Information providing apparatus

• US 7,039,626 B2
• Filed: 07/05/2001
• Issued: 05/02/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/07/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Hirata, Masafumi
• Primary Examiner(s): Gaffin, Jeffrey
• Assistant Examiner(s): Veillard, Jacques
• Application Number:
  US10/311,571
• Publication Number:
  US 20030110159A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,762 Days
• Field of Search: 707/3, 707/9, 707/10, 707/5, 707/103.R, 707/100, 707/104.1, 707/1, 707/2, 709/206, 709/223, 709/224, 709/229, 713/182, 713/201
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/972 Access to data in other repository systems, e.g. legacy data or dynamic Web page generation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• 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 707/99944 Object-oriented database structure
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

An information providing device assisting the users who meet each other accidentally in forming a community includes a user database (306) managing user information, an information database (307, 309, 310) managing information to be provided to a user, a database management unit (301) for managing information stored in the user database (306) and the information database (307, 309, 310), an information-receiver deciding unit (302) deciding a user who receives information stored in the information database (307, 309, 310) from the user information registered in the user database (306) in accordance with a prescribed condition and providing the user with an access right to information, and an access control unit (303) receiving access from the user and dynamically constructing a page to be displayed for the access based on the information database (307, 309, 310).

Claims

1. An information providing device that provides a user with information, comprising:

a user database (306) managing user information;

an information database (307, 309, 310) managing information to be provided to a user;

a database management unit (301) for managing information stored in said user database (306) and said information database (307, 309, 310);

an information-receiver deciding unit (302) each time deciding a user who receives information stored in said information database (307, 309, 310) from the user information registered in said user database (306) in accordance with the user information stored in the user database (306) and providing the user with an access right to information; and

an access control unit (303) receiving access from the user and dynamically constructing a page to be displayed for said access based on said information database (307, 309, 310).

2. The information providing device according to claim 1, further comprising a mail transmitting unit notifying a user that an access right to information is provided by email.

3. The information providing device according to claim 1, wherein

said information-receiver deciding unit limits the number of times that said information is to be provided when the same information is to be provided to the same user, in selecting a user to be provided said information.

4. The information providing device according to claim 1, further comprising an event database managing an event created by provision of information or access from the user.

5. The information providing device according to claim 4, wherein

said event database stores a history of providing information to a user and a user'"'"'s comment for information provided to the user.

6. The information providing device according to claim 5, wherein

said access control unit selects, for information that is provided to the user and for each information that was provided to the user in the past, an event associated with that information from said event database through said database management unit and provides the user with a display of a list.

7. An information providing device that provides a user with information, comprising:

a user database managing user information for a plurality of users;

an information database managing information to be provided to a user;

a database management unit for managing information stored in said user database and said information database;

an information-receiver deciding unit selecting a user from said plurality of users to be provided information stored in said information database from the user information registered in said user database in accordance with a prescribed condition and preparing said information to be provided; and

an access control unit receiving an access request from the selected user, determining whether the selected user has an access right to said information, and if the selected user has the access right dynamically constructing a page to be displayed for said information, wherein

said information-receiver deciding unit provides a user who lives close to said user who was provided with the access right to certain information last time with an access right to that information by priority, in selecting a user to be provided information.

8. An information providing device that provides a user with information, comprising:

a user database (306) managing user information;

an information database (307, 309, 310) managing information to be provided to a user;

a database management unit (301) for managing information stored in said user database (306) and said information database (307, 309, 310);

an information-receiver deciding unit (302) deciding a user who receives information stored in said information database (307, 309, 310) from the user information registered in said user database (306) in accordance with a prescribed condition and providing the user with an access right to information; and

an access control unit (303) receiving access from the user and dynamically constructing a page to be displayed for said access based on said information database (307, 309, 310), wherein

said information-receiver deciding unit (302) provides a user having an interest/preference similar to that of a user who was provided with an access right to certain information last time with an access right to that information by priority, in deciding a user who receives an access right to information.

9. An information providing device that provides a user with information, comprising:

a user database managing user information for a plurality of users;

an information database managing information to be provided to a user;

a database management unit for managing information stored in said user database and said information database;

an information-receiver deciding unit selecting a user from the plurality of users to be provided information stored in said information database from the user information registered in said user database in accordance with a prescribed condition and preparing said information to be provided; and

an access control unit receiving an access request from the selected user, determining whether the selected user has an access right to said information, and if the selected user has the access right dynamically constructing a page to be displayed for said information, wherein

said access control unit, in response to the access request from the user, displays that information if the user is now provided with information, and displays a list of information provided in the past if the user is not provided with information now.

10. The information providing device according to claim 9, further comprising an event database managing an event created by provision of information or access from the user.

11. An information providing device that provides a user with information, comprising:

a user database managing user information for a plurality of users;

an information database managing information to be provided to a user;

a database management unit for managing information stored in said user database and said information database;

an information-receiver deciding unit selecting a user from the plurality of users to be provided information stored in said information database from the user information registered in said user database in accordance with a prescribed condition and preparing said information to be provided;

an access control unit receiving an access request from the selected user, determining whether the selected user has the access right to said information, and if the selected user has the access right dynamically constructing a page to be displayed for said information; and

position database managing a position in association with a corresponding code, wherein

said access control unit includes

a circuit for selecting an event related to certain information from said event database through said database management unit,

a circuit for selecting a position where the selected event is created from said position database through said database management unit, and

a circuit for displaying positions to which the certain information has been distributed before.

12. An information providing method for use in an information providing device including a user database (306) managing user information and an information database (307, 309, 310) managing information to be provided to a user, said method comprising the steps of:

managing information stored in said user database (306) and said information database (307, 309, 310) (S901, S902, S911, S1001, S1002, S1014);

each time deciding a user who receives information in accordance with the user information stored in the user database (306) for providing an access right to information (S903–

S910, S1003–

S1013, S2609, S2610); and

receiving access from the user and dynamically constructing a page to be displayed for said access (S1201–

S1203, S1301–

S1307, S1401–

S1410, S1501–

S1503).

13. A computer readable recording medium storing an information providing program causing a computer to perform the steps of:

managing information stored in a user database (306) managing user information and an information database (307, 309, 310) managing information to be provided to a user (S901, S902, S911, S1001, S1002, S1014);

each time deciding a user who receives information in accordance with the user information stored in the user database (306) for providing an access right to information (S903–

S910, S1003–

S1013, S2609, S2610); and

receiving access from the user and dynamically constructing a page to be displayed for said access (S1201–

S1203, S1301–

S1307, S1401–

S1410, S1501–

S1503).

14. An information providing system, comprising:

an information providing device (102); and

a terminal device (104, 105) connected to said information providing device (102) over a data communication network (101), wherein

said information providing device (102) includes

a user database (306) managing user information;

an information database (307, 309, 310) managing information to be provided to a user;

a database management unit (301) for managing information stored in said user database (306) and said information database (307, 309, 310);

an information-receiver deciding unit (302) each time deciding a user who receives information stored in said information database (307, 309, 310) from the user information registered in said user database (306) in accordance with the user information stored in the user database (306) and providing the user with an access right to information; and

an access control unit (303) receiving access from the user and dynamically constructing a page to be displayed for said access based on said information database (307, 309, 310).