JP2006004174A - Proxy server - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a proxy server capable of delivering information in conformation to the specification of an information terminal owned by a user and also delivering information in a form of content data suitable for the user. <P>SOLUTION: Information of a Web server 30 is processed based on resource information 142 and processing rule information 141 of a user PC 20 in the proxy server 10, and delivered from the proxy server 10 to the user PC 20. A terminal resource survey means 12 comprises a terminal resource survey program 121, so that the proxy server 10 can acquire the resource information 142 from the user PC 20 without preliminarily grasping the resource information of the user PC 20. The user can reflect the user's intention to the processing rule information 141 by use of a processing rule setting means 13. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a proxy server that distributes information to an information terminal using a network such as the Internet, and more particularly to a proxy server that distributes information according to the specifications of the information terminal.

  In the modern social life, the Internet is becoming an indispensable source of information, and the information distributed from the Internet is diversified. For example, information on various fields such as business information represented by a product catalog, hobby information, and daily life information represented by a TV program guide is distributed from the Internet.

  Since information distributed from the Internet is diversified, information terminals connected to the Internet are also diversified. In the past, computers were the mainstream of information terminals connected to the Internet, but in recent years, not only mobile phones, PDAs (abbreviation of Personal Digital Assistance), game machines, but also home appliances such as DVD recorders. Is used as an information terminal.

  As described above, since information terminals connected to the network are diversified, the information distributing side needs to process the information distributed in accordance with the specifications of the information terminal. For example, the amount of information that can be handled by a personal computer and a mobile phone is different, and the amount of information that can be displayed (display size) is naturally different, so if the same information is distributed to different types of information terminals, the information distributed by the information terminals is not normal. Inconvenience occurs for the user who is not displayed or the display speed of the distributed information is very slow.

  For this reason, as a system and method for distributing information according to the specifications of the information terminal, an HTTP header that is an example of communication protocol control information is analyzed, and the type of the information terminal is determined from the information obtained by analyzing the HTTP header. An information distribution system and method for distributing information that has been identified and processed according to the specifications of the identified information terminal are disclosed (for example, Patent Document 1).

If the header information of the communication protocol cannot be analyzed, or if the header information does not contain the necessary information, the necessary information is extracted from the information terminal, and the information is matched with the display function specifications of the information terminal. An information distribution system and method for processing and distributing the above are also disclosed (for example, Patent Document 2).
JP 2001-195335 A Japanese Patent No. 3184802

  However, the above-described conventional information distribution system and information distribution method have the following problems.

  The first problem is that the specifications of information terminals obtained by analyzing communication protocol control information such as HTTP headers are limited. For example, from the HTTP header, only information such as information that can be handled by the browser (file format, language information) and information specific to the information terminal (browser type, OS type, IP address) can be obtained from the HTTP header.

  When the information terminal is a personal computer, even if they are the same model, the memory capacity of the information terminal is different and the software stored in the information terminal is also different. Since only the information obtained by analyzing the control information of the communication protocol such as the above-described HTTP header cannot be known, the content data cannot be distributed in the form of the optimum content data to the information terminal possessed by the user. is there.

  Further, the second problem is that in the information distribution system and method for distributing information according to the specifications of the information terminal described above, the information distributed to the user is information that is processed only according to the specifications of the information terminal. In other words, the information is not processed to reflect the user's intention.

  The form of the content data of the distributed information reflecting the user's intention may be different from the form of the content data optimum for the information terminal possessed by the user. For example, even if it is determined from the specifications of the information terminal possessed by the user that “processing not to display image information”, the user may desire “processing to display image information”, and vice versa. Even if it is determined that “processing to display image information” from the specifications of the information terminal possessed by the user, the user may desire “processing not to display image information”.

  Information processed to reflect the user's intention is not only that the user can change the contents to be processed according to the specifications of the user's information terminal, but also the information processed according to the user's information terminal. It also includes the ability to add content to be processed without assuming the above. For example, foreign language translation processing does not depend on the specifications of the user's information terminal, so it is not premised on the user's information terminal specifications, and foreign language translation processing is added according to the user's intention. It is desirable to be able to do it.

