KR100421247B1 - A personal information managing method using code image represented by a plurality of color cells and apparatus thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a personal information management service method using a physically or electronically represented code image, and an apparatus thereof, wherein a sender can code his or her personal information by a predetermined encoding algorithm to be physically or electronically expressed. Converting the image into a personal information carrier; The receiver has a local database for storing and managing personal information about those he or she is managing; Receiving, by the receiver, the sender's personal information carrier and restoring the code image expressed on the sender's personal information carrier to the sender's personal information by a predetermined decoding algorithm; And the receiver adds the sender's personal information to the local database newly or updates the contents. When the sender displays the personal information in the form of an image and sends it to the receiver, the receiver uses the optical device or the like. Restore it to its original personal information and store it in a local database that acts as its "business card" while also registering it on the server. This allows you to conveniently store a lot of personal information and use it to provide a variety of services.

Description

A personal information managing method using code image represented by a multiple of color cells and apparatus

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for personal information management service using physically or electronically expressed code images, and in particular, includes a database storing personal information of those managed by a server in a server or a personal computer, The present invention relates to a personal information management service method and apparatus capable of performing operations such as adding, correcting, and updating contents of the database using personal information.

With the development of information and communication networks, the areas of human activity and interpersonal relations have become very wide. Therefore, more information has to be kept and managed by individuals, and this trend is getting faster due to the development of the Internet. Conventionally, personal information was exchanged between individuals using business cards, but it is not only cumbersome to store business cards received from the other party, but the personal information written on the business cards must be input by typing the information one by one. In particular, as human exchanges become internationalized, various foreign languages such as English, Japanese, Chinese characters, and Arabic should be input. Therefore, the number of personal information that each individual has to manage increases, and it can be said that it is impossible to manage them efficiently and systematically.

The technical problem to be achieved by the present invention is to encode the personal information in the form of an image using an image encoding and decoding algorithm, and to display it on a personal information carrier such as a business card, and the person receiving the personal information carrier decodes the image to the person of the other party. It is to provide a personal information service method and apparatus that can easily identify, store and utilize information.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for realizing the above personal information service method and a computer readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for executing the method on a computer.

1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a computer network system for carrying out the present invention.

2A and 2B are diagrams showing an example of a personal information carrier displaying a code image.

3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a code conversion table used in the encoding and decoding algorithm.

4A illustrates an example of content stored in a global database, FIG. 4B illustrates an example of content stored in a user database, FIG. 4C illustrates an example of content stored in a local database of a user computer, and FIG. 4D illustrates FIG. 4A or 4C. It is a figure which shows the example of the history information shown in FIG.

5A, 5B and 6A-6C are diagrams showing the configuration of personal information embedded in a code image.

7 is a flowchart illustrating a process in which a user encodes his personal information into a code image and provides the same to a counterpart according to the present invention.

8 is a flowchart illustrating a process in which a receiver decodes a code image displayed on a personal information carrier to identify and use the sender's personal information according to the present invention.

9 is a flowchart illustrating a process in which a receiver decodes a code image displayed on a personal information carrier to identify and use the sender's personal information when the user computer and the server computer are in an off-line environment.

10 to 12 schematically show various examples of decoding schemes, FIG. 10 is a user-based indexed decoding scheme, FIG. 11 is a user-based direct decoding scheme, and FIG. 12 is a server-based decoding scheme. It is a figure explaining.

Personal information management method according to the present invention to achieve the above object,

Setting a correspondence relationship between a specific color corresponding to each letter and number; A code to be displayed on the personal information carrier as an image of a combination of a plurality of color cells, after converting each letter or number representing personal information into a corresponding color according to the correspondence. Forming an image; When the code image displayed on the personal information carrier is received, the personal information corresponding to the code image is extracted by converting a combination of colors displayed on the cells of the received code image into a corresponding letter or number according to the corresponding relationship. Making; And adding or updating the extracted personal information to a database.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a personal information management method comprising: establishing a correspondence relationship with a specific color corresponding to each letter and number; Receiving a code image displayed on the personal information carrier as an image of a plurality of color cells; Converting the colors displayed in the cells of the code image into letters or numbers corresponding to the corresponding relationships, and extracting personal information corresponding to the received code images by combining letters or numbers obtained from the cells; And adding or updating the extracted personal information to a database storing and managing the personal information.

In order to achieve the above object, the personal information management device according to the present invention, a database for storing and managing personal information; An image receiver configured to receive a code image displayed on a personal information carrier as an image of a plurality of color cells; Correspondence relationship between a specific color corresponding to each letter and number is set, and according to the correspondence, the color displayed in each cell of the code image is converted into a corresponding letter or number, and then a letter or number obtained from the cells. A data conversion unit for extracting personal information corresponding to the received code image by combining them; And a data processing unit for newly adding or updating the extracted personal information to the database.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a computer network system for carrying out the present invention. The server computer 12 provides the users with software 12c and 12d in which the encoding and decoding algorithms of data related to the personal information service are implemented, and the personal information for all users registered in the server to use the service. A global database 12a for storing index information and a user database 12b for assigning to all users registered in the server and storing personal information of a person managed by each user are provided. Each user area of the user database 12b serves as the "business card" of that user.

