JP3666723B2 - Personal information provision network and personal information provision method - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a personal information provision network, a personal information provision method, and an independent information provision method that provide information according to a request using a database storing information corresponding to a communication terminal or a user thereof.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, in the field of information providing services via the Internet or the like, services that provide information suitable for personal information, which is data related to a user, to the user are being developed and provided. In this type of information providing service, the user obtains only information that is determined to be compatible with personal information on the information provider (IP) side, and is necessary and appropriate if this determination is appropriate. Only sufficient information can be acquired. The amount of information provided by information providing services is increasing rapidly, and in recent years, the effort to find necessary information from an enormous amount of information has increased. The role they play is growing every day.
[0003]
In order to provide the user with information suitable for the user's personal information, IP manages the personal information of all users in a database, and this database is searched when providing information to the user. To extract the personal information of the user. Since this personal information is extremely basic and important data, and it is normal that errors such as inconsistencies and loss of data are not allowed, the management is centralized using a single database in the management center. It is common.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, if the number of users becomes enormous, the database of personal information will be enlarged, and unless the database is managed by an extremely high-speed and expensive processing device, the performance such as the search speed of the management center will be reduced. Specifically, the cost for the equipment of the management center can be suppressed to a relatively low level when the scale is several million, but the equipment cost increases remarkably when the scale is tens of millions.
[0005]
Another problem is that traffic between the management center and the surrounding network increases in proportion to the number of users. In recent years, various applications using personal information have been developed, and it is expected that the access to the management center will increase without an increase in users. Therefore, high-speed and expensive communication lines and communication facilities must be introduced between the management center and the surrounding network.
[0006]
Of course, if the personal information database is distributedly managed by the client / server method, the above-mentioned inconvenience can be reduced. However, distributed management tends to be inferior in the degree of data security and integrity compared to centralized management, and must be said to be unsuitable for managing important data such as personal information and financial data. In addition, the degree of reduction of the inconvenience varies from case to case, and depending on the case, there is a possibility that centralized management can perform processing at a higher speed even with the same equipment cost.
[0007]
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and provides information according to a request using a database storing information corresponding to a communication terminal (or a user thereof), data safety and An object of the present invention is to provide a personal information providing network, a personal information providing method, and an independent information providing method capable of reducing the burden on a specific device and line while ensuring completeness.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
  In order to solve the above-described problem, the personal information providing network according to claim 1 is:Connecting a plurality of connection nodes that can dynamically connect a plurality of individually identifiable communication terminals and a specific node that performs an extraction process according to a request using a database storing personal information about the user of the communication terminal A personal information providing network configured to provide the personal information in response to a request for providing the personal information related to a user of the communication terminal, wherein the connection relationship between the plurality of connection nodes and the communication terminal is Based on the connection relation detected by the connection relation detection means, a plurality of temporary storage means each provided corresponding to at least one connection node, and newly connected based on the connection relation detected by the connection relation detection means The specific node corresponding to the communication terminal is requested to extract the personal information, and the personal information extracted by the specific node in response to the request is sent to the connection node. Pre-read caching means for storing in the temporary storage means corresponding to the communication terminal, and the temporary storage corresponding to the connection node to which the communication terminal is connected in response to a request for provision of the personal information regarding the user of the communication terminal Alternative providing means for reading out and providing the personal information from the means, and the prefetch caching means includes a connection node to which the communication terminal is connected based on the connection relation detected by the connection relation detection means. If it is determined that the old connection node is changed to the new connection node, if the temporary storage means corresponding to the old connection node is different from the temporary storage means corresponding to the new connection node, the personal information is obtained from the former temporary storage means. The data is read and stored in the latter temporary storage means.
