JP2009181334A - Information management proxy device, service providing system, and service providing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To extend a service in order to provide a service which is more suitable for a user or beneficial for a user in a service providing system configured by including an information management proxy device for managing the attribute information of the user and a service providing device which provides a service to the user by extracting attribute information from the information management proxy device through a network. <P>SOLUTION: When receiving an information request signal for requesting the personal attribute information of a user from a service site 200, an information management acting site 300 collects additional information relevant to the personal attribute information of the user requested by the information request signal, and transmits the collected additional information together with the personal attribute information requested by the information request signal to the service site 200. Meanwhile, the service site 200 provides a service to the user based on information transmitted from the information management acting site 300. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an information management proxy device, a service providing system, and a service providing method for managing attribute information of a user and providing attribute information to a service providing device that provides a service to the user.

  In recent years, in an Internet service that provides various services via the Internet, a user often provides personal attribute information to a service site when trying to receive some service. The personal attribute information here is information related to the user such as name, sex, address, telephone number, date of birth, and the like.

  For example, in Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2, the service site manages the personal attribute information of the user, collects information from other service sites based on the personal attribute information, and provides the collected information to the user By doing so, an Internet service is disclosed that enables various services to be used centrally.

  On the other hand, in recent years, leakage and leakage of personal information has become a major social problem, and it is required to strictly manage personal attribute information in the above-described Internet service. For this reason, in recent years, sites that have enhanced security in order to specialize in managing personal attribute information have appeared. This site is called “information management agency site”.

  Such an information management agency site exists as a user's agent, and provides personal attribute information of the requested user out of the managed personal attribute information in response to a request from the service site. . The service site obtains the user's personal attribute information from the information management agency site, and provides various services to the user.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a conventional service providing system using an information management agency site. As shown in the figure, this service providing system includes user terminals 10 ₁ to 10 _n , service sites 20 _{1 to} 20 _n and an information management agency site 30 that are communicably connected via the Internet 40. Has been.

In such a service providing system, each of the user terminals 10 ₁ to 10 _n is operated by a user and transmits a service request to the service sites 20 _{1 to} 20 _n . Each of the service sites 20 _{1 to} 20 _n provides the requested service in response to a request from the user. Further, the information management agency site 30 manages the personal attribute information of the user and provides the requested personal attribute information in response to requests from the service sites 20 _{1 to} 20 _n .

For example, the service request from the user terminal 10 ₁ to the service site 20 ₁ is transmitted (see (1) in the figure). In that case, the service site 20 ₁ receives the request for service, and transmits the information request signal for requesting the personal attribute information relating to the user terminal 10 ₁ of the user to the information management agent site 30 (in figure ( 2)). The information request signal transmitted here includes a service site ID assigned so as to be unique for each service site, a user ID assigned so as to be unique for each user, and the like.

Information management agent site 30 receives the information request signal, authenticates the service site 20 ₁ based on the service site ID included in the information request signal (see (3) in the figure), and further, utilized user ID to authenticate the user terminal 10 ₁ of the user based on (see (4) in the figure). When the service site and the user are authenticated, the information management agency site 30 searches the personal attribute information of the requested user from the personal attribute information database that manages the attribute information for each user ID. - collect (see (5) in the figure), and transmits the collected personal attribute information to the service site 20 ₁ (see (6) in the figure).

Service site 20 ₁ which has received the personal attribute information, based on the personal attribute information, to provide the requested service to the user terminal 10 ₁ of the user (see (7) in the figure). At this time, usually, the service site 20 _1, if not only obtained a part of the personal attribute information required by the rejection of the user, or abort the provision of services or grades of the contents is restricted Control the service to provide a low service.

As described above, in the conventional service providing system, the service sites 20 _{1 to} 20 _n do not manage the personal attribute information of the user, but the information management agent with enhanced security to specialize in managing the personal attribute information. The site 30 manages user management information in an integrated manner, thereby preventing leakage and leakage of personal attribute information.

“Go one billing”, [November 19, 2007 search], Internet <URL: http://billing.goo.ne.jp/index.html> “Agurippa Account Aggregation Service”, [searched on November 19, 2007], Internet <URL: http://agurippa.com/about/index.html>

  However, the above-described conventional service providing system has a problem that it is difficult to expand the service in order to provide a service more suitable for the user or useful for the user.

  Specifically, in the information management agency site, since functions and information that can be provided are limited, it is difficult to expand services. In addition, when expanding services, it is necessary to prepare a new program for collecting and managing information other than necessary personal attribute information at the service site, which is a burden in terms of cost or performance. Therefore, it is difficult to expand the service.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems caused by the prior art, and is information that can be expanded to provide services that are more suitable for users or that are useful to users. It is an object to provide a management proxy device, a service providing system, and a service providing method.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the invention according to claim 1 is an information management agent that manages attribute information of a user and provides attribute information to a service providing device that provides a service to the user. When an information request signal requesting the user attribute information is transmitted from the service providing apparatus, additional information related to the user attribute information requested by the information request signal is collected. An information collecting unit and an information transmitting unit that transmits additional information collected by the information collecting unit to the service providing apparatus together with attribute information requested by the information request signal.

  Further, in the invention according to claim 2, in the above invention, the information collecting means is set in the attribute information requested by the information request signal as not being provided to the service providing apparatus. If the information that cannot be provided is included, the alternative information that replaces the information that cannot be provided is further collected, and the information transmitting unit collects the alternative information collected by the information collecting unit when transmitting the attribute information. Is included in the attribute information instead of the provision impossible information.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the above invention, the additional information item related to the attribute information of the user is associated with a service providing apparatus ID assigned so as to be unique for each service providing apparatus. And when the information request signal including the service providing device ID is transmitted from the service device, the additional information item associated with the service providing device ID is Additional information item acquisition means for acquiring from the additional information item stored by the additional information item storage means, the information collection means is information on the additional information item acquired by the additional information item acquisition means It is characterized by collecting as additional information.

