JP2002351769A - System and method for data home delivery - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a data home delivery system which performs efficient data distribution matching characteristics of an access network connecting a terminal at a transmission destination and a communication network. SOLUTION: A data home delivery server 3 and a data home delivery server 4 are connected through the Internet 5, a user terminal 1 and the data home delivery server 3 are connected through an access network 6, and a user terminal 2 and the data home delivery server 4 are connected through an access network 7 to separate communication using the Internet and communication using the access networks.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a data delivery system and a data delivery method thereof, and more particularly to a data delivery system for delivering data transmitted from a source terminal to a destination terminal and a data delivery method thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional data delivery system for delivering (delivering) digital data using a communication network such as the Internet, an FTP (File Tr) is generally used.
Digital data is distributed between end users using technologies such as ansferProtocol) and e-mail. Also,
Some companies provide a data delivery server for delivering digital data on the Internet, and the data delivery server delivers digital data.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the configuration of a first conventional data delivery system. In FIG. 5, the first conventional data delivery system includes user terminals 10 and 20, and an FTP server 30 installed on the Internet 100 to which the user terminals 10, 20 are connected via access networks 200, 300. Have.

In order to deliver digital data between the user terminal 10 and the user terminal 20, for example, first, the user terminal 10 places the digital data on the FTP server 30,
Thereafter, the user terminal 10 notifies the user terminal 20 that the digital data has been placed on the FTP server 30 by a notifying means such as an e-mail. Then, the user terminal 20 that has received the notification acquires digital data from the FTP server 30. This means that the digital data has been delivered.

[0005] The first conventional data delivery system having such a configuration has a problem in that the digital data sender cannot confirm that the digital data receiver has normally received the digital data. In addition, there is a problem that the system is complicated because notification means such as an e-mail is used together.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the configuration of a second conventional data delivery system. In FIG. 6, the second conventional data delivery system includes user terminals 10 and 20, and a mail server 40 installed on the Internet 100 to which the user terminals 10, 20 are connected via access networks 200, 300. Have.

[0007] In the second conventional data delivery system having such a configuration, since electronic mail is used, digital data can be directly transferred between the user terminal 10 and the user terminal 20. As in the first data delivery system, there is a problem that the sender of digital data cannot confirm that the receiver of digital data has received the digital data normally. In addition, since digital data is transmitted using electronic mail, it has been difficult to deliver a large amount of binary data to home.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the configuration of a third conventional data delivery system. In FIG. 7, a third conventional data delivery system includes user terminals 10 and 20, and a data delivery server 50 installed on the Internet 100 to which the user terminals 10 and 20 are connected via access networks 200 and 300. have.

When delivering digital data between the user terminal 10 and the user terminal 20, for example, the user terminal 10 first transmits the digital data and the address of the user terminal 20 to the data delivery server 50. Then, the data delivery server 50 delivers digital data to the user terminal 20 based on the address of the user terminal 20.

[0010]

In the third conventional data delivery system having such a configuration, the data delivery server 5
0, it is possible to notify the sender of the digital data that the receiver of the digital data has successfully received the digital data.
To deliver digital data via the Internet 100 and the access network 300 of the user terminal 20 (or the access network 200 of the user terminal 10), that is, the access network 300 of the user terminal 20 (or the user terminal 10)
Since the access network 200) is not separated from the Internet 100, there is a problem that digital data cannot be efficiently transferred in accordance with the characteristics of the access network 300 (or the access network 200).

An object of the present invention is to provide a data home delivery system and a data home delivery method capable of efficiently delivering data adapted to the characteristics of an access network connecting a destination terminal and a communication network. is there.

[0012]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A data delivery system according to the present invention is a data delivery system for delivering data transmitted from a source terminal to a destination terminal, wherein the source terminal and the first terminal are connected to each other. A first data delivery server connected via an access network, connected to the first data delivery server via a communication network, and connected to the destination terminal via a second access network; And a second data delivery server.

[0013] In the data delivery system, the transmission destination terminal may notify the transmission source terminal that the reception has been completed if the received data is normal in response to the data reception. I do.

[0014] In the data delivery system,
The second data delivery server transmits the received data to the destination terminal at a specified time specified by a user on the destination terminal.

Further, in the data delivery system, the transmission source terminal may encrypt and transmit the data. In the data delivery system, the communication network is the Internet.

A data delivery method according to the present invention is a data delivery method in a data delivery system for delivering data transmitted from a source terminal to a destination terminal, wherein the source terminal and a first data delivery method are provided. First with server
Transmitting and receiving said data via an access network of said first step; transmitting and receiving said data via a communication network between said first data home delivery server and said second data home delivery server; And transmitting and receiving the data between the data delivery server and the destination terminal via a second access network.

In the data delivery method, the transmission destination terminal may include a step of, in response to data reception, notifying the transmission source terminal of completion of reception when the received data is normal. It is characterized by.

