JP2013005295A - Information distribution device, management system, and information distribution method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information distribution device which enables a requestor to acquire information disclosed by each user to partner users in friend relationship in external services, without having direct friend relationship in the external services if the requestor has predetermined relationship with a partner user.SOLUTION: An information distribution device comprises: a request reception unit (111) for receiving an acquisition request for information about a partner user; a relationship determination unit (112); a disclosure propriety determination unit (113); a request transmission unit (114) for requesting information about the partner user from an external service providing server when it is determined that a requestor has relationship with the partner user and also it is determined that the information can be disclosed to the requestor; a reception unit (115) for receiving a response including information about the partner user from the external service providing server; and a response transmission unit (116) for transmitting the response including the information about the partner user that is received from the external service providing server, to a user terminal of the requestor.

Description

  The present invention relates to an information distribution apparatus, a management system, and an information distribution method that perform information distribution based on the relationship between users.

  Phone book data including names / names, phone numbers or email addresses for multiple mobile phone users is collected through a communication network, and the relationship between users is managed as a social line using the accumulated phone book data. A telephone directory management system has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this telephone directory management system, for example, by tracing a social line set in the telephone directory data, profiles of other users associated with the social line can be searched.

JP 2010-4229 A

  By the way, in recent years, with the development of social network services (hereinafter referred to as SNS), a community is formed in each SNS, and various information exchanges are performed. For example, when a user publishes information in a certain SNS, other users can acquire the information disclosed by accessing the SNS.

  However, when one of the users does not participate in the target SNS, this user does not have access authority to the target SNS, and therefore cannot access information disclosed by the other user in the target SNS. Moreover, even if this user is participating in the target SNS, it is difficult to obtain information disclosed by the other user if the friend relationship is not established with the other user in the target SNS. Thus, even if there is a friendship in the real world, it is not always easy to acquire information published by the other user in the SNS.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and it is not necessary to directly connect the friendship on the external service with the information that is disclosed to the other user with whom the user has a friendship in the external service. An object of the present invention is to provide an information distribution apparatus, a management system, and an information distribution method that can be acquired when there is a predetermined relationship.

  An information distribution apparatus according to the present invention includes a request receiving unit that receives an acquisition request for information on a counterpart user published on an external service providing server from a user terminal of the request source user, and the request source user and the counterpart user. A connection relationship determination unit that determines the presence or absence of a connection relationship, a disclosure availability determination unit that determines whether information can be disclosed to the requesting user based on the disclosure range information of the information related to the counterpart user, and the request reception unit In response to the acquisition request, information related to the partner user that has been determined by the connection relationship determination unit to have a connection relationship with the partner user and that has been determined to be publicly available by the disclosure possibility determination unit is sent to the external service providing server. A request transmission unit for requesting, and a response including information on the counterpart user from the external service providing server. A receiving unit signals to, characterized in that and a response transmitting unit that transmits to the user terminal of the requesting user a response including information about the other user received from the external service providing server.

  According to this structure, the acquisition request of the information regarding a partner user is transmitted with respect to an external service based on the determination result of the connection relationship between users, and the response containing the information regarding the partner user from an external service is received. In this way, by utilizing the relationship between users, it is possible to realize an information distribution apparatus, a management system, and an information distribution method that can acquire information of a partner user in an external service without the user directly accessing the external service.

  According to the present invention, information that is disclosed to the other user with whom each user has a friend relationship in the external service is acquired if there is a predetermined relationship even if the friend relationship is not directly formed on the external service. It is possible to provide an information distribution apparatus, a management system, and an information distribution method that can be enabled.

It is a schematic block diagram of the communication system containing the management system which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a functional block diagram of the information delivery apparatus which concerns on this Embodiment, and its peripheral device. It is a schematic diagram shown about a one-side relationship. It is a schematic diagram shown about a mutual relationship. It is a production | generation conceptual diagram of connection relation information. It is a figure shown about the specific example of the profile data registered into a profile database. It is a figure shown about the specific example of a telephone directory database. It is a figure shown about the specific example of a connection relation database. It is a figure shown about the specific example of an open range setting database. It is a sequence diagram explaining the 1st operation mode of an information distribution system. It is a sequence diagram explaining the 2nd operation | movement aspect of an information delivery system.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a network configuration diagram including a management system according to the present embodiment. The information distribution system 1 is connected to a plurality of social network service (SNS) providing servers (hereinafter simply referred to as SNS servers) 3 a to 3 c via the Internet 2, and a core network 4 and a radio base station operated by a communication carrier 5 is connected to the user terminals 6a to 6c.