  In the invention according to claim 4, in the above invention, the additional information item storage unit further stores an additional information item related to the attribute information of the service providing apparatus in association with the service providing apparatus ID, The information collecting means collects additional information items related to attribute information of the user and the service providing apparatus as the additional information, respectively.

  The invention according to claim 5 is an information management proxy device that manages user attribute information, and a service providing device that acquires attribute information from the information management proxy device via a network and provides a service to the user. The information management proxy device is requested by the information request signal when the information request signal requesting the user attribute information is transmitted from the service providing device. Information collecting means for collecting additional information related to the attribute information of the user and the additional information collected by the information collecting means are transmitted to the service providing apparatus together with the attribute information requested by the information request signal. An information transmission unit, wherein the service providing device is based on information transmitted from the information management proxy device by the information transmission unit. Characterized in that and a service providing means for providing a service to the user.

  The invention according to claim 6 is an information management proxy device that manages user attribute information, and a service providing device that acquires attribute information from the information management proxy device and provides a service to the user via a network. A service providing method applied to a service providing system including the information management proxy device when the information request signal for requesting the attribute information of the user is transmitted from the service providing device. An information collecting step of collecting additional information related to the attribute information of the user requested by the information request signal, and the information management proxy device sends the additional information collected by the information collecting step to the information request An information transmission step of transmitting to the service providing device together with attribute information requested by the signal, and the service providing device according to the information transmitting step. The information on the basis of the information transmitted from the management proxy device, characterized in that it contains a service providing step of providing a service to the user Te.

  According to the first, fifth, or sixth aspect of the invention, the information management proxy device uses the request requested by the information request signal when the information request signal requesting the attribute information of the user is transmitted from the service providing device. Additional information related to the user's attribute information is collected, and the collected additional information is transmitted to the service providing apparatus together with the attribute information requested by the information request signal. The service providing apparatus transmits information transmitted from the information management proxy device. Since the service is provided to the user based on the above, it is possible to expand the service to provide a service more suitable for the user or useful for the user by using the additional information. Play.

  According to the invention of claim 2, the information management proxy device includes the disabling information that is set so as not to be provided to the service providing device in the attribute information requested by the information request signal. If this information is used, the alternative information that replaces the information that cannot be provided is further collected, and when the attribute information is transmitted, the collected alternative information is included in the attribute information instead of the information that cannot be provided. Thus, it is possible to compensate for the service degradation caused by the failure to acquire the personal attribute information, and it is possible to expand the service in order to provide the user with a service corresponding to the alternative information.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, when the service providing device requests the provision of the service from the user, the service providing device ID is assigned to the service providing device ID so as to be unique for each service providing device. The information management proxy device stores the additional information item related to the user attribute information in association with the service providing device ID, and when the information request signal is transmitted from the service providing device, The additional information item associated with the service providing device ID included in the information request signal is acquired from the stored additional information item, and information about the acquired additional information item is collected as additional information. The additional information can be changed accordingly, and the service can be expanded more flexibly.

  According to the invention of claim 4, the information management agent device further stores an additional information item related to the attribute information of the service providing device in association with the service providing device ID, and stores the attribute of the user and the service providing device. Additional information items related to information are collected as additional information, respectively. Therefore, not only the additional information related to the personal attribute information of the user but also the additional information related to the attribute information of the service site can be used to provide the service. There is an effect that it is possible to widen the range of services provided to users.

  Exemplary embodiments of an information management proxy device, a service providing system, and a service providing method according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the embodiments described below, “service site” corresponds to “service providing apparatus” described in the claims, and “information management proxy site” corresponds to “information management proxy device”.

  First, an overview of the service providing system according to the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an overview of the service providing system according to the first embodiment. As shown in the figure, the service providing system includes a user terminal 100, a service site 200, and an information management agency site 300 that are communicably connected via the Internet 400. Here, for convenience of explanation, one user terminal 100 and one service site 200 are shown, but a large number of user terminals 100 and service sites 200 are connected to this service providing system.

  In such a service providing system, the user terminal 100 is operated by the user and transmits a service request to the service site 200. The service site 200 provides the requested service in response to a request from the user. The information management agency site 300 manages the personal attribute information of the user and provides the requested personal attribute information in response to a request from the service site 200.

  With such a configuration, in the service providing system according to the first embodiment, when the information management agency site 300 provides the requested personal attribute information, not only the personal attribute information but also the personal attribute information is provided. And additional information related to the attribute information of the service site 200 are further provided.

  For example, it is assumed that a service request is transmitted from the user terminal 100 to the service site 200 (see (1) in the figure). In this case, when receiving the service request, the service site 200 transmits an information request signal for requesting personal attribute information regarding the user of the user terminal 100 to the information management proxy site 300 (see FIG. (See (2)).

  The information request signal transmitted here includes information indicating personal attribute information requested to the information management proxy site 300. For example, as shown in the figure, the service site 200 includes “attribute item 1”, “attribute item 2”, and “attribute item 3” as the requested personal attribute information in addition to the service site ID and user ID described above. The information request signal containing each is transmitted.

  When the information management proxy site 300 receives the information request signal, the information management proxy site 300 authenticates the service site 200 based on the service site ID included in the information request signal (see (3) in the figure). Based on the ID, the user of the user terminal 100 is authenticated (see (4) in the figure). When the service site and the user are authenticated, the information management agency site 300 retrieves the requested user's personal attribute information from the personal attribute information database managing the attribute information for each user ID. • Collect (see (5) in the figure).