The server 12 encodes the personal information of each user using color (color) or color and pattern, and implements an encoding algorithm for generating a code image by decoding the code image and the original personal information. Software 12d that implements a decoding algorithm for reconstruction. The user computers 15 and 18 can download the encoding and / or decoding programs from the server computer 12 and install them in advance. Then, the user computer 15 or 18 may perform a function of directly encoding personal information into a code image or decoding the code image to extract personal information without going through the server computer 12. If the user computers 15 and 18 have not downloaded the decoding or encoding program, they should connect to the server computer 12 to perform decoding or encoding.

The user computers 15 and 18 are computers of those who use the personal information service using the system operated by the server computer 12. In the following description, a person who issues a personal information medium and provides it to others is referred to as a "sender", and a person who receives a personal information medium from another person is referred to as a "recipient". Although the figure shows the sender computer 15 and the receiver computer 18 separately for convenience of description, it is a matter of course that both the transmitting and receiving functions can be performed by one computer. In other words, a user's computer issues a personal information carrier, such as a business card displaying a coded image of encoded personal information, to another person or decodes the other person's personal information from an image displayed on the personal information carrier provided by the other person. Of course it can be managed by. In addition, the user computers 15 and 18 may be provided with their own telephone or fax functions, or may connect and use a separate telephone or fax machine with the computer.

The server computer 12 and the user computers 15, 18 are connected via a communication network 11 to communicate with each other as necessary. The user computers 16 connected to the communication network 11 are Internet browsers (eg, Netscape, Internet Explorer) capable of displaying web contents in the form of Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) or Hyper Device Markup Language (HDML). Have Here, the user computer is not limited to a general personal computer but is used as a generic term for a terminal that can communicate with the server computer 12 through a communication network, and includes a mobile communication terminal having an internet connection function. The communication network 11 includes not only the Internet but also a general public telephone network and a mobile communication network.

The sender's computer 15 converts the sender's personal information 15a into the code image 16a by the encoding software 15c, and then stores the personal information such as a business card, postcard, letter paper or e-mail. The personal information carrier 16 can be displayed and sent to the recipient. Here, the sender's personal information 15a is used as a concept including "address information" related to the user's actual address and "index information" related to the location of the database where the address information is stored.

A user's "address information" refers to an address that indicates the user's location (which is used as a concept that includes a wide range of things that exist to communicate with the user, such as geographical location or communication contact). Home page address, email address, and general name, which may be the country, postal address, postal code, or full name of the address (“personal address”), but may also be the location (or address) (“network address”) on the Internet. It also includes a telephone number and a fax number for receiving telephone and fax services through the network. The personal address and the network address described below can be said to be divided roughly into a physical (geographic) address and an electronic (communication) address of the user's address information that can be included in the personal information. The "index information" is information indicating a location where address information of the user is stored in the global database 12a of the server. Specific examples of personal information will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 5A, 5B and 6A-C.

As the personal information carrier 16, not only physically printed media such as a business card (see FIG. 2A) and a letterhead (see FIG. 2B), but also its contents (images) electronically, such as an electronic mail, may be physically or visually displayed. It is to include a wide range of media.

When the receiver receives the personal information carrier 16 from another person (sender), the receiver converts the code image 16a displayed on the personal information carrier into computer-readable data through the image device 17, and then the recipient computer 18 In the above, it restores the original personal information by the decoding software 18d.

Here, the image device 17 is an optical device capable of acquiring visual information from a physical object using light, and corresponds to a PC camera, a digital camera, and a scanner. The receiver computer 18 receives the code image 16a by the image device 17 and stores it in a memory, a hard disk, a buffer, or a screen. Even if it is not input by the optical device, programming or graphics software can produce an image file suitable for the code system. On the other hand, if the code image is not represented on a physical medium but is represented electronically (for example, when displayed in the form of an image as part of an e-mail message), the code image may be generated by capturing the image.

The actual application state of the personal information service system as described above is as follows. The sender 15 displays the code image 16a in which the personal information 15a is encoded by the predetermined encoding algorithm on the personal information carrier 16, and then sends the personal information carrier 16 to another person (recipient). Serve The receiver receives the code image using an image device 17 such as a PC camera or a scanner or loads a file in a binarized form, and then decodes the code image 16a by a decoding algorithm to obtain original personal information. At this time, if the sender or receiver downloads the encoding or decoding software from the server 12 to their computer and installs it in the form of a single application or a plug-in, encoding and decoding is performed directly on the user computer. 12) is performed in connection with.