[0009]
  The personal information providing network according to claim 2 is requested using a database storing a plurality of connection nodes capable of dynamically connecting a plurality of individually identifiable communication terminals and personal information regarding a user of the communication terminal. A personal information providing network configured to connect to a specific node that performs an extraction process according to the information and provides the personal information in response to a request for provision of the personal information related to a user of the communication terminal, A connection relation detecting means for detecting a connection relation between the connection node and the communication terminal, a plurality of temporary storage means each corresponding to at least one connection node, and the connection relation detecting means Based on the connection relationship, requests the specific node to extract the personal information corresponding to the newly connected communication terminal, and determines the specific in response to the request. In response to a request for provision of the personal information related to a user of the communication terminal, the communication terminal stores the personal information extracted by the mode in the temporary storage means corresponding to the connection node. Alternative provision means for reading out and providing the personal information from the temporary storage means corresponding to the connected connection node, and the prefetch caching means is based on the connection relation detected by the connection relation detection means. When it is determined that all the connections between the communication terminal and the plurality of connection nodes have been released, the extraction result corresponding to the communication terminal stored in the plurality of temporary storage units is discarded.
[0010]
  In both the above aspects, the mobile communication network may be used, and the connection relationship detecting means may be realized by a location registration function of the communication terminal in the mobile communication network.
[0011]
  5. The personal information providing method according to claim 4, wherein a request is made using a database storing a plurality of connection nodes capable of dynamically connecting a plurality of individually identifiable communication terminals and personal information about a user of the communication terminal. A method for providing personal information in response to a request for provision of the personal information related to a user of the communication terminal, the personal information providing method comprising: A connection relationship detecting step for detecting a connection relationship between the connection node and the communication terminal, and the individual corresponding to the newly connected communication terminal based on the connection relationship detected in the connection relationship detection step Information extraction processing is requested to the specific node, and the personal information extracted by the specific node in response to the request is stored in a temporary storage means associated with the connection node. And reading and providing the personal information from the temporary storage means corresponding to the connection node to which the communication terminal is connected, in response to a request for provision of the personal information regarding the user of the communication terminal. An alternative providing step, wherein the prefetch caching step is configured such that, based on the connection relationship detected in the connection relationship detection step, the connection node to which the communication terminal is connected is changed from the old connection node to the new connection node. If it is determined that the temporary storage means corresponding to the old connection node is different from the temporary storage means corresponding to the new connection node, the personal information is read from the former temporary storage means and transferred to the latter temporary storage means. It has the step to store, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.
[0012]
  6. The personal information providing method according to claim 5, wherein a request is made using a database storing a plurality of connection nodes capable of dynamically connecting a plurality of individually identifiable communication terminals and personal information about the user of the communication terminal. A method for providing personal information in response to a request for provision of the personal information related to a user of the communication terminal, the personal information providing method comprising: A connection relationship detecting step for detecting a connection relationship between the connection node and the communication terminal, and the individual corresponding to the newly connected communication terminal based on the connection relationship detected in the connection relationship detection step Information extraction processing is requested to the specific node, and the personal information extracted by the specific node in response to the request is stored in a temporary storage means associated with the connection node. And reading and providing the personal information from the temporary storage means corresponding to the connection node to which the communication terminal is connected, in response to a request for provision of the personal information regarding the user of the communication terminal. An alternative providing step, wherein the prefetch caching step determines that all connections between the communication terminal and the plurality of connection nodes have been released based on the connection relationship detected in the connection relationship detection step. Then, the method has a step of discarding the extraction result corresponding to the communication terminal stored in the plurality of temporary storage means.
[0014]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. This embodiment is configured as a system in which the present invention is applied to a mobile packet communication network. In addition, this invention is not limited to this embodiment, A various change is possible within the range of the technical idea.
[0015]
A: Configuration of the embodiment
A-1: Overall system configuration
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an information providing system using a personal information providing network according to an embodiment of the present invention.
In the figure, an MS is a mobile device that receives a packet communication service of the mobile packet communication network MPN. This mobile station MS is connected to the mobile packet communication network MPN shown in this figure, and is also connected to a mobile telephone network (not shown), and can receive mobile phone services. The mobile station MS includes a voice input / output unit for a user to make a voice call, a radio unit for performing wireless communication with base stations BS11 to BSmn, which will be described later, an information display unit composed of a liquid crystal panel, etc. In addition to an operation unit for performing an information input operation such as the above, a microcomputer for controlling these units is incorporated. The mobile device MS is equipped with software for browsing document data (so-called browser), and is provided with HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) supplied from an information provider (hereinafter abbreviated as IP) via a mobile packet communication network MPN. ) To display the dialogue screen based on the format data (hereinafter referred to as HTML data).