  At this time, the information management agency site 300 searches and collects the personal attribute information of the user, and also collects additional information related to the personal attribute information and information related to the attribute information of the service site 200 ( (See (6) in the figure). Here, as the additional information related to the personal attribute information of the user, for example, there is information such as the zodiac and the constellation as related to the date of birth, the date when using the service, the weather, There is information such as age. Further, examples of the additional information related to the attribute information of the service site 200 include information such as weather and age as information related to the address of the service site at the time of service provision. When collecting these additional information, for example, as shown in the figure, various external information providing sites connected via the Internet, such as a weather information site, may be used.

  When retrieving / collecting the user's personal attribute information, the information management agency site 300 is set in the requested personal attribute information as being unable to be provided to the service site 200 due to rejection from the user. If personal attribute information (hereinafter referred to as “non-provisionable information”) is included, another information (hereinafter referred to as “alternative information”) that compensates for the information is further collected. As an example of this alternative information, for example, there is information such as a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of a website where user information (such as a name) is disclosed. When collecting such alternative information, for example, an external information search site connected via the Internet may be used as shown in FIG.

  Then, the information management agency site 300 transmits the collected personal attribute information, additional information, and alternative information to the service site 200 in addition to the user ID (see (7) in the figure). For example, as shown in the figure, the information management agency site 300 includes “attribute entity 1” and “attribute entity 3” as actual data of collected personal attribute information and “additional information” as additional information in addition to the user ID. “Alternative information 2” is transmitted as alternative information to make up attribute information 2 and “information A” and “additional information B”.

  The service site 200 that has received the information provides a service to the user of the user terminal 100 based on the received information (see (8) in FIG. 5). At this time, conventionally, when only a part of necessary personal attribute information is obtained due to the rejection of the user, the provision of the service is stopped or a low-grade service with limited contents is provided. It had been.

  However, in the service providing system according to the present embodiment, even in such a case, additional information and alternative information that compensate for the shortage of personal attribute information are provided to the service site 200. Appropriate services can be provided to users. As described above, in the service providing system according to the present embodiment, by using additional information and alternative information, it is possible to expand services to provide services that are more suitable for users or that are useful to users. It is.

  Hereinafter, the service providing system according to the first embodiment will be specifically described. First, provision of additional information in the service providing system according to the first embodiment will be described. In the first embodiment, the case where the information management proxy site 300 provides predetermined additional information based on the service site ID transmitted from the service site 200 in the service providing system will be described.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining provision of additional information in the service providing system according to the first embodiment. As shown in the figure, specifically, in the first embodiment, when the service site 200 is requested by a user to provide a service, an information request signal for requesting personal attribute information of the user is displayed as an information request signal. It transmits to the management agency site 300.

  At this time, the service site 200 includes, for example, “attribute item 1”, “attribute item 2”, and “attribute item 3” as personal attribute information requested to the information management proxy site 300 in addition to the service site ID and the user ID. "Is transmitted (see (1) in the figure).

  When the information request signal is received, the information management proxy site 300 provides the personal attribute information to the service site 200. Here, the information management agency site 300, for example, adds “additional information 1”, which is additional information related to the attribute item 1, and “additional information 3”, which is additional information related to the attribute item 3, respectively. Assume that management is performed in association with 200 service site IDs.

  In this case, the information management surrogate site 300 includes, in addition to the user ID, “attribute entity 1” and “attribute entity 3”, which are actual data of the requested personal attribute information, as additional information related to the attribute item 1. “Additional information 1”, “Additional information 3” as additional information related to attribute item 3, “Additional information A” and “Additional information B” as additional information related to service site 200, and attribute information 2 “Alternative information 2” is transmitted as alternative information (see (2) in the figure).

  Next, configurations of the service site 200 and the information management proxy site 300 in the service providing apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating configurations of the service site 200 and the information management agency site 300 in the service providing system according to the first embodiment.

  As shown in the figure, the service site 200 is a device that obtains personal attribute information of a user from the information management agency site 300 via the Internet 400 and provides a service. As a functional unit related to the present invention, A communication unit 210 and a service providing unit 220 are included.

  The communication unit 210 is a processing unit that controls transmission / reception of information exchanged with the user terminal 100 and the information management proxy site 300. For example, the communication unit 210 receives information related to a service request from the user terminal 100 and transmits information related to service provision to the user terminal 100. In addition, the communication unit 210 transmits an information request signal for requesting user attribute information to the information management agency site 300, and receives attribute information, additional information, alternative information, and the like from the information management agency site 300.

  The service providing unit 220 is a processing unit that provides a service to the user based on the information transmitted from the information management agency site 300. Specifically, when the service providing unit 220 receives information related to a service request from the user terminal 100 via the communication unit 210, the service providing unit 220 determines the service site ID and service for uniquely identifying the service site 200. An information request signal including the user ID of the requesting user and personal attribute information requested from the information management proxy site 300 (for example, “attribute item 1”, “attribute item 2”, “attribute item 3”, etc.) Then, the information is transmitted to the information management agency site 300 via the communication unit 210.

  After that, when the additional information and the alternative information are transmitted from the information management agency site 300 together with the requested personal attribute information, the service providing unit 220 performs a predetermined process relating to the provision of the requested service based on the information. The information regarding the provision of the service is transmitted to the user terminal 100 via the communication unit 210.

  On the other hand, the information management agency site 300 is a device that manages user attribute information. As a functional unit related to the present invention, the communication unit 310, the personal attribute information database 320, the additional information item database 330, and the use Person authentication unit 340, service site authentication unit 350, personal attribute information management unit 360, additional information item management unit 370, additional information / alternative information collection unit 380, and control unit 390.

  The communication unit 310 is a processing unit that controls transmission / reception of information exchanged with the service site 200. For example, the communication unit 310 receives, from the service site 200, an information request signal that requests user attribute information, and transmits additional information, alternative information, and the like to the service site 200 together with the requested attribute information.