  In addition, the third problem is that the information distributed in accordance with the specifications of the information terminal is only information on a limited Web server corresponding to each information distribution system and method. The Web server information cannot be received in accordance with the specifications of its own information terminal.

  In Patent Document 1, a Web server that distributes stored information to an information terminal must include means for processing information in accordance with the specifications of the information terminal, and is a Web server that does not include the means. Information is not distributed according to the specifications of the information terminal.

  In Patent Document 2, the Web server must store information that matches the display function specifications of the information terminal in advance, or must know the address of the provider of such information, and has such information. No information is distributed according to the specifications of the information terminal from a Web server that does not know the address of the provider of such information.

  Therefore, in view of the above-described improvements, the present invention grasps in detail the specifications of the information terminal possessed by the user in the proxy server that delivers information to the user using the network, and By delivering information in the form of optimal content data, the user does not feel inconvenience, and from the user's standpoint, the received information includes not only the specifications of the information terminal but also the user's intention. In addition, an object of the present invention is to provide a proxy server that can process and receive information on all Web servers in accordance with the specifications of the information terminal and the user's intention.

  The first problem-solving means for solving the above-described problems is a terminal resource investigation means for examining resource information of an information terminal possessed by a user, and a location of information requested by the information terminal and requested by the user. Processing rule information for defining processing contents for information acquired from a network address; and information processing means for processing information acquired from the network address based on the resource information acquired by the terminal resource investigation means and the processing rule information. It is a proxy server characterized by comprising at least.

  According to the first problem solving means, the proxy server includes the terminal resource investigation means, so that the proxy server is able to provide details of the information terminal even if the resource information of the information terminal owned by the user is not grasped in advance. Resource information can be obtained, and information can be processed according to detailed resource information. Here, the resource information means hardware components such as the memory capacity and screen size of the information terminal and software components stored in the information terminal.

  Further, the second problem-solving means is the proxy server described in the first problem-solving means, wherein the proxy server includes user request information indicating a user request for processing information acquired from the network address. The proxy server is characterized by comprising processing rule setting means for changing or adding the processing rule information based on the processing rule information.

  According to the second problem solving means, since the proxy server includes the processing rule setting means, the information delivered to the user reflects not only the resource information of the information terminal but also the intention of the user. be able to. For example, even if a process for not delivering image information is determined from the resource information of the information terminal, if there is a request from the user, it can be changed from a process for not delivering image information to a process for delivering image information. .

  Further, the third problem solving means is the proxy server according to the first problem solving means or the second problem solving means, wherein the terminal resource investigation means included in the proxy server obtains resource information of the information terminal. A proxy server comprising a terminal resource investigation program for investigation.

  According to the third problem solving means, the terminal resource investigation means provided in the proxy server includes a terminal resource investigation program for examining the resource information of the information terminal, so that the user is required to process the information. This saves you the trouble of entering resource information for information terminals.

  Furthermore, by providing the terminal resource investigation program, detailed resource information can be obtained from a resource information file (for example, registry information in the operating system of a personal computer) stored in the information terminal. In addition, the proxy server The resource information of the information terminal acquired to process the information can be set in detail.

  According to the proxy server described above, since the proxy server includes the terminal resource investigation means, the proxy server can grasp in detail the specifications of the information terminal possessed by the user, and the optimum content for the user information terminal Information can be distributed in the form of data. Furthermore, since the proxy server includes the processing rule setting unit, the distributed information can reflect not only the resource information of the information terminal but also the user's intention.

“Preferred Embodiment of the Present Invention”
DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. First, the proxy server of the present invention will be described, and the operation of the proxy server of this embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining network connection of a proxy server. The proxy server 10 (proxy server) is installed at a connection point between the LAN 91 and the Internet 90, and has a proxy function for preventing unauthorized intrusion from the Internet 90 to the LAN 91 and performing an information request from the user PC 20 as a proxy. Network server.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the proxy server 10 is connected via a LAN 91 (Local Area Network) to a plurality of personal computers 20 (hereinafter referred to as user PCs, where PC is an abbreviation of Personal Computer) possessed by the user. The proxy server 10 is connected to a plurality of Web servers 30 (abbreviation of World Wide Web servers) that distribute information via the Internet 90. The proxy server 10 acquires Web information from the Web server 30 instead of the user PC 20 and transmits the acquired Web information to the user PC 20.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the proxy server according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 2, for ease of explanation, it is assumed that there is one user PC 20 connected to the LAN 91 and one Web server 30 connected to the Internet 90.