[0016]
The mobile packet communication network MPN includes base stations BS11 to BSmn, position management devices PPM1 to PPMm, mobile packet gateway M-PGW, gateway server GWS, subscriber database UDB, and a communication line connecting them. . Hereinafter, any one base station and location management device will be referred to as a base station BS and a location management device PPM, respectively.
[0017]
The base stations BS are arranged at predetermined intervals obtained by dividing the ground within a range of, for example, a radius of 500 m, and perform radio communication with the mobile stations MS located in the radio zones formed by each.
The location management device PPM is a computer system provided in a packet subscriber switching center that accommodates a plurality of base stations BS, and receives a packet switching request from the mobile station MS and performs packet switching in the mobile packet communication network MPN. Relay. Further, as will be described in detail later, the position management device PPM temporarily stores personal information regarding the user of the mobile station MS (and the mobile station MS in the area) in the area covered by the base station accommodated by itself. Function (hereinafter referred to as a caching function).
[0018]
The mobile packet gateway M-PGW is a computer system provided in a mobile packet gateway relay switching center for interconnecting the mobile packet communication network MPN and other networks such as the Internet INET, and has different communication protocols between the networks. Perform conversion. Specifically, mutual conversion between a transmission protocol for a mobile packet communication network that the mobile packet communication network MPN follows and TCP / IP that other networks such as the Internet INET follow.
[0019]
The gateway server GWS is a computer system provided in the mobile packet gateway relay switching center, and is provided between the mobile packet gateway M-PGW and an external network. The gateway server GWS exchanges e-mails and various data between users of the mobile station MS, between users of the mobile station MS and users of other networks such as the Internet INET, or between the user of the mobile station MS and the IP server W. Mediate. The gateway server GWS performs control related to various applications such as an information distribution service in cooperation with the IP server W and the subscriber database UDB.
[0020]
The subscriber database UDB holds a subscriber registration information file consisting of personal information related to the subscriber of the mobile packet communication network MPN and an IP registration information file consisting of registration information of the IP that is the information provider. FIG. 2 is a data format diagram illustrating the contents of this subscriber database UDB. As shown in the figure, the subscriber registration information file includes, for each subscriber of the mobile packet communication network MPN (that is, the user of the mobile device MS), the telephone number, name, gender, date of birth, and address of the mobile device MS. Personal information such as attribute data indicating the attributes of each subscriber and data indicating hobbies, preferences, and the like are accumulated. Further, the IP registration information file includes, for each IP that has a contract for receiving a gateway service with the mobile packet communication network MPN, the name of the business and the absolute address on the network (for example, the Internet). In this case, a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) that specifies an information resource on the WWW (World Wide Web) is described as an absolute address on the network in this embodiment.
[0021]
The IP server W is a server system operated by the IP, and sends information to be provided to the user in the form of HTML data to the network. The IP server W includes a server connected to the gateway server GWS via the Internet INET, a server connected to the gateway server GWS via a dedicated line, and a mobile packet communication network MPN provided in the gateway server GWS. Some of the companies themselves provide.
[0022]
A-2: Caching function of location management device PPM
Here, the caching function of the above-described location management device PPM will be described. Since the signal and information transmission paths are as shown in FIG. 1, the detailed relay process is not described here.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration for realizing a caching function in the position management device PPM, where CSD is a connection state detection means (connection relation detection means), AC is a prefetch caching means, TS is a temporary storage means, and SO is an alternative. It is a providing means.