The recipient stores or obtains the personal information obtained by decoding, i.e., the personal address or network address information, in a predetermined location (own area in his computer's local database 18b or the server computer's user database 12b). Information can be used to provide appropriate services. Examples of services include address book or phone book registration, URL bookmark or e-mail address book registration, and URL or e-mail auto-connect services. Existing data automatic update service.

FIG. 3 is a code conversion table used for the encoding and decoding algorithm, and is a diagram illustrating an example of a code conversion table for converting various characters (alphabet, special characters, etc.) or numeric personal information into a code image. As an encoding method, various characters and the like are converted into codes, and then code images are generated with colors (colors) assigned to each code. In this example, code images are generated using eight colors, and two consecutive cells are used to represent one letter or number. For each color, codes "000" through "111" are assigned. For example, the number 3 is assigned to the code " 000 011 " and encoded into the color assigned to the code " 000 " and the color assigned to the code " 011 ", and imaged into a cell of the two colors. 3 is shown in black and white gray level due to the limitation of drawing, it is also possible to use the black and white gray level in actual application, but it would be more advantageous to code recognition to implement with a combination of color colors, the number of colors It will depend on the capabilities of your color-printing device (e.g. printer) or your color-aware device (e.g. scanner).

According to the method illustrated in FIG. 3, various letters or numbers included in the personal information may be coded, and then the color corresponding to the code may be expressed in a rectangular matrix form of a combination of rectangular cells, and in the form of a bar code in the form of a line. It can also be expressed as In addition, the code table may be coded in consideration of a gap between the cell (line) and the cell (line), and the code may be coded in such a manner that the rectangular cell and the line of the line shape are combined with each other. By providing an encoding algorithm that can be encoded using various physical expression methods, it is possible to give flexibility to expression of richer characters (for example, Korean or English alphabets as well as Chinese characters or Japanese).

The color matrix image, which is one example of the code images, may include a data region in which actual code information is encoded and a reference region composed of reference cells used as reference colors in a decoding process. Here, the reference area is used to set a reference color for recognizing the color expressed in the data area. The color may be printed differently according to the type of printing or the material of the printing paper, and the same color may be recognized differently according to the characteristics of the scanner or camera. In view of this point, the reference cell in the reference area provides a criterion for determining the color displayed in the data area. That is, the color displayed in the cells of the data area is to have a relative color tone difference compared with the reference color of the reference area. Therefore, even if the image input apparatus or the output apparatus is changed, the color tone difference between the reference region and the data region is constant, so that the color of the cell represented in the data region can be accurately recognized. This allows decoding to more reliable code information. In addition, the color matrix image may further include a parity cell in addition to the data cell. In this case, the parity is used to check an error of the original digital code data represented by the image. For example, the bit value of the digital data included in the row (column) at the end of one row and / or the end of one column It can be displayed as a cell having a specific color depending on whether the number of bits "1" is odd or even.

The number of cells included in the color matrix image may be appropriately determined in consideration of the number of personal information, and the structure thereof is preferably NxM sized matrix type, but considering the needs of the user or the characteristics of the medium in which the code image is expressed. It can be expressed in any shape such as round or oval and can be displayed in a plurality of positions. The cells included in the color matrix code image may be formed only by the combination of colors, but may further include a line-like pattern inside each color cell.

Specifically, the method of converting the personal information 15a into the code image 16a by the encoding software 15c is as follows. One or more letters or numbers included in the personal information 15a are converted by a predetermined code conversion table as shown in FIG. 3 to a predetermined shape, color, pattern, or a combination thereof (which may include letters and numbers). It is converted into a code image. Here, the code conversion table refers to a table that defines a relationship for mapping various letters, numbers, symbols, and the like into predetermined colors. Examples of this include not only the example shown in FIG. 3 but also codes such as a barcode or PDF-417, and a matrix image composed of one or two-dimensional black and white or color cells (or lines). The code image 16a may be printed in a visual form on a business card or letterhead, or may exist in the form of computer-readable file data in an e-mail message. When the code image 16a is decoded by a code conversion table, You can get the original "personal information" expressed in numbers and the like.

2A and 2B are diagrams showing an example of the personal information carrier 16 on which the code image 16a is displayed. 2A shows an example in which a code image is displayed on a business card, and FIG. 2B shows an example in which a code image is displayed on an envelope. In particular, FIG. 2B shows both the code image 26 associated with the sender's personal information and the code image 27 associated with the receiver's personal information in the envelope 25.

In FIG. 2A, the lower right corner of the upper left card and the lower right corner of the lower right postcard represent an example of a code image imaged by a matrix color code, and the former shows only simple information such as a name and a phone number as a code image. The latter is an example in which all information displayed on a business card such as an email address as well as a telephone number is displayed as a code image, and the size, number, and position of cells can be arbitrarily adjusted as necessary. The upper left corner of the lower left postcard shows a code image in which personal information is displayed in a bar code form, and the lower right corner of the upper right postcard shows an example of an image having a special shape.

