JP2005275755A - State information notification method and system therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To decide propriety of requirement for a state information notification reservation from a watcher according to an attribute of presentity or a watcher, or presence at the time point. <P>SOLUTION: When a watcher terminal 2 transmits the requirement for the state information notification reservation to a server 4, a policy evaluation means 405 acquires policy that is decision logic of the state information notification reservation to the watcher in each the presentity from a policy management means 406 in the server 4, and the server 4 decides the propriety of the state information notification reservation on the basis thereof, processes the state information notification reservation by a reservation information management means 404 when a decision result is OK, notifies the watcher terminal 2 of state information at the time point, and notifies the watcher terminal 2 of the effect that the state information notification reservation is rejected when the decision result is NG. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  In the present invention, status information related to individuals and things such as status, status, feelings, and means for communication between arbitrary terminals (PC, PDA, mobile phone, etc.) connected to the network is also connected to the network. Other users who have made a reservation to receive the status information after the change in advance when the status information is changed, in particular, the status information transmitted from one user's terminal The present invention relates to a state information notification method and system for notifying a terminal of the same.

  Conventionally, a terminal (hereinafter referred to as a presentity terminal) of a user (hereinafter referred to as a presentity terminal) that transmits state information (hereinafter referred to as presence) and a user (hereinafter referred to as a presentity terminal) that receives presence information. A terminal (hereinafter referred to as a watcher terminal) and a server that centrally manages presences are connected via a network, and the watcher reserves a notification of presence of a predetermined presentity for the server. Thereafter, a standard specification and a system have been proposed and provided in which a server automatically notifies a reserved watcher of a changed presence each time a predetermined presentity changes presence.

In addition, at the time of accepting the presence notification reservation, it is also possible to confirm with the reservation presentity whether the reservation can be actually executed. The result of the confirmation is managed by the server, and from the same watcher from the next time. It is possible to automatically determine whether to accept a reservation request (eg, instant message software such as Windows (registered trademark) Messenger, AOL Messenger, etc.).
Re-published patent WO00 / 19326 (Japanese Patent Application 2000-572765)

  In the state information communication system (hereinafter referred to as a presence system) as described above, whether or not the server accepts a notification reservation request from the watcher is determined based on the name of the watcher (user account) (eg, registered in the rejection list). Notification reservations for certain watchers, or notification reservations if they are not registered), and whether or not it is possible depending on the attributes (gender, age, hobbies, etc.) of the watcher or presentity, and at that time It was not possible to determine whether it was possible or not according to the presence (feeling of whereabouts, feelings, types of terminals that can communicate).

  Further, in Patent Document 1, it is proposed to grant access authority according to attributes and presence using a user's policy, but when applied to a presence system, it is determined that the reservation is OK even once. If the policy settings and attributes and presence used at the time of policy evaluation change after that, even if the status changes to a state that should be determined as reservation NG, the reservation is canceled from the watcher side, or the service period is There was a problem that the reserved state was kept until it expired.

  In addition, in the current system, there is a problem that it is impossible to grasp in real time who is reserved for a presentity.

  The presence notification reservation can be deleted with the intention of the watcher who made the reservation, but there is a problem that it cannot be deleted with the presentity or the intention of a third party.

  The present invention is to solve the above-described problem, and allows flexible determination of whether or not presence notification reservation from a watcher is made according to a presentity or a policy set by a third party.

  Also, the policy managed by the server can be edited by a presentity or a third party with appropriate authority, and when the policy is edited, the reservation status is reevaluated and the result can be reserved. If the result cannot be reserved, the reservation can be canceled at that time.

  Also, the presence notification reservation status can be referred to at any time, and can be canceled at any time based on the presentity or the intention of a third party with appropriate authority.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention according to claim 1 is a presence notification reservation processing method using a presentity policy in a presence system using a communication network, wherein the presentity registers its own policy with a server. A step in which the watcher sends a request for presence notification reservation for the presentity to the server, a step in which the server determines whether or not the reservation is possible based on the policy of the presentity, and if the determination result is reservation OK And performing notification reservation processing and notifying the watcher of the current presence, and notifying the watcher of the fact when the determination result is reservation NG.