  The information distribution system 1 manages connection relationship information indicating a relationship (connection relationship) between users, acquires information about the users disclosed on the SNS servers 3a to 3c based on the connection relationship information, and the like. Distribute information to other users. In the information distribution system 1, an information distribution device 11 that controls information distribution to the user terminals 6a to 6c based on connection relation information, and profile information of each user that is uploaded from each user terminal 6a to 6c are registered. Profile database (profile DB) 12, phone book database (phone book DB) 13 in which phone book data uploaded from each of the user terminals 6 a to 6 d is registered, and a user generated based on profile information and phone book data A connection relationship database (connection relationship DB) 14 in which connection relationship information is registered, and a public range setting database (public range setting DB) 15 for setting information disclosure ranges for the user terminals 6a to 6c. Moreover, the information delivery system 1 is provided with the memory | storage device 16 which preserve | saves the information (partner user information) regarding the other party user acquired from SNS server 3a-3c.

  The user terminals 6 a to 6 c are terminal devices capable of wireless communication such as mobile phones, and are configured to upload profile information and phone book data to the social phone book management system 1. Further, the user terminals 6a to 6c have functions such as voice call, e-mail, SMS (Short Message Service), and the like, and can communicate with other user terminals 6a to 6c by these functions. ing.

  The user terminals 6a to 6c are configured so that the information distribution system 1 can make an acquisition request for the partner user information in the SNS that is an external service. Here, in the partner user information requested by the user terminals 6a to 6c to the information distribution system 1, for example, a user in the SNS provided by the SNS servers 3a to 3c is disclosed to other users who have friendships. Information associated with the other user in the SNS servers 3a to 3c, and the like. In addition, in this Embodiment, although the terminal device which can communicate wirelessly is illustrated as user terminal 6a-6c, user terminal 6a-6c is a terminal device which communicates with the information delivery system 1 etc. by wire. Also good.

  The information distribution system 1 and the user terminals 6a to 6c have hardware including a communication interface, a processor, a memory, a transmission / reception circuit, a display, an operation key, a touch panel, etc., and a software module executed by the processor in the memory Is remembered. A functional configuration to be described later may be realized by the hardware described above, may be realized by a software module executed by a processor, or may be realized by a combination of both.

  FIG. 2 is a functional configuration diagram of the information distribution apparatus 11 and its peripheral devices according to the present embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the information distribution apparatus 11 includes an acquisition request receiving unit 111 that receives acquisition requests for partner user information from the user terminals 6 a to 6 c, and a user who has made the acquisition request (hereinafter referred to as a request source user). A connection relationship determination unit 112 that determines the presence or absence of a connection relationship with the partner user, a disclosure permission determination unit 113 that determines whether information is disclosed to the requesting user based on the disclosure range of the partner user information, and the SNS servers 3a to 3c. An acquisition request transmission unit 114 that transmits an acquisition request for the other-party user information, a reception unit 115 that receives the other-user information from the SNS servers 3a to 3c, and the other-user information for each user terminal 6a to 6c The response transmission part 116 which transmits a response, and the notification part 117 which performs predetermined notification with respect to each user terminal 6a-6c are provided.

  The acquisition request receiving unit 111 receives, for example, acquisition requests for partner user information disclosed to users having friendships on the SNS servers 3a to 3c from the user terminals 6a to 6c, and is included in the acquisition requests. It is configured to notify the connection relationship determining unit 112 of information specifying the other user. As information for specifying the other user, for example, a registration number (CID) assigned to specify the other user in the phone book data of each of the user terminals 6a to 6c can be used.

  Based on the CID notified through the acquisition request receiving unit 111 and the connection relationship information in the connection relationship DB 14, the connection relationship determination unit 112 determines whether or not a connection relationship is established between the requesting user and the other user. It is configured so that it can be confirmed. If a connection relationship is established between the requesting user and the other user, it is determined that there is a connection relationship. If no connection relationship is established between the requesting user and the other user, it is determined that there is no connection relationship. To do. If it is determined that there is no connection relationship, the connection relationship determination unit 112 notifies the notification unit 117 of the determination result.

  The disclosure possibility determination unit 113 confirms the disclosure range of the partner user information based on the CID notified through the acquisition request reception unit 111 and the connection relationship information in the disclosure range setting DB 15, and determines whether the information can be disclosed to the requesting user. It is configured to be able to. If the requesting user is included in the disclosure range (disclosure target) of the other user information, it is determined that the request can be made public. If the requesting user is not included in the disclosure range (disclosure target) of the other user information, disclosure is not possible. Is determined. Note that, when it is determined that disclosure is not possible, the disclosure permission determination unit 113 notifies the notification unit of the determination result.