<Description of personal computer>
The user PC 20 has a network communication function, and includes a browser 21 as means for displaying Web information distributed via the proxy server 10. In the browser 21, connection to the Internet 91 is set to use the proxy server 10. The user can browse Web information distributed by the Web server 30 via the proxy server 10 using the browser 21. The user PC 20 stores a resource information file 22 that stores the resource information of the user PC 20.

  Here, the resource of the user PC 20 means both the hardware resource and the software resource of the user PC 20. The hardware resource of the user PC 20 means a hardware component of the user PC 20 such as a memory capacity provided in the user PC 20, a display screen size, a modem type, or a computing device. The software resources of the user PC 20 mean software components stored in the user PC 20 such as font information stored in the user PC 20 and the software name / version number of the browser 21.

<Description of Web server>
The Web server 30 is a network server that distributes Web information using the Internet. The Web server 30 stores information such as HTML (abbreviation of HyperText Markup Language) documents and images, and distributes Web information in response to requests from other computers.

<Description of proxy server>
The proxy server 10 includes a communication relay unit 11 for relaying communication between the user PC 20 and the Web server 30. Although not shown, a cache function for temporarily caching Web information acquired from the Web server 30 may be provided in order to reduce the communication load between the LAN 91 and the Internet 90. .

  In addition, the proxy server 10 according to the present invention acquires the resource information 142 from the resource information file 22 of the user PC 20, processes the Web information acquired from the Web server 30 based on the resource information 142, and processes the processed Web information. A function of delivering to the user PC 20 is provided.

  In order to realize this function, the proxy server 10 is acquired by the terminal resource investigation unit 12 that examines the resource information file 22 of the user PC 20, the processing rule information 141 that describes the processing contents of the Web information, and the terminal resource investigation unit 12. Information processing means 14 for processing the Web information of the Web server 30 based on the resource information 142 and processing rule setting means 13 for reflecting the user's request for processing the Web information in the processing rule information 141 are provided.

  From here, the means with which the proxy server 10 concerning this invention was equipped, and the information which the proxy server 10 uses are demonstrated.

(Information processing means)
The information processing unit 14 is a unit that processes Web information acquired from the Web server 30. In order to process Web information, the proxy server 10 includes processing rule information 141 including processing rules depending on at least the resource information 142 acquired from the user PC 20 and describing the processing contents of the Web information. The information processing means 14 processes the Web information acquired from the Web server 30 based on the resource information 142 and the processing rule information 141.

  Here, the processing rules include a processing rule that is executed when the resource information 142 acquired by the terminal resource examining unit 12 satisfies a certain condition, and a processing rule that is executed regardless of the resource information 142. .

  As an example of the processing rule based on the hardware resource information of the user PC 20, there is a process of not displaying an image when the user PC 20 has a small memory capacity. As an example of the processing rule based on the software resource information, there is a process of downloading the necessary software to the user PC 20 when the software necessary for displaying the Web information (for example, font data) is not in the user PC 20. The processing rule that does not depend on the resource information 142 means a processing rule that is executed regardless of the resource information 142 of the user PC 20, and examples thereof include a foreign language Web information translation service.

  When executing processing that depends on the resource information 142 acquired from the user PC 20, the information processing means 14 confirms whether the resource information 142 acquired from the user PC 20 satisfies the conditions defined in the processing rule information 141, If the resource information 142 satisfies the condition, a predetermined process is executed. When executing a process that does not depend on the resource information 142 acquired from the user PC 20, the information processing means 14 executes the process without confirming the acquired resource information 142.