  The personal attribute information database 320 is a storage unit that stores personal attribute information of users. Specifically, this personal attribute information database stores a user's personal attribute information and a provision availability flag indicating whether or not the personal attribute information can be provided to the service site 200 in association with the user ID. The personal attribute information and the availability flag are registered through the service site 200 when the user registers for use of the service.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored by the personal attribute information database 320. As shown in the figure, for example, the personal attribute information database 320 includes “attribute item 1” indicating the name of the user, “attribute item 2” indicating the date of birth of the user, and “attribute” indicating the address of the user. Item 3 "personal attribute information," providing availability flag 1 "indicating whether or not the attribute item 1 is provided," providing availability flag 2 "indicating whether or not the attribute item 2 is provided, and" providing "indicating whether or not the attribute item 3 is provided A provision availability flag such as “availability flag 3” is stored in association with each user ID.

  Here, as shown in the figure, for example, “0” is set in the provision availability flag, and “1” is set in the provision impossible flag. The value set in the provision availability flag is set at the judgment of the user when registering the personal attribute information. If a value indicating that provision is not possible is set, the personal attribute information corresponding to the provision availability flag is set. Are treated as the “unavailable items” described above. For example, for personal attribute information whose provision to the service site 200 is rejected by the user, “1” is set in the provision propriety flag, and for other personal attribute information, the provision propriety flag is set in each provision propriety flag. “0” is set.

  The additional information item database 330 is a storage unit that stores additional information items (hereinafter referred to as “additional information items”) provided to the service site. Specifically, the additional information item database 330 stores additional information items related to the user's personal attribute information and additional information items related to the service site attribute information in association with the service site ID, respectively. To do.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in the additional information item database 330. As shown in the figure, for example, the additional information item database 330 sets “additional information 1” as the additional information item related to “attribute item 1” in the personal attribute information database shown in FIG. "Additional information 3" as an additional information item related to "additional information A" and "additional information B" as additional information items related to the attribute information of the service site given the service site ID1, respectively It is stored in association with ID1.

  The “additional information 1” and “additional information 3” mentioned here are, for example, information such as the zodiac signs and constellations related to the date of birth, the date of service use related to the user's address, weather, and age. The “additional information A” and “additional information B” are information such as weather and age related to the address of the service site.

  The user authentication unit 340 is a processing unit that performs processing related to user authentication under the control of the control unit 390 described later. Specifically, when the control unit 390 controls the user authentication unit 340 to authenticate the user, the user attribute information specified by the control unit 390 is stored in the personal attribute information database 320. It is confirmed whether or not it is included in the user ID.

  If the user ID is included, the user authentication unit 340 notifies the control unit 390 that the user with the user ID has been authenticated. On the other hand, when the user ID is not included, the user authentication unit 340 notifies the control unit 390 that the user with the user ID is not authenticated.

  In addition, although the case where the user authentication unit 340 authenticates the user using the user ID stored in the personal attribute information database 320 has been described here, for example, via the Internet as necessary. The user may be authenticated using a connected external authentication site.

  The service site authentication unit 350 is a processing unit that performs processing related to service site authentication under the control of the control unit 390 described later. Specifically, when the service site authentication unit 350 is controlled by the control unit 390 to authenticate the service site, information on the service site ID designated by the control unit 390 is stored in the additional information item database 330. It is confirmed whether or not the service site ID is included.

  If the service site ID is included, the service site authentication unit 350 notifies the control unit 390 that the service site with the service site ID has been authenticated. On the other hand, when the service site ID is not stored, the service site authentication unit 350 notifies the control unit 390 that the service site with the service site ID is not authenticated.

  Here, the case where the service site authentication unit 350 authenticates the service site using the service site ID stored in the additional information item database 330 has been described, but for example, via the Internet as necessary. The service site may be authenticated using a connected external authentication site.

  The personal attribute information management unit 360 is a processing unit that manages information stored in the personal attribute information database 320 under the control of the control unit 390 described later. Specifically, when the control unit 390 controls the personal attribute information management unit 360 to acquire the user's personal attribute information, the personal attribute information management unit 360 searches the information stored in the personal attribute information database 320 and performs control. Among the personal attribute information associated with the user ID designated by the unit 390, the personal attribute information designated by the control unit 390 and the provision availability flag corresponding to the personal attribute information are acquired.

  Then, the personal attribute information management unit 360 determines whether or not each acquired personal attribute information can be provided to the service site 200 based on the value set in the provision availability flag. Only the determined personal attribute information is transmitted to the control unit 390.

  For example, assume that information is registered in the personal attribute information database 320 as shown in FIG. At that time, for example, when the user ID 1, attribute item 1, attribute item 2, and attribute item 3 are designated by the control unit 390, the personal attribute information management unit 360 provides the provision availability flag 1 and the provision availability flag 2 Since the provision availability flag 3 is “0 (provision available)”, the attribute entity 1 is “user name 1”, the attribute entity 2 is “birth date 1”, and the attribute entity 3 is “address 1”. "To the control unit 390.

  On the other hand, for example, when the user ID 2, attribute item 1, attribute item 2, and attribute item 3 are designated by the control unit 390, the personal attribute information management unit 360 has the provision availability flag 1 and the provision availability flag 3 set. Since each of them is “0 (provision available)” and the provision propriety flag 2 is “1 (provision not possible)”, “user name 2” as attribute entity 1 and “address 2” as attribute entity 3 are controlled. To 390.

  As a result of searching the information stored in the personal attribute information database 320, the personal attribute information corresponding to the specified user ID and the provision availability flag cannot be obtained, or the provision corresponding to the obtained personal attribute information is provided. If all the availability flags indicate that provision is not possible, the personal attribute information management unit 360 transmits an error notification indicating that personal attribute information could not be acquired to the control unit 390.