  The acquisition request transmission unit 114 determines that there is a connection relationship between the request source user and the partner user in the connection relationship determination unit 112, and can disclose the partner user information to the request source user in the disclosure possibility determination unit 113. When it is determined, it is configured such that an acquisition request for partner user information can be transmitted to the SNS servers 3a to 3c. Specifically, the acquisition request transmission unit 114 uses the identification information (user ID, password) for logging in to each SNS included in the profile information of the other user to provide the SNS provided on the SNS servers 3a to 3c. Log in to and request acquisition of the other user's information. For example, the acquisition request transmission unit 114 receives an acquisition request for the other user's user information from the user terminal 6a serving as the request source user, and logs in using the identification information (user ID, password) on the other user's SNS. , Request acquisition of the user information of the other user. The acquisition request transmission unit 114 logs in to the SNS provided on the SNS servers 3a to 3c using the access token of the other user instead of the other user's identification information (user ID, password), and receives the other user information. An acquisition request may be made.

  The receiving unit 115 is configured to be able to receive a response including partner user information transmitted from the SNS servers 3a to 3c in response to the acquisition request from the acquisition request transmitting unit 114. The partner user information received by the reception unit 115 is sent to the response transmission unit 116 or the storage device 16. Upon receiving the partner user information from the SNS servers 3a to 3c, the response transmission unit 116 transmits a response including the partner user information to the requesting user terminals 6a to 6c. Alternatively, the storage device 16 stores the received counterpart user information without transmitting directly to the user terminals 6a to 6c. Whether the partner user information is directly transmitted to the user terminals 6a to 6c or whether the partner user information is temporarily stored in the storage device 16 and then transmitted to the user terminals 6a to 6c depends on the contents of the contract with the user.

  The notification unit 117 is configured to be able to transmit the determination results in the connection relationship determination unit 112 and the disclosure possibility determination unit 113 to the user terminals 6 a to 6 c of the request source user. For example, when the notification unit 117 is notified from the connection relationship determination unit 112 that there is no connection relationship between the request source user and the other user, the notification unit 117 has no connection relationship with the user terminals 6a to 6c of the request source user. Information indicating that the information cannot be obtained is notified. Further, when the notification unit 117 is notified from the disclosure availability determination unit 113 to the requesting user that the other user information cannot be disclosed, the notification unit 117 cannot disclose the other user information to the user terminals 6a to 6c of the requesting user. Information indicating that the information cannot be acquired because of being present is notified.

  In the information distribution system 1 described above, the connection relationship information registered in the connection relationship DB 14 is generated based on profile information and phone book data uploaded from the user terminals 6a to 6c as described later. Profile information uploaded from the user terminals 6a to 6c is registered in the profile DB 12. The phone book data uploaded from the user terminals 6a to 6c is registered in the phone book DB 12.

  The profile information includes the telephone number and mail address paid to the user terminals 6a to 6c, the name and address of the user who is the user of the user terminals 6a to 6c, and the identification assigned by the SNS to which the user participates. This information includes information (such as a user ID in the SNS servers 3a to 3c and a mail address used in each SNS). The profile information may include identification information of external services other than the social network service.

  The phone book data is information including the name, telephone number, mail address, etc. of the other user stored in the user terminals 6a to 6c. A registration number (CID) is assigned to each registered user registered in each phonebook data, and each user's name, telephone number, mail address, and the like are associated with each CID.