  The invention described in claim 2 is a policy editing method used for determining presence reservation availability using a communication network, wherein the policy editing requester sends a policy editing request to the server, and the server is designated. Presenting the presentity policy to the requester, editing the policy presented by the requester and requesting the server to update, and requesting the server to update the policy.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the method of the second aspect, the server authenticates the requester when receiving the policy editing request, and requests the policy specified when the authentication result is OK. And a step of rejecting the policy editing request when the authentication result is NG. Authentication at this time is for confirming the editing authority of the specified policy. The editing authority is also given to a third party other than the principal (superuser, parent, boss, etc.), and the third party has another person. It is also possible to edit the policy.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the method according to the second or third aspect, when the policy is edited, a step of re-evaluating the notification reservation availability with respect to the presence notification reservation related to the policy, and the re-evaluation If the result is OK, the reservation state is maintained as it is, and if it is NG, the reservation is canceled and a watcher that has made a reservation is notified of the cancellation.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a presence notification reservation canceling method using a communication network, wherein a presentity or a third party sends a presence notification reservation canceling request, and the server is based on the requested content. A step of canceling the corresponding reservation information, and a step of notifying the release of the reservation to the watcher whose reservation has been canceled.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the method of the fifth aspect, the server authenticates the requester when receiving the reservation cancellation request, and the reservation information specified when the authentication result is OK. A step of canceling, and a step of rejecting the reservation cancel request when the authentication result is NG. Authentication at this time is for confirming the editing authority of the specified policy. The editing authority is also given to a third party other than the principal (superuser, parent, boss, etc.), and the third party has another person. It is also possible to edit the policy.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the method according to the fifth or sixth aspect, the presentity or a third party sends a request for referring to the current reservation status to the server; Presenting the reservation status to the requester.

The effects of the present invention are as follows.
(1) Presence notification reservation processing based on the presentity policy becomes possible.
(2) A user having an appropriate authority can edit a presentity policy.
(3) When the policy is changed, the presence notification reservation is reevaluated based on the new policy, and if it is determined that the reservation is NG at that time, the reservation is dynamically canceled.
(4) A user having appropriate authority can refer to the watcher list of the specified presentity.
(5) A user having appropriate authority can cancel the presence notification reservation of the designated watcher.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows an example of an embodiment of a system according to the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a terminal device used by a presentity A (presentity terminal), and 2 is a terminal device used by a watcher B (watcher terminal). 3 is a terminal device (administrator terminal) used by an administrator (parent, boss, etc.) C, 4 is a server, and 5 is a communication network for connecting them.

  Each terminal device is a PC, PDA, mobile phone, or the like, and the communication network includes the Internet, a mobile communication network, or the like. In addition, each terminal device and server show characteristic functions among the functions of each device described below. In addition, although one presentity terminal, one watcher terminal, and one administrator terminal are shown here, it goes without saying that any number of terminals can be installed.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of an embodiment of the presentity terminal 1. In the figure, 101 is an authentication means, 102 is a presence acquisition means, 103 is a policy editing means, 104 is a watcher list reference means, and 105 is a notification reservation cancellation. Means 106, personal information registration means, 107 terminal display means, 108 terminal operation means, 109 data transmission / reception means, and 110 terminal control means.

  The authentication unit 101 performs authentication when accessing the server 4 and performing various operations. Presence acquisition means 102 acquires presence from a presentity or various sensors. Policy editing means 103 edits the policy. The watcher list reference unit 104 refers to the watcher list. The personal information registration means 105 registers own personal information. The notification reservation canceling means 106 cancels the reservation information currently reserved. The terminal display means 107 displays various information on the terminal. The terminal operation means 108 operates the terminal. The data transmission / reception means 109 transmits / receives various data to / from the server 4. The terminal control unit 110 controls each unit described above.

  By providing these means, the presentity terminal 1 notifies the server 4 of its presence, accesses the server 4 for authentication, acquires its own policy from the server 4, and again edits the server 4 after editing. Can be sent to and updated, and the watcher list (the list of watchers that have subscribed to notifications of their presence) can be referenced, and the reservations that have been reserved to notify users can be forcibly canceled. .

  FIG. 3 shows an example of an embodiment of the watcher terminal 2. In the figure, 201 is presence reservation means, 202 is presence acquisition means, 203 is personal information registration means, 204 is terminal display means, and 205 is terminal operation means. 206 are data transmission / reception means, and 207 is a terminal control means.

  The presence reservation unit 201 makes a presence reservation to the server 4. The presence acquisition unit 202 receives a presence notification from the server 4 every time the presence of the reserved presentity is changed. The personal information registration means 203 registers own personal information. The terminal display unit 204 displays various information on the terminal. The terminal operation unit 205 operates the terminal. The data transmission / reception means 206 transmits / receives various data to / from the server 4. The terminal control unit 207 controls each unit described above.

  By providing these means, the watcher terminal 2 reserves the notification of the presence of the desired presentity to the server 4, and the presence information is notified from the server 4 whenever the presence of the reserved presentity is changed. The notified presence can be displayed on the terminal for reference.

