Information provision exchange service system and method, program for implementing the method, and storage medium storing the program

• US 7,523,160 B2
• Filed: 02/12/2004
• Issued: 04/21/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/13/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Eida, Masataka, Kaneko, Hajime
• Primary Examiner(s): Wong; Don
• Assistant Examiner(s): PHAN, TUANKHANH D
• Application Number:
  US10/778,266
• Publication Number:
  US 20040162904A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,895 Days
• Field of Search: 709202-204, 375/142
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0407 wherein the identity of one or more communicating identities is hidden cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for anonymous credentials or for identity based cryptographic systems H04L9/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/564 Enhancement of application control based on intercepted application data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

An information provision exchange service system that can securely prevent the transmission of information that can be used to identify a user to another party and enable users to provide and exchange information between themselves free from confidentiality concerns. A server checks registered personal information to determine whether or not information that can be used to identify any of the users using a plurality of communication terminals is included in information exchanged between the communication terminals via a communication network, and replaces the information that can be used to identify a user with other information if the information that can be used to identify the user is detected in the information exchanged between the communication terminals via the communication network.

Claims

1. An information provision exchange service system comprising:

a plurality of communication terminals, each of said communication terminals being allocated to one of a plurality of subscribers;

a communication network that communicably connects the plurality of communication terminals to each other; and

a server that mediates information exchange between said plurality of communication terminals via said communication network, said server comprising;

a registration device that registers both personal information and fictitious personal information for each of a plurality of users using said communication terminals in association with each other, wherein whether or not fictitious personal information to be registered matches the personal information of real people is checked based on personal information of real people, and wherein the registration of the fictitious personal information is performed when the fictitious personal information to be registered does not match the personal information of real people;

a detection device that checks the registered personal information to determine whether or not information that can be used to identify any of the users of said communication terminals is included in information exchanged between said plurality of communication terminals via said communication network;

a change request device that is operated when the fictitious personal information and the personal information are not dissociated, to request a change of at least one of the fictitious personal information of the user or the personal information to be registered; and

a changing device that is operated when said detection device detects based on the registered personal information that the information that can be used to identify any of the users of said communication terminals is included in the information exchanged between said communication terminals via said communication network, to replace the information that can be used to identify the user with a corresponding portion of the registered fictitious personal information.

2. An information provision exchange service system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said detection device performs an identification process on information transmitted from said communication terminals and determines whether or not information corresponding to the personal information registered for any of the users of said particular communication terminals is included in the information transmitted from said communication terminals based on results of the identification process.

3. An information provision exchange service system as claimed in claim 2, wherein:

the information exchanged between said plurality of communication terminals via said communication network includes at least one of voice data˜

l or text data; and

the identification process performed by said detection device comprises identifying the at least one of voice data or text data.

4. An information provision exchange service system as claimed in claim 1, wherein, when no fictitious personal information corresponding to the information corresponding to the personal information is registered, said changing device generates the fictitious personal information corresponding to the information corresponding to the personal information and replaces the information corresponding to the personal information with the generated fictitious personal information.

5. An information provision exchange service system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said server registration device comprises:

a determining device that determines whether or not the fictitious personal information registered by any of the users and the personal information registered by the user are dissociated.

6. An information provision exchange service system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said registration device comprises:

a storage device that stores user reference personal information obtained from data acquired by an image pickup devices; and

a determining device that compares the personal information registered by the users with the user reference personal information and determines whether or not the personal information registered by the users is correct,

wherein the change request device is operated when said determining device determines that the personal information registered by any of the users is incorrect, to request a change of the personal information for the user.

7. An information provision exchange service system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said server comprises a communication partner setting device that finds and sets a best communication partner from among the plurality of users, for at least one of the users.

8. An information provision exchange service system as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

the information exchanged between said communication terminals via said communication network includes voice data and text data; and

said server comprises an expression method changing device that changes a method of expression in the voice data or the text data depending on a related one of the users.

9. An information provision exchange service system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said server comprises a recording device that records information exchanged between said communication terminals via said communication network.

10. An information provision exchange service system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said server comprises a charging device that charges each of the users according to a use time or an amount of information exchanged.

11. A server that mediates information exchange between a plurality of communication terminals via a communication network, the server comprising:

a registration device that registers both personal information and fictitious personal information for each of a plurality of users using the communication terminals in association with each other, wherein whether or not fictitious personal information to be registered matches the personal information of real people is checked based on personal information of real people, and wherein the registration of the fictitious personal information is performed when the fictitious personal information to be registered does not match the personal information of real people;

a detection device that checks the registered personal information to determine whether or not information that can be used to identify any of the users using the communication terminals is included in information exchanged between the communication terminals via the communication network;

a change request device that is operated when the fictitious personal information and the personal information are not dissociated, to request a change of the fictitious personal information to be registered; and

a changing device that is operated when said detection device detects based on the registered personal information that the information that can be used to identify any of the users of said communication terminals is detected included in the information exchanged between said communication terminals via said communication network, to replace the information that can be used to identify the user with other a corresponding portion of the registered fictitious personal information.

12. An information provision exchange service provision method of causing a server to mediate information exchange between a plurality of communication terminals via a communication network, to provide an information provision exchange service for a plurality of users using the communication terminals, the method comprising the steps of:

registering both personal information and fictitious personal information for each of the users in association with each other, wherein whether or not fictitious personal information to be registered matches the personal information of real people is checked based on personal information of real people, and wherein the registration of the fictitious personal information is performed when the fictitious personal information to be registered does not match the personal information of real people;

checking the registered personal information to determine whether or not information that can be used to identify any of the users of the communication terminals is included in information exchanged between the communication terminals via the communication network;

requesting a change of the fictitious personal information to be registered when the fictitious personal information and the personal information are not dissociated; and

replacing the information that can be used to identify any of the users with a corresponding portion of the registered fictitious personal information when the checking step determines based on the registered personal information that the information that can be used to identify the user is included in the information exchanged between the communication terminals via the communication network.

13. A computer-readable storage medium storing a program for implementing an information provision exchange service provision method of providing an information provision exchange service for users, the program being executable on a computer that mediates information exchange between a plurality of communication terminals via a communication network, the program comprising:

a registration module for registering both personal information and fictitious personal information for each of the users using the communication terminals in association with each other, wherein whether or not fictitious personal information to be registered matches the personal information of real people is checked based on personal information of real people, and wherein the registration of the fictitious personal information is performed when the fictitious personal information to be registered does not match the personal information of real people;

a detection module for checking the registered personal information to determine whether or not information that can be used to identify any of the users using the communication terminals is included in information exchanged between the communication terminals via the communication network;

a change request module that is operated when the fictitious personal information and the personal information are not dissociated, to request a change of the fictitious personal information to be registered; and

a changing module for replacing the information that can be used to identify any of the users with other a corresponding portion of the registered fictitious personal information when the information that can be used to identify the user is detected included in the information exchanged between the communication terminals via the communication network.