JP2003271484A - Web contents storing system, service server used in the system and program for small-sized personal digital assistant - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problems in access from a small-sized personal digital assistant such as a cellular phone to Web contents wherein display cannot be made normally and download cannot be performed. <P>SOLUTION: According to a contents support program resistant in the small- sized personal digital assistant, URL of a desired Web contents is transmitted to a server by user's operation. The server stores the contents of the URL, so that when the user gains access to the contents from another PC, browsing and download of the stored contents are enabled. Even if authentication information is needed for download of the Web contents, according to the contents support program, the authentication information is automatically obtained from the input to the terminal to be transmitted simultaneously with the URL to the server. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a web content storage system, and more particularly to a system in which desired web content can be stored in a server from a small portable information terminal and downloaded by another PC. In addition, in the present specification, the term “web content” is used as a concept of electronic data including information, such as images, music, software, and the like, which are distributed on a network, as well as information described on a home page.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, it has become possible to browse information on a home page on a network such as the Internet or download contents such as images, music data and other programs. The Internet home page and the download file arranged in a link format in the page are stored in an unspecified server on the Internet and are updated at any time by the work of the creator or administrator of the home page. A user usually connects to the Internet from a personal computer (referred to as "PC" in this specification) such as a home or a work place to browse various homepages, and copies the webpage itself to his or her own PC.
You can save it in or download content linked to within the page. Recently, mobile phones and PHSs (Personal Handy
Phone System), PDA (Personal D) with communication function
Ata Assistant) and other small mobile information terminals can access the Internet and browse web pages.

New versions of languages for constructing Internet homepages (eg, HTML, XML, etc.) are being developed every day, and at the same time, new browser software for browsing this is released with new functions. . In addition, more convenient transfer protocols and compression methods have been proposed for downloading files. The end user responds to these by updating the browser of his / her PC at any time,
You can enjoy various forms of content.

[0004]

However, since a small portable information terminal such as a mobile phone has a small display screen and is limited in storage capacity and processing capacity, the installed function is set lower than that of a general PC. It is usually done. Therefore, when browsing the Internet with a small portable information terminal, if there is a moving image in a format that the terminal does not support, the web page cannot be displayed in a perfect state. . In this case, there is an inconvenience that necessary information cannot be obtained for the user.

Further, a small portable information terminal such as a mobile phone is not designed to be able to download contents on the web, or even if it can be downloaded, it has a limited storage capacity and cannot store a plurality of contents freely. Therefore, if a user browses a web page from this terminal and wants to save the page for later consideration, or if there is content to be downloaded in the page, it cannot be freely saved in this small mobile terminal. There is.

In such a case, it may be considered that the web browsing from the small portable information terminal is stopped and the PC having a sufficient function and storage capacity is accessed again to download the desired content. However, as mentioned above, some web pages are updated frequently, and this purpose cannot be achieved, for example, when the user is not near a sufficiently functioning PC but wants to save the content at that time. There is. In addition, there is a possibility that the web page or the content itself that was desired to be saved may disappear when the computer is accessed again from the PC.

On the other hand, there has been proposed a system in which a server is installed on the Web and a storage area is lent to a user even now. For example, a user transfers a file to the storage area and saves it, and then from another terminal. It is feasible to access the server and make the file available. However, in this system, the user can transfer the data already stored in the terminal to the server, but cannot save the content on the web in the server without going through the terminal.

[0008] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a system in which desired web contents are stored in a server by an operation from a small portable information terminal and can be browsed and downloaded by another PC. Further, in this case, it is another object of the present invention to allow the server to access the desired content even if access to the web page or the content is restricted by a password or the like.

[0009]

In order to achieve this object, a web content storage system according to the first invention of the present application connects at least one web server that provides web content to an arbitrary web server. A small portable information terminal capable of browsing information and a service server having a storage means capable of storing the web content are connected to each other via a network, and the small portable information terminal is connected to the contents currently accessed. URL (Un
iform Resource Locators) are automatically acquired, and the URL is notified to the service server by a predetermined input by the user, and the service server accesses the notified URL to download the content and store the content. It is characterized in that the stored content is stored in a means, and thereafter the stored content is transmitted to the terminal of the user in response to a request from the terminal used by the user.