(Terminal resource survey means)
The terminal resource investigation unit 12 is a unit that acquires the resource information 142 from the user PC 20. In order to investigate the resource information file 22 of the user PC 20, the terminal resource investigation means 12 includes a terminal resource investigation program 121 that is transmitted to the user PC 20. The terminal resource investigation program 121 acquires resource information 142 necessary for processing Web information from the resource information file 22 transmitted from the proxy server 10 to the user PC 20 and stored in the user PC 20, and acquires the acquired resource information 142. Is transmitted to the proxy server 10. The proxy server 10 temporarily stores the transmitted resource information 142 in the proxy server 10.

  Since the terminal resource investigation unit 13 includes the terminal resource investigation program 121 that examines the resource information file 22 of the user PC 20, the user can save the trouble of inputting the resource information 142 necessary for processing the Web information. Furthermore, by providing the terminal resource investigation program 121, detailed resource information 142 can be obtained from the resource information file 22 stored in the user PC 20, and in addition, the proxy server 10 allows the user PC 20 to process the Web information. The resource information 142 acquired from the resource information file 22 can be set in detail.

  In the present embodiment, in order to acquire the resource information 142 from the user PC 20, the terminal resource investigation program 121 is transmitted from the proxy server 10 to the user PC 20, but the terminal resource investigation program 121 is stored in the storage means (preferred for the user PC 20). May be stored in a hard disk). When the terminal information investigation program 121 is stored in the storage means, when the browser 21 of the user PC 20 is activated, the terminal information investigation program 121 stored in the storage means is executed, and the resource information 142 is acquired from the user PC 20. The acquired resource information 142 is transmitted to the proxy server 10.

(Processing rule setting means)
The processing rule setting unit 13 is a unit that reflects a user request for a processing rule of Web information in the processing rule information 141. The processing rule setting unit 13 changes the processing rule described in the processing rule information 141 or adds a processing rule based on the user request information 131 set by the user PC 20.

  In the present embodiment, the proxy server 10 has a home page of the proxy server 10 itself, and a processing rule setting Web page 130 (as a processing rule setting means 13 for a user to set user request information 131) on the home page. Hereinafter, it is referred to as a processing request setting page). The user request information 131 set by the user on the processing request setting page 130 is transmitted to the proxy server 10 and stored in association with information (for example, IP address and cookie information) for identifying the user PC 20 for each user PC 20. Is done.

  When processing the Web information, the processing rule setting unit 13 specifies the user request information 131 using information (IP address, cookie information, etc.) specifying the user PC 20 that has accessed the proxy server 10, Based on the specified user request information 131, the processing rule setting means 13 changes or adds the processing rule information 141.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the processing rule information 141 provided in the proxy server 10. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the processing request setting page 130 in which the user sets the user request information 131.

  The processing rule information 40 shown in FIG. 3 is processing rule information stored as a default value by the proxy server 10, that is, processing rule information before being changed by the processing rule setting unit 13. The default processing rule information 40 describes a default processing content that depends on the resource information 142 and a default processing content that does not depend on the resource information 142. The default processing content that does not depend on the resource information 142 is set to “do not execute processing”, and the user can add processing that does not depend on the resource information 142 according to the intention of the user.

  In FIG. 3, image information processing 401 and font processing 402 are described as processing contents depending on the resource information 142, and foreign language page translation processing 403 is described as processing rules independent of the resource information 142.

  Based on the processing rule information 40 of FIG. 3, if the memory capacity of the user PC 20 is less than 128 Mbytes as the image information processing 401, a process for reducing the image resolution is executed. The server 10 executes processing for transmitting necessary fonts to the user PC 20. Further, as the translation processing 403, the proxy server 10 does not execute the translation processing of the foreign language page.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the processing request setting page. The proxy server 10 includes a home page of the proxy server 10 itself, and the user can set the user request information 131 using the processing request setting page 50 provided in the home page.

  On the processing request setting page 50 in FIG. 4, user requests for the image information setting 501, font setting 502, and translation setting 503 can be set. When the user request information setting check column 504 is checked, each piece of information set on the processing request setting page 50 is transmitted from the user PC 20 to the proxy server 10 as user request information 131. When the user request information setting check column 504 is not checked, each information set on the processing request setting page 50 is not transmitted from the user PC 20 to the proxy server 10.

