METHOD OF TRANSMITTING ANONYMOUS MESSAGE AND MESSAGE TRANSMISSION SYSTEM USING THE SAME

• US 20150081815A1
• Filed: 07/14/2014
• Published: 03/19/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/17/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: RHIM, Eun-hee
• Granted Patent: US 10,579,826 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6254 by anonymising data, e.g. decorrelating personal data from the owner's identification
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2137 Time limited access, e.g. to a computer or data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2143 Clearing memory, e.g. to prevent the data from being stolen
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/48 Message addressing, e.g. address format or anonymous messages, aliases
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0421 Anonymous communication, i.e. the party's identifiers are hidden from the other party or parties, e.g. using an anonymizer

Abstract

An anonymous message transmission method and a message transmission system using the same. In an anonymous message transmission method of a message transmission system, a terminal device transmits a message created by a user to a server when the terminal device is set to an anonymous transmission mode and receives a message transmission command from the user, and the server generates an anonymous message by eliminating user information included in the message, and transmits the anonymous message to an external terminal device.

Claims

1. An anonymous message transmission method of a message transmission system, the method comprising:

at a terminal device, transmitting a message created by a user to a server when the terminal device is set to an anonymous transmission mode and receives a message transmission command from the user;

at the server, generating an anonymous message by eliminating user information included in the message; and

at the server, transmitting the anonymous message to an external terminal device.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein in the transmitting operation, the message is divided into a plurality of segments and is transmitted to the server over a plurality of paths, and

the server restores the segments transmitted over the plurality of paths to the message.

3. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein in the transmitting operation, each of the segments is encoded and is transmitted to the server, and

the server decodes each of the encoded segments, and restores the decoded segments of the message.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

at the terminal device, displaying a user interface (UI) to set a message transmission mode when a predetermined user command is input; and

at the terminal device, changing the message transmission mode of the terminal device into the anonymous transmission mode when a user command to change the message transmission mode into the anonymous transmission mode is input through the UI.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the anonymous transmission mode comprises a first anonymous transmission mode to transmit the message to the external terminal device using anonymous identification (ID), and a second anonymous transmission mode to transmit the message back to the terminal device using the anonymous ID.

6. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein when the terminal device is in the first anonymous transmission mode, the generating operation comprises:

eliminating the user information included in the message and replacing the user information with random ID; and

generating the anonymous message by adding anonymous ID corresponding to the random ID.

7. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein in the transmitting operation, the anonymous message is transmitted to the external terminal device designated by the user of the terminal device or is transmitted to the external terminal device in a multicast method.

8. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein when the terminal device is in the second anonymous transmission mode, the generating operation comprises:

eliminating the user information included in the message;

dividing the message into a plurality of segments and encoding the segments; and

generating the anonymous message by mixing the encoded segments.

9. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein in the transmitting operation, when a predetermined command is input by the user of the terminal device, the server decodes the encoded anonymous message and transmits the decoded anonymous message to the terminal device.

10. The method as claimed in claim 8, further comprising:

at the server, permanently eliminating the encoded anonymous message when a predetermined period of time has elapsed, or when an elimination command is input by the user.

11. A message transmission system comprising:

a terminal device configured to transmit a message created by a user to a server when a terminal device is set to an anonymous transmission mode and receives a message transmission command from the user;

the server configured to generate an anonymous message by eliminating user information included in the transmitted message and to transmit the anonymous message to an external terminal device.

12. The system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the terminal device divides the message into a plurality of segments and transmits the segments to the server over a plurality of paths, and

the server restores the segments of the message transmitted over the plurality of paths.

13. The system as claimed in claim 12, wherein the terminal device encodes each of the segments and transmits the encoded segments to the server, and

the server decodes each of the encoded segments, and restores the decoded segments of the message.

14. The system as claimed in claim 11, wherein when a predetermined user command is input the terminal device displays a user interface (UI) to set a message transmission mode, and when a user command to change the message transmission mode into the anonymous transmission mode is input through the UI, the terminal device changes the message transmission mode of the terminal device into the anonymous transmission mode.

15. The system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the anonymous transmission mode comprises a first anonymous transmission mode to transmit the message to the external terminal device using anonymous identification (ID), and a second anonymous transmission mode to transmit the message back to the terminal device using the anonymous ID.

16. The system as claimed in claim 15, wherein when the terminal device is in the first anonymous transmission mode, the server generates the anonymous message by eliminating the user information included in the message, replacing the user information with random ID, and adding anonymous ID corresponding to the random ID.

17. The system as claimed in claim 16, wherein the server transmits the anonymous message to the external terminal device designated by the user of the terminal device or transmits the anonymous message to the external terminal device in a multicast method.

18. The system as claimed in claim 15, wherein when the terminal device is in the second anonymous transmission mode, the server generates the anonymous message by eliminating the user information included in the message, dividing the message into a plurality of segments, encoding the segments, and mixing the encoded segments.

19. The system as claimed in claim 18, wherein when a predetermined command is input by the user of the terminal device, the server decodes the encoded anonymous message and transmits the decoded anonymous message to the terminal device.

20. The system as claimed in claim 18, wherein when a predetermined period of time has elapsed, or when an elimination command is input by the user, the server permanently eliminates the encoded anonymous message.

21. A server comprising:

a communicator configured to receive a message created to transmit anonymously from a terminal device; and

a controller configured to generate an anonymous message by eliminating user information included in the message and to control the communicator to transmit the anonymous message to an external terminal device.

22. A terminal device comprising:

a communicator configured to communicate with a server; and

a controller configured to control the communicator to transmit a message created by a user to a server together with information regarding an anonymous transmission mode so that the server eliminates user information included in the message, generates an anonymous message, and externally transmits the anonymous message when the terminal device is set to an anonymous transmission mode and receives a message transmission command from a user.

23. A method of managing messages at a server, the method comprising:

receiving, at a communicator, a message created externally to be transmitted according to information included with the message; and

generating an anonymous message by eliminating user information included in the message and controlling the communicator to transmit the anonymous message to an external terminal device when the information received includes anonymous status information.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the information in the received message is input by a user at an external device.

25. A method of managing messages at a terminal device, the method comprising:

receiving an input by a user corresponding to an anonymous transmission mode; and

controlling a communicator to transmit a message created by the user to a server, the message including information regarding an anonymous transmission mode to instruct the server to eliminate user information included in the message.