  1 to 3 separately show the terminal used by the presentity A and the terminal used by the watcher B, but one terminal can also serve as the presentity terminal and the watcher terminal. One terminal is provided with the means shown in FIGS.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of an embodiment of the administrator terminal 3. In the figure, 301 is an authentication means, 302 is a policy editing means, 303 is a watcher list reference means, 304 is a notification reservation canceling means, and 305 is a terminal display. 306 is a terminal operation unit, 307 is a data transmission / reception unit, and 308 is a terminal control unit.

  The authentication unit 301 performs authentication when accessing the server 4 and performing various operations. Policy editing means 302 edits the policy. The watcher list reference unit 303 refers to the watcher list. The notification reservation canceling means 304 cancels the reservation information currently reserved. The terminal display unit 305 displays various information on the terminal. The terminal operation unit 306 operates the terminal. The data transmission / reception means 307 transmits / receives various data to / from the server 4. The terminal control unit 308 controls each unit described above.

  By providing these means, the administrator terminal 3 allows the administrator (user) C having appropriate authority, such as a parent and a boss, to access the server 4 for authentication, and the presentity designated by the server 4 Obtain a policy, send it to the server 4 again after editing, and update it. Also, refer to the watcher list (list of watchers that are scheduled to notify the presence of the specified presentity), and change to the specified presentity. It is possible to forcibly cancel the reservation reserved for notification.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of an embodiment of the server 4. In the figure, 401 is presence acquisition means, 402 is presence management means, 403 is presence notification means, 404 is reservation information management means, 405 is policy evaluation means, 406 is a policy management unit, 407 is a watcher list management unit, 408 is an authentication unit, 409 is a data transmission / reception unit, and 410 is a server control unit.

  Presence acquisition means 401 receives presence from each presentity. The presence management unit 402 manages the presence of each presentity and notifies the presence notification unit when the presence changes. When the presence notification unit 403 receives the presence change notification from the presence management unit 402, the presence notification unit 403 confirms the reservation status from the reservation information management unit 404 and notifies the reserved watcher of the presence. The reservation information management unit 404 manages the reservation information, and deletes the reservation information when there is a reservation information deletion request from a presentity or a third party. The policy evaluation unit 405 evaluates the policy of the presentity when a presence reservation request is received from the watcher or the policy is edited, and determines whether or not the reservation is possible. The policy management means 406 manages the policies of each presentity used for policy evaluation, and changes them according to a policy editing request from the presentity or a third party. The watcher list management unit 407 acquires the corresponding information from the reservation information management unit 404 and returns it as a watcher list when a presentity or a third party requests a watcher list reference. The authentication unit 408 confirms that it has appropriate authority when there is a policy editing or watcher list reference request or reservation information release request. The data transmission / reception means 409 transmits / receives various data to / from the terminals 1, 2, and 3. The server control unit 410 controls each unit described above.

  By these means, the presentity, transmission / reception of presence between the watchers via the server, determination of availability notification reservation by policy evaluation, policy editing by the presentity or administrator, watcher list reference, and notification reservation cancellation can be performed.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the presence notification reservation operation among the operations in the embodiment described above.

  The presence reservation unit 201 of the terminal 2 of the watcher A designates the presentity and transmits a presence notification reservation request to the server 4 (S101). The server 4 receives the request by the data transmission / reception unit 409, and the policy evaluation unit 405 The policy of the presentity is acquired from the policy management unit 406 (S102), and the policy evaluation unit 405 acquires information necessary for policy evaluation (S103). Here, the information necessary for policy evaluation refers to personal information or presence of the presentity or watcher. In other words, for example, if the logic is “OK if the hobby is the same person as me, NG otherwise” is described, “hobby” is acquired from the present information and personal information of the watcher in this step.

  Subsequently, policy evaluation is performed (S104). When the evaluation result is NG, notification reservation NG is notified to the terminal 2 of watcher B (S105), and when the evaluation result is OK, the reservation information management unit 404 is notified. The reservation information is registered (S106), the present presence of the presentity is notified to the terminal 2 of the watcher B (S107), and the presence notification reservation is terminated.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing operations related to policy editing in the above-described embodiment.

  The policy editing unit 103 of the terminal 1 of the presentity A sends a policy editing request to the server 4 (S201), the server 4 receives the request by the data transmission / reception unit 409, and the authentication unit 408 has an appropriate authority by the request requester. Is authenticated (S202). As a result of the authentication, if the presentity A does not have the authority to edit the policy, the authentication NG is returned to the requesting terminal 1 (S203), and the process ends. As a result of authentication, if the presentity A has the authority to edit the corresponding policy, the current policy is transmitted to the terminal 1, the policy is edited by the policy editing means 103 of the terminal 1 (S204), and the edited policy is displayed. The policy is transmitted to the server 4 and updated by the policy management means 406 of the server 4 (S205).