With this system configuration, the URL is automatically acquired when accessing the web content from the small portable information terminal, and when the user inputs, for example, pressing a button, the current URL is sent to the service server. Be notified. The service server receiving this is the U
Access the RL and save the content. After that, the user can access the service server from another PC having a sufficient function and browse or download the stored content. As a result, for example, contents that cannot be normally displayed on the small portable information terminal, contents that cannot be stored in this terminal, and the like can be stored in the server in the state at that time.

[0011] The small portable information terminal acquires not only the URL of the content being browsed but also the URL of the content linked to the content, and displays the URL selectably to the user. It is preferable to notify the selected URL to the service server. This further improves the usability for the user.

In this web content storage system,
When the small portable information terminal further inputs an ID or a password when connecting to the web server to browse information, the information is stored, and the stored ID or the stored ID is sent to a notification to the service server. In addition to including password information, the service server accesses the notified URL using the ID and password notified here. With this configuration, even if the content to be stored in the service server has access restrictions and requires authentication, the service server that has received the notification can clear the authentication and download the content. .

On the other hand, the second invention of the present application relates to a service server applied to the above system, and at least one or more web servers for providing web contents, and a small portable information terminal capable of connecting to any web server and browsing information. A service server connected via a network to a means for receiving a URL (Uniform Resource Locators) of the content desired by the user from the small portable information terminal; and a means for accessing the URL and downloading the content. A storage means for storing the downloaded content in an area allocated to the user, a means for authenticating the user after receiving access from an information terminal used by the user, and a storage area allocated to the user. Means for providing the stored content to the information terminal of the user, It is characterized by including.

In this service server, when predetermined authentication information is required to access the content, the means for receiving the URL from the small portable information terminal receives the authentication information together with the URL, and accesses the URL. It is desirable that the means for downloading the content access the URL using the received authentication information.

Further, the server is further provided with a plurality of types of transfer protocols beforehand, and the means for performing the download selects an appropriate one of the plurality of types of protocols according to the transfer protocol used by the download source. The feature is that it is selected and set as a download protocol. In this way, by registering multiple types of protocols in advance on the service server and selecting and using an appropriate protocol according to the download source,
It becomes possible to store contents that cannot be downloaded because the small portable information terminal does not have an appropriate protocol, and to download them to another PC later.

Further, the server further comprises means for acquiring personal information of the user at the first access from the user and allocating a storage area for the user, and a program operating on the small information portable terminal of the user. Therefore, it is desirable to provide a means for providing a program for transmitting the URL to the service server according to a predetermined input by the user. By thus providing the service server with the program for the small-sized portable information terminal, it is possible to notify the service server of the necessary URL by a simple operation in the portable terminal of the user (user) of this service server. Becomes

Further, it is preferable that the service server further comprises means for deleting the stored content from the storage area according to the selection of the user or the older one of the stored content.

The third invention of the present application relates to a program for a small portable information terminal provided from the service server, the service comprising at least one web server for providing web content and a storage means capable of storing the web content. A program that runs on a small portable information terminal that can be connected to a server via a network, and is the URL of the content currently displayed when accessing an arbitrary web server from the small portable information terminal.
(Uniform Resource Locators) and a step of acquiring the URL of the content linked to the content, and a step of displaying the acquired URL on the display means of the small portable information terminal so that the user can select the URL. Receiving the predetermined input from the user, and notifying the service server of the selected URL together with the identification information of the user, causing the small portable information terminal to execute.

If the terminal program is constructed in this way,
The URL of the web content accessed by the small portable information terminal and the URL of the content linked to the content are automatically displayed in a list, so the user can select the content to save from the list and The URL can be sent to the service server to store the content.

