. In this case, if the distribution destination user β makes a request using the access ID, the content X (that is, the latest version) at that time is provided to the distribution destination user β via the relay server 100. On the other hand, in this modified example, in addition to the mechanism for providing the latest version of the distribution target content, a mechanism for providing a version (so-called snapshot) at the time of the distribution instruction is provided. Whether the latest version or the version at the time of distribution instruction is provided is instructed when the distribution source user α issues a distribution instruction to the relay server 100, for example.

  FIG. 9 shows an example of the internal configuration of the relay server 100 in this modification. In this example, the relay server 100 includes a content DB 170 in addition to the elements illustrated in FIG. In the content DB 170, snapshot data of the content at the time when the distribution source user α instructs distribution of the content is registered.

  An example of the data content stored in the content DB 170 is shown in FIG. In this example, the date and time when the data (snapshot) of the distribution target content is acquired and the data of the distribution target content itself are registered in the content DB 170 in association with the access ID.

  In this modification, when the distribution instruction receiving unit 150 receives the distribution target content and the specification of the distribution destination user from the distribution source user α, the distribution instruction reception unit 150 provides the latest version at the time requested by the distribution destination user or The specification of whether to provide a version at the time of distribution instruction of the distribution target content is accepted from the user. When the distribution source user α designates the former, the link information of the distribution target content is registered in the link DB 130 as in the above embodiment. On the other hand, when the distribution source user α designates the latter, the distribution instruction receiving unit 150 accesses the content server 230 using the account 115 and acquires the content indicated by the link information of the distribution target content from the content server 230. . Then, the acquired content is registered in the content DB 170 in association with the access ID and the date and time at that time. Thus, for one distribution instruction from the distribution source user α, either a link is registered in the link DB 130 or the content itself at that time is registered in the content DB 170.

  In this modification, when the distribution processing unit 160 receives a content request with an access ID from the distribution destination user β, the distribution processing unit 160 searches the link DB 130 and the content DB 170 for an entry including the access ID. When a link is searched from the link DB 130 by this search, the distribution processing unit 160 acquires content from the content server 230 using the link and provides it to the client PC 310 of the distribution destination user β. On the other hand, when content is searched from the content DB 170 by this search, the content is provided to the client PC 310 of the distribution destination user β.

  When distributing a snapshot of content in this way, if the relay server 100 has distributed a snapshot of the distribution target content to the distribution destination user β in the past, the latest snapshot among them and the current snapshot are distributed. It is also possible to obtain a difference from the snapshot at the time of distribution instruction and provide only the difference to the distribution destination user β. The relay server 100 may change the contents of the snapshot of the distribution target content so that the difference is highlighted, and provide the distribution target content after the change to the distribution destination user β.

  Next, a second modification will be described. In this modification, the distribution source user α specifies not only the presence / absence of the access right of the distribution destination user β for the distribution target content, but also the type of the access right.

  Examples of access rights include “viewable”, “editable”, “redistributable”, “commentable”, and “trackback possible”. When the “redistributable” access right is granted, the distribution destination user β can redistribute the distribution target content to other users via the relay server 100.

  Further, when the access right “comment is possible” is given, the distribution destination user β can register a comment for the distributed content. For example, when the content is a blog, a user viewing the blog can input a comment on the blog. The input comment is registered in the blog server in association with the blog. The registered comment is displayed after the content of the blog, for example.

  Further, when the access right “trackback is possible” is given, the distribution destination user β can perform trackback on the distributed content. Trackback is well known as a function of a blog, for example. When the user who read the blog (referred to as blog A) mentions blog A in his blog (referred to as blog B), the trackback transmits the URL of blog B to the server on the blog A side. This is a function that allows A to incorporate a link to Blog B.

  In this way, what kind of access right is granted to the distribution destination user β as the access right for the distribution target content is specified by the distribution source user α to the relay server 100 when, for example, a distribution instruction is issued. do it. The relay server 100 provides a screen for specifying the type of access right as one of input screens for distribution instructions, acquires information on the type of access right selected by the distribution source user for the screen, For example, it may be registered in the access right DB 140. In this case, in the access right DB 140, for example, as shown in FIG. 11, a list of access right types assigned by the distribution source user is registered in the “access right” column. In the illustrated example, symbols C, T, R, E, and D mean, in order, commentable, trackbackable, viewable (only), editable, and redistributable.