  When receiving the user request information 131 from the user PC 20, the processing rule setting unit 13 changes the default processing rule information 50 based on the received user request information 131. For example, in FIG. 3, “display image” is set in the image information setting 501 and “do not drop image information” is set, so the processing rule setting unit 13 sets the default processing rule information 40. The image information processing 401 is changed from “drop image information” to “do not drop image information”.

  Further, since the font setting 502 of the processing request setting page 50 is set to “download necessary fonts”, the processing rule setting unit 13 does not change the font processing 402 of the default processing rule information 40.

  In addition, since the translation setting 503 of the processing request setting page 50 is set to “translate”, the processing rule setting unit 13 adds the translation processing 403 to the default processing rule information 40.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the processing rule information when the processing rule setting means 13 changes the default processing rule information 40 of FIG. 3 based on the user request information of FIG. In FIG. 5, the image information processing 411 and the translation processing 413 of the processing rule information 41 are changed from the default processing contents based on the user request information 50 of FIG. 4, and the font processing 412 is changed from the default processing contents. Not.

  Also, the user request information 131 set by the user on the processing request setting page 50 in FIG. 4 is stored in a storage device such as a hard disk of the user PC 20, and the proxy server 10 reads from the storage device from the next time. Person request information may be used. By storing the user request information 131 in the storage device of the information terminal, the user need not set the user request information 131.

  In this embodiment, the processing rule setting unit 13 includes the processing request setting page 130 for setting the user request information 131. However, the processing rule setting unit 13 describes the processing rule instead of the Web page. It may be realized by a configuration file. The setting file is preferably a text document describing processing rules, and it is desirable that the user can arbitrarily rewrite the setting file. The contents described in the setting file are stored in the storage unit of the user PC 20 as described above, and when the proxy server 10 is accessed from the user PC 20, the proxy server 10 may read the setting file.

  Furthermore, the processing rules described in the above embodiments are merely examples, and the contents of the processing rules are determined according to a specific application field or embodiment.

<Operation of Proxy Server of this Embodiment>
The operation of the proxy server of this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. 6 and 7 are diagrams for explaining the operation of the proxy server according to the present embodiment.

  First, a procedure for the user to set the user request information 131 using the processing request setting page 130 in the proxy server 10 will be described with reference to FIG. When the user PC 20 accesses the processing request setting page 130 on the home page of the proxy server 10 (T10), the proxy server 10 delivers the processing request setting page 130 to the user PC 20 (T11). The distributed processing request setting page 130 is displayed on the browser 21 of the user PC 20. The user sets the user request information 131 on the processing request setting page 130 (T12). The set user request information 131 is transmitted from the user PC 20 to the proxy server 10, and the proxy server 10 stores the user request information 131 in association with information (for example, IP address and cookie information) that uniquely identifies the user PC 20 (T13). .

  Next, FIG. 7 shows an operation in which the proxy server 10 receives a request from the user PC 20, acquires Web information from the Web server 30 instead of the user PC 20, processes the acquired Web information, and distributes it to the user PC 20. The description will be given with reference.

  When the user PC 20 accesses the proxy server 10 for the first Web information request after the browser 21 is activated (T20), the communication relay unit 11 uses the information contained in the information request message transmitted from the user PC 20 to determine the user. Acquires the network address indicating the location of the Web information requested by the user, acquires the IP address of the user PC 20, or sets information such as setting a cookie, etc. (T21). And the terminal resource investigation means 12 transmits the resource information investigation program 121 to the user PC 20 (T22). The transmitted resource information investigation program 121 is downloaded to the user PC 20 each time the first Web information after the browser 21 is activated is requested (T23).

  Each time the resource information investigation program 121 is downloaded to the user PC 20, the resource information investigation program 121 acquires the resource information 142 from the resource information file 22 stored in the user PC 20, and transmits the acquired resource information 142 to the proxy server 10 (T24). Upon receiving the resource information 142 from the user PC 20, the terminal resource investigation unit 12 temporarily stores the resource information 142 in association with the information specifying the user PC 20 in the storage unit in the proxy server 10 (T25).

