METHOD FOR MAKING CONTENTS PUBLIC OR PRIVATE, INFORMATION PROVIDING SYSTEM, AND INFORMATION PROVIDING PROGRAM

• US 20090025086A1
• Filed: 05/11/2005
• Published: 01/22/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/20/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Visionarts, Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Fujita, Takeshi, Kawachi, Tsutomu
• Granted Patent: US 8,220,061 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/27
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6209 to a single file or object, e.g. in a secure envelope, encrypted and accessed using a key, or with access control rules appended to the object itself
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6218 to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6272 by registering files or documents with a third party
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2149 Restricted operating environment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]

Abstract

Contents can be made public or private, when to be switched so, by designating a common file identifier before and after the switching. An information providing system reads a second file identifier related to a first file identifier, from a storage device (S25). The information providing system moves, in case it receives a request for making the contents public, the contents corresponding to the second file identifier read, to a public area, and moves, in case it receives a request for making the contents private, the same to a private area (S30). According to the stored place of the contents moved, the information providing system changes the second file identifier, and stores the same in the storage device in a correlation between the first file identifier received and the second file identifier changed (S35).

Claims

1. A method of making contents public or private for use in a computer system in which an information providing system for providing the contents and a terminal device for browsing the contents are connected to a communication network, characterized in that:

a storage device of the information providing system comprises a public region accessible from the terminal device and a private region inaccessible from the terminal device, stores content in the public or private region, and stores a first file identifier for identifying the content and a second file identifier for identifying the content while associating them with each other;

the terminal device performs the step of;

a) transmitting a request for making the content public or private and the first file identifier to the information providing system;

and the information providing system performs the steps of;

b) receiving the request for making the content public or private and the first file identifier;

c) reading the second file identifier associated with the received first file identifier from the storage device;

d) transferring the content corresponding to the read second file identifier to the public region if the request for making the content public is received at the step b), or transferring the content corresponding to the read second file identifier to the private region if the request for making the content private is received at the step b); and

e) changing the second file identifier in accordance with a storage location of the transferred content and storing the received first file identifier and the changed second file identifier in the storage device while associating them with each other.

4. A method of browsing contents for use in the computer system according to claim 1, characterized in that:

the storage device of the information providing system further stores the first file identifier and a public flag for identifying whether the content is stored in the public or private region while associating them with each other;

the terminal device performs the step of transmitting a request for browsing the content and the first file identifier to the information providing system;

the information providing system performs the steps of;

receiving the request for browsing the content and the first file identifier;

reading the public flag and the second file identifier associated with the received first file identifier from the storage device;

authenticating a user if the read public flag indicates that the content is stored in the private region; and

dynamically creating display control information based on the content corresponding to the read second file identifier and transmitting the information to the terminal device if the user authentication is done successfully, or transmitting the display control information on the content corresponding to the second file identifier to the terminal device if the read public flag indicates that the content is stored in the public region;

and the terminal device performs the step of receiving the display control information and displaying the content based on the received display control information.

2. An information providing system for providing contents, characterized in that:

the information providing system comprises a storage device, a communication device, and a processor;

the storage device comprises a public region accessible from an external terminal device and a private region inaccessible from the external terminal device, stores content in the public or private region, and stores a first file identifier for identifying the content and a second file identifier for identifying the content while associating them with each other;

and the processor performs the steps of;

a) receiving a request for making the content public or private and the first file identifier from the external terminal device through the communication device;

b) reading the second file identifier associated with the received first file identifier from the storage device;

c) transferring the content corresponding to the read second file identifier to the public region if the request for making the content public is received at the step a), or transferring the content corresponding to the read second file identifier to the private region if the request for making the content private is received at the step a); and

d) changing the second file identifier in accordance with a storage location of the transferred content and storing the received first file identifier and the changed second file identifier in the storage device while associating them with each other.

3. An information providing program for use in the information providing system according to claim 2, characterized in that:

the processor performs the steps of;

e) receiving the request for making content public or private and the first file identifier from the external terminal device through the communication device;

f) reading the second file identifier associated with the received first file identifier from the storage device;

g) transferring the content corresponding to the read second file identifier to the public region if the request for making the content public is received at the step e), or transferring the content corresponding to the read second file identifier to the private region if the request for making the content private is received at the step e); and

h) changing the second file identifier in accordance with the storage location of the transferred content and storing the received first file identifier and the changed second file identifier in the storage device while associating them with each other.

5. The information providing system according to claim 2, characterized in that:

the storage device further stores the first file identifier and a public flag for identifying whether the content is stored in the public or private region while associating them with each other;

the processor performs the steps of;

receiving a request for browsing the content and the first file identifier from the external terminal device through the communication device;

reading the public flag and the second file identifier associated with the received first file identifier from the storage device;

authenticating a user if the read public flag indicates that the content is stored in the private region; and

dynamically creating display control information based on the content corresponding to the read second file identifier and transmitting the information to the terminal device through the communication device if the user authentication is done successfully, or transmitting the display control information on the content corresponding to the second file identifier to the terminal device through the communication device if the read public flag indicates that the content is stored in the public region.

6. An information providing program for use in the information providing system according to claim 5, characterized in that:

the processor performs the steps of;

receiving the request for browsing the content and the first file identifier from the external terminal device through the communication device;

reading the public flag and the second file identifier associated with the received first file identifier from the storage device;

authenticating the user if the read public flag indicates that the content is stored in the private region; and

dynamically creating the display control information based on the content corresponding to the read second file identifier and transmitting the information to the terminal device through the communication device if the user authentication is done successfully, or transmitting the display control information on the content corresponding to the second file identifier to the terminal device through the communication device if the read public flag indicates that the content is stored in the public region.