  When the relay server 100 notifies the distribution destination user β of the access ID, the relay server 100 may also notify the type of access right given to the distribution destination user β.

  In this modification, when the distribution destination user β performs operations such as editing, redistribution, comment input, and trackback on the distributed content, the operation instruction (for example, edited content, redistribution instruction, comment content) , URL for tracking back, etc.) is transmitted from the client PC 310 to the relay server 100. At this time, the operation instruction is transmitted to the relay server 100 in association with the access ID. This transmission is realized, for example, by the function of the web browser on the client PC 310 (and possibly a program embedded in the content).

  In this modification, when the distribution processing unit 160 of the relay server 100 receives the operation instruction for the content from the distribution destination client PC 310 (S50), the operation instruction is distributed to the content as shown in FIG. It is determined whether or not it matches the type of access right given to the previous user β (S52). At this time, the distribution processing unit 160 obtains the type of access right for the content (specified by the access ID) assigned to the distribution destination user β from the access right DB 140, and the operation instruction transmitted from the distribution destination user β. Determine whether the qualifies for any of those types. If the operation instruction from the distribution destination user does not match any of the types of access rights granted to the user, the distribution processing unit 160 gives the distribution destination user β, for example, “permit the operation you instructed. An error message such as “Not done” is returned (S54).

  On the other hand, when the operation instruction from the distribution destination user matches one of the types of access rights permitted by the user, the relay server 100 indicates the content indicated by the link corresponding to the access ID in the content server 230. X240 is accessed, and the content X240 is operated according to the operation instruction (S56). For example, when the operation instruction from the distribution destination user β is an editing instruction for content, the distribution processing unit 160 edits the content according to the editing instruction, and writes the editing result back to the content server 230. When the operation instruction is a content redistribution instruction, an e-mail indicating the access ID is transmitted to the e-mail address of the redistribution destination user designated by the distribution destination user β. When the operation instruction is a comment input instruction for content, the comment content included in the comment instruction is registered in the content X240 indicated by the link corresponding to the access ID. When the operation instruction is a trackback instruction for the content, the URL of the site of the distribution destination user β included in the trackback instruction is transmitted to the trackback URL indicated in the content.

In order to realize track back via the relay server 100 in this way, for example, when the distribution processing unit 160 acquires content (for example, a blog) from the content server 230 and transmits it to the distribution destination user β, The trackback URL included in the content may be changed. That is, the content acquired from the content server 230 generally includes a trackback URL (referred to as an original URL) indicating a set of a trackback processing application in the content server 230 and identification information uniquely indicating the content. Here, even if instructed to track back to the delivery destination user β is the trackback URL, the delivery destination user β is because it does not have access to the network N _A and the content server 230, the distribution source is not allow trackbacks Even if a trackback is received, the trackback instruction is not accepted. Therefore, the distribution processing unit 160 of the relay server 100 indicates the trackback URL in the distribution target content acquired from the content server 230, and indicates the set of the trackback processing application in the relay server 100 and the identification information that uniquely indicates the original URL. After rewriting the URL (referred to as the URL after change), the content is transmitted to the distribution destination user β. At this time, the distribution processing unit 160 stores the correspondence between the original URL and the changed URL. In this way, when the distribution destination user β instructs the trackback for the changed URL, the trackback instruction reaches the trackback processing application of the relay server 100. This application obtains the original URL corresponding to the post-change URL from the above-described correspondence information, and sends the trackback instruction to the original URL. Thereby, the track back from the distribution destination user β to the distribution target content X in the content server 230 is realized.

  When an operation is performed from the distribution destination user β to the distribution target content X in the content server 230 via the relay server 100 as described above, the relay server 100 records a log of the operation. Good. What is necessary is just to record the access ID showing the content of operation object, the kind of operation, operation date, etc. in a log, for example. This log may be viewed by each user. In this case, the log content that can be browsed by the user may be limited to only the log content of the content for which the user is the distribution source or the distribution destination.