  When the policy is updated, the policy evaluation unit 405 determines whether or not the reservation can be made again for the watcher B that has made a reservation for notification to the presentity A (S206). If the result of the determination is OK, the notification reservation information remains in the reserved state, and the policy editing ends. If the result of the determination is NG, the reservation information management means 404 cancels the corresponding notification reservation (S207), notifies the terminal 2 of the released watcher B that it has been canceled (S208), and policy editing is performed. finish. When a plurality of watchers are in a notification reserved state for the presentity, the processes of S206 to S208 are performed for the number of watchers.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of canceling the notification reservation by the presentity or a third party in the embodiment described above.

  The watcher list reference means 104 of the terminal 1 of the presentity A makes a watcher list reference request to the server 4 (S301), the server 4 receives the request by the data transmission / reception means 409, and the authentication means 408 determines whether the request requester is appropriate. It is authenticated whether the user has authority (S302). As a result of the authentication, if the presentity A does not have the watcher list reference authority for the presentity, the authentication NG is returned to the requesting terminal 1 (S303), and the process ends. As a result of authentication, if the presentity A has the authority to reference the corresponding watcher list, the watcher list is transmitted to the terminal 1 (S304).

  Next, the notification reservation cancellation unit 105 of the terminal 1 of the presentity A sends a notification reservation deletion request to the server 4 (S305), the server 4 receives the request by the data transmission / reception unit 409, and the authentication unit 408 receives the request requester. It is authenticated whether the user has appropriate authority (S306). As a result of the authentication, if the presentity A does not have the delete authority for the relevant reservation information, the authentication NG is returned to the requesting terminal 1 (S303), and the process ends. As a result of authentication, if the presentity A has the authority to delete the corresponding reservation information, the reservation information management unit 404 deletes the corresponding reservation information (S307) and notifies the terminal 2 of the corresponding watcher B that it has been deleted. (S308).

Connection diagram showing an example of an embodiment of a system of the present invention Block configuration diagram showing an example of an embodiment of a presentity terminal Block configuration diagram showing an example of an embodiment of a watcher terminal Block configuration diagram showing an example of an embodiment of an administrator terminal Block configuration diagram showing an example of an embodiment of a server device Flow chart showing operation of presence notification reservation Flow chart showing policy editing operation Flow chart showing operation for canceling presence notification reservation

Explanation of symbols

  1: Presence terminal, 2: Watcher terminal, 3: Manager terminal, 4: Server, 5: Communication network, 101, 301, 408: Authentication means, 102, 202, 401: Presence acquisition means, 103, 302: Policy editing Means 104, 303: Watcher list reference means 105, 304: Notification reservation cancellation means 106, 203: Personal information registration means 107, 204, 305: Terminal display means 108, 205, 306: Terminal operation means 109 , 206, 307, 409: data transmission / reception means, 110, 207, 308: terminal control means, 201: presence reservation means, 402: presence management means, 403: presence notification means, 404: reservation information management means, 405: policy evaluation Means, 406: Policy management means, 407: Watcher list management Stage, 410: server control means, A: presentity (presence caller), B: watcher (Presence recipient), C: the administrator.

Claims (14)

