WO2004010634A1

WO2004010634A1 - Electronic information transmission system

Info

Publication number: WO2004010634A1
Application number: PCT/JP2003/009197
Authority: WO
Inventors: Yutaka Yasukura
Original assignee: Global Friendship Inc.
Priority date: 2002-07-22
Filing date: 2003-07-18
Publication date: 2004-01-29
Also published as: AU2003281561A1; JP2004053968A

Abstract

At a transmission source, original electronic information W is divided into a plurality of information blocks B by a secret distribution method and the blocks B are transmitted. A receiver R resets the arrangement of information elements E contained in the received information blocks B so as to restore the electronic information W. A source computer S creates and transmits arrangement information A where the order and location of the information elements E are recorded. A receiver computer R collects information elements E located in a predetermined time width according to the arrangement information A, restores the electronic information, records it in a buffer memory M, and reproduces the electronic information. Then, the receiver computer R collects the next information elements E, restores the electronic information, supplies it to the buffer memory M, so that an almost constant amount of electronic information is always maintained. This electronic information transmission system utilizing the secret distribution method enables safely transmitting a large amount of electronic information and use of restored information. This system can be effectively used especially when transmitting a content by streaming type communication.

Description

Electronic information transmission system

The present invention relates to electronic information transmission that can be safely transmitted when electronic information is transmitted, and more particularly to an electronic information transmission system that can be effectively used when transmitting content by streaming communication. Background art

According to the electronic tally method already disclosed by the inventor of the present application in Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-0-596053, International Application Publication No. WO0Z453058, etc. Files and information can be sent securely. This electronic tally method can be regarded as a kind of secret sharing method, in which the entire electronic information is divided and randomly combined and transmitted separately, and the receiver side receives all the transmission blocks before using the tally information. And restore the original information.

When transmitted in this way, even if a part of the information block being transmitted is obtained, it cannot be restored even if it is a part of the original information, and theft of the information can be prevented. Also, if this electronic tally method is used, some electronic information will be distributed to recipients in advance, and only those who have subscribed to the contract will send the remaining electronic information via the Internet for playback. By doing so, it will not be used by anyone other than the legitimate buyer, and it will be possible to charge reliably.

In this way, the electronic tally method is effective for transmitting valuable information safely and for protecting copyright.

By the way, when browsing large-volume data such as audio, video, and animation, for example, streaming technology is used in which all data is played back immediately after it is received, instead of being played back. When using such streaming technology, it is necessary for each part to have meaningful information even if it is sequentially reproduced from the received parts.

However, electronic tally means, which is a method of receiving and restoring the entire electronic information, Since the entire information is received and then played back at once, waiting for transmission of content with a large amount of information becomes too long, and the computer used for playback requires a huge storage device. Therefore, when transmitting large volumes of information, such as for streaming, there was a restriction on using highly secure electronic tallying means.

Disclosure of the invention

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic information transmission system using an electronic tally which can safely send a large amount of electronic information, and particularly to be used effectively when transmitting contents by streaming type communication. The purpose of the present invention is to provide an electronic information transmission system capable of performing such operations.

In the electronic information delivery system of the present invention, the computer at the transmission source divides the original electronic information into an arbitrary number of information elements, classifies them into at least two information blocks, and belongs to each information block. Are arranged in an arbitrary order and transmitted to the recipient's computer.The recipient's computer receives the information block, and restores the arrangement of the information blocks and the arrangement of the information elements contained in each information block to the original state. This is a dynamic electronic tally-type electronic information transmission system that restores and reproduces the electronic information.

In the electronic information transmission system according to the present invention, the originating computer creates sequence information in which the chronological order and location of the information elements are recorded, and transmits the sequence information to the recipient computer. On the other hand, based on the sequence information received by the receiver's computer, information elements existing within a predetermined time width are extracted, the electronic information included in the information elements is restored, and the restored electronic information is recorded in a buffer memory. When reproducing the electronic information stored in the buffer memory, the reproduced electronic information is erased from the buffer memory, the electronic information is restored for the information element which comes next in order, and the electronic information is supplemented to the buffer memory, so that an almost constant amount is always obtained. The electronic information is stored. According to the present invention, since the sequence information records the order of each information element, it is necessary for the receiver's computer to acquire the sequence information and collect the information elements present in which information blocks and where. It can be seen that the electronic information of the time zone can be collected sequentially. So, for example, 5 minutes or 10 minutes By restoring information about the time width and storing it in the buffer memory, the stream information can be reproduced without causing the viewer to feel stress without tearing. As the information stored in the buffer memory is discarded, electronic information for the subsequent time can be newly collected, restored, and captured.

