Relay device

• US 8,316,102 B2
• Filed: 01/25/2011
• Issued: 11/20/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/21/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Matsuzaki, Natsume, Yokota, Kaoru, Nonaka, Masao, Hamasaki, Shogo, Hisatomi, Kenji
• Primary Examiner(s): Neurauter, George C
• Application Number:
  US13/013,180
• Publication Number:
  US 20110119458A1
• Time in Patent Office: 665 Days
• Field of Search: 709/217, 707/640
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1451 by selection of backup contents
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1456 Hardware arrangements for backup
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1464 for networked environments
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/289 Intermediate processing functionally located close to the data consumer application, e.g. in same machine, in same home or in same sub-network
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/64 file transfer between terminals

Abstract

In order to allow a user to backup data, a backup system is used to transfer data from an information terminal to a backup device via a relay device. The information terminal includes a storing unit storing the data to be backed up, and includes a communication unit transmitting the data to the relay device and transferring condition information indicating a condition to be satisfied by the relay device. Further, the relay device includes (i) a storing unit storing information relating to transfer destination devices, (ii) a receiving unit receiving the data and the transfer condition information, and (iii) a transfer control unit selecting a transfer destination device that satisfies the condition indicated by the transfer condition information, and controlling transfer of the received data in accordance with the selection. The backup device includes a receiving unit receiving the data transferred by the relay device, and a storing unit storing the received data.

Claims

1. A backup system for backing up data from a first information terminal device by transferring the data to be backed up to a first backup device via at least a second information terminal device, the backup system comprising:

the first backup device;

the first information terminal device; and

the second information terminal device,

wherein the first information terminal device includes;

a storing unit operable to store the data to be backed up; and

a communication unit operable to transmit, to the second information terminal device, the data to be backed up and transfer condition information (i) indicating a condition set by a user of the first information terminal device and to be satisfied by at least the second information terminal device that transfers the data to be backed up, and (ii) relating to a protection of the data to be backed up,

wherein the second information terminal device includes;

a device information storing unit including a physical memory storing device information, such that the device information stored in the physical memory is related to a plurality of candidate devices, and such that each of the plurality of candidate devices is a candidate for being a transfer destination of the data to be backed up;

a receiving unit operable to receive, from the first information terminal device, the data to be backed up and the transfer condition information; and

a transfer control unit operable to (i) select, from the plurality of candidate devices and as the first backup device, a device that satisfies the condition indicated by the received transfer condition information, and (ii) transfer the received data to be backed up in accordance with the selected first backup device, such that the transfer control unit transfers the received data to be backed up according to the condition set by the user of the first information terminal device, even when the first information terminal device is not able to directly write the data to be backed up into the first backup device,

wherein the receiving unit of the second information terminal device further receives a transfer deadline and a deletion deadline,

wherein, when the receiving unit of the second information terminal device receives the transfer deadline, the transfer control unit of the second information terminal device transfers the received data to be backed up, such that the first backup device receives the transferred data to be backed up before the transfer deadline,

wherein, when the receiving unit of the second information terminal device receives the deletion deadline, the transfer control unit of the second information terminal device deletes the received data to be backed up at the deletion deadline, and

wherein the first backup device is for backing up the data to be backed up and transferred from the first information terminal device via the second information terminal device and includes;

a backup data receiving unit operable to receive the data to be backed up and transferred by the transfer control unit of the second information terminal device; and

a backup data storing unit operable to store the received data to be backed up.

2. The backup system of claim 1,

wherein the condition, indicated by the transfer condition information, is that a device of the plurality of candidate devices is not identified in a blacklist identifying devices not permitted to be the transfer destination, and

wherein the transfer control unit selects, from the plurality of candidate devices and as the first backup device, a device that is not identified in the blacklist.

3. The backup system of claim 1,

wherein the device information includes a reliability level for each of the plurality of candidate devices,

wherein the transfer condition information indicates a threshold value, of the reliability level for each of the plurality of candidate devices, to be satisfied by the transfer destination, and

wherein the transfer control unit selects, from the plurality of candidate devices and as the first backup device, only a device that satisfies the threshold value.

4. The backup system of claim 1,

wherein the transfer control unit further includes a conversion processing subunit operable to perform predetermined conversion processing on the received data to be backed up, and

wherein the transfer control unit transfers the received data to be backed up after performing the predetermined conversion processing on the received data to be backed up.

5. The backup system of claim 4, wherein the second information terminal device includes a second transfer control unit operable to transfer the received data, upon which the conversion processing subunit has performed the predetermined conversion processing, to a device of the plurality of candidate devices not satisfying the condition indicated by the transfer condition information.

6. The backup system of claim 4, wherein the predetermined conversion processing performed by the conversion processing subunit includes inserting an identifier of the second information terminal device, as a digital watermark, into the received data.

7. The backup system of claim 1 further including a second backup device for backing up data transferred from the second information terminal device,

wherein the second information terminal device transfers the data received from the first information terminal device to the first backup device via the second backup device.

8. The backup system of claim 7, wherein the second information terminal device further comprises:

an exchange information transmitting unit operable to create and transmit exchange information indicating that the received data to be backed up is stored in the second information terminal device;

a transfer request receiving unit operable to receive, from another device that has received the transmitted exchange information, a request to transfer the received data to be backed up corresponding to the exchange information; and

a third transfer control unit operable to transfer the received data corresponding to the exchange information to the another device, when the transfer request receiving unit receives the request to transfer the received data corresponding to the exchange information.

9. The backup system of claim 8,

wherein, before transmitting the data to be backed up to the second information terminal device, the communication unit transmits first transmission/reception condition information to the second information terminal device, and receives second transmission/reception condition information from the second information terminal device,

wherein the first information terminal device further comprises a judging unit operable to judge whether the first transmission/reception condition information and the second transmission/reception condition information are substantially the same, and

wherein, when the judging unit judges affirmatively, the communication unit transmits the data to be backed up to the second information terminal device.

10. The backup system of claim 9,

wherein the first transmission/reception condition information is associated with transmission data that the first information terminal device transmits,

wherein the second transmission/reception condition information is associated with reception data that the first information terminal device receives from the second information terminal device,

wherein, when the judging unit judges affirmatively, the communication unit transmits the transmission data to the second information terminal device and receives the reception data from the second information terminal device, and

wherein the storing unit stores the received reception data.

11. The backup system of claim 9, wherein each of the first transmission/reception condition information and the second transmission/reception condition information includes at least one of a size of the data to be backed up, a keeping deadline until which the first information terminal device or the second information terminal device keeps the data to be backed up, a recording method for recording the data to be backed up in a recording medium and an incentive for keeping the data to be backed up.

12. The backup system of claim 11, wherein the incentive includes at least one of value information having a cash value, relay device control information indicating a right to have the second information terminal device perform predetermined processing, and viewing right information indicating a right to view a predetermined content.

13. The backup system of claim 9,

wherein the first transmission/reception condition information contains information of an amount of data to be backed up by the first information terminal device, and the second transmission/reception condition information contains information of an amount of data to be backed up by the second information terminal device, and

wherein the judging unit judges whether a value obtained by quantifying the first transmission/reception condition information is the same as a value obtained by quantifying the second transmission/reception condition information.