[0023]
The connection state detection means CSD detects the connection state of the mobile device MS to each base station BS under the position management device PPM based on a signal from the mobile device MS under the position management device PPM. The connection status detected by the connection status detection means CSD is the identification information of the connected base station (hereinafter referred to as the current connection base station) when the mobile packet communication network MPN moves from the outside of the service area to the service area. When the mobile station is moved to, the identification information of the connected base station (hereinafter referred to as the formerly connected base station) is included, and when the base station is switched, both identification information of the currently connected base station and the formerly connected base station are included. For example, in FIG. 1, when an out-of-service mobile station MS has moved to an area covered by the base station BS11 under the position management device PPM1, the connection state detection means CSD of the location management device PPM1 The connection state including the identification information of the currently connected base station BS11 is output as a detection result. In the present embodiment, the location registration processing of the mobile device MS is performed in parallel with the detection processing or based on the detection result. The content of the processing is the location registration of the mobile device in a general mobile communication network. Since it is the same as the process, detailed description is omitted here. As another location management method, a method using GPS (Global Positioning System) or DGPS (Differential GPS) may be adopted. That is, a GPS receiver or the like is mounted on the mobile device MS, and its own location information (latitude, longitude, etc.) detected on the mobile device MS side is located at an appropriate timing at the location management device PPM or a mobile packet gateway M- You may make it tell to PGW. In this case, for example, by installing GPS in a computer that does not have a mobile phone function, the computer can enjoy the same service as the mobile device MS even when accessing via a public telephone. Can do. Of course, it goes without saying that a GPS receiver or the like may be mounted on the mobile device MS and the location registration process of the mobile device MS may be performed using the location information.
[0024]
The prefetch caching means AC acquires only information that is expected to be accessed from either the subscriber database UDB or the prefetch caching means AC of another location management device PPM based on the connection status detected by the connection status detection means CSD. And a function of passing information that is clearly not accessed to the prefetch caching means AC of another location management device PPM.
[0025]
The temporary storage means TS includes a storage medium such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) that can read stored data at high speed. The prefetch caching unit AC has a function of storing the acquired information in the temporary storage unit TS.
The alternative providing means SO extracts corresponding information from the temporary storage means TS based on the service request from the mobile station MS, and sends a service request including this information to the IP server W.
[0026]
Next, processing performed by the location management device PPM using the caching function will be described for each case.
(1) Processing when entry into area is detected
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing processing performed in the location management device PPM when the mobile station MS enters the area of the location management device PPM. As shown in this figure, when the connection state detection means CSD detects the connection state of the mobile station MS, and the detected connection state means the entry of the mobile station MS into the area of the location management device PPM, that is, When the connection state includes the identification information of the currently connected base station, based on the detection result, the prefetch caching unit AC determines whether or not the mobile station MS has moved from an area under another location management device PPM. (Step S101). This determination is realized by examining whether or not the connection state includes identification information of the old connection base station. If the determination result in step S101 is “YES”, that is, if the mobile station MS has moved from an area under the control of another position management device PPM, the prefetch caching means AC has position management with the old connection base station under its control. The personal information corresponding to the mobile device MS is acquired from the device PPM and stored in the temporary storage means TS (step S102). The correspondence relationship between the position management devices PPM1 to PPMm and the subordinate base stations BS11 to BSmn is set in advance in the mobile packet communication network MPN and can be grasped from each prefetch caching means AC.
[0027]
Here, FIG. 5 shows a format example of the personal information storage table in the temporary storage means TS. In this example, the storage table is configured by adding personal information to the location management table in which the identification information of the mobile station MS is associated with the identification information of the currently connected base station.
On the other hand, if the determination result in step S101 is “NO”, that is, if the mobile station MS that has been outside the service area has moved into the area of the location management device PPM, the prefetch caching means AC An extraction instruction for extracting the personal information corresponding to the identification information of the MS from the subscriber database UDB is transmitted to the gateway server GWS (step S103). The prefetch caching unit AC receives the personal information transmitted from the gateway server GWS in response to the extraction instruction, and stores the received personal information in a predetermined field of a record having identification information of the mobile device MS in the storage table. Store (step S104).
[0028]
(2) Processing when a service request is received
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing processing performed in the location management device PPM when a service request is received from the mobile station MS existing in the area under the location management device PPM. As shown in this figure, when receiving a service request from the mobile station MS, the prefetch caching unit AC determines whether or not the service request includes an attachment request for personal information (step S201). “Attachment request of personal information” is a request to transmit a service request to a request destination after attaching personal information. For example, when each subscriber wants to acquire information specialized for himself / herself, A service request including the attachment request is transmitted from the mobile device MS.