In the data delivery method, the second data delivery server may transmit the received data to the transmission destination terminal at a designated time specified by a user on the transmission destination terminal. It is characterized by having.

Further, the data delivery method includes a step of encrypting and transmitting the data at the transmission source terminal. In the data delivery method, the communication network is the Internet.

The operation of the present invention is as follows. A first data delivery server and a second data delivery server are connected via a communication network, a transmission source terminal and the first data delivery server are connected via a first access network,
Since the destination terminal and the second data delivery server are connected via the second access network, the communication using the first access network and the communication using the second access network can be performed over the communication network. It can be separated from the communication used.

Further, since the data is delivered to the destination terminal at the designated time specified by the user on the destination terminal, the time when the user does not use the second access network (for example, at night or Early morning, etc.).

Further, in response to the data reception, if the received data is normal, the transmission destination terminal notifies the transmission source terminal that the reception has been completed. Can be confirmed. Further, since the transmission source terminal encrypts and transmits the data, the data can be safely delivered to the transmission destination terminal.

[0023]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a data delivery system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, a data delivery system according to an embodiment of the present invention is a system for delivering data transmitted from a source terminal to a destination terminal via a communication network. , A data delivery server 3 and a data delivery server 4.

The user terminal 1 is accommodated in the data delivery server 3 via the access network 6. Further, the user terminal 2 is accommodated in the data delivery server 4 via the access network 7. Here, the access networks 6 and 7 are respectively a telephone network and an ISDN (Integrated Services Digital).
Network), CATV (Cable Television) network or xD
This is a network using SL (x Digital Subscriber Line). Further, the data delivery server 3 and the data delivery server 4
Are connected by the Internet 5 which is a communication network.

Each of the user terminals 1 and 2 is an information processing device such as a personal computer, and has a function of compressing and encrypting digital data that the user wants to deliver to home. Further, the user terminals 1 and 2 add the address of the destination user terminal and the title of the digital data to the compressed / encrypted data, and access the data to the data home delivery server housing the own terminal. It has the function of transmitting via a network.

Further, when transmitting digital data to the data delivery server accommodating its own terminal, the user terminals 1 and 2 divide the data according to the size of the transmission data and transmit the data, resulting in a data error or missing data. Occurs,
It has a function to resend. The digital data delivered by the data delivery system according to the embodiment of the present invention includes, for example, large-capacity data such as images, voices, and software, or necessity of confidentiality and delivery confirmation of contracts and confidential documents. There is digital data etc.

Each of the data delivery servers 3 and 4 is an information processing device having a data storage function such as a work station, and transmits digital data transmitted by a transmission source user terminal accommodated in its own server via an access network. Receiving, temporarily storing the received data in a storage medium such as a magnetic disk, and, based on the address of the destination user terminal included in the received data, the data home delivery server accommodating the destination user terminal. It has a function of transmitting the specified and received data to the specified data delivery server via the Internet 5.

The data delivery servers 3 and 4 divide the data according to the size of the data to be transmitted when transmitting the received data to the specified data delivery server, and transmit the data. If this occurs,
It has a function to resend.

Further, the data delivery servers 3 and 4 temporarily store the data received via the Internet 5 on a storage medium such as a magnetic disk and receive the data once specified based on the address of the destination user terminal. The destination user terminal is specified based on the address of the destination user terminal included in the data, and the specified destination user terminal is specified together with the title of the received data and the size of the received data. A function of notifying via the access network that digital data addressed to the user terminal has arrived at its own server.

When the user terminals 1 and 2 receive, from the data delivery server accommodating the terminal, a notification indicating that the data addressed to the terminal has arrived together with the title of the digital data and the data size thereof, It has a function of displaying such information to the user and an input function for the user to specify the reception timing (specified time).

When the data home delivery servers 3 and 4 are notified of the reception timing from the destination user terminal accommodated in their own server, the data home delivery servers 3 and 4 convert the digital data stored in the storage medium based on the reception timing and the like. It has a function of transmitting to a destination user terminal accommodated in its own server via an access network. Note that the data delivery servers 3 and 4 divide the data according to the size of the data to be transmitted when transmitting the data to the user terminal of the transmission destination accommodated in the own server, and a data error or data loss occurs. In case, it has a function to retransmit.

Each of the user terminals 1 and 2 has a function of receiving digital data arriving via an access network from a data delivery server accommodating the user terminals 1 and 2 and decompressing and decoding the received data. Also, the user terminals 1 and 2
If it is confirmed that the received data has been successfully decompressed and decrypted, a home delivery completion message indicating that the data reception has been completed (the destination of this message is the source user terminal) is sent to the data home delivery containing the terminal. It has a function of transmitting to a server via an access network.

The data home delivery servers 3 and 4 send home delivery completion messages from the destination user terminals accommodated in the own server to the source user terminal, and send the data home delivery servers containing the source user terminals. Internet 5
It has the function of transferring via

When the data home delivery servers 3 and 4 receive via the Internet 5 a home delivery completion message addressed to the source user terminal accommodated in their own server,
It has a function of recording the completion of home delivery in a log and performing a billing process according to the size of digital data delivered to the user of the transmission source user terminal accommodated in the server.

