Information sharing system and information sharing method

• US 20090112872A1
• Filed: 12/16/2008
• Published: 04/30/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/22/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Doi, Miwako
• Application Number:
  US12/314,756
• Publication Number:
  US 20090112872A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99932 Access augmentation or optimizing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99939 Privileged access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface

Abstract

An information sharing apparatus comprises extracting unit extracting personal information item from acquired information item which includes personal information item, generating unit generating anonymous information item by deleting personal information item from acquired information item, storing unit storing personal information item and anonymous information item, storing unit storing first access level assigned to group of users who can access only anonymous information item, and to store second access level assigned to group of users who can access both of anonymous information item and personal information item, receiving unit receiving request message for accessing acquired information item, transmitting unit transmitting only anonymous information item when access level predetermined to user is equal to first access level, synthesizing unit synthesizing personal information item with anonymous information item, transmitting unit transmitting regenerated second information item, when access level of user is equal to second access level.

Claims

1-17. -17. (canceled)

18. An information anonymizing system, comprising:

a first terminal corresponding to a first user;

a second terminal corresponding to a second user;

a first receiving unit configured to receive, from the first terminal, an authentication request including authentication information of the first user;

an authentication unit configured to execute personal authentication by using the authentication information, to obtain, if the authentication information is authentic, a first pass ID and a second pass ID, wherein a value of the first pass ID is equal to a value of the second pass ID;

a transfer unit configured to transfer one of the first pass ID or the second pass ID as a transferred pass ID to the first terminal, and store the other of the first pass ID or the second pass ID that is not transferred as a stored pass ID;

a second receiving unit configured to receive the transferred pass ID and an information item including an image of a person;

a first generation unit configured to generate a temporary ID for identifying the information item, when the transferred pass ID is equal to the stored pass ID;

an extracting unit configured to extract a contour of a person'"'"'s face from the information item, to detect an image of a person'"'"'s face as a personal information item;

a second generating unit configured to generate an anonymous information item, which is the information item without the image of the person'"'"'s face, by separating the detected personal information item from the information item;

a first storing unit configured to store a pair including the temporary ID and a personal ID corresponding to the personal information item;

an encrypting unit configured to encrypt the personal information item;

a second storing unit configured to store the encrypted personal information item and the anonymous information item to which the temporary ID and one of a plurality of levels corresponding to the personal information item are added, the plurality of levels including (a) a first access level which is assigned to a first group of users, the first group of users including users who can access only the anonymous information item out of the anonymous information item and the personal information item, and (b) a second access level which is assigned to a second group of users, the second group of users including users who can access both of the anonymous information item and the personal information item;

a third receiving unit configured to receive a request message for accessing the information item, the request message being transmitted from the second terminal;

a first transmitting unit configured to transmit only the anonymous information item out of the anonymous information item and the personal information item to the second terminal in response to the request message, when an access level predetermined to the second user of the second terminal is equal to the first access level;

a synthesizing unit configured to synthesize the personal information item with the anonymous information item to obtain a regenerated information item including the image of the person'"'"'s face; and

a second transmitting unit configured to transmit the regenerated information item in response to the request message, when the access level of the second user is equal to the second access level.

19. The system according to claim 18, wherein the synthesizing unit includes:

a first acquiring unit configured to acquire the pair, based on the temporary ID added to the anonymous information item, to obtain the personal ID of the pair; and

a second acquiring unit configured to acquire, from the second storing unit, the personal information item which corresponds to the personal ID of the pair and is to be synthesized with the anonymous information item.

20. The system according to claim 18, wherein the second generating unit generates the anonymous information item by overwriting an area corresponding to the personal information item with arbitrary symbols.