The sequence information is available only after the source computer supplies it to the recipient computer. For this reason, even if some electronic information is leaked, it cannot be reproduced unless there is sequence information, and the information is safely protected.

In the electronic information transmission system of the present invention, information elements located close to each other in the original electronic information may be collected in each information block. When such information blocks are used, the information elements to be collected in accordance with the reproduction of electronic information are dispersed and included in a very small number of information blocks, which is convenient for collection, and the same after restoring for a certain time period. Since the information block does not need to be reused, it can be discarded.

Such an information block can be effectively used even in a system in which a transmitting computer sequentially supplies electronic information according to a stream. It goes without saying that the order of the information elements allocated to the adjacent information blocks may be somewhat mixed.

The sending computer holds at least one of the information blocks, distributes the remaining information blocks to the recipient in advance, and holds it for the first time when the recipient applies for use You may send an information block. If there is no information block, the electronic information cannot be restored, so that only the genuine right holder can use the electronic information, and the security of the electronic information can be maintained.

Also, since only a very small portion of the electronic information needs to be transmitted, it is possible to reduce the burden on the information distributor by eliminating an excessive load on the communication network due to access at the time of reproducing the electronic information. be able to.

The information block may be transmitted sequentially from the source computer using a communication network when the receiver's computer reproduces the electronic information, but it may be transmitted in advance via a communication network or a DVD or CD. It may be distributed or sent on another medium. Sources distribute electronic information, including content such as music, movies, and animations, through downloads from the Internet, miscellaneous appendices, direct mail, street distribution, and so on. Although this electronic information contains information blocks, it is processed so that it cannot be restored using secret sharing technology. However, some of the sample parts extracted from the electronic information can be reproduced as they are without performing secret sharing processing.

After confirming a part of the electronic information, the consumer can receive the sequence information and the remaining information blocks only after applying for the purchase via the Internet or the like, and the entire electronic information can be reproduced. Therefore, by distributing electronic information that has been subjected to electronic tally processing in advance, and transmitting small-sized array information or the remaining information blocks using a communication network when actually using it, the actual In addition to advertising and advertising, it is possible to build a secure electronic information transmission system that only authorized users can use electronic information.

Note that the array information may be transmitted by being embedded in a header attached to each information block.

Even when distributing the sequence information, all information blocks necessary for restoring the electronic information can be obtained, and if the header cannot be restored, the electronic information cannot be restored. That can be ruled out. The security of information is even higher if some information blocks are kept at the sender.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the principle of the electronic information transmission system of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a use procedure. '' Best mode for carrying out the invention

In the electronic information transmission system of the present embodiment, the computer S as a source is composed of novels, poetry, diaries, literary works such as editorials, movies, plays, photographs, paintings, music, games, computer programs, research papers, various information, In addition, it stores electronic information W, which converts various contents used by humans into electronic information.

Source computer S divides electronic information W into detailed information elements E, It is rearranged and distributed to a plurality of information blocks B, and transmitted to the computer R of the receiver. Since the order of the information elements E in the information block B is determined randomly and has no relation to the original order, it is difficult to restore the original electronic information W as it is. In particular, in the case where dummy information is added to the original electronic information, compressed, and then divided and distributed, it is impossible to estimate the original information unless there is positional information created when the division is performed.

In addition, the source computer S creates and stores, as array information A, information relating to the order of the information element E or the elapsed time viewed from the start time when the information is reproduced as electronic information. The array information A includes the position information of the information element E in the information block B.

The information block B can be supplied to the receiver computer R by various means. For example, post it on the sender's homepage so that it can be downloaded freely via the Internet. They may also be attached to magazines as an appendix, placed in stores so that they can be taken home freely, or distributed by direct mail.

The receiver imports the obtained information block B into the computer R, and, after considering the content and performance of the electronic information and wants to obtain it, notifies the computer S of the purchaser that he / she wants to purchase it.

When confirming the purchase intention, the computer S of the transmission source confirms the security of the transaction such as the recipient's ID and the settlement method, and transmits the sequence information A to the recipient computer R.

The receiver computer R restores the electronic information by re-integrating the information element E when necessary.However, restoring the entire information at once requires a large-capacity buffer, so the buffer memory is immediately available. Always prepare only the part to be played back so that it can be played back continuously. However, it is important that the information is not interrupted even if the restoration process is not performed smoothly, so that the viewer does not give an unnatural impression or unpleasant feeling.