  The connection relationship information is information indicating a connection relationship between users constructed by collating phone book data and profile data uploaded from each user. Therefore, the connection relationship information defines the connection relationship between users. The connection relationship information is generated by comparing each user's profile information with the phone book data. The connection relationship defined in the connection relationship information includes a one-side relationship indicating that there is a relationship between the profile information of one user and the phone book data of the other user, and the profile information and phone book data of both users. There is an interrelationship indicating that there is a relationship between them.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a one-side relationship that is one of the connection relationships. As shown in FIG. 3, user A's profile information and phone book data are registered in user terminal 6a used by user A, and user B's profile information and phone call are registered in user terminal 6b used by user B. Book data is registered. The profile information of the user A is configured with the phone number and mail address of the user A as key information, and the phone number and mail address of the user A are registered in the phone book data of the user B. As described above, when the key information included in the profile information of one user matches the telephone number of the other user registered in the other user's phone book data, it is assumed that there is a one-sided relationship. Note that the phone book data of one user (user A) and the profile information of the other user (user B) do not affect the establishment of the one-side relationship. Although FIG. 3 illustrates the case where the telephone number and the mail address match, it is possible that the one-sided relationship is established if at least either the telephone number or the mail address matches. Further, if it is determined that two or more telephone numbers or e-mail addresses coincide with each other as a condition for establishing a connection relationship, the reliability of the connection relationship can be increased.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an interrelationship that is one of the connection relationships. As shown in FIG. 4, user A's profile information and phone book data are registered in the user terminal 6a used by the user A, and user B's profile information and telephone are registered in the user terminal 6b used by the user B. Book data is registered. The profile information of the user A is configured with the phone number and mail address of the user A as key information, and the phone number and mail address of the user A are registered in the phone book data of the user B. User B's profile information is configured with user B's phone number and email address as key information, and user A's phone book data contains user B's phone number and email address. Thus, the key information included in the profile information of one user matches the key information included in the profile information of one user and the telephone number of the other user registered in the phone book data of the other user. And the other user's phone number registered in the phone book data of one user are in a mutual relationship. Here, the case where both the telephone number and the mail address match is illustrated, but it is possible that the mutual relationship is established as long as at least either the telephone number or the mail address matches.

  FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram of generation of connection relationship information. As illustrated in FIG. 5, the information distribution device 11 stores profile information uploaded from the user terminals 6 a and 6 b in the profile DB 12. When the information distribution apparatus 11 registers the profile information of each of the user terminals 6a to 6c in the profile DB 12, each profile information has an identification number (SABID) that is uniquely managed by the user on the information distribution system 1. Is granted. Thereby, in the profile DB 12, a plurality of pieces of information such as a telephone number and a mail address constituting the profile information are associated with each other by the SABID and managed for each user (for each user terminal).

  Further, the information distribution apparatus 11 registers the phone book data uploaded from the user terminals 6a and 6b in the phone book DB 13 (not shown in FIG. 5). The phone book data is given a registration number (CID) for each partner user, and the name, phone number, mail address, SNS identification information, etc. of the partner user are associated with each CID. When the information distribution apparatus 11 registers the telephone directory data of the user terminals 6a to 6c in the telephone directory DB 13, each telephone directory data has an identification number (SABID) for identifying the user on the information distribution system 1. Is granted. Thereby, each telephone directory data and the user who is the user are associated and managed.

  When the profile information of the user terminals 6a and 6b is stored in the profile DB 12 and the phone book data of the user terminals 6a and 6b is stored in the phone book DB 13, the information distribution device 11 matches the profile information and the phone book data. Do. For example, it is searched whether the phone book data of the user terminal 6a registered in the phone book DB 13 matches the profile information of the user B registered in the profile DB 12, and if there is a match, there is a one-sided relationship. judge. When it is determined that there is a one-side relationship in this way, one-side relationship information that associates the CID indicating the user B with the SABID of the user B in the phone book data of the user A is registered in the connection relationship DB 14.

  Furthermore, when the phone book data of the user terminal 6b registered in the phone book DB 13 matches the profile information of the user A registered in the profile DB 12, it is determined that there is a mutual relationship. When it is determined that there is a mutual relationship as described above, the mutual relationship information in which the CID indicating the user B and the SABID of the user B in the phone book data of the user A is associated and registered in the relationship DB 14. In addition, although the case where the one-sided relationship and the mutual relationship are determined based on the information of the user B registered in the phone book data of the user A and the profile information of the user A is illustrated here, Based on the information of user A registered in the book data and the profile information of user B, the reverse one-side relationship is also determined.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a specific example of profile data registered in the profile DB 12. In FIG. 6, the part regarding the profile information of the three users (user AC) corresponding to the user terminals 6a-6c shown in FIG. 1 is shown. However, the specific configuration of the profile DB 12 is not limited to that shown in FIG. Profile DB12 should just be comprised so that the profile information of the several user who participates in the information delivery system 1 which concerns on this Embodiment is registered. The profile DB 12 is associated with the SABID and includes the names of the three users A to C, the telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, and SNS identification information assigned to the user terminals 6a to 6c with which the user has contracted. It is registered as information. For example, the profile information of the user A who uses the user terminal 6a is centrally managed by the SABID “1001”. In the present embodiment, the SABID is expressed by a 4-digit number string, but the configuration of the SABID is not particularly limited. The SABID that can identify all users (all user terminals) participating in the information distribution system 1 may be given.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of the telephone directory DB 13. In the phone book DB 13, each phone book data uploaded from the user terminals 6a to 6c is registered. The phone book data of a plurality of users stored in the phone book DB 13 is managed by SABID. For example, the phone book data to which the SABID “1001” is assigned (the portion surrounded by a thick line in FIG. 3) corresponds to the phone book data stored and uploaded in the user terminal 6a used by the user A.