The encoding method may be divided into a direct encoding method and an index encoding method. The direct encoding method refers to a method of generating a code image by directly encoding personal information such as a personal address or a network address by a code conversion table, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B. As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the index encoding method encodes index information for referencing the global database 12a of a server storing a personal address or a network address by using a code conversion table and converts the index information into an image form. The encoded images can be automatically output by the program's algorithms, or they can be created by a graphic editor or by hand, depending on the code conversion scheme.

5A, 5B and 6A-6C are diagrams showing the configuration of personal information embedded in a code image (which refers to the sender's personal information obtained by the receiver by decoding the code image). The direct encoding scheme is applied to the personal information of FIGS. 5A and 5B, and the index encoding scheme is applied to the personal information of FIGS. 6A and 6B.

5A illustrates a case where a personal address or a network address is set as personal information. Here, the personal address refers to basic information for transmitting and receiving mail items used in a physical environment, and is composed of a combination of letters, numbers, and special characters to indicate the geographical location of a specific building or place (eg, FIG. 5A). Address, postal code). The network address includes information for contacting or accessing the other party through communication means such as a user's homepage, an e-mail address, a phone number, a fax number, and the like. The address information may be selectively or all set as necessary, such as these geographical addresses and communication addresses.

In FIG. 5A, a network address representing personal information represents address information capable of receiving a network service in a network environment, and is represented by letters, numbers, special characters, and the like. In particular, the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) representing the address of the Internet site, IP (Internet Protocol) address, telephone number, fax number are representative. A URL is a format that points to a specific address on the Internet and consists of a protocol, network address, directory, parameters, and special characters.

In more detail with regard to network addresses, you can use IP addresses and domain names to refer to computers connected to it over the Internet. If you use server-centric services such as telnet, It's good enough, but document- and file-centric services like the World Wide Web and FTP require you to reference files stored on your computer. For this purpose, a URL (Uniform Resource Location; or synonymously known as a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI)) is used, which specifies the server computer to connect to using an IP address or domain name and the path to the file to reference. do. In other words,

[Protocol]: // [name of server] / [path]

For example, http://info.com/infopub/index.html

Here, "http: //" indicates a protocol (content of a service) to be used for sending and receiving data (file). Http stands for HyperText Transport Protocol, a protocol used to send and receive Web documents on the World Wide Web. Use "ftp" to request a file from an FTP server, or "telnet" to connect to a telnet server. Modern browsers handle URLs containing ftp and news as well as URLs containing http. Therefore, even if you only have a web browser, you can use FTP service and Usenet service. But. If there is a service that the web browser does not support, a separate service program must be run. For example, to use telnet, a telnet client such as Nettum is required.

After the protocol, write the IP address or domain name of the server to which you want to connect. After specifying the server, specify the path to the data you want. The path here is the directory and file name where the data is stored on the server. The sender can set his / her home page or an e-mail address where he / she can contact him as personal information.

5B shows an example in which server address information and service information are added, together with address information (personal address and / or network address). These additional information can optionally add all or either.

Here, the "server address" refers to the network address of the global DB server (not shown in FIG. 1) where the global database storing the address information of the individual is located. The global DB server is global in addition to the server computer 12. A separate server computer that stores a database. Basically, it is common to have a global database on the server 12 providing personal information service (in this case, the server computer 12 becomes a global DB server, and there is no need to include a server address in personal information, The system can be automatically connected to a global database on the service server), and a separate global DB server for storing a global database for personal address information of a specific group of users can be provided. For example, a global DB that registers the use of this service for employees of a certain company or for subscribers of a specific communication service provider, and separately manages the personal information of the registered users in the company or the telecommunication company. The server can be provided separately from the service server, in which case the personal information must include the server address to receive the service online. In other words, the global database 12a shown in FIG. 1 may be centrally configured on one server, but may be distributed among several servers.

And, "service information" is to use a specific network service, means a network service provided by the equipment at the network address. When using the Internet service, there are services defined by the protocol indicated in the URL such as web service, telnet service, e-mail service, gopher service, and FTP (File Transfer Protocol). When the service information is not included as a result of decoding (in the case of FIG. 5A), the service set as a default value in the program is provided. For example, if the personal information is a URL, the service is determined according to the protocol defined by it. If the personal information is simply a network address and telnet is defined as a basic service, the telnet client program is run to specify the network address specified in the personal information. Connect to On the other hand, the service information includes not only for network service through the Internet but also for services defined in other general communication devices, for example, a telephone or a fax service, for example, a telephone number or a fax as personal information in FIG. 5B. If a number is included, we may provide a service to call or fax the number.

6A and 6B show an example in which personal information is index information. Here, the index information refers to a key value for finding specific address information in the global database 12a of the server where the personal address or network address information is stored. FIG. 6B shows that not only index information but also server address and service information may be included, and the meaning thereof is the same as described with reference to FIG. 5B.