  Further, in this modification, when the relay server 100 performs an operation on the distribution target content in response to an instruction from the distribution destination user β, the relay server 100 transmits, for example, information on the operation to the distribution source user α. You may notify by email. The information about the operation to be notified is, for example, the type of operation that has been performed, and may further include an operation parameter (for example, a redistribution destination). Further, in this case, it may be possible for the distribution source user α to designate to the relay server 100 whether or not such notification is desired.

  Further, when editing the distribution target content in the content server 230 in response to an editing operation from the distribution destination user on the distribution target content, the original distribution target content is left in the content server 230 as a backup (preliminary). Also good. Further, it may be possible for the distribution source user to specify in advance in the relay server 100 whether to leave such a backup.

  Next, a third modification will be described. In this modified example, the distribution source user α indicates to the relay server 100 how the distribution target content is related to other content (referred to as already distributed content) that has been distributed to the distribution destination user β in the past. To be specified. Then, the relay server 100 records information on the relationship, and provides a service to the distribution source user α or the distribution destination user β based on the information. There are various relationships between the distribution target content and the already distributed content, such as the relationship that the former is the revised version of the latter and the relationship that the former is the attached document of the latter.

  In this modification, the relay server 100 is provided with a content relation DB (not shown). An example of the data content of the content relation DB is shown in FIG. In this example, as shown in FIG. 13, for each distribution target content, already distributed content having a relationship with this and information indicating the relationship of the distribution target content with the already distributed content are registered in the content relationship DB. Is done. In the illustrated example, the distribution target content and the already distributed content are represented by access IDs. In addition, in order to make it easy for the user to identify the distribution target content and the already distributed content, information (for example, a title or the like) describing the content of each content may be registered together.

  In this modification, the distribution instruction receiving unit 150 may provide an input screen for inputting the relationship of the distribution target content to the already distributed content to the distribution source user α. An example of such an input screen 400 is shown in FIG. In this example, on the input screen 400, content (already distributed content, nodes 412a to 412c) that the distribution source user α has distributed to the distribution destination user β in the past, and the relationship between these contents are displayed. A relationship graph 410 connected by the indicated arrows is displayed. In the access right DB 140, since the distribution source and the distribution destination are recorded in association with the access ID of the content distributed in the past, the relationship graph 410 may be created by combining this with the information in the content relationship DB. The nodes 412a to 412c can be selected by a click operation or the like, and the distribution source user α selects the node of another content that the user wants to relate to the current distribution target content in the graph 410. Here, the already distributed content may be linked to each node, and the already distributed content may be displayed according to the instruction of the distribution source user α so that the user α can check the content of the already distributed content.

  Also, the distribution source user α selects from the relationship type list 430 what relationship the distribution target content of this time has with the selected already distributed content. If the relationship you want to specify is not among the existing choices, choose Other and enter a phrase that represents the relationship you want to specify. If there is no existing distribution content to be related to the distribution target content in the relationship graph 410, the radio button 420 indicating that may be selected (in this case, selection from the list 430 is unnecessary). If an input result for such an input screen is transmitted to the distribution instruction receiving unit 150, the distribution instruction receiving unit 150 registers the relationship in the content relation DB. Further, the distribution instruction receiving unit 150 may notify the distribution destination user β of an explanatory text representing the relationship (for example, “a revised version of ***”) together with the access ID.

  In one example, the relay server 100 described above is realized by causing a general-purpose computer to execute a program representing the above-described processing. Here, the computer is connected via a microprocessor such as a CPU, a memory (primary storage) such as a random access memory (RAM) and a read only memory (ROM), and an HDD (hard disk drive) controller as hardware. The HDD, various I / O (input / output) interfaces, and the like have a circuit configuration connected via a bus. A network interface for connecting to a network such as a local area network may be connected to the bus. Also, portable non-volatile recording of various standards such as a disk drive and a flash memory for reading and / or writing to a portable disk recording medium such as a CD or a DVD via the I / O interface, for example. A memory reader / writer or the like for reading from and / or writing to a medium may be connected. A program in which the processing contents of each functional module exemplified above are described is stored in a fixed storage device such as a hard disk drive via a recording medium such as a CD or DVD, or via a communication means such as a network, and stored in a computer. Installed. The installed program is read into the RAM and executed by a microprocessor such as a CPU, thereby realizing the functions of the relay server 100 exemplified above.