Further, the program stores the authentication information associated with the URL of the content when the authentication information including the ID and the password is transmitted when accessing the content from the small portable information terminal. It is preferable that the small portable information terminal performs a step of notifying the service server of the stored authentication information when notifying the service server of the selected URL. When access to web contents from a small portable information terminal is provided with access restrictions and authentication is required, the user side transmits the ID and password. Therefore, if this authentication information is automatically stored and the authentication information is included when the URL is notified from the mobile terminal to the service server, the service server to which the ID or password is not assigned is notified. The content can be independently accessed using the authentication information.

[0021]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of the entire system according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a service server 1 on the Internet, a plurality of small portable information terminals 2 used by individual users, a user PC (personal computer) 3 separately used by each user, and a web on the Internet. A plurality of web servers 4 that provide contents are connected to each other, and these constituent elements can communicate with each other.

Each of the plurality of web servers 4 publishes web contents on the Internet. In principle, an unspecified user can access any web server 4 from the portable information terminal 2 or the PC 3 to browse the web contents. You can Further, there is also a web server 4 that provides web content with access restrictions only to specific users. In this case, when the registered user sends the authentication information such as the user ID and password to access the web content, the authentication information is matched on the web server side, and the content is accessed when the passwords match. Allowed

The plurality of user PCs 3 are personal computers used by individual users at home or work, and have sufficient functions to display and download the contents provided by the web server 4. That is,
The user PC 3 has a storage means having a sufficient capacity, and is equipped with a browser compatible with various file formats and transfer protocols.

The small portable information terminal 2 corresponds to, for example, a mobile phone with an information communication function, a PHS, a PDA with a communication function, or the like. In FIG. 1, although simplified for ease of explanation, the Internet is actually accessed by performing wireless communication with a wireless base station (not shown) connected to the Internet. The terminal 2 has a communication means 21 for exchanging information with the web server 4 and the service server 1, and a display means 22 for displaying a web content and a support window displayed by a content support program described later.
An input unit 23 such as a ten-key pad for inputting a user ID or password for the content, a content support program 24, which is one of the features of the present invention, and a user ID registration unit 25. The user can browse the web contents by accessing the web server 4 from this terminal 2. The terminal 2 is limited in storage capacity and display screen performance as compared with the user PC 3 due to miniaturization, and cannot be displayed normally depending on the content or does not have a transfer protocol compatible with the web server 4. You may not be able to download content.

The service server 1 is a server provided for the purpose of the present invention. Upon receiving the request from the small portable information terminal 2, the service server 1 downloads the requested content from the web server 4 and stores it in its own storage means 7. In addition, after that, the content stored in response to a request from the user PC 3 used by the user is provided. The service server 1 includes a communication means 11 for exchanging information with the small portable information terminal 2, the user PC 3, and the web server 4, a protocol group 12 in which a plurality of communication protocols are registered, and a user authentication for access from the user PC 3. User authentication means 13 for performing the above, download means 14 for accessing the URL notified from the small terminal 2 to download the content and storing it in the storage means 17, and user registration processing means 15 for performing the user registration processing when the user first accesses. And a content deleting means 16 for deleting the content stored in the storing means 17 according to a predetermined condition, and a storing means 17 for storing the downloaded content.

In the storage means 17 of the service server 1, a support program installer 17a provided to the small-sized information terminal 2, a user information storage area 17b in which information of registered users is stored in a database format, and user requests are stored. A content storage area 17c for storing content is provided. The content storage area 17c is divided for each registered user, and each user can save the content as long as the area capacity assigned to him / herself.

An example of the operation of this system will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a process in which a new user who wants to receive the service provided by the service server 1 according to the present invention performs user registration from the small portable information terminal 2. First, when the user accesses the service server 1 from the small portable information terminal 2 (step S11), the server 1 sends a member registration screen to the terminal 2 (step S12). An example of this registration screen is shown in FIG.
Shown in. The registration screen is provided with fields for inputting and selecting the address and name, the capacity of the storage area that the user desires to allocate on the server 1, and the charging method (for example, whether it is a pay-per-use or fixed amount), and finally the content. A button is provided to request the start of installation of the support program. Note that the registration screen is not limited to this example, and other input fields such as contact information and email address may be provided.