6C illustrates an example that further includes "authentication information" in addition to address information or index information, which is personal information. Here, "authentication information" is information used to ensure that the user's address information or index information is justified, and is used when updating or adding personal information about the user to the global database, which will be described with reference to FIG. Will be.

4A is a diagram illustrating an example of contents stored in the server computer 12 or the global database 12a of the global DB server, in which personal information and history of a user referred to by index information are stored. The index information refers to a key value used when looking for personal information of a specific user in the global database 12a of the server 12. For example, when "123456000" is input as the index information, the server 12 outputs personal information associated with the index information. The personal information that can be known by the index information includes not only the user's name, postal address, postal code, nationality, but also various user's personal information such as homepage, e-mail address, telephone number, and fax number. The history is an area in which information about the change is stored when the personal information of each user is changed.

4B is a diagram illustrating an example of contents stored in the user database 12a of the server computer 12 or the global DB server. In the user database 12a, user areas are set up for each user (A) and (bottle), and the user area stores personal information of those managed by the user and serves as a personal "business card" database. do. As shown in FIG. 4B, the user database 12b may store all of its own personal information, but may store only index information that may refer to the global database 12a.

4C is a diagram illustrating an example of contents stored in a local database 18b of a user computer. The local database 18b is a database provided on each user's computer, and stores information on personal information and changes of the personal information of those managed by the user, and serves as a personal "business card" database. If the contents of the user database 12b and the local database 12a are updated with the latest data, the contents of the local database 12a are the same as the data in their own user area assigned to the user database 12b. maintain. The local database 18a is for use when using the personal information service off-line regardless of the server 12.

4D shows an example of the history information shown in FIG. 4A or 4C. This includes the date of change, the item to be changed, and the content of the change. The history information may be generated as a separate file for each index information, or may be generated as one history information file by recording the index information together with each change information shown in FIG. 4D.

If the personal information of any user in the global database 12a is changed, the contents of the user database 12b having the personal information of that user as an entry are also automatically or manually updated. In addition, the contents of the local database 18b stored in each individual computer are also automatically or intentionally updated in accordance with the change of the contents of the global database 12a or the user database 12b to be synchronized in the contents. On the other hand, when the user database 12b and the local database 18b are formed based only on the index information of the global database 12a, the latest personal information stored in the global database 12a is stored online without any additional updating. It is available. In addition, the contents of the global database 12a and the user database 12b are automatically or intentionally updated when the contents of the local database 18b of each personal computer are brought online with the server even when the contents of the local database 18b are changed offline with the server.

7 is a flowchart illustrating a process in which a user encodes his personal information into a code image and provides the same to a counterpart according to the present invention. First, a user who wants to receive a personal information service according to the present invention accesses the server computer 12 and applies for user registration (71). At this time, the user enters his or her geographic and electronic personal information (for example, user name, e-mail address, postal address, postal code, nationality, homepage address, telephone number, fax number, etc.). The server computer 12 assigns index information to each user (72) and stores the user's personal information in the global database 12a in association with the index information (73). If the user's information is stored in a global DB server (not shown) other than the service server computer 12, the server computer 12 transmits the user's personal information to the corresponding global DB server while Save information related to users and global DB server. The index information given by the server computer 12 is provided to the user (72), and the user uses the index information when encoding according to the index encoding scheme.

The user encodes his personal information (see FIGS. 5 and 6) into a code image by a predetermined code conversion table (see FIG. 3) (74). While the user registers with the server computer 12, the user can download the encoding software provided by the server computer 12 and install it in the user computer 15 in advance. Here, it is optional for the user to install the encoding program in advance, and if it is not downloaded, the user will be connected to the server computer 12 to perform a series of processes when performing the encoding process later.

The sender sets his or her personal information to be displayed on the personal information carrier. Examples of personal information have been described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. The sender computer 15 encodes the personal information using the encoding software to generate a code image (74). If the encoding program is not already installed in the user's computer, the sender computer 15 transmits the personal information to the server computer 12, and the server computer 12 encodes the personal information by encoding software. The image is sent to the sender computer 15.

The sender computer 15 displays the code image on a predetermined personal information carrier such as a business card, letter paper or e-mail, and transmits it to the counterpart (75). Code images can be sent as printed or attached to paper, such as business cards, letterheads or postcards, or attached to other objects (types), and can also be read by computer-readable (eg, monitor screens). Can be sent directly to the image file or can be read in an image file that can be read by an image editing program.

8 is a flowchart illustrating a process in which a receiver decodes a code image displayed on a personal information carrier to identify and use the sender's personal information, and the user computer 18 and the server computer 12 communicate on-line. This is a flowchart when the environment is possible. The server computer 12 provides encoding and decoding algorithms and controls the personal information service, and the user computers 15 and 18 can be provided with various services using the algorithms provided by the server computer 12.