  The additional information item management unit 370 is a processing unit that manages information stored in the additional information item database 330 under the control of the control unit 390 described later. Specifically, when the control site 390 specifies the service site ID and controls to acquire the additional information item, the additional information item management unit 370 stores the information stored by the additional information item management unit 370. The additional information item associated with the service site ID designated from the control unit 390 is retrieved. Then, the additional information item management unit 370 transmits the acquired additional information item to the control unit 390.

  Here, the additional information items acquired and transmitted by the additional information item management unit 370 include an additional information item related to the user's personal attribute information and an additional information item related to the attribute information of the service site, respectively. It is.

  For example, assume that information is registered in the additional information item database 330 as shown in FIG. At this time, for example, when the service site ID 1 is designated by the control unit 390, the additional information item management unit 370 transmits additional information 1, additional information 3, additional information A, and additional information B to the control unit 390. To do. On the other hand, for example, when the service site ID 2 is designated by the control unit 390, the additional information item management unit 370 transmits the additional information 2 and the additional information A to the control unit 390.

  As a result of searching the information stored by the additional information item management unit 370, if the information corresponding to the designated service site ID cannot be acquired, the additional information item management unit 370 acquires the additional information item. An error notification indicating that it could not be transmitted is transmitted to the control unit 390.

  The additional information / alternative information collection unit 380 is a functional unit that collects additional information and alternative information related to attribute information under the control of the control unit 390 described later, and includes a related information database 381, a collection destination database 382, , An information conversion unit 383 and an information collection unit 384.

  Specifically, this additional information / alternative information collection unit 380, when controlled by a control unit 390 described later to collect additional information related to attribute information, will be described later as an information conversion unit 383 or an information collection unit. The additional information is collected by acquiring information on the additional information item designated from the control unit 390 using any of the units 384, and the collected additional information is transmitted to the control unit 390. Here, if the additional information / alternative information collection unit 380 does not collect additional information by the information conversion unit 383 or the information collection unit 384, the control unit 390 sends an error notification indicating that the additional information could not be collected. Send to.

  On the other hand, when the control unit 390 described later is controlled to collect alternative information related to the personal attribute information, the additional information / alternative information collection unit 380 includes the information conversion unit 383 or the information collection unit 384 described later. Either of them is used to collect the substitute information designated from the control unit 390, and the collected substitute information is transmitted to the control unit 390. Here, when the alternative information is not collected by the information conversion unit 383 or the information collection unit 384, the additional information / substitution information collection unit 380 sends an error notification indicating that the substitution information could not be collected to the control unit 390. Send to.

  Here, whether the additional information / alternative information collection unit 380 uses the information conversion unit 383 or the information collection unit 384 when collecting the additional information or the alternative information depends on the additional information item and the alternative information in advance. It is assumed that each is determined.

  The related information database 381 is a storage unit that stores various programs and various data for converting the personal attribute information of the user or the attribute information of the service site 200 into information related to the additional information item or the alternative information. Specifically, the related information database 381 is, for example, an additional information item that can be converted from predetermined attribute information by a predetermined calculation logic such as a program and data for converting a date of birth into a zodiac or a constellation. For alternative information, a conversion program and data are stored.

  The collection destination database 382 is a storage unit that stores information related to additional information items or alternative information in association with user personal attribute information or service site 200 attribute information. Specifically, this collection destination database 382 includes, for example, personal attribute information of the user or attributes of the service site 200 such as weather that changes according to the date and place, and fortune that changes according to the date and date of birth. Store information about additional information items that change randomly depending on information and other factors.

  Alternatively, the collection destination database 382 stores information on the location of the collection destination site for collecting information on the additional information item or the alternative information such as the information providing site or the information search site in association with the additional information item or the alternative information. Keep it. For example, the collection destination database 382 stores a URL, an IP (Internet Protocol) address, and the like as information regarding the location of the collection site.

  The information stored in the collection destination database 382 is updated to the latest state at predetermined intervals by an information update unit (not shown). For example, the information stored in the collection destination database 382 is updated to the latest state by periodically executing a batch process for collecting information from an external site connected via the Internet.

  The information conversion unit 383 is a processing unit that converts the personal attribute information of the user or the attribute information of the service site 200 into information related to the additional information item and the alternative information. Specifically, the information converting unit 383 uses the various programs and various data stored in the related information database 381 for each designated additional information item or alternative information designated by the control unit 390. The personal attribute information of the person or the attribute information of the service site 200 is converted into an additional information item or alternative information.

  The information collection unit 384 is a processing unit that collects information related to additional information items or alternative information associated with user personal attribute information or service site 200 attribute information. More specifically, the information collection unit 384 is configured by the control unit 390 to store the designated user's personal information from the information stored in the collection destination database 382 for each additional information item or alternative information designated. Information about additional information items or alternative information associated with the attribute information or the attribute information of the service site 200 is acquired.

  In addition, the information collection unit 384, when the information indicating the location of the collection destination site is stored in the collection destination database 382 for the designated additional information item or alternative information, the personal information of the designated user. Information on the additional information item or the alternative information is collected by accessing the collection destination site using the attribute information or the attribute information of the service site 200 as a key item.

  The control unit 390 is a processing unit that performs overall control of the information management proxy site 300. Specifically, the control unit 390 performs control transfer between function units, data transfer between the function unit and the storage unit, and the like. The information management proxy site 300 is caused to function as one device.

  Specifically, when the control unit 390 receives an information request signal from the service site 200 via the communication unit 310, the control unit 390 specifies the service site ID included in the information request signal, and The service site authentication unit 350 is controlled to authenticate the service site with the site ID.

  When the service site authentication unit 350 notifies that the service site has been authenticated, the control unit 390 specifies the user ID included in the information request signal, and the user ID of the user ID The user authentication unit 340 is controlled to perform authentication.

  Thereafter, when the user authentication unit 340 notifies that the user has been authenticated, the control unit 390 specifies the user ID and the personal attribute information included in the information request signal, and the user's personal information The personal attribute information management unit 360 is controlled to acquire attribute information.