The user uses the input means 2 of the small portable information terminal 2.
3 is used to enter the necessary information on the registration screen, and finally, the content support program embedding desired button is pressed. As a result, the input information on the registration screen is transmitted to the server 1 (step S13). Upon receiving this information, the user registration processing means 15 of the server 1 uses the user information storage area 1
7b is registered in the user management database, and the area of the content storage area 17c is allocated to the user according to the desired capacity received (step S14). A user ID and password are issued to this user, which is registered in the user management database and transmitted to the terminal 2 of the user (step S15). This ID and password are for terminal 2
In step S16, it is stored in the user ID registration means 25. Next, the user registration processing means 15 of the service server 1 calls the installer 17a of the content support program from the storage means 17 and sends it to the small portable information terminal 2 of the user (step S17). The installer 17a is executed by the user's terminal 2 and the content support program 24 is installed in the terminal 2 (step S18).

Here, the function and operation of the content support program 24 will be described. This support program 24
The small portable information terminal 2 is resident when browsing the Internet (that is, is always in the activated state), and acquires the URL of the web content currently displayed on the terminal 2 and the URLs of other content linked to the content. Then, the display is made selectable to the user. An example of the support window displayed by the support program on the display unit 22 of the small portable information terminal 2 is shown in FIG. Referring to FIG. 4, the terminal 2
Below the display means 22 of the contents support window 5
0 is displayed. The support window 50 is provided with a URL display field 51 for displaying a URL so that it can be selected, for example, as a pull-down menu format, and a save button 52. The support program automatically records authentication information such as an ID and a password input by the user when accessing web content that requires authentication from the small portable information terminal 2. When the save button is pressed, if the user ID and password issued from the service server 1 and stored in the user ID registration means 25, the URL of the content selected in the support window 50, and the content requires authentication. The automatically recorded authentication information is transmitted to the service server 1.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart for explaining the operation during normal operation of this system. The left side shows the processing of the small portable information terminal 2 or the content support program 24, the center shows the processing of the service server 1, and the right side shows the processing of the arbitrary web server 4 accessed from the terminal 2. When the user accesses the web server 4 from the small portable information terminal 2 via the Internet and displays an arbitrary content, the content support program 24 is activated (step S21). The user operates the terminal 2 using the input means 23 of the terminal 2 to browse various contents of the web server 4. The support program 24 acquires the URL of the currently displayed web content and the URL of the content linked in the page, and acquires the URL of the support screen 50.
It is displayed selectably in the display field 51 (step S2
2).

When the terminal 2 tries to access the web server 4 which allows only registered users to browse the content, the server 4 requests the terminal 2 for the authentication information (step S23). This request is made, for example, by displaying an input screen for the user ID, password, etc. on the display means 22 of the terminal 2. When the user operates the input unit 23 of the terminal 2 to input the ID or password for the content and send it to the server 4, the content support program records this authentication information in association with the URL of the content (step S24). . When the authentication information matches, the user is permitted to browse the content (step S25). Here, if the user wants to store the content for later viewing or downloading from the user PC 3 at home or work again because the content cannot be accurately displayed or downloaded on the small portable information terminal 2, Is content support screen 25
The URL of the content is selected in the URL display field 51, and the save button 52 is pressed.

When the save button 52 is pressed, the content support program 24 displays the UR of the selected content.
L, the ID / password for the service server 1 stored in the user ID registration means 25, and step S2
The ID and password for the content recorded in 4 are transmitted to the service server 1 (step S26).
For security, it is desirable to take measures such as encrypting these ID / password information. The service server 1 uses the user authentication means 13 to authenticate the ID and password for the server 1 in the received information (step S27). If the ID and password do not match, the small portable information terminal 2 is returned to that effect. On the other hand, if the authentication information matches, the service server 1
Accesses the URL selected by the user from the received information using the download means 14, and requests the web server 4 to download the content (step S2).
8). Here, as described above, this content is set to be accessible only to registered users, and the web server 4 requests authentication information for access from the service server 1 (step S29).