  The phone book data stored in the phone book DB 13 is given the CID registered in the phone book data when the phone book data is uploaded. For example, in the phone book data managed by SABID “1001”, CID “0001” is assigned to the user information related to user C, and CID “0002” is assigned to the user information related to user B.

  Since the CID is a number uniquely assigned to each of the user terminals 6a to 6c, if the SABID is different, the associated information is different even if the CID is the same. For example, in the phone book data managed by the SABID “1001” (that is, the phone book data of the user terminal 6a), information related to the user C is associated by the CID “0001”, but the information is managed by the SABID “2002”. User information relating to the user D is associated with the CID “0001” in the phone book data (that is, the phone book data of the user terminal 6b). For this reason, the other user registered in the phone book data of the phone book DB 13 is specified by a set of SABID and CID.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of the connection relationship DB 14. In FIG. 8, the part regarding the connection relation information corresponding to the user terminals 6a to 6c shown in FIG. 1 is shown. However, the specific configuration of the connection relationship DB 14 is not limited to that shown in FIG. The connection relationship DB 14 only needs to be configured so that information registered in the profile DB 12 and the phone book DB 13 can be associated with each other. In the connection relation DB 14, CIDs assigned to the other users on the phone book data of the user corresponding to the SABIDs assigned to the user who registered the phone book data and My Profile are registered. Corresponding to the user, the SABID of the partner user for whom a connection relationship (one-sided relationship or mutual relationship) is established is registered. For example, the user C to which the CID “0001” is assigned is registered in the phone book data of the user identified by the SAB ID “1001” in the phone book DB 13, and the telephone number of the user C is associated with the CID “0001”. And an e-mail address are registered. On the other hand, the telephone number and the mail address of the user C are registered in association with the user C specified by the SABID “3003” in the profile DB 12. A phone number and / or email address that matches the phone number and / or email address of CID “0001” (user C) associated with SABID “1001” in the phone book DB 13 is SABID “3003” (user C) in the profile DB 12. It is registered in association with it. For this reason, the user A and the user C registered in the phone book data of the user A are associated and registered in the one-side relationship of the connection relationship DB 14. On the other hand, the phone number and mail address of CID “0001” (user A) registered in the phone book data of user C specified by SABID “3003” in phone book DB13 are specified by SABID “1001” in profile DB12. Matches the telephone number and mail address of user A. For this reason, the user C and the user A registered in the phone book data of the user C are associated and registered in the one-sided relationship in the connection relationship DB 14.

  In this case, there is a mutual relationship between the user A specified by the SABID “1001” and the user C specified by the SABID “3003”. For this reason, the set of SABID “1001” and CID “0001” in the telephone directory DB 13 and the SABID “3003” in the profile DB 12 are associated with each other and registered in the mutual relationship in the connection relationship DB 14. In addition, the set of SABID “3003” and CID “0001” in the phone book DB13 and the SABID “1001” in the profile DB12 are associated and registered in the mutual relationship in the connection relationship DB14. In FIG. 8, there is a one-sided relationship between user B and user C, but there is no mutual relationship.

  In the information distribution system 1 configured as described above, the disclosure range setting information registered in the disclosure range setting DB 15 is used for determining whether or not to disclose the partner user information to the requesting user. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a specific example of the disclosure range setting database. In FIG. 9, the part regarding the disclosure range setting information corresponding to the user terminals 6a to 6c shown in FIG. 1 is shown. However, the specific configuration of the disclosure range setting DB 15 is not limited to that shown in FIG. The disclosure range setting DB 15 only needs to be configured so that the disclosure range of the partner user information for the requesting user can be set.

  As shown in FIG. 9, in the disclosure range setting DB 15, a CID that is a management number on the phone book data of each user in association with the SABID assigned to each user (user terminal), and each SNS server Information on whether or not to disclose information published on 3a to 3c is registered. SABID indicates a user who has disclosed information in the SNS servers 3a to 3c. The set of SABID and CID corresponds to the set of SABID and CID in the telephone directory DB 13 and the connection relationship DB 14, and the request source user to be set as the disclosure range is specified by this set. For example, SABID “2002” means the disclosure range of information about user B, and the combination of SABID “2002” and CID “0001” means the disclosure range of information for user A who is the requesting user. To do. In the columns of the SNS servers 3a to 3c, “1” indicates that the information can be disclosed, “0” indicates that the information cannot be disclosed, and “−” indicates that the information does not participate. That is, the user B participates in the SNS servers 3a and 3b, and both the SNS servers 3a and 3b can be disclosed to the user A. On the other hand, the user B allows only the SNS server 3b to be disclosed to the user C.