  After storing the resource information 142, the processing rule setting unit 13 acquires the user request information 131 corresponding to the accessed user PC 20 from the user request information 131 stored in the proxy server 10 (T26). ). Then, the processing rule setting unit 13 changes or adds the processing rule described in the processing rule information 141 based on the user request information 131 acquired in T26 (T27).

  The communication relay unit 11 accesses the Web server 30 indicated by the network address acquired in T21 (T28), and the Web server 30 distributes Web information to the proxy server 10 (T29).

  When the Web information is acquired from the Web server 30, the information processing unit 14 of the proxy server 10 processes the acquired Web information based on the resource information 142 and the processing rule information 141, and the communication relay unit 11 performs processing. The transmitted Web information is transmitted to the user PC 20 (T30).

  When Web information is requested in a state where the processed Web information is displayed on the browser 21 of the user PC 20, an information request message is sent from the user PC 20 to the proxy server 10 (T31). This information request message includes information for requesting Web information.

  The communication relay unit 11 acquires information for identifying the user from the information included in the information request message transmitted from the user PC 20 (T32), and the communication relay unit 11 accesses the Web server 30 indicated by the network address (T33). ), The Web server 30 delivers the Web information to the proxy server 10 (T34).

  When the Web information is acquired from the Web server 30, the information processing means 14 of the proxy server 10 processes the acquired Web information based on the resource information 142 and the processing rule information 141, and the processed Web information is Then, it is transmitted to the user PC 20 by the communication relay means 11 (T35). After T36, the same contents as T31 to T35 are executed.

  As described above, according to the proxy server of the embodiment of the present invention, the proxy server 10 includes the terminal resource investigation unit 12, so that the proxy server 10 details the resource information file 22 of the user PC 20 possessed by the user. Can be grasped and information can be distributed to the user PC 20 in the form of an optimum content. Furthermore, since the terminal resource investigation means 12 includes the terminal resource investigation program 121, the user can save time and effort to input the resource information 142.

  Furthermore, since the proxy server 10 includes the processing rule setting unit 14, the user's intention can be reflected not only in the resource information 142 of the user PC 20 but also in the user request information 141 in the distributed information.

  Even if the user performs an act of browsing web information on the Internet 90 called net surfing one after another, all the web information distributed to the user PC 20 passes through the proxy server 10. The information of all the Web servers 30 connected to the Internet 90 can be processed and distributed according to the resource information of the information terminal and the intention of the user.

  In addition, the present invention can be applied even when the proxy server 10 is provided with a cache function for reducing the communication load between the LAN 91 and the Internet 90. When the cache function is provided, the Web information acquired from the Web server 30 is stored in an unprocessed state, and when there is an information request from the user PC 20, the Web information stored in the unprocessed state is stored as described above. It is only necessary to process in accordance with the procedure described above and transmit it to the user PC 20.

The figure explaining the network connection of a proxy server. The figure explaining a proxy server. The figure for demonstrating default process rule information. The figure for demonstrating a process request setting page. The figure for demonstrating the process rule information after a change. FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the operation of a proxy server. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the proxy server.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Proxy server 11 Communication relay means 12 Terminal resource investigation means 121 Terminal resource investigation program 13 Processing rule setting means 131 User request information 130 Processing rule setting page 14 Information processing means 141 Processing rule information 142 Resource information 20 User PC
21 Browser 22 Resource information file 22
30 Web server 90 Internet 91 LAN

Claims (3)

  Terminal resource investigation means for investigating resource information of an information terminal possessed by a user, and processing rule information that defines processing contents for information acquired from a network address that is requested from the information terminal and indicates the location of the information requested by the user And a proxy server comprising at least information processing means for processing information acquired from the network address based on the resource information acquired by the terminal resource investigation means and the processing rule information.   The proxy server according to claim 1, wherein the proxy server includes processing rule setting means for changing or adding the processing rule information based on user request information indicating a user request for processing of the information. A proxy server characterized by 3. The proxy server according to claim 1, wherein the terminal resource investigation unit included in the proxy server includes a terminal resource investigation program that examines resource information of the information terminal. server.