  When the personal attribute information is transmitted from the personal attribute information management unit 360, the control unit 390 designates the service site ID included in the information request signal and acquires the additional information item. The management unit 370 is controlled.

  Thereafter, when the additional information item is transmitted from the additional information item management unit 370, the control unit 390 displays the personal attribute information of the user acquired by the personal attribute information management unit 360, the attribute information of the service site 200, The additional information item management unit 370 designates each additional information item acquired and controls the additional information / alternative information collection unit 380 to collect additional information related to the attribute information.

  Here, the control unit 390 includes the personal attribute information specified to the personal attribute information management unit 360 that is not acquired by the personal attribute information management unit 360, and is included in the information request signal. The additional information / alternative information collection unit 380 is further controlled to designate the user ID and personal attribute information that has not been acquired, and collect alternative information related to the personal attribute information.

  When alternative information is transmitted from the additional information / alternative information collection unit 380, the control unit 390 is acquired by the personal attribute information management unit 360 in addition to the user ID included in the information request signal. The personal attribute information, the additional information collected by the additional information / alternative information collecting unit 380, and the alternative information (error information when appropriate information is not acquired) are transmitted to the service site 200, respectively.

  Next, a processing procedure of processing performed by the service site 200 according to the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of processing performed by the service site 200 according to the first embodiment.

  As shown in the figure, in the service site 200, when the service providing unit 220 receives a service request from the user terminal 100 via the communication unit 210 (step S101, Yes), an information request signal is sent to the information management proxy site 300. Is transmitted (step S102).

  When the service providing unit 220 receives personal attribute information, additional information, and alternative information from the information management proxy site 300 via the communication unit 210 (step S103, Yes), the service providing unit 220 performs service based on the information. Is transmitted to the user terminal 100 (step S104).

  If error information is received from the information management proxy site 300 via the communication unit 210 (No at Step S103, Step S105, Yes), the service providing unit 220 transmits the error information to the user terminal 100. (Step S106).

  Next, a processing procedure of processing performed by the information management proxy site 300 according to the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of processing performed by the information management proxy site 300 according to the first embodiment.

  As shown in the figure, in the information management proxy site 300, when the control unit 390 receives an information request signal from the service site 200 via the communication unit 310 (Yes in step S201), the service site authentication unit 350 Attempt to authenticate the site 200 (step S202).

  If the service site 200 is not authenticated by the service site authentication unit 350 (No in step S203), the control unit 390 transmits error information indicating that the service site 200 cannot be authenticated to the service site 200. (Step S204), and then the process returns to Step S201. On the other hand, when the service site 200 is authenticated (step S203, Yes), the user authentication unit 340 tries to authenticate the user (step S205).

  If the user is not authenticated by the user authentication unit 340 (No in step S206), the control unit 390 transmits error information indicating that the user could not be authenticated to the service site 200 ( Step S207), and then the process returns to Step S201. On the other hand, when the user is authenticated (step S206, Yes), the personal attribute information management unit 360 tries to acquire the user's personal attribute information from the personal attribute information database 320 (step S208).

  If no personal attribute information is acquired by the personal attribute information management unit 360 (No in step S209), the control unit 390 displays error information indicating that the personal attribute information could not be acquired on the service site. 200 (step S210), and then the process returns to step S201. On the other hand, when all or part of the personal information is acquired (step S209, Yes), the additional information item management unit 370 tries to acquire the additional information item from the additional information item database 330 (step S211).

  If no additional information item is acquired by the additional information item management unit 370 (step S212, No), the control unit 390 performs the process of step S216. On the other hand, when the additional information item is acquired (step S212, Yes), the additional information / alternative information collection unit 380 tries to acquire information on the additional information item acquired by the additional information item management unit 370 (step S212). S213).

  If the information on the additional information item is not acquired by the additional information / alternative information collection unit 380 (No in step S214), the control unit 390 indicates an error indicating that the information on the additional information item cannot be acquired. Information is set as response information (step S215), and then the process of step S216 is performed. On the other hand, when the information regarding the additional information item is acquired (step S214, Yes), the control unit 390 checks whether there is personal attribute information that has not been acquired.

  If there is personal attribute information that has not been acquired (step S216, Yes), the additional information / alternative information collection unit 380 attempts to acquire alternative information in place of the personal attribute information that has not been acquired (step S217). ). Here, when alternative information is not acquired (step S218, No), the control unit 390 sets error information indicating that the alternative information could not be acquired as response information (step S219). Then, the process of step S220 is performed.

  On the other hand, when all the personal attribute information has been acquired (step S216, No), or when the alternative information is acquired by the additional information / alternative information collection unit 380 (step S219, Yes), the control unit 390 Transmits the user ID, personal attribute information, additional information, and alternative information to the service site 200 (step S221). Note that error information may be set as additional information and alternative information.

  As described above, in the first embodiment, in the information management proxy site 300, the additional information / alternative information collection unit 380 receives an information request signal for requesting the user's personal attribute information from the service site 200. The additional information related to the personal attribute information of the user requested by the information request signal is collected, and the control unit 390 requests the additional information collected by the additional information / alternative information collection unit 380 by the information request signal. The personal attribute information is transmitted to the service site 200. On the other hand, in the service site 200, the service providing unit 220 provides a service to the user based on the information transmitted from the information management proxy site 300. Therefore, according to the service providing system according to the present embodiment, by using the additional information, it is possible to expand the service to provide a service more suitable for the user or useful for the user.

  Further, in the first embodiment, in the information management proxy site 300, the additional information / alternative information collection unit 380 is set as the personal attribute information requested by the information request signal that cannot be provided to the service site 200. In the case where the information that cannot be provided is included, alternative information that replaces the information that cannot be provided is further collected, and when the control unit 390 transmits the personal attribute information, the additional information / alternative information collection unit 380 Include the attribute information instead of the information that cannot provide the alternative information collected by. Therefore, according to the service providing system according to the first embodiment, by using alternative information, it is possible to compensate for a decrease in service caused by failure to acquire personal attribute information, and use a service corresponding to the alternative information. The service can be expanded to be provided to consumers.