  In FIG. 9, the disclosure range is defined in two stages, “1” or “0”, which may be disclosed, but the disclosure range may be defined in multiple stages including three or more stages. For example, the disclosure range can be defined in three stages: “2”, “1”, “1”, and “0”.

  Next, the operation of the communication system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. In the following, a case where the user terminal 6a shown in FIG. 1 requests acquisition of information related to the user B disclosed on the SNS server 3a will be described in detail. However, other user terminals, other partner users, The same applies to other SNSs.

  FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating a first operation mode of the communication system. As shown in FIG. 10, the user terminal 6a notifies the information delivery apparatus 11 of the CID of the user B and requests acquisition of information related to the user B disclosed on the SNS server 3a (step S101). Then, the acquisition request reception unit 111 of the information distribution apparatus 11 notifies the connection relationship determination unit 112 of the CID of the user B.

  When the connection relationship determination unit 112 receives the CID of the user B from the acquisition request reception unit 111, the connection relationship determination unit 112 determines whether or not there is a connection relationship between the user A and the user B based on the CID (step S102). Specifically, for example, in the connection relationship DB 14 shown in FIG. 8, an item of SABID “1001” indicating that it is the phone book data of the user A is searched, and the CID “user B” notified from the user terminal 6a is “ The registration status of “0002” is confirmed. In FIG. 8, a set of SABID “1001” and CID “0002” is registered in both the one-sided relationship and the mutual relationship, and SABID “2002” representing the user B is associated. For this reason, the connection relationship determination unit 112 determines that a connection relationship is established between the user A and the user B and that there is a connection relationship.

  When the connection relationship determination unit 112 determines that there is a connection relationship between the user A and the user B, the disclosure permission determination unit 113 displays information on the user B that is disclosed to the user A on the SNS server 3a. It is determined whether it can be disclosed (step S103). Specifically, for example, in the disclosure range setting DB 15 shown in FIG. 9, it is specified by SABID “2002” indicating the disclosure range of the user B who is the other user and CID “0001” indicating the user A who is the request source user. Search for the item to be used. In FIG. 9, the column of the SNS server 3 a of the item specified by SABID “2002” and CID “0001” is “1”. For this reason, the disclosure possibility determination unit 113 determines that information regarding the user B in the SNS server 3a can be disclosed to the user A. Note that step S102 and step S103 may be performed simultaneously.

  When the availability determination unit 113 determines that the information related to the user B disclosed by the user B on the SNS server 3a can be disclosed to the user A, the acquisition request transmission unit 114 transmits the information about the user B to the SNS server 3a. An information acquisition request is transmitted (step S104). At this time, the acquisition request transmission unit 114 refers to the profile DB 12 and acquires identification information of the user B in the SNS server 3a (identification information for logging in as the user B to the SNS server 3a, such as a user ID and a password). And the acquisition request of the information regarding the user B is performed using the said identification information. Alternatively, an access token acquired in advance from user B is used, and an acquisition request for information relating to user B is made on behalf of user B.

  The acquisition request transmission unit 114 authenticates the issued acquisition request by the SNS server 3a (step S105). When the SNS server 3a returns a response including information on the user B (step S106), the reception unit 115 receives the user B. Receive information about. Information regarding the user B received by the reception unit 115 is sent to the response transmission unit 116. The response transmission unit 116 transmits a response including information on the user B to the user terminal 6a (step S107).

  In this operation mode, information related to the user B is acquired in real time in response to an acquisition request from the user terminal 6a. For this reason, the latest information can always be transmitted to the user terminal 6a.

  FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram illustrating another operation mode. In FIG. 11, the information distribution apparatus 11 transmits an acquisition request for information regarding the user B to the SNS servers 3 a and 3 b at a preset timing, and stores the information regarding the user B acquired from the SNS servers 3 a and 3 b. A mode of operation stored in 16 will be described.

  As illustrated in FIG. 11, the acquisition request transmission unit 114 performs an operation on the SNS server 3a with respect to the SNS server 3a at a preset fixed period, at a regular timing, or at a timing when a predetermined condition is satisfied. An acquisition request for information related to user B disclosed by user B is transmitted (step S201). That is, the acquisition request transmission unit 114 requests acquisition of information regarding the user B at a preset timing independent of the acquisition request from the user terminal 6a of the user A. For example, the acquisition request transmitting unit 114 refers to the profile DB 12 to acquire identification information (user ID, password, etc.) of the user B who has made information public on the SNS server 3a, and uses the identification information to acquire the user B. Request to obtain information about. Alternatively, an access token acquired in advance from user B is used, and an acquisition request for information relating to user B is made on behalf of user B. Here, the timing of the acquisition request may be set, for example, at a timing desired by the user A who is the requesting user, or may be set according to a communication load or the like.

