Information filtering system and information filtering method

• US 7,162,487 B2
• Filed: 12/29/2003
• Issued: 01/09/2007
• 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): MIZRAHI, DIANE D
• Application Number:
  US10/745,530
• Publication Number:
  US 20040139054A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,107 Days
• Field of Search: 707 1- 10, 707100-1041, 707200-206, 705/10, 705/26
• 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 from first information that is adapted to be picked up from an information storage medium or an information communications network, wherein said score is adapted to quantitatively evaluate whether access to said first information is appropriate or not for an information user, or for a group of information users to which an information user belongs; and

access control means

adapted to determine whether or not access to said first information should be denied to said information user by comparing said score with a predetermined threshold, and

adapted to transmit a signal, indicating that the access to said first information is not allowed, to a user terminal, from which said information user requested said first information, when said calculated score signal is inconsistent with said threshold.

2. The information filtering system according to claim 1, wherein said score calculating means is adapted to produce a group profile signal adapted to be prepared from both at least one key word picked up from a second information that has previously been accessed and a result of judgment of an information manger as to whether the second information is appropriate or not, and is adapted to calculate the score based on said group profile signal and at least one key word identified in the first information.

3. The information filtering system according to claim 2, further comprising:

access recording means adapted to record at least one key word that is adapted to characterize the second information, and group profile learning means adapted to update the group profile signal based on a teacher signal that is inputted by the information manager in response to third information with at least one key word newly recorded in the access recording means.

4. The information filtering system according to claim 1, wherein said calculated score signal is smaller than said threshold.

5. The information filtering system according to claim 1, wherein the access control means is adapted to cause the user terminal to display a message indicating that access to said first information is denied.