[0029]
If the service request includes an attachment request, the prefetch caching unit AC extracts personal information corresponding to the identification information of the mobile device MS that is the source of the service request from the storage table (step S202). Next, the prefetch caching means AC deletes the attachment request from the service request (step S203), attaches the personal information extracted in step S202 to the service request (step S204), and then sends the service request to the request destination. (Step S205). If the determination result in step S201 is “NO”, that is, if the service request does not include an attachment request, the prefetch caching means AC outputs the service request through to the request destination (step S205).
[0030]
(3) Processing when detecting movement outside the area
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a process performed in the location management device PPM when the mobile station MS existing in the area under the location management device PPM moves outside the area.
As shown in this figure, when the connection state detection means CSD detects the connection state of the mobile station MS, and the detected connection state means the movement of the mobile station MS outside the area of the location management device PPM, the read-ahead The caching means AC determines whether or not the mobile device MS has moved to an area of another location management device PPM (step S301). This determination is realized by examining whether or not the identification information of the currently connected base station is included in the connection state detected by the connection state detection means CSD.
[0031]
If the determination result in step S301 is “NO”, that is, if the mobile device MS moves out of the service area, the mobile device MS has the identification information of the mobile device MS from the storage table by the location registration processing of the mobile device MS. The record is deleted (step S302). Conversely, when the determination result in step S301 is “YES”, that is, when the mobile station MS has moved to the area of another location management device PPM, a record having identification information of the mobile station MS is present. Before being deleted, the prefetch caching means AC transmits personal information corresponding to the mobile device MS to the location management apparatus PPM of the movement destination (step S303).
[0032]
B: Operation of the embodiment
Next, the operation of the embodiment configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG.
B-1: Premise
Here, it is assumed that the service provided by the present embodiment is a service for distributing information corresponding to a user from the IP to the user of the mobile device MS. A contract for providing information may or may not be made in advance between the IP and the user. The contract conclusion process may be performed via the gateway server GWS, or the conclusion process may be omitted if the IP does not require a contract. However, information (that is, personal information) other than information related to communication necessary for information distribution to the user is stored in the subscriber database UDB and is not registered in the IP.
[0033]
B-2: Operation
First, when the subscriber carrying the mobile station MS moves from the outside of the service area to the area of the base station BS11, the location management device PPM1 performs the processing of steps S101, S103, and S104 in FIG. Is stored in the position management device PPM1. Information distribution to the subscriber under such a situation is a process shown in FIG.
[0034]
As shown in the figure, the mobile station MS operated by the user who requests information distribution first performs packet registration with the location management device PPM (step S1). This packet registration is a registration procedure that is performed in advance so that the mobile station MS can exchange packets with the mobile packet communication network MPS. When this packet registration is completed, the mobile station MS transmits a line connection request signal to the mobile packet communication network MPN (step S2). This line connection request signal is sent to the gateway server GWS via the location management device PPM (step S3). On the other hand, if the line connection is possible, the gateway server GWS returns a line connection response signal to the mobile station MS via the position management device PPM (steps S4 and S5). Thereby, packet exchange is possible between the mobile station MS and the gateway server GWS.
[0035]
Next, the mobile station MS designates the URL of the desired IP server W and transmits a service request (step S6). This service request is transmitted to the gateway server GWS via the location management device PPM (step S7). In response to this, the gateway server GWS sets a link with the IP server W of the specified URL (step S8). The service request from the mobile station MS to the location management device PPM includes a request for attachment of personal information, and the location management device PPM performs the processing of steps S201 to S205 in FIG. Thereby, a service request including personal information corresponding to the mobile device MS is transmitted from the location management device PPM to the IP server W.
[0036]
In response to the service request, the IP server W transmits HTML data corresponding to the personal information to the mobile device MS (step S9). Specifically, the HTML data is transferred to the location management device PPM via the gateway server GWS (step S10). Further, the location management device PPM transfers the received HTML data to the mobile device MS (step S11). The mobile station MS interprets the delivered HTML data by its browser and displays information represented by the HTML data on the information display unit.
[0037]
When the delivery of data to mobile station MS is completed in this way, mobile station MS transmits a data reception confirmation response signal (step S12). The location management device PPM transfers this confirmation response signal to the gateway server GWS and performs delivery notification (step S13). On the other hand, when the IP server W completes data distribution to the mobile station MS, the link between the gateway server GWS and the IP server W is released (step S14).