In response to this request, the download means 14 of the service server 1 transmits the ID / password for the content among the received information in step S26 to the web server 4 as authentication information (step S30). Since this authentication information is the authentication information of the user himself, the web server 4 recognizes that it is an access from the user,
Allow content download (step S3)
1). The permission notification includes information on the transfer protocol used by the service server 4. Upon receiving this notification, the service server 1 selects a protocol corresponding to the protocol notified from the protocol group 12, and downloads the content from the web server 4 using this protocol (step S32). This allows
For example, even when the small portable information terminal 2 does not have a transfer protocol corresponding to the protocol used by the web server 4 and therefore cannot be downloaded to the terminal 2, the content can be downloaded and stored in the service server 1. The content downloaded to the service server 1 is stored in the area of the storage means 17 allocated to this user (step S33). After that, the service server 1 records information such as the size of the downloaded content and the download date and time in the user information database (step S34). This information is used later for billing processing and the like. The ID / password for the content received in step S26 is a one-time password and is deleted from the memory.

Next, referring to FIG. 6, the content saved in the service server 1 by this user is transferred to another user PC 3
A process of downloading to or deleting from the server 1 will be described. The processing of the user PC 3 is shown on the left side, and the processing of the service server 1 is shown on the right side. When the service server 1 is accessed from the user PC 3 via the Internet (step S41), the service server 1 sends a user authentication screen to the user PC 3 (step S42). This user screen is provided with a field for entering the user ID and password given by the server 1 in the user registration process shown in FIG. When the user inputs the ID and password on this screen and sends it to the service server 1 (step S43), the user authentication means 13 of the service server 1
Collates the authentication information (step S44). This authentication includes the ID / password transmitted from the user PC 3,
This is performed by collating the user ID and password registered in the user information storage means 17b of the storage means 17 of the service server 1. When the authentication information matches, the service server 1 extracts the information of the saved content stored in the area assigned to this user, creates a list display screen, and sends it to the user PC 3 (step S4).
5).

An example of the list screen of the stored contents is shown in FIG.
Shown in. As shown in FIG. 7, the list display screen displays a list of contents that have been stored so far, and a button for selecting either “download” or “delete” is arranged for each content. The user presses any button as desired (step S46).

If the "download" button is pressed (step S47), the service server 1 sends the selected content to the user PC 3 (step S48). This allows the user PC 3 to display or save the content. On the other hand, when the "delete" button is pressed on the stored content list display screen (step S50), the service server 1 deletes the content selected by the content deleting means 16 from the storage area allocated to the user ( Step S
51). As a result, unnecessary contents can be deleted and the allocated area can be effectively used.

Although various settings can be made according to the embodiment, when the user saves a plurality of contents without deleting the saved contents, the area allocated to the user becomes full. Is assumed. In this case, the content deleting means 16 of the service server 1
When saving new content, send a message to that effect and a list display screen to prompt the user to delete one of the contents, or delete the oldest contents saved in the past by push-out method. it can.

The embodiment of the present invention described above is not intended to be limited to this embodiment, but the service server 1 accesses the web server 4 to download the content in response to a request from the small portable information terminal. In the subsequent configuration in which the content can be downloaded from the user PC 3, individual screen examples and detailed processing examples may be different from the above configuration. In addition, it is not limited to the user PC 3 that accesses the service server 1 after storing the content, but the small portable information terminal 2 may access the service server 1 again.
May be accessed. Even in this case, it is possible to obtain an advantage that the content at the time of storage can be browsed later.

[0039]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, a user who has a sufficient function after downloading web contents which cannot be normally displayed from a small portable information terminal to a service server. Since it can be browsed from a PC, necessary information can be obtained. Further, since the service server downloads the contents in the state at that time in response to the request from the small portable information terminal, it is possible to obtain the contents which are frequently abolished after that in the state at that time.

Further, since the service server has a plurality of protocols and uses an appropriate transfer protocol according to the usage protocol of the web server, even if the service server does not have an appropriate protocol, it cannot be downloaded from the small portable information terminal. It can be downloaded to the service server.