First, the user (receiver) computer 18 downloads and installs a decoding program provided from the server computer 12 (81). It is optional for the user computer 18 to install the decoding program in advance. If it is not downloaded, the user computer 18 connects with the server computer 12 to perform a series of processes when performing the decoding process.

Next, when the receiver receives the personal information carrier 16 from the other party (sender), the receiver inputs the code image 16a displayed therein to the receiver computer 18 through the image device 17 (82). The receiver computer 18 may receive a code image in real time using the image device 17, or may load an image file that has already been created into a memory through a storage device such as a disk or a buffer. If the code image is distributed in a form printed on a business card or a letter, etc., the code image is input to the receiver computer 18 through the image device 17, and the code image is converted into code data in a computer-readable data form. Code data is input to the recipient computer 18.

The receiver computer 18 decodes the code data by the decoding program 18d installed in advance, and extracts predetermined personal information embedded in the code image (83). Examples of the information extracted here are illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6 and are personal information consisting of letters and numbers. If the decoding computer is not installed in the receiver computer 18, the receiver computer 18 transmits the code image to the server computer 12, and the decoding process is performed in the server computer 12.

Here, the decoding is to find the original personal information as defined in the code conversion table from the code image, the personal information consists of letters, numbers, special characters, or a combination thereof that can be represented on the computer, postal address, network It includes address or index information. Decoding methods include a direct decoding method and an index decoding method according to a method of encoding personal information. In the direct decoding method, when the code image is decoded, actual personal information that can be directly used by the user such as a postal address or a network address is extracted immediately. In the index decoding method, the decoded result has index information, which is a key value for accessing a global database in a server containing postal address or network address information.

In the decoding process, it is necessary to find meaningful shapes, colors, patterns, and characters included in the code image. In addition, a process of correcting the distorted image is required. Here, using at least one method of RGB (Red, Green, Blue) model, HSV (Hue angle, Saturation, Value) model, CMY (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow) model, HLS (Hue angle, Lightness, Saturation) model Color discrimination is possible. Border and detection and thinning algorithms can also be used to detect shapes and patterns.

After the decoding process, the determination of the type of personal information is made (84). As described above, the types of personal information include address information (FIGS. 5A and 5B) and index information (FIGS. 6A and 6B) such as personal addresses or network addresses. If the personal information is address information, a personal (mail) address or a network address is set as the information (85a, b). If the personal information is index information, the receiver computer 18 accesses the server computer 12 to access the global database 12a in the server computer 12, and the personal information (personal address and / Or a network address) and provide it to the recipient computer 18 (85c2).

Next, the contents of the personal information management database (global DB, user DB, local DB) are checked and modified with reference to the sender's personal information obtained by the user (86).

A method of correcting or updating the personal information of each user stored in the global DB 12a will be described. Each user must register a user in order to access the server computer 12 and receive a personal information management service. At this time, the user's personal information is stored in the global DB 12a together with the index information. Personal information stored in the global DB 12a should not be freely changed by others. Therefore, basically, the user should be able to directly modify the contents by accessing the server computer 12, and it can be said that a user's ID and password are used to confirm the identity. In addition, the user's equipment identification number (e.g., IP address, terminal serial number, software serial number, etc.) is registered in advance in the server computer 12 as authentication data, and the user can confirm whether or not he or she is genuine. On the other hand, when the receiver receives the sender's personal information, if the sender's personal information is different from the contents stored in the global DB 12a, it is necessary to change the contents of the global DB 12a. In this case, by checking the authentication information (see Fig. 6c) included in the code image, or by checking the change date and the change of the history file (see Fig. 4d) of the history of personal information changes stored in the global DB ( 12a) can be corrected.

In addition, the user DB 12b on the server 12 and the local DB 18b on the user's computer store personal information of those managed by each user, and add new personal information of a newly added person or If the personal information of the person registered at is changed, the corrected information is corrected and the changes are saved as a history file.

It searches whether the sender's personal information is already registered (stored) in the local DB 18b in the user's computer 18. If not, register the sender's personal information. If the sender's personal information is already stored in the local DB, the stored personal information and the currently acquired personal information are compared and checked to see if they are the same. If different, the contents of the local DB are updated with the personal information currently obtained. If user computer 18 is online with server computer 12, changes in local DB are immediately reflected in user DB 12b of server computer 12. If you update the local DB, you are not connected to the server computer online. When you come back online, you can send information about the update to the server so that the user DB and local DB can maintain the same content. To control.

Next, service information is set according to the type of decoded personal information or service information or according to a user's selection (87). If the personal information is a postal address, the printer can print the postal address in a letter or postcard to the sender to reply to the sender. If the personal information is a network address, run the appropriate client service program according to the service information. Service is provided by accessing network equipment according to network address.