[0038]
Next, when the subscriber carrying the mobile station MS moves from the area of the base station BS11 to the area of the base station BS21, the location management device PPM1 performs the processes of steps S301, S303, and S302 in FIG. In the location management device PPM2, the processes of steps S101 and S102 in FIG. 4 are performed. That is, the personal information of the mobile device MS moves from the location management device PPM1 to the location management device PPM2 as the mobile device MS moves.
[0039]
Further, when the subscriber carrying the mobile station MS moves out of the area of the base station BS21, the location management device PPM2 performs the processing of steps S301 and S302 in FIG. 7, and in the storage table in the location management device PPM2, The record corresponding to the mobile device MS is deleted.
If the personal information corresponding to the mobile device MS in the subscriber database UDB is updated in a state where the mobile device MS is connected to any of the base stations BS, the mobile device MS of FIG. The processing in steps S103 and S104 is performed, and the storage table in the corresponding position management device PPM is immediately updated.
[0040]
C: Supplement
As described above, according to the present embodiment, the subscriber database UDB is accessed only once in order to obtain personal information of the mobile device MS while the mobile device MS is in the service area. Even when a service request accompanied by a request for attaching personal information is frequently issued, the load on the subscriber database UDB and the traffic between the gateway server GWS and the subscriber database UDB can be reduced.
[0041]
In addition, since the node that stores the copy of the personal information is the location management device PPM and the storage table used for the location registration processing of the mobile station MS in the mobile packet communication network MPN is expanded, the personal information is stored. There is an advantage that information for location registration and personal information in the mobile packet communication network MPN can be handled transparently. For example, the addition / deletion of the record in the storage table can be realized within the range of the existing location registration process, and the location management device PPM deletes the record corresponding to the mobile station MS that has moved from the service area to the service area. Thus, it is possible to save the trouble of searching for and deleting personal information corresponding to the mobile device MS.
[0042]
Furthermore, the personal information for the mobile device MS in the location management device PPM is updated when the mobile device MS starts to be in service and when the personal information in the subscriber database UDB is updated, and the mobile device MS is out of service area. Since the personal information for the moved mobile station MS is deleted from the location management device PPM, there is no contradiction in the personal information in the mobile packet communication network MPN.
[0043]
As described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, the following various modifications can be made within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention.
(1) An instruction for issuing a service request triggered by a change in the location of the mobile station MS, that is, a base station BS to be connected is registered as personal information of the mobile station MS, and when the location of the mobile station MS is changed, A service request including the personal information and the location information of the mobile device MS may be transmitted from the location management device PPM to the IP server W side.
[0044]
(2) In the embodiment, when the mobile station MS in the area moves across a plurality of location management devices PPM, the personal information of the mobile device MS is transmitted and received between the location management devices PPM. It is not limited to. For example, if the frequency of movement (handover) of the mobile device MS across a plurality of location management devices PPM is low, the personal information corresponding to the mobile device MS is deleted in the source location management device PPM and moved. The previous location management device PPM may newly acquire from the subscriber database UDB.
[0045]
(3) In the embodiment, an example is shown in which the present invention is applied to a pull-type information distribution service, but the present invention is also applicable to a push-type information distribution service. However, when push-type information distribution is performed to a plurality of mobile devices MS, information corresponding to all the mobile devices MS on the receiving side is transmitted from the transmitting side to each corresponding position managing device PPM, and each position managing device is transmitted. Information corresponding to the personal information corresponding to each mobile station MS is extracted and transmitted from the PPM to each mobile station MS on the receiving side.
[0046]
(4) In the embodiment, the example applied to the information distribution service is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, what changes based on personal information is not limited to information distributed via a network. For example, the present invention can change the text of direct mail according to personal information or the types of cosmetic samples to be distributed free of charge. It is also applicable to services that change
[0047]
(5) The present invention is not only applicable to mobile communication networks that perform data communication by methods other than packet switching, but is also wired such as ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) and LAN (Local Area Network). However, the present invention can be applied to any communication network in which the correspondence relationship between a communication terminal (for example, a computer) and a connection node (for example, a network adapter) on the network side can be grasped on the network side.
