Information filtering for selectively limiting access

• US 6,363,383 B1
• Filed: 12/23/1998
• Issued: 03/26/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/26/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Red Hat, Inc. (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Kindo, Toshiki, Yoshida, Hideyuki, Watanabe, Taisuke
• Primary Examiner(s): Lintz, Paul R.
• Application Number:
  US09/219,436
• Time in Patent Office: 1,189 Days
• Field of Search: 701/1, 701/10, 705/26, 705/27, 705/10, 707/9, 707/1, 707/10
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/335 Filtering based on additional data, e.g. user or group profiles filtering in web context G06F16/9535, G06F16/9536
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/62 Protecting access to data via a platform, e.g. using keys or access control rules
• 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 2221/2149 Restricted operating environment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0245 Filtering by information in the payload
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• 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

The present invention aims to effectively restrict access of a general user to an inappropriate information piece at the judgment of an information manager. In order to pick up a desired information from an information storage medium or an information communication network while excluding inappropriate information, an information manager inputs suitability of information (a teacher signal) to an information presented at a user terminal 21 to a group profile learning unit 16 and prepares a group profile reflecting suitability of the information as specified by the information manager using the teacher signal. At a score calculating unit 13, a score signal indicating suitability of information is calculated for each information using the group profile, and access of an information user in a group to inappropriate information is restricted.

Claims

1. An information filtering system, comprising score calculating means for calculating a score signal to quantitatively evaluate whether an information picked up from an information storage medium or an information communication network is appropriate or not for an information user or for a group, to which an information user belongs, and access control means for selectively limiting access to the information by comparing the score signal with a threshold determined in advance.

2. The information filtering system according to claim 1, wherein said score calculating means calculates a group profile signal to be prepared from a key word picked up from the information already in access and a result of judgment of an information manager as to whether the information already in access is appropriate or not, and also calculates the score signal based on key word picked up from the information, to which access is to be made.

3. The information filtering system according to claim 2, wherein said information filtering system comprises access recording means for recording key word for characterizing the information already in access, and group profile learning means for updating the group profile signal based on a teacher signal inputted by an information manager to an information with key word thereof newly recorded in the access recording means.

4. An information filtering method, comprising the steps of calculating a score signal for quantitatively evaluating whether an information picked up from an information storage medium or an information communication network is appropriate or not for an information user or for a group, to which an information user belongs, and selectively limiting access to said information by comparing said score signal with a threshold determined in advance.

5. The information filtering method according to claim 4, wherein said method comprises the steps of preparing a group profile from a key word picked up from the information already in access or a result of judgment of the information manager as to whether the information already in access is appropriate or not, and calculating a score signal from said group profile and the key word picked up from said information.

6. The information filtering method according to claim 5, wherein said method comprises the steps of sequentially recording key words for characterizing the information already in access and updating the group profile signal based on a teacher signal inputted by the information manager to the information with key word thereof newly recorded.

7. A recording medium in which a program is prerecorded in such a manner that it is readable by a computer, said program comprises the steps of calculating a score signal for quantitatively evaluating whether an information picked up from an information storage medium or an information communication network is appropriate or not for an information user or for a group, to which an information user belongs, and selectively limiting access to said information by comparing said score signal with a threshold determined in advance.

8. The recording medium according to claim 7, wherein said program comprises the steps of preparing a group profile based on key word picked from an information already in access and from a result of judgment of an information manager as to whether the information already in access is appropriate or not, and calculating a score signal based on said group profile and the key word picked up from said information.

9. The recording medium according to claim 8, wherein said program comprises the steps of sequentially recording key words for characterizing the information already in access and updating the group profile signal by a teacher signal inputted by the information manager to an information with key word thereof newly recorded.