A server connected via a network to a presentity terminal used by a presentity user who transmits state information and a watcher terminal used by a watcher user receiving a notification of the state information, A server that receives and manages a status information notification reservation for receiving notification of status information after the change from any watcher terminal when the status information from the one presentity terminal is changed, In the state information notification method of notifying the changed state information to the watcher terminal reserved for the state information notification when the state information from the Titi terminal is changed,
The server is
For each presentity, manage the policy that is the determination logic of the status information notification reservation to the watcher,
When accepting a request for reservation of status information notification from the watcher terminal, based on the policy for each presentity, determine whether or not reservation for status information notification is possible,
If the determination result is OK, process the status information notification reservation, notify the watcher terminal of the status information at that time,
When the determination result is NG, the state information notification method is notified to the watcher terminal that the reservation of the state information notification is rejected. The state information notification method according to claim 1,
State information characterized in that a management terminal connected to the network and used by the presentity terminal or a third party edits (adds, deletes, updates, references) a policy managed by the server. Notification method. In the state information notification method according to claim 2,
When the server receives a policy editing request from the presentity terminal or the management terminal, it performs authentication to confirm that it has the authority to edit the policy. If the authentication result is OK, the policy editing request is permitted. And a status information notification method, wherein if the authentication result is NG, the policy editing request is rejected. In the status information notification method according to claim 2 or 3,
The server reevaluates whether or not the status information notification reservation is possible for the watcher that has already reserved the status information notification when the policy managed by the server is edited. If the result is OK, the reservation status is set as it is. In this case, the state information notification method is characterized by canceling the reservation and notifying the watcher terminal that has made the state information notification reservation that the state information notification reservation has been canceled. A server connected via a network to a presentity terminal used by a presentity user who transmits state information and a watcher terminal used by a watcher user receiving a notification of the state information, A server that receives and manages a status information notification reservation for receiving notification of status information after the change from any watcher terminal when the status information from the one presentity terminal is changed, In the state information notification method of notifying the changed state information to the watcher terminal reserved for the state information notification when the state information from the Titi terminal is changed,
A management terminal connected to the network, which is a terminal used by the presentity terminal or a third party, transmits a cancellation request for status information notification reservation to the server,
The server cancels the corresponding reservation information in accordance with the cancellation request for the state information notification reservation, and notifies the watcher terminal that has made the state information notification reservation that the state information notification reservation has been canceled. Status information notification method. In the state information notification method according to claim 5,
When the server accepts a request for canceling reservation for status information notification, it performs authentication to confirm that it has the authority to execute reservation cancellation. If the authentication result is OK, it executes a request for canceling status information notification reservation. When the authentication result is NG, the status information notification method is characterized in that the cancellation request for the status information notification reservation is rejected. The state information notification method according to claim 5 or 6,
Current status information notification reservation status (list of watchers making a reservation for the specified presentity) by the management terminal connected to the network and used by the presentity terminal or a third party The state information notification method characterized by referring to FIG. Status information from a presentity terminal used by a presentity user who sends state information, a watcher terminal used by a watcher who is a user receiving the status information, and status information from one presentity terminal When the status is changed, the status information notification reservation for receiving the notification of the status information after the change is received and managed from any watcher terminal, and the status information from the one presentity terminal is changed In a status information notification system including at least a server that notifies the changed status information to a watcher terminal reserved for status information notification, and a network connecting them,
The server
Means for managing a policy which is a determination logic of the status information notification reservation for a watcher for each presentity;
Means for determining whether or not to allow reservation of status information notification based on a policy for each presentity when receiving a request for reservation of status information notification from a watcher terminal;
Means for processing a status information notification reservation if the determination result is OK, and notifying the watcher terminal of the status information at that time;
And a means for notifying the watcher terminal that the status information notification reservation has been rejected when the determination result is NG. The status information notification system according to claim 8,
The management terminal connected to the network and used by the presentity terminal or a third party includes means for editing (adding, deleting, updating, referring) a policy managed by the server. State information notification system. In the status information notification system according to claim 9,
The server includes authentication means for authenticating a user when a policy editing request is received from a presentity terminal or a management terminal, means for executing the editing request if the authentication result is OK, and an authentication result. A state information notifying system, comprising: means for rejecting an edit request when NG. In the status information notification system according to claim 9 or 10,
The server has means for re-evaluating whether or not to allow reservation of state information notification regarding a watcher already reserved for state information notification when the policy to be managed is edited, and if the result is OK, it is in a reserved state as it is, In the case of NG, a status information notification system comprising means for canceling the reservation and notifying the watcher that had made the status information notification reservation that the status information notification reservation has been canceled. Status information from a presentity terminal used by a presentity user who sends state information, a watcher terminal used by a watcher who is a user receiving the status information, and status information from one presentity terminal When the status is changed, the status information notification reservation for receiving the notification of the status information after the change is received and managed from any watcher terminal, and the status information from the one presentity terminal is changed In a status information notification system including at least a server that notifies the changed status information to a watcher terminal reserved for status information notification, and a network connecting them,
The management terminal connected to the network, which is a terminal used by the presentity terminal or a third party,
A means for sending a request for canceling the reservation of status information notification to the server;
The server
According to the cancellation request for the status information notification reservation, the corresponding reservation information is canceled, and a means for notifying that the status information notification reservation has been canceled is provided to the watcher terminal that has performed the status information notification reservation. Status information notification system. The status information notification system according to claim 12,
The server performs authentication for identity verification when receiving a cancellation request for status information notification reservation, means for executing the cancellation request when the authentication result is OK, and when the authentication result is NG A status information notification system comprising: means for rejecting a request for canceling a reservation for status information notification. The status information notification system according to claim 12 or 13,
The management terminal connected to the network and used by the presentity terminal or a third party displays the current status information reservation status (a list of watchers that have made a reservation for the specified presentity). A state information notification system comprising a means for referring.

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