[0048]
(6) In the embodiment, a copy of the personal information is stored in the location management device PPM. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and any node (for example, each node) existing in the area between the gateway server GWS and each base station is used. (Base station). FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a modification of the embodiment. In the system shown in this figure, a table corresponding to the above-described storage table is arranged in the base station BS. The table has, for example, the configuration shown in FIG. 10, and includes at least a record in which identification information of the mobile device MS is associated with personal information corresponding to the mobile device MS. Since the information for location registration is stored in the location management device PPM separately from the table, the operation of the table accompanying the movement of the mobile device MS is performed separately from the location registration processing. In addition, when the mobile station MS is handed over, an operation for adding / deleting a record in the table is always performed.
[0049]
However, even if the node exists in the area between the gateway server GWS and each base station, there is only one gateway server GWS and one mobile packet gateway M-PGW in the mobile packet communication network. The dispersion effect cannot be obtained. Therefore, in order to obtain a desired effect, it is preferable that a plurality of nodes distributed in predetermined areas (for example, areas) among the above-described areas be nodes for caching personal information. Although it is conceivable to store personal information in the mobile device MS itself, in the present invention, personal information includes information that should not be changed / referenced by the subscriber (for example, credit information related to settlement). Therefore, storing such personal information in the mobile station MS under the control of the subscriber is not preferable from the viewpoint of maintaining the validity and confidentiality of the information.
[0050]
(7) In the embodiment, an example is shown in which the present invention is applied to a service that provides personal information related to a user of the mobile device MS. However, the present invention provides a service that provides arbitrary information set independently for each mobile device MS. It is applicable to.
[0051]
(8) In the embodiment, the example in which the IP server W is accessed via the gateway server GWS has been described. However, the IP server W may be provided in the mobile packet communication network MPN. The address of the information resource may be specified using an absolute address on the network other than the URL. Of course, the format of data distributed from the IP server is not limited to HTML, and other formats may be adopted. Furthermore, the network configuration of the embodiment is merely an example, and the present invention is of course not limited to such a configuration. For example, the gateway server GWS may be configured to share functions with a plurality of nodes, such as a node that handles communication with the subscriber database UDB and a node that handles other functions.
[0052]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the load applied to a specific node and reduce traffic between the specific node and surrounding nodes while ensuring the safety and integrity of information. it can.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an information providing system using a personal information providing network according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a data format diagram showing contents of a subscriber database UDB according to the embodiment;
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration for realizing a caching function in the location management device PPM according to the embodiment;
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing processing performed in the location management device PPM when the mobile device MS enters the area of the location management device PPM according to the embodiment;
FIG. 5 is a view showing a format example of a personal information storage table in the temporary storage means TS according to the embodiment;
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing processing performed in the location management apparatus PPM when a service request is received from a mobile device MS existing in an area under the location management apparatus PPM according to the embodiment;
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a process performed in the position management device PPM when the mobile device MS existing in the area under the position management device PPM according to the embodiment moves out of the area;
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a flow of information distribution processing in the embodiment.
FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a modification of the embodiment.
FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the modification.
[Explanation of symbols]
BS base station
GWS gateway server
INET Internet
MS mobile
MPN mobile packet communication network
PPM position management device
UDB subscriber database
W IP server

Claims (5)

Connecting a plurality of connection nodes that can dynamically connect a plurality of individually identifiable communication terminals and a specific node that performs an extraction process according to a request using a database storing personal information about the user of the communication terminal A personal information providing network configured to provide the personal information in response to a request for provision of the personal information related to a user of the communication terminal,
A connection relationship detecting means for detecting a connection relationship between the plurality of connection nodes and the communication terminal;
A plurality of temporary storage means each provided corresponding to at least one connection node;
Based on the connection relation detected by the connection relation detecting means, the specific node is requested to perform the extraction process of the personal information corresponding to the newly connected communication terminal, and the specific node responds to the request by the specific node. Prefetch caching means for storing the extracted personal information in the temporary storage means corresponding to the connection node;
An alternative providing means for reading and providing the personal information from the temporary storage means corresponding to the connection node to which the communication terminal is connected in response to a request for provision of the personal information relating to a user of the communication terminal;
With
The prefetch caching means includes
Based on the connection relation detected by the connection relation detection means, if it is determined that the connection node connected to the communication terminal has been changed from the old connection node to the new connection node, temporary storage means corresponding to the old connection node And the temporary storage means corresponding to the new connection node, the personal information is read from the former temporary storage means and stored in the latter temporary storage means.