Here, in the method of determining the type of personal information, the content (characters) included in the decoded personal information is examined to determine the presence or absence of dots, the presence or absence of special characters (eg, a colon or a slash), the number of characters, or the like. Can be determined based on the criteria. Meanwhile, the personal information may include flag information for determining whether the index is index type or whether the personal information is a personal address or a network address. In addition, a separate recognition key is designated for each type of personal information (e.g., postal address, telephone number, e-mail address, etc.), and when encoding each personal information during encoding, the associated recognition key is encoded together to decode the information. Can let you see what is representing.

If the necessary service program is run according to the type of personal information and the service information (88), the receiver can be provided with the appropriate service accordingly (89). The services provided here are: If the personal information is a personal postal address associated with the actual user's geographic location, the postal address may be printed and used directly. If your personal information is a network address, this may include visiting Internet web pages, creating guest books / bulletin boards, sending e-mail, or sending a phone / fax. Such a service function may be used in a manner in which a user executes an appropriate service program and directly uses the personal information when the type of personal information is classified. In addition, when the type of personal information is recognized by the recipient computer, a service program corresponding to the personal information may be automatically executed to provide a service. For example, if your personal information is an e-mail address, you can automatically run a program that provides e-mail services (such as Outlook Express) and set the "recipient" address to an e-mail address extracted from your personal information. Can be.

According to the present invention, images related to personal information are displayed on media such as business cards, cards, mail envelopes, letter paper, stickers, etc., and various services are provided to users by restoring personal information from the images using image input devices, storage devices, and software. Can be provided. Using a PC camera, digital camera, scanner, etc., which is already widely used, images containing certain personal information are input to the computer, and the specific postal address and network address are analyzed according to the predefined code conversion table by analyzing shapes, colors and patterns. And / or index information associated with them. Then, the information may be provided using a physical postal service, an e-mail service, a homepage service, a telephone / fax service, and the like.

9 is a flowchart illustrating a process in which a receiver decodes a code image displayed on a personal information carrier to identify and use the sender's personal information when the user computer 18 and the server computer 12 are in an off-line environment. In order to operate off-line, the user (receiver) computer 18 must download and install a decoding program provided from the server computer 12 in advance.

When the receiver receives the personal information carrier 16 from the other party (sender), the code image 16a displayed therein is input to the receiver computer 18 through the image device 17 (90). The receiver computer 18 decodes the code data by the decoding program 18d installed in advance, and extracts predetermined personal information embedded in the code image (91).

Next, a determination is made on the type of personal information (92). If the personal information is address information, a personal (mail) address or a network address is set as the information (93). The user checks and modifies the contents of the local DB on his computer by referring to the caller's personal information obtained (94). The modified local DB changes are automatically or intentionally transferred to the user DB of the server computer when communicating with the server computer online. If the service is selected 95 according to the type of personal information or the user's choice, and the program required for the service is run 96, the receiver can be provided with the appropriate service accordingly.

If the personal information is the index information, since it is offline with the server computer 12, an error message is displayed (98) and the process ends. Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 4C, if index information is also stored in the local DB, a personal address and / or a network address related to the index information may be detected and used.

10 to 12 are diagrams illustrating various examples of a decoding scheme. 10 and 11 illustrate a method of decoding based on a user-based decoding method in which a receiver computer 18 downloads and installs a decoding program from a server computer 12 in advance. In this way, the indexed decoding scheme (FIG. 10) and the direct decoding scheme (FIG. 11) are classified. FIG. 12 relates to a server-based decoding method, which refers to a method in which a decoding process is performed in the server computer 12 in a state where a decoding program is not installed in the receiver computer 18.

Referring to FIG. 10, when the receiver computer 106 receives a code image through the image device 105, it is stored in an image storage device such as a memory or a disk drive. The code image is decoded into personal information by the image decoding engine, and the personal information includes index information. Then, the index information is transmitted to the server computer 107, the server engine searches the global database to find the personal information corresponding to the index information, and the personal information is transmitted to the recipient computer 106. In addition, in accordance with the personal information, the server computer 107 updates the contents of the user database associated with the user. The recipient computer 106 receives the personal information from the server computer 107 and adds or changes the personal information to its local database. The recipient computer 106 may run a service program according to the service information to call the service to the network equipment 108 to receive the service.

Referring to Fig. 11, when the receiver computer 116 receives a code image through the image device 115, it is stored in the image storage device. The code image is decoded into personal information by the image decoding engine. If the receiver computer 116 is connected to the server computer 117 online, the decoded personal information is transmitted to the server computer 117, and the server computer 117 refers to the contents stored in the global DB to obtain the latest personal information. To the user computer 116. The server computer 107 updates the contents of the user database associated with the user while the recipient computer 106 adds or changes the contents in its local database based on the personal information received from the server computer 107. . The recipient computer 116 can then run the service program in accordance with the personal and service information to call the service to the network equipment 118 to receive the service.

