Data transfer method and server computer system

• US 8,156,077 B2
• Filed: 03/11/2009
• Issued: 04/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Maxell, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Wakabayashi, Noboru
• Primary Examiner(s): Cottingham, John R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): REYES, MARIELA D
• Application Number:
  US12/401,795
• Publication Number:
  US 20090234893A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,126 Days
• Field of Search: 707/622, 707/624, 707/626, 707/913
• US Class Current: 707/622
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9577 Optimising the visualization of content, e.g. distillation of HTML documents
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/913 Multimedia
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99952 Coherency, e.g. same view to multiple users
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability

Abstract

A server computer system generates, for data stored in a transmission source server, index information including a data identification number, a data type, information for the data such as copyright information and an address of a server whereat the data are stored, and transmits only the index information to a hand-held information terminal carried by the owner of the transmission source server, thereby, a data transfer is requested for transferring, to a transmission destination server, data indicating the index information from the hand-held information terminal to the transmission destination server in accordance with the index information held by the hand-held information terminal and an address of the transmission destination server.

Claims

1. A content transmission method, in a content transmission system in which a first information apparatus at a network address is connected with a second information apparatus via the network, comprising the steps of:

verifying, by the first information apparatus, a hand-held information terminal, which accesses the first information apparatus via the network;

receiving, by the hand-held information terminal, identification information of a content and a thumbnail of the content, both of which are stored in the first information apparatus, in response to the verifying of the hand-held information terminal;

displaying, by the hand-held information terminal, the received identification information and the received thumbnail on the hand-held information terminal as a content list;

accepting, at the hand-held information terminal, selection of a content from the displayed content list;

sending, by the hand-held information terminal, the identification information of the content selected from the displayed content list and the address of the first information apparatus at which the content selected is stored, to the second information apparatus;

preparing, by the second information apparatus, a content transmission request that is sent to the first information apparatus, the content transmission request including the identification information of the content selected and a destination network address to which the first information apparatus will send the content;

receiving, by the first information apparatus, the content transmission request for the selected content; and

transmitting, by the first information apparatus, the selected content to the destination network address contained in the content transmission request via the network.

2. The content transmission method according to claim 1, wherein

the first information apparatus stores identification information of the hand-held information terminal, and

the verifying step performed by the first information apparatus includes the substeps of:

receiving the identification information of the hand-held information terminal; and

verifying the hand-held information terminal if the stored terminal identification information coincides with the received terminal identification information.

3. The content transmission method according to claim 1, wherein

the content transmission request is sent to an address of the first information apparatus, which is stored in the hand-held information terminal.

4. The content transmission method according to claim 1, wherein

the first information apparatus checks copyright information of the selected content upon receipt of the content transmission request, and

the first information apparatus denies transmission of the selected content if the checked copyright information indicates that transfer of the content is inhibited.

5. The content transmission method according to claim 1, wherein

the first information apparatus checks copyright information of the selected content upon receipt of the content transmission request, and

the first information apparatus makes the hand-held information terminal display an error that the content transfer is not permitted if the checked copyright information indicates that transfer of the content is inhibited.

6. A content transmission method according to claim 1, wherein the first information apparatus sends to the hand-held information terminal, along with the identification information of the content, an information generation number that is incremented each time the identification information of the content is transferred, wherein the information generation number of the transferring content is limited up to a predetermined maximum generation number.

7. A content transmission method according to claim 1, wherein the first information apparatus creates identification information of a content in response to verification of the hand-held information terminal.

8. A content transmission method according to claim 1, wherein the first information apparatus creates the thumbnail based on the stored content, the thumbnail has its size such that the content can be displayed by the hand-held information terminal.

9. A content transmission method according to claim 1, wherein the hand-held information terminal communicates the second information apparatus via wireless LAN or infrared red.

14. The hand-held information terminal according to claim 8, wherein

the display unit displays an error message that the content transfer is not permitted as an answer to the content transmission request if the first information apparatus checks copyright information of the selected content upon receipt of the content transmission request and the checked copyright information indicates that transfer of the content is inhibited.