The receiver computer R is provided with a buffer memory M having a predetermined capacity so that even if the flow of electronic information is interrupted for a predetermined time such as 5 minutes or 10 minutes, there is no breakage during reproduction. Figure 2 shows the procedure during playback. As an initial preparation for reproduction, first, electronic information for a predetermined time is reproduced and stored in the buffer memory M. To reproduce the electronic information, sequence information A is acquired from the source computer S (S1), and based on the acquired sequence information A, an information element E having electronic information to be reproduced within a predetermined initial time is used. Know the existing information block B and its position in it, and collect them (S2).

The collected information elements E are rearranged in the order of reproduction, the electronic information is restored, and stored in the buffer memory M (S3). When information necessary for restoration remains in the source computer S, such as when some electronic information is held in the source computer S or when electronic information is formed as an event such as a relay broadcast occurs, , And use it. The source computer S can also supply it on its own.

In electronic tally processing, which can be regarded as a type of secret sharing method, random numbers are added as dummy information before plaintext, and the codeword obtained by compression encoding is masked with random number data. Allocated to the appropriate number of tallies on a bit-by-bit basis for transmission or distribution. Create a correspondence table indicating which tally each bit of the codeword after masking is contained in, and attach or attach to the tally header and transmit or distribute. On the receiver side, the tallying procedure is reversed to return to plaintext for use.

Therefore, electronic information cannot be recovered without collecting all the tallyed information blocks for the relevant parts.

The array information A is created in association with the correspondence table, but is information indicating when the divided information bits are required at the time of reproduction based on the order, and is essential for the above electronic tally processing. Not a thing.

When a predetermined amount of electronic information is accumulated, the electronic information is read out from the buffer memory M, and the reproduction is started using the display D or the speaker (S4).

After that, based on the array information A, the information element E in which the electronic information corresponding to the next time zone should be loaded so that the above-mentioned predetermined amount of electronic information is always stored in the buffer memory M. The electronic information is collected (S5), and the electronic information is restored and added to the buffer memory M (S6).

As time elapses, the electronic information stored in the buffer memory M is read out and reproduced (S7), and until the electronic information is exhausted (S8), the information element coming at the next timing The content E is collected and restored, and the playback of the content is continued.

As described above, in the electronic information transmission system according to the present embodiment, the information element divided as the electronic tally is collected and restored in advance by a predetermined time for a necessary part along the passage of time. The user can enjoy the electronic information content by natural reproduction without tearing, as if watching a normal movie or television broadcast or listening to a record performance.

Note that the electronic information transmission system of the present embodiment can also be used in the case of using a streaming technology for reproducing the electronic information while sequentially supplying it, such as an Internet TV. Information transmission can be performed. Industrial applicability

As described in detail above, according to the electronic information transmission system of the present invention, when transmitting a large amount of electronic information that evolves according to time such as a moving image, secret sharing is used to prevent data leakage during storage or transmission. However, a person who requests reproduction can reproduce a moving image or the like while minimizing stress such as a tear.

Claims

The scope of the claims

1. The computer at the source divides the original electronic information into an arbitrary number of information elements, classifies them into at least two information blocks, and arranges the information elements belonging to each information block in an arbitrary order. The information is transmitted to the recipient's computer, and the recipient's computer receives the information block. The information block and the information elements included in each information block are restored to the original electronic information. In an electronic tally type electronic information transmission system designed to reproduce the information element, the originating computer creates sequence information that records the time-sequential order and location of the information elements and transmits the sequence information to the recipient computer. Of the computer collects information elements of a predetermined time width based on the sequence information, and restores the included electronic information. The electronic information is recorded in the buffer memory, and when the electronic information stored in the buffer memory is reproduced, the reproduced electronic information is erased from the buffer memory, and the electronic information is restored for the next information element and the buffer is restored. Electronic information transmission characterized by storing almost a fixed amount of electronic information at all times by supplementing it to memory

2. The electronic information transmission according to claim 1, wherein the information elements included in the information block are located close to each other in the original electronic information.

3. The arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the arrangement information is divided into an arbitrary number of information elements, distributed to blocks, and collected and restored when used. Electronic information transmission system according to paragraph 2.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein at least one of the information blocks is held at a computer of the transmission source and is transmitted only when the recipient obtains authentication of the transmission source. Electronic information transmission system according to any one of the above items.

5. The electronic information transmission system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the information block is delivered to a recipient in advance.

6. The electronic information transmission device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the sequence information is embedded in a header attached to each information block and transmitted.

7. The electronic information transmission according to claim 6, wherein the information block is delivered to a recipient in advance, except for at least one information block.