  When the SNS server 3a authenticates the acquisition request from the acquisition request transmission unit 114 (step S202) and the SNS server 3a returns a response including information on the user B (step S203), the reception unit 115 receives the response. To do. Information regarding the user B received by the receiving unit 115 is sent to the storage device 16 and stored therein. Since the acquisition request transmission unit 14 makes an acquisition request for information related to the user B at the predetermined timing described above, the storage device 16 holds the information related to the user B acquired by the previous acquisition request as the latest information.

  In addition, the acquisition request transmission unit 114 transmits an acquisition request for information regarding the user B to the SNS server 3b at a preset timing (step S204). When the SNS server 3a authenticates the acquisition request from the acquisition request transmission unit 114 (step S205) and the SNS server 3a returns a response including information on the user B (step S206), the reception unit 115 receives the response. To do. Information regarding the user B received by the receiving unit 115 is sent to the storage device 16 and stored therein. It should be noted that steps S204 to S206 and steps S201 to S203 are the same except for the transmission target of the acquisition request.

  The acquisition request transmission unit 114 transmits an acquisition request for information related to the user B to the SNS server 3a again at a predetermined timing (fixed period, regular timing, irregular timing, etc.) after steps S201 to S203. (Step S211). Then, the SNS server 3a authenticates the acquisition request from the acquisition request transmission unit 114 (step S212), and the SNS server 3a returns a response including information on the user B (step S203). When the receiving unit 115 receives the response, the storage device 16 stores information on the newly acquired user B.

  Similarly, the acquisition request transmission unit 114 transmits an acquisition request for information about the user B to the SNS server 3a again at a predetermined timing after steps S204 to S206 (step S214). Then, the SNS server 3a authenticates the acquisition request from the acquisition request transmission unit 114 (step S215), and the SNS server 3a returns a response including information regarding the user B (step S216). When the receiving unit 115 receives the response, the storage device 16 stores information on the newly acquired user B.

  When periodically requesting information about the user B from the SNS servers 3a and 3b, the request cycle for the SNS server 3a and the request cycle for the SNS server 3b may be the same or different. .

  The user terminal 6a notifies the information delivery apparatus 11 of the CID of the user B and requests information regarding the user B disclosed on the SNS server 3a (step S207). Then, the acquisition request reception unit 111 of the information distribution apparatus 11 notifies the connection relationship determination unit 112 of the CID of the user B.

  When the connection relationship determination unit 112 receives the CID of the user B from the acquisition request reception unit 111, the connection relationship determination unit 112 determines whether or not there is a connection relationship between the user A and the user B based on the CID (step S208). When the connection relationship determination unit 112 determines that there is a connection relationship between the user A and the user B, the disclosure permission determination unit 113 displays information on the user B that is disclosed to the user A on the SNS server 3a. It is determined whether it can be disclosed (step S209). Note that step S208 and step S209 may be performed simultaneously.

  When the availability determination unit 113 determines that the information related to the user B disclosed on the SNS server 3a can be disclosed to the user A, the acquisition request transmission unit 114 notifies the storage device 16 on the SNS server 3a. An acquisition request for information relating to the public user B is transmitted, and information relating to the user B in the SNS server 3 a stored in the storage device 16 is acquired. The storage device 16 holds an acquisition request immediately before the acquisition request transmission unit 14 (since the reception unit 115 holds information about the user B received from the SNS server 3a (steps S201 to S203), the acquisition request transmission unit The acquisition request transmission unit 114 then passes the acquired information about the user B to the response transmission unit 116, and the response transmission unit 116 transmits a response including the information about the user B to the user terminal 6a ( Step S210).

  In this operation mode, information related to the user B is acquired at a predetermined timing and stored in the storage device 16. For this reason, in response to an acquisition request from the user terminal 6a, the acquisition request transmission unit 114 does not need to request information regarding the user B from the SNS server 3b, and a response time can be shortened.