  Further, in the first embodiment, in the service site 200, when the service providing unit 220 is requested by a user to provide a service, an information request is made for a service site ID that is uniquely assigned to each service site. Include in the signal and transmit. On the other hand, in the information management agency site 300, the additional information item database 330 stores additional information items related to the user's attribute information in association with the service site ID, and the additional information item management unit 370 When an information request signal is transmitted from the service site 200, the additional information item associated with the service site ID included in the information request signal is acquired from the additional information items stored in the additional information item database 330. Then, the additional information / alternative information collection unit 380 collects information on the additional information item acquired by the additional information item management unit 370 as additional information. Therefore, according to the service providing system according to the first embodiment, the additional information can be changed according to the service site, and the service can be expanded more flexibly.

  In the first embodiment, the additional information item database 330 further stores additional information items related to the attribute information of the service site 200 in association with the service site ID, and the additional information / alternative information collection unit 380 stores the additional information item. The additional information items related to the attribute information of the user and the service site 200 are collected as additional information. Therefore, according to the service providing system according to the first embodiment, not only the additional information related to the user personal attribute information but also the additional information related to the attribute information of the service site 200 can be used to provide the service. It is possible to expand the range of services provided to users.

  In the first embodiment, the case where the information management proxy site 300 provides predetermined additional information based on the service site ID transmitted from the service site 200 in the service providing system has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, each time the service site 200 transmits an information request signal, personal attribute information and additional information necessary for providing the service may be designated.

  Therefore, in the second embodiment, a case will be described in which personal attribute information and additional information necessary for providing a service are designated every time an information request signal is transmitted. The service providing system according to the second embodiment basically has the same configuration as that of the service providing system according to the first embodiment, and is required by the service providing unit 220 in the service site 200. Based on the additional information item acquired by the additional information item management unit 370, the additional information / alternative information collection unit 380 in the information management proxy site 300 transmits the additional information item in the information request signal. Is not collected, but is different from the point that additional information is collected based on the additional information item included in the information request signal transmitted from the service site 200. After the provision of additional information in the service providing system is described, the information management agent site 300 according to the second embodiment performs the operation. It describes a procedure of processing.

  First, provision of additional information in the service providing system according to the second embodiment will be described. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining provision of additional information in the service providing system according to the second embodiment. As shown in the figure, specifically, in the second embodiment, when the service site 200 is requested by a user to provide a service, an information request signal for requesting the personal attribute information of the user is displayed as an information request signal. It transmits to the management agency site 300.

  At this time, the service site 200 includes, for example, “attribute item 1”, “attribute item 2”, and “attribute item 3” as personal attribute information requested to the information management proxy site 300 in addition to the service site ID and the user ID. ”, And as additional information related to the user's attribute information,“ additional information 1 ”that is additional information related to attribute item 1 and“ additional information ”that is additional information related to attribute item 3 3 ”is transmitted as additional information related to the attribute information of the service site, and an information request signal including“ additional information A ”and“ additional information B ”is transmitted (see (1) in the figure).

  When the information request signal is received, the information management proxy site 300 provides the personal attribute information to the service site 200.

  At this time, the information management proxy site 300 adds, for example, the attribute item 1 together with the “attribute entity 1” and “attribute entity 3” which are actual data of the requested personal attribute information in addition to the user ID. "Additional information 1" which is information, "Additional information 3" which is additional information related to the attribute item 3, "Additional information A" and "Additional information B" which are additional information related to the service site 200, “Alternative information 2” is transmitted as alternative information to make up for the attribute information 2 (see (2) in the figure).

  Next, a processing procedure of processing performed by the information management proxy site 300 according to the second embodiment will be described. FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of processing performed by the information management proxy site 300 according to the second embodiment. Here, only differences from the processing procedure of the processing performed by the information management proxy site 300 according to the first embodiment illustrated in FIG. 7 will be described.

  In FIG. 9, the processes from step S301 to S310 are the same as the processes from step S201 to S210 shown in FIG.

  In step S309, when all or part of the personal information is acquired (step S309, Yes), the additional information item management unit 370 does not attempt to acquire the additional information item from the additional information item database 330. The additional information / alternative information collection unit 380 tries to acquire information on the additional information item from the service site 200 based on the additional information item included in the information request signal (step S311).

  If the information on the additional information item is not acquired by the additional information / alternative information collection unit 380 (No in step S312), the control unit 390 indicates that the information on the additional information item cannot be acquired. Information is set as response information (step S313), and then the process of step S314 is performed. On the other hand, when information about the additional information item is acquired (step S312, Yes), the control unit 390 checks whether there is personal attribute information that has not been acquired.

  Since the processing from step S314 to S318 is the same as the processing from step S216 to S220 shown in FIG. 7, the description thereof is omitted here.

  As described above, in the second embodiment, in the service site 200, when the service providing unit 220 is requested by the user to provide the service, the additional information item related to the attribute information of the user is displayed as information. Include in the request signal and send. On the other hand, in the information management proxy site 300, when the additional information / alternative information collection unit 380 transmits an information request signal from the service site 200, the additional information item information included in the information request signal is displayed. Collect as additional information. Therefore, according to the service providing system according to the second embodiment, it is not necessary to store additional information items in the information management proxy site 300, and the storage capacity necessary for operating the information management proxy site 300 is reduced. It becomes possible to reduce the introduction cost of the system.