10. A hand-held information terminal, configured to be connected with a first information apparatus at a network address of a computer network and a second information apparatus via the network, comprising:

a network communication unit which sends own terminal identification information to the first information apparatus via the network;

a reception unit which receives identification information of a content and a thumbnail of the content, both of which are stored in the first information apparatus, if the hand-held information terminal is verified by the first information apparatus based on the sent terminal identification information;

a display unit which displays the received identification information and the thumbnail of the content as a content list;

an input unit which accepts a selection of the content from the displayed content list; and

an identification information transmitting unit which transmits the received identification information of the selected content and the address of the first information apparatus to the second information apparatus such that the second information apparatus transmits to the address of the first information apparatus a content transmission request that specifies the selected content, the content transmission request including a destination network address to which the first information apparatus sends the selected content via the network in response to the content transmission request.

11. The hand-held information terminal according to claim 10, wherein

the hand-held information terminal is verified if the terminal identification information stored in the first information apparatus coincides with the terminal identification information sent from the network communication unit of the hand-held information terminal to the first information apparatus.

12. The hand-held information terminal according to claim 10, wherein

the content transmission request is sent by the hand-held information terminal to an address of the first information apparatus, which is stored in the hand-held information terminal.

13. The hand-held information terminal according to claim 11, wherein

the content transmission request is denied if the first information apparatus checks copyright information of the selected content upon receipt of the content transmission request and the checked copyright information indicates that transfer of the content is inhibited.

15. A first information apparatus at a network address of a computer network, the first information apparatus configured to be connected with a second information apparatus via the network, the first information apparatus comprising:

a storage unit, which stores a content;

a network communication unit, which receives identification information of a hand-held information terminal from the hand-held information terminal via the network;

a verification unit, which verifies the hand-held information terminal based on the terminal identification information received at the network communication unit;

a transmission unit, which transmits identification information of the content and a thumbnail of the content stored in the storage unit to the hand-held information terminal, if the hand-held information terminal is verified by the verification unit;

a reception unit, which receives a content transmission request from the second information apparatus which had received the address of the first information apparatus and the identification information of the content selected at the hand-held information terminal from a content list generated based on the identification information and thumbnail of the content, the content transmission request including the identification information of the selected content and a destination network address to which the selected content will be sent; and

a content transmission unit, which transmits the selected content to the destination network address included in the content transmission request, via the network.

16. The first information apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the storage unit stores identification information of the hand-held information terminal, and

the verification unit verifies the hand-held information terminal if the stored terminal identification information coincides with the terminal identification information received from the hand-held information terminal.

17. The first information apparatus according to claim 15, wherein an address of the first information apparatus is notified to the hand-held information terminal such that the hand-held information terminal sends the content transmission request to the notified address.

18. The first information apparatus according to claim 15, further comprising:

a copyright information checking unit, which checks copyright information of the selected content upon receipt of the content transmission request,

wherein the copyright information checking unit denies transmission of the selected content if the checked copyright information indicates that transfer of the content is inhibited.

19. The first information apparatus according to claim 15, further comprising:

a copyright information checking unit which checks copyright information of the selected content upon receipt of the content transmission request,

wherein the copyright information checking unit sends to the hand-held information terminal error information that the content transfer is not permitted if the checked copyright information indicates that transfer of the content is inhibited.

20. A content transmission method for sending content over a computer network, the method comprising:

receiving, at a hand-held information terminal on the computer network, identification information of content stored at a first information apparatus at a network address of the computer network;

displaying, at the hand-held information terminal, the received identification information as a content list;

sending, by the hand-held information terminal to the second information apparatus, identification information of content selected at the hand-held information terminal from the content list of the received content and the network address of the first information apparatus at which the content is stored;

sending, by the second information apparatus to the first information apparatus, a content transmission request, the content transmission request including the identification information of the content selected and the network address of a content transfer destination on the network; and

transmitting, by the first information apparatus, the content selected to the network address of the content transfer destination.