Referring to FIG. 12, when the receiver computer 126 receives a code image through the image device 125, it is stored in an image storage device such as a memory or a disk drive. The code image is transmitted to the server computer 127 and decoded into personal information by the image decoding engine. If the personal information is composed of index information (index type decoding method), the global database is searched to find personal information corresponding to the index information. The server computer 127 transmits the detected personal information (and service information) to the recipient computer 126. The recipient computer 126 may run a service program according to the personal information and the service information to call the service to the network equipment 128 to receive the service.

The invention can also be embodied as computer readable code on a computer readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium includes all kinds of recording devices in which data that can be read by a computer system is stored. Examples of computer-readable recording media include ROM, RAM, CD-ROM, magnetic tape, hard disk, floppy disk, flash memory, optical data storage device, and also carrier waves (for example, transmission over the Internet). It also includes the implementation in the form of. The computer readable recording medium can also be distributed over network coupled computer systems so that the computer readable code is stored and executed in a distributed fashion.

As described above, according to the personal information service method according to the present invention, when the sender displays the personal information in the form of an image and sends it to the receiver, the receiver restores the image to the original personal information using an optical device and the like. Store it in a local database that acts as your "business card" and register it with the server. This allows you to conveniently store a lot of personal information and use it to provide a variety of services.

According to the present invention, first of all, the user does not need to directly write personal information such as a postal address or a network address by hand or input it through a keyboard. Recognize that the service according to the personal information can be automatically provided. The person who receives the code image from the other party can manage and process the personal information of the other party obtained by decoding the image on both the server computer and his or her computer or on either computer. If the network supports the environment, you can receive appropriate services according to the type of information included in personal information. For example, you can make a phone call or send an e-mail, postcard or fax using personal information.

Claims (14)

Setting a correspondence relationship between a specific color corresponding to each letter and number; Each letter or number representing personal information is received, converted into a corresponding color according to the correspondence relationship, and then a plurality of cells in which the colors are respectively displayed are combined to form an image of a combination of a plurality of color cells on the personal information carrier. Forming a code image to be displayed; Receiving a code image displayed on the personal information carrier, converting the combination of colors displayed in the cells of the received code image according to the correspondence to a character or number corresponding to the extracted, the personal information corresponding to the code image Making; And Personal information management method comprising the step of adding or updating the extracted personal information to the database. The method of claim 1, wherein the database A global database storing personal information for all users; And Personal information management method comprising a user database that stores personal information for those who manage for each user. The method of claim 1, wherein the personal information includes at least a mailing address or a communication network address associated with an individual's geographic location, Personal information management method, characterized in that it may further include network address information of the server in which the personal information is stored or information about the service provided in relation to the address. The method of claim 1, wherein the personal information is stored in a location on a network accessible by the assigned index information after allocating index information corresponding to the personal information. Personal information management method characterized in that to form a code image in response. delete Setting a correspondence relationship between a specific color corresponding to each letter and number; Receiving a code image displayed on the personal information carrier as an image of a plurality of color cells; Converting the colors displayed in the cells of the code image into letters or numbers corresponding to the corresponding relationships, and extracting personal information corresponding to the received code images by combining letters or numbers obtained from the cells; And Personal information management method comprising the step of adding or updating the extracted personal information to the database for storing and managing the personal information. The personal information management method according to claim 1 or 6, wherein each cell of the code image is displayed in a shape, a pattern, or a combination thereof with a plurality of colors. delete delete The personal information of claim 6, further comprising providing personal address or network address information stored corresponding to the index information when index information of the personal information is included in the personal information extraction step. How to manage. A database for storing and managing personal information; An image receiver configured to receive a code image displayed on a personal information carrier as an image of a plurality of color cells; Correspondence relationship between a specific color corresponding to each letter and number is set, and according to the correspondence, the color displayed in each cell of the code image is converted into a corresponding letter or number, and then a letter or number obtained from the cells. A data conversion unit for extracting personal information corresponding to the received code image by combining them; And And a data processing unit which adds or updates the extracted personal information to the database. The personal information management apparatus of claim 11, wherein each cell of the code image is displayed in a shape, a pattern, or a combination thereof with a plurality of colors. Setting a correspondence relationship between a specific color corresponding to each letter and number; A code to be displayed on the personal information carrier as an image of a combination of a plurality of color cells, after converting each letter or number representing personal information into a corresponding color according to the correspondence. Forming an image; When the code image displayed on the personal information carrier is received, the personal information corresponding to the code image is extracted by converting a combination of colors displayed on the cells of the received code image into a corresponding letter or number according to the corresponding relationship. Making; And A computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for executing the step of adding or updating the extracted personal information to a database. Setting a correspondence relationship between a specific color corresponding to each letter and number; Receiving a code image displayed on the personal information carrier as an image of a plurality of color cells; Converting the colors displayed in the cells of the code image into letters or numbers corresponding to the corresponding relationships, and extracting personal information corresponding to the received code images by combining letters or numbers obtained from the cells; And A computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for causing a computer to add or update the extracted personal information to a database storing and managing the personal information.