100 relay server, 110 account storage unit, accounts to 115 content server 120 the user DB, 130 link DB, 140 access DB, 0.99 distribution instruction receiving unit, 160 distribution unit, 200 network _N A, 210 clients PC, 220 Directory server, 230 content server, 240 content, 300 network N _B , 310 client PC.

Claims (6)

An information relay device,
First storage means for storing account information of the information relay device for the information storage device;
When a distribution instruction for distributing distribution target information stored in the information storage device to a distribution destination user is received from the distribution source user, the distribution destination is associated with the access identification information associated with the distribution target information. And storing the user identification information of the user in the second storage means, and transmitting the access identification information to the user of the distribution destination,
When the information delivery request associated with the user identification information and access identification information of the user is received from the user of the delivery destination, the second storage means associates the access identification information with the user identification information. The distribution target information associated with the access identification information from the information storage device using the account information stored in the first storage means, and the acquired distribution target Distribution target information transmitting means for transmitting information to the user of the distribution destination;
An information relay device comprising: An access right designation accepting means for accepting designation of a type of access right to be given to the delivery destination user from the delivery source user and storing it in a third storage means;
When an operation instruction for the distribution target information is received from the distribution destination user, the operation instruction is stored in the third storage unit, and the access right granted to the distribution destination user for the distribution target information Only when it is suitable for the type of access, the access information stored in the information storage device is accessed by accessing the information storage device using the account information stored in the first storage means according to the operation instruction. Operation means for performing an operation corresponding to the operation instruction on the distribution target information associated with the information;
The information relay device according to claim 1, further comprising: When the distribution target information acquired from the information storage device includes a first trackback URL, the distribution target information transmission unit uses the first trackback URL in the distribution target information as the host name of the information relay device. And the second trackback URL including the identification information associated with the first trackback URL, the distribution target information after this rewriting is transmitted to the user of the distribution destination,
When the operation unit receives a trackback instruction for the second trackback URL as the operation instruction from the distribution destination user, and the distribution destination user is given an access right for permitting trackback. , Performing track back in response to the track back instruction with respect to the first track back URL associated with the second track back URL;
The information relay apparatus according to claim 2. The access identification information transmission means further receives, as the distribution instruction from the distribution source user, an instruction to distribute the distribution target information at the time of the distribution instruction to the distribution destination user. The distribution target information associated with the access identification information is acquired from the information storage device using the account information stored in the first storage means, and the acquired distribution target information is used as the access identification information. Is stored in the fourth storage means in association with
When the distribution target information transmitting means further receives an information distribution request associated with the user identification information and access identification information of the user from the distribution destination user, the access identification information is converted into the user identification information. If the distribution target information corresponding to the access identification information is stored in the fourth storage means, the information is stored in the fourth storage means. Transmitting the delivered information to the delivery destination user.
The information relay apparatus according to claim 1, wherein A recording unit for recording a relationship between a distribution source user, a distribution destination user, and distribution target information according to each distribution instruction received in the past;
With respect to the distribution source user and the distribution destination user related to the distribution instruction this time, the distribution source information that the distribution source user has distributed to the distribution destination user in the past is obtained from the recording means, and those distributions are obtained. A receiving unit that receives designation of distribution target information related to the distribution target information related to the current distribution instruction among the target information and the relationship between the distribution target information from the distribution source user;
With
The access identification information transmitting unit transmits information indicating the designated content received by the receiving unit to the access destination user in association with the access identification information.
The information relay apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein A program for causing a computer to function as an information relay device,
First storage means for storing account information of the information relay device for the information storage device;
When a distribution instruction for distributing distribution target information stored in the information storage device to a distribution destination user is received from the distribution source user, the distribution destination is associated with the access identification information associated with the distribution target information. Storing the user identification information of the user in the second storage means, and transmitting the access identification information to the delivery destination user,
When the information delivery request associated with the user identification information and access identification information of the user is received from the user of the delivery destination, the second storage means associates the access identification information with the user identification information. The distribution target information associated with the access identification information from the information storage device using the account information stored in the first storage means, and the acquired distribution target Distribution target information transmitting means for transmitting information to the user of the distribution destination;
Program to function as.

Images