  Further, in the second embodiment, in the service site 200, the service providing unit 220 transmits an additional information item related to the attribute information of the service site 200 further included in the information request signal. On the other hand, in the information management proxy site 300, the additional information / alternative information collection unit 380 collects additional information items related to the attribute information of the user and the service site 200 as additional information. Therefore, according to the service providing system according to the second embodiment, not only the additional information related to the user personal attribute information but also the additional information related to the attribute information of the service site 200 can be used to provide the service. It is possible to expand the range of services provided to users.

  The preferred embodiments of the information management agent device, service providing system, and service providing method according to the present invention have been described above. According to the information management agent device, service providing system, and service providing method, the service providing system is configured. Further, the following effects can be obtained when each device is operated or when the user uses the service.

  For example, when operating an information management agency site, additional information can be provided to the service site for a fee, and a new income source can be obtained. In addition, when a service site is operated, a new service using additional information can be provided, and an increase in revenue due to an increase in user access can be expected. In addition, when a user uses a service, a new service using additional information can be used.

  Of the processes described in this embodiment, all or part of the processes described as being performed automatically can be performed manually, or the processes described as being performed manually can be performed. All or a part can be automatically performed by a known method.

  In addition, the processing procedure, control procedure, specific name, and information including various data and parameters shown in the above-described document and drawings can be arbitrarily changed unless otherwise specified.

  Each component of each illustrated device is functionally conceptual and does not necessarily need to be physically configured as illustrated. In other words, the specific form of distribution / integration of each device is not limited to that shown in the figure, and all or a part thereof may be functionally or physically distributed or arbitrarily distributed in arbitrary units according to various loads or usage conditions. Can be integrated and configured.

  Furthermore, all or a part of each processing function performed in each device may be realized by a CPU and a program that is analyzed and executed by the CPU, or may be realized as hardware by wired logic.

  As described above, in the information management proxy device, the service providing system, and the service providing method according to the present invention, the information management device manages the attribute information of the user, and the service providing device receives the attribute from the information management proxy device via the network. Useful for obtaining information and providing services to users, especially when it is necessary to expand services to provide services that are more suitable for users or useful to users. ing.

It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the outline | summary of the service provision system which concerns on the present Example 1. FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating provision of the additional information in the service provision system which concerns on the present Example 1. FIG. It is a functional block diagram which shows the structure of the service site and information management agency site in the service provision system which concerns on the present Example 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the information memorize | stored by the personal attribute information database. It is a figure which shows an example of the information memorize | stored by the additional information item database. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of processing performed by the service site according to the first embodiment. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of processing performed by the information management agency site according to the first embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating provision of the additional information in the service provision system which concerns on the present Example 2. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the process performed by the information management agency site based on the present Example 2. It is a figure which shows the conventional service provision system using an information management agency site.

Explanation of symbols

100, 10 ₁ to 10 _n User terminals 200, 20 _{1 to} 20 _n Service site 210 Communication unit 220 Service providing unit 300, 30 Information management proxy site 310 Communication unit 320 Personal attribute information database 330 Additional information item database 340 User authentication Unit 350 service site authentication unit 360 personal attribute information management unit 370 additional information item management unit 380 additional information / alternative information collection unit 381 related information database 382 collection destination database 383 information conversion unit 384 information collection unit 390 control unit 400, 40 Internet

Claims (6)

An information management proxy device that manages attribute information of a user and provides attribute information to a service providing device that provides a service to the user,
Information collecting means for collecting additional information related to user attribute information requested by the information request signal when an information request signal requesting the user attribute information is transmitted from the service providing device;
Information transmitting means for transmitting the additional information collected by the information collecting means to the service providing apparatus together with the attribute information requested by the information request signal;
An information management agency device characterized by comprising: The information collection means cannot provide the information when the attribute information requested by the information request signal includes provision impossible information that cannot be provided to the service providing apparatus. Collect more alternative information instead of information,
2. The information according to claim 1, wherein, when transmitting the attribute information, the information transmission unit includes the alternative information collected by the information collection unit in the attribute information instead of the provision impossible information. Management agency device. Additional information item storage means for storing additional information items related to the attribute information of the user in association with a service providing device ID assigned to be unique for each service providing device;
When the information request signal including the service providing device ID is transmitted from the service device, the additional information item associated with the service providing device ID is stored in the additional information item storage unit. An additional information item acquisition means for acquiring from among the information items,
The information management proxy device according to claim 1, wherein the information collection unit collects information on the additional information item acquired by the additional information item acquisition unit as the additional information. The additional information item storage means further stores an additional information item related to the attribute information of the service providing apparatus in association with the service providing apparatus ID,
4. The information management proxy device according to claim 3, wherein the information collecting unit collects additional information items related to attribute information of the user and the service providing device as the additional information. A service providing system comprising: an information management agent device that manages user attribute information; and a service providing device that obtains attribute information from the information management agent device via a network and provides a service to the user. There,
The information management agent device is:
Information collecting means for collecting additional information related to user attribute information requested by the information request signal when an information request signal requesting the user attribute information is transmitted from the service providing device;
Information transmitting means for transmitting additional information collected by the information collecting means to the service providing apparatus together with attribute information requested by the information request signal;
The service providing apparatus includes:
Service providing means for providing a service to the user based on information transmitted from the information management proxy device by the information transmitting means;
A service providing system characterized by comprising: A service providing system comprising: an information management agent device that manages user attribute information; and a service providing device that obtains attribute information from the information management agent device and provides a service to the user via a network. A service provision method applied,
The information management agent device,
An information collecting step for collecting additional information related to the attribute information of the user requested by the information request signal when an information request signal for requesting the attribute information of the user is transmitted from the service providing device;
The information management agent device,
An information transmission step of transmitting the additional information collected by the information collection step to the service providing apparatus together with the attribute information requested by the information request signal;
The service providing device is
A service providing step of providing a service to the user based on the information transmitted from the information management proxy device by the information transmitting step;
A service providing method characterized by including:

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