  As described above, the information distribution system according to the present embodiment can acquire information from an external service such as SNS using the connection relationship information generated from the profile information of the user terminal and the phone book data. For this reason, even when the requesting user does not participate in the SNS, information disclosed by the other user in the SNS can be acquired. Even if a friendship relationship is not established with the partner user in the SNS, information on the partner user can be acquired if a connection relationship is established with the partner user. In this way, each user in the external service can obtain the information that is disclosed to the other user who has a friend relationship if the user has a predetermined relationship without directly establishing a friend relationship on the external service. An information distribution apparatus, a communication system, and an information distribution method can be realized.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, A various change can be implemented. For example, when the operation is performed only in the first operation mode, the storage device in the information distribution system can be omitted. In addition, the information distribution system may be configured by one information distribution device or may be configured by a plurality of information distribution devices. The information distribution system may include a node for interface with the Internet or a core network. The number of SNSs, wireless base stations, user terminals, etc. is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment. In addition, the present invention can be implemented with appropriate modifications without departing from the scope of the present invention.

  The information distribution apparatus, management system, and information distribution method of the present invention can be applied to a communication system capable of managing external service identification information and distributing external service information, for example.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Information distribution system 2 Internet 3a-3c SNS server 4 Core network 5 Wireless base station 6a-6c User terminal 11 Information distribution apparatus 12 Profile DB
13 Phonebook DB
14 Connection DB
15 Public range setting DB
16 storage device 111 acquisition request reception unit 112 connection relation determination unit 113 disclosure possibility determination unit 114 acquisition request transmission unit 115 reception unit 116 response transmission unit 117 notification unit

Claims (6)

A request receiving unit for receiving an acquisition request for information on the other user published on the external service providing server from the user terminal of the requesting user;
A connection relationship determination unit that determines the presence or absence of a connection relationship between the requesting user and the counterpart user;
A disclosure availability determination unit that determines whether information disclosure is possible for the requesting user based on disclosure range information of the information about the counterpart user;
In response to the acquisition request received by the request receiving unit, information related to the partner user that is determined by the connection relationship determining unit to have a connection relationship with the partner user and that can be disclosed by the disclosure permission / inhibition determining unit. A request transmitter for requesting the external service providing server;
A receiving unit for receiving a response including information on the counterpart user from the external service providing server;
An information distribution apparatus comprising: a response transmission unit configured to transmit a response including information on the counterpart user received from the external service providing server to a user terminal of a request source user. The request transmission unit requests information on the partner user from the external service providing server based on the acquisition request received by the request reception unit,
The receiving unit, when receiving a response including information on the counterpart user from the external service providing server, passes the information on the counterpart user to the response transmission unit,
The information delivery apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the response transmission unit receives information on the counterpart user from the reception unit and transmits a response including information on the counterpart user. The request transmission unit transmits an acquisition request regarding the counterpart user information to the external service providing server at a predetermined timing,
The receiving unit stores the partner user information in a storage device when receiving a response including the partner user information from the external service,
The information distribution apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the response transmission unit transmits a response including the counterpart user information stored in the storage device based on the acquisition request received by the acquisition request reception unit. .   The information distribution apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a notification unit that notifies determination results of the connection relationship determination unit and the disclosure possibility determination unit. In a management system including an information distribution device and a user terminal that transmits an acquisition request for information on a partner user disclosed on an external service providing server to the information distribution device,
The information distribution apparatus includes:
A request receiving unit for receiving an acquisition request for information on the other user published on the external service providing server from the user terminal of the requesting user;
A connection relationship determination unit that determines the presence or absence of a connection relationship between the requesting user and the counterpart user;
A disclosure permission / non-permission determining unit that determines whether information disclosure is possible for the requesting user based on the disclosure range information of the counterpart user information;
In response to the acquisition request received by the request receiving unit, information related to the partner user that is determined by the connection relationship determining unit to have a connection relationship with the partner user and that can be disclosed by the disclosure permission / inhibition determining unit. An acquisition request transmitter for requesting the external service providing server;
A receiving unit for receiving a response including information on the counterpart user from the external service providing server;
A response transmission unit configured to transmit a response including information on the counterpart user received from the external service providing server to a user terminal of the requesting user. The requesting user's user terminal sending an acquisition request for information on the other user published on the external service providing server;
An information distribution device receiving the acquisition request;
Determining the presence or absence of a connection relationship between the requesting user and the counterpart user;
Determining whether information can be disclosed to the requesting user based on the disclosure range information of the counterpart user information;
In response to the acquisition request received from the user terminal of the requesting user, information related to the partner user that is determined to have a connection relationship with the partner user and is determined to be openable to the external service providing server. Requesting, and
Receiving a response including information on the counterpart user from the external service providing server;
Transmitting a response including information on the counterpart user received from the external service providing server to the user terminal of the requesting user;
An information distribution method comprising:

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