Personal information provision network characterized by Connecting a plurality of connection nodes that can dynamically connect a plurality of individually identifiable communication terminals and a specific node that performs an extraction process according to a request using a database storing personal information about the user of the communication terminal A personal information providing network configured to provide the personal information in response to a request for provision of the personal information related to a user of the communication terminal,
A connection relationship detecting means for detecting a connection relationship between the plurality of connection nodes and the communication terminal;
A plurality of temporary storage means each provided corresponding to at least one connection node;
Based on the connection relation detected by the connection relation detecting means, the specific node is requested to perform the extraction process of the personal information corresponding to the newly connected communication terminal, and the specific node responds to the request by the specific node. Prefetch caching means for storing the extracted personal information in the temporary storage means corresponding to the connection node;
An alternative providing means for reading and providing the personal information from the temporary storage means corresponding to the connection node to which the communication terminal is connected in response to a request for provision of the personal information relating to a user of the communication terminal;
With
The prefetch caching means includes
When it is determined that all connections between the communication terminal and the plurality of connection nodes are released based on the connection relation detected by the connection relation detection unit, the communication terminal stored in the plurality of temporary storage units Discard the extraction result corresponding to
Personal information provision network characterized by The connection relationship detecting means is realized by a location registration function of the communication terminal in the mobile communication network.
The personal information providing network according to claim 1, wherein the personal information providing network is a personal information providing network. Connecting a plurality of connection nodes that can dynamically connect a plurality of individually identifiable communication terminals and a specific node that performs an extraction process according to a request using a database storing personal information about the user of the communication terminal A method for providing personal information in response to a request for provision of the personal information related to a user of the communication terminal,
A connection relationship detecting step for detecting a connection relationship between the plurality of connection nodes and the communication terminal; ,
Based on the connection relation detected in the connection relation detection step, the specific node is requested to extract the personal information corresponding to the newly connected communication terminal, and the specific node is requested in response to the request. A prefetch caching step for storing the personal information extracted by the temporary storage means associated with the connection node;
An alternative providing step of reading and providing the personal information from the temporary storage means corresponding to the connection node to which the communication terminal is connected in response to a request for provision of the personal information relating to a user of the communication terminal;
Have
The prefetch caching step includes:
Based on the connection relationship detected in the connection relationship detection step, if it is determined that the connection node connected to the communication terminal has been changed from the old connection node to the new connection node, temporary storage corresponding to the old connection node And means for reading the personal information from the former temporary storage means and storing it in the latter temporary storage means when the means and the temporary storage means corresponding to the new connection node are different
A personal information provision method characterized by Connecting a plurality of connection nodes that can dynamically connect a plurality of individually identifiable communication terminals and a specific node that performs an extraction process according to a request using a database storing personal information about the user of the communication terminal A method for providing personal information in response to a request for provision of the personal information related to a user of the communication terminal,
A connection relationship detection step of detecting a connection relationship between the plurality of connection nodes and the communication terminal;
Based on the connection relation detected in the connection relation detection step, the specific node is requested to extract the personal information corresponding to the newly connected communication terminal, and the specific node is requested in response to the request. A prefetch caching step for storing the personal information extracted by the temporary storage means associated with the connection node;
An alternative providing step of reading and providing the personal information from the temporary storage means corresponding to the connection node to which the communication terminal is connected in response to a request for provision of the personal information relating to a user of the communication terminal;
Have
The prefetch caching step includes:
When it is determined that all connections between the communication terminal and the plurality of connection nodes are released based on the connection relation detected in the connection relation detection step, the communication terminal stored in the temporary storage unit A step of discarding the corresponding extraction result;
A personal information provision method characterized by

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