Information providing server, server system, and method

• US 20100225471A1
• Filed: 02/01/2010
• Published: 09/09/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/04/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: OKI Electric Industry Company Limited
• Original Assignee: OKI Electric Industry Company Limited
• Inventors: Kawamoto, Yasutaka, Nakai, Toshihisa
• Application Number:
  US12/656,489
• Publication Number:
  US 20100225471A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/539.130
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/31 User authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2111 Location-sensitive, e.g. geographical location, GPS
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25841 involving the geographical location of the client retrieval from the Internet by querying based on geographical locations G06F16/9537; arrangements for identifying locations of receiving stations in broadcast systems H04H60/51; location of the user terminal in data switching networks H04L67/52; services making use of the location of users or terminals in wireless networks H04W4/02; locating users or terminals in wireless networks H04W64/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25875 involving end-user authentication restricting access to computer systems by authenticating users using a predetermined code G06F21/33; arrangements for secret or secure communication including means for verifying the identity or authority of a user of the system H04L9/32; networks authentication protocols H04L63/08; authentication in wireless network security H04W12/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/472 End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content end-user interfaces for retrieving video data from a database G06F16/739; network services for supporting unicast streaming H04L65/612
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

An information providing server obtains user information from a user apparatus. The user information is dependent on a place at which the user was previously located. The information providing server decides, from the user information, whether the user has been present within a permission zone including an information acquisition apparatus, and interconnects the user apparatus and the information acquisition apparatus, directly or indirectly, only if such is the case. Users who were present within the permission zone are able to obtain information acquired by the information acquisition apparatus without going through a preliminary registration procedure, while other users are unable to obtain the acquired information.

Claims

1. An information providing server comprising:

a user information acquisition unit for obtaining, from a user apparatus, user information dependent on a place at which the user was previously located;

a user information assessment unit for deciding, from the user information, whether the user was located within a permission zone including an information acquisition apparatus that acquires information for provision to the user apparatus; and

a connection control unit for controlling a connection between the information acquisition apparatus and the user apparatus so that the information acquisition apparatus and user apparatus are connected, directly or indirectly, only if the user information assessment unit decides that the user was previously located within the permission zone.

2. The information providing server of claim 1, wherein:

the user information assessment unit further decides, from the user information, whether the user was located within the permission zone within a period of time of a predetermined length extending back from a present time; and

the connection control unit allows the information acquisition apparatus and the user apparatus to be connected, directly or indirectly, only if the user information assessment unit decides that the user was located within the permission zone within said period of time.

3. The information providing server of claim 1, wherein:

the user information acquisition unit further calculates a length of time during which the user was located in the permission zone;

the user information assessment unit further decides whether the length of time calculated by the user information acquisition unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined length; and

the connection control unit allows the information acquisition apparatus and the user apparatus to be connected, directly or indirectly, only if the user information assessment unit decides that the length of time calculated by the user information acquisition unit is equal to or greater than the predetermined length.

4. The information providing server of claim 1, wherein the user information includes position information that indicates the place at which the user was previously located.

5. The information providing server of claim 4, wherein the position information indicates a position obtained from the Global Positioning System (GPS).

6. The information providing server of claim 1, wherein:

the user information includes authentication information that could only have been obtained within the permission zone; and

the user information assessment unit decides whether the user was located within the permission zone by comparing the authentication information obtained from the user apparatus with authentication information obtained from the information acquisition apparatus.

7. The information providing server of claim 6, wherein the authentication information includes unique information about the information acquisition apparatus.

8. The information providing server of claim 6, wherein the authentication information varies over time.

9. The information providing server of claim 6, wherein the authentication information is image data that could only have been obtained within the permission zone.

10. The information providing server of claim 6, wherein the authentication information is electronic data obtained from conversion of image data that could only have been obtained within the permission zone.

11. The information providing server of claim 1, wherein:

the user information acquisition unit obtains, from the information acquisition apparatus, first user information entered into the information acquisition apparatus, and obtains, as the user information, second user information sent from the user apparatus; and

the user information assessment unit decides whether the user was located within the permission zone by comparing the first user information with the second user information.

12. An information providing server system comprising:

the information providing server of claim 1; and

an information acquisition apparatus for obtaining information for provision to a user apparatus.

13. The information providing server system of claim 12, wherein the user apparatus communicates with the information providing server and the information acquisition apparatus, and the user apparatus and the information acquisition apparatus exchange user information by wireless transmission using an active tag.

14. The information providing server system of claim 12, wherein the user apparatus includes:

a first user device for obtaining the user information; and

a second user device for sending the user information to the information providing server and receiving the information acquired by the information acquisition apparatus.

15. The information providing server system of claim 14, wherein the first user device obtains the user information from the information acquisition apparatus.

16. The information providing server system of claim 14, wherein the first user device transfers the user information to the second user device.

17. The information providing server system of claim 12, wherein the user apparatus includes:

a first user device for transmitting the user information to the information acquisition apparatus; and

a second user device for sending the user information to the information providing server and receiving the information acquired by the information acquisition apparatus;

wherein

the information acquisition apparatus sends the user information to the information providing server.

18. A method of providing information comprising:

obtaining, from a user apparatus, user information dependent on a place at which the user was previously located;

deciding, from the user information, whether the user was located within a permission zone including an information acquisition apparatus that acquires information for provision to the user apparatus; and

controlling a connection between the information acquisition apparatus and the user apparatus so that the information acquisition apparatus and the user apparatus are connected, directly or indirectly, only if it is decided that the user was previously located within the permission zone.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising receiving from the user apparatus, together with the user information, a request for the information acquired by the information acquisition apparatus.

20. A machine-readable tangible medium storing instructions executable by a computing device to provide information by the method of claim 18.