Further, since the support program records the authentication information for the web server which only the registered user is permitted to access and transmits it together with the URL to the service server,
The service server can use this authentication information to download the content with restricted access.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an entire system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a process at the time of initial registration with a service server.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a member registration screen provided by a service server.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example in which a content support screen is displayed on a display unit of a small portable information terminal.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a process of storing contents in the system according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a process when a user PC accesses a service server.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a stored content list screen displayed on a user PC.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 service server 12 protocol groups 13 User authentication means 16 Content deletion means 17 storage means 17c Content storage area 2 Small personal digital assistants 22 Display means 24 Content Support Program 3 User PC 4 Web server

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A service server comprising at least one web server for providing web contents, a small portable information terminal capable of browsing information by connecting to any web server, and a storage means capable of storing the web contents. Are connected to each other via a network, and the small portable information terminal automatically obtains URLs (Uniform Resource Locators) of the contents currently being accessed, and the URLs are provided to the service by a predetermined input by the user. In addition to notifying the server, the service server accesses the notified URL, downloads the content, saves the content in the storage unit, and stores the content in response to a request from a terminal used by the user thereafter. Web content storage characterized by transmitting content to the user's terminal system. 2. The web content storage system according to claim 1, wherein the small portable information terminal acquires the URL of the content linked to the content in addition to the URL of the content being viewed. And a URL selected by the user's predetermined input is notified to the service server. 3. The web content storage system according to claim 1, wherein when the small portable information terminal is further connected to the web server and browses information, an ID or password is input. Information is stored, and the information of the stored ID and password is included in the notification to the service server, and the service server uses the ID and password notified here to access the notified URL. A web content storage system characterized in that 4. A service server connected via a network to at least one web server for providing web content, and a small portable information terminal capable of browsing information by connecting to any web server, said service server comprising: A means for receiving a URL (Uniform Resource Locators) of the content desired by the user from the small portable information terminal, a means for accessing the URL and downloading the content, and storing the downloaded content in an area allocated to the user. Means for performing user authentication by receiving access from an information terminal used by the user thereafter, means for providing content stored in a storage area assigned to the user to the information terminal of the user, A service server comprising: 5. The service server according to claim 4, wherein, when predetermined authentication information is required to access the content, a unit for receiving a URL from the small portable information terminal receives the authentication information together with the URL. ,
A service server, wherein the means for accessing the URL and downloading the content accesses the URL using the received authentication information. 6. The service server according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the server is provided with a plurality of types of transfer protocols in advance, and the means for performing the download corresponds to the transfer protocol used by the download source. A service server characterized by selecting an appropriate one of a plurality of types of protocols and setting it as a download protocol. 7. The service server according to claim 4, wherein the server further acquires personal information of the user at the first access from the user and allocates a storage area for the user, A service server, which is a program that operates on a small-sized portable information terminal of the user, and that provides a program for transmitting the URL to the service server according to a predetermined input by the user. 8. The service server according to claim 4, wherein the service server is further selected by the user or from the older one of the stored contents.
A service server comprising means for deleting the stored content from a storage area. 9. A program that operates on a small portable information terminal that is connectable via a network to at least one web server that provides web content and a service server that includes a storage unit capable of storing the web content. Then, when accessing any web server from the small portable information terminal, the UR of the content currently displayed
L (Uniform Resource Locators) and the step of obtaining the URL of the content linked to the content, and the step of displaying the obtained URL on the display means of the small portable information terminal so that the user can select it. Receiving a predetermined input from the user and notifying the service server of the selected URL together with the identification information of the user, the program causing the small portable information terminal to execute the program. 10. The program according to claim 9, wherein when the program further transmits authentication information including an ID and a password when accessing the content from the small portable information terminal, the authentication information is added to the content. Storing the authentication information stored in the small portable information terminal in association with the URL of the stored information and the step of notifying the service server of the stored authentication information when notifying the service server of the selected URL. And the program.