Further, the data delivery servers 3 and 4 transmit a delivery completion message addressed to the transmission source user terminal accommodated in the own server to the transmission source user terminal accommodated in the own server via the access network. It has a function to do.

Each of the user terminals 1 and 2 has a function of, when receiving the home delivery completion message addressed to the own terminal, reporting to the user that the transmitted digital data has been normally received by the destination user terminal.

Next, the operation of the data delivery system according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the data delivery system according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the screen of the user terminal 1 shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the screen of the user terminal 2 shown in FIG.

As an operation of the data delivery system according to the embodiment of the present invention, when the user terminal 1 shown in FIG. 1 is a source terminal and the user terminal 2 shown in FIG. 1 is a destination terminal, That is, an operation when digital data transmitted from the user terminal 1 is delivered to the user terminal 2 will be described.

First, a user who is a digital data sender designates digital data desired to be delivered to the destination user terminal 2 on his / her own user terminal 1, and specifies the title and the title of the destination user terminal 2. The address is determined and the transmission process is executed. FIG. 3 shows an example of a screen of the user terminal 1 (digital data transmission screen) for the user to perform such an operation.

In FIG. 3, the digital data to be delivered is determined by inputting the file name of the digital data in the "file name" input box for designating the digital data desired to be delivered. The character string input in the “title” input field is the title of the digital data to be delivered. Then, by inputting an address (the address of the user terminal 2) in the “destination address” input field, the destination terminal is determined as the user terminal 2. After the user inputs data in the “file name” input field, the “title” input field, and the “destination address” input field, when the user presses the “send” button, the user terminal 1 executes a transmission process. When the user presses the “cancel” button, the digital data transmission screen is closed without executing the transmission processing.

The operation after the user presses the "send" button will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 2, the user terminal 1 compresses and encrypts the designated digital data in response to the “send” button being pressed, and designates the designated title, file name, transmission destination address and sender ( For example, data to which the name of the user of the user terminal 1 is assigned is created (step S1).

Then, the user terminal 1 divides the transmission data into packets according to the size of the created transmission data, and transmits the packets to the data delivery server 3 via the access network 6 (step S2). In step S2, if a data error or data loss occurs during packet transmission due to a communication error between the user terminal 1 and the data delivery server 3 or a power failure of the user terminal 1, the user terminal 1 performs retransmission processing and transmission. By performing recovery processing such as restart processing,
The digital data to be delivered is transmitted to the data delivery server 3 without fail.

When the data delivery server 3 normally receives data from the user terminal 1, it temporarily stores the received data in a storage medium such as a magnetic disk (step S3).
Then, the data delivery server 3 accesses the access network 7 based on the address of the destination user terminal 2 included in the received data.
, The data delivery server 4 accommodating the user terminal 2 is specified, the received data is divided into packets according to the size of the received data, and the packets are transferred to the data delivery server 4 via the Internet 5 (step S4). . Step S4
In the case where a data error or data omission occurs due to a communication error or the like between the data delivery server 3 and the data delivery server 4, the data delivery server 3 should perform delivery processing by performing recovery processing such as retransmission processing. The digital data is transmitted to the data delivery server 4 without fail.

When the data delivery server 4 normally receives the data from the data delivery server 3, the data delivery server 4 temporarily stores the received data in a storage medium such as a magnetic disk (step S).
5). Then, the data delivery server 4 specifies the user terminal 2 based on the address of the user terminal 2 of the transmission destination included in the received data, and provides the user terminal 2 with the title, file name, sender, and data included in the received data. A notification that there is digital data addressed to the user terminal 2 together with the size is sent via the access network 7 (step S6).

The user terminal 2 displays a digital data reception screen in response to the notification from the data delivery server 4. An example of this digital data reception screen is shown in FIG. In FIG. 4, for example, the time at which the notification from the data delivery server 4 is received is displayed in “Time”.
For “sender”, for example, the name of the user of the user terminal 1 is displayed, for “title”, the title of digital data is displayed, for “file name”, the file name of digital data is displayed, In the “size”, the size of the digital data is displayed, and in the “state”, for example, information (“not received” or “received” or the like) indicating whether or not the own terminal has received the digital data is displayed. You.

When the user of the user terminal 2 inputs a time in the “reception timing” input field, a reception timing which is a time at which digital data is desired to be received is designated. Further, when the user presses the “reception” button, the user terminal 2 executes a reception process. In addition, when the user presses the “reject” button, the user terminal 2 executes a rejection notification process. When the user presses the “cancel” button, the digital data reception screen is closed without executing the reception process and the rejection notification process.

In FIG. 2, when the digital data reception screen of FIG. 4 is displayed on the screen of the user terminal 2 in response to the notification from the data home delivery server 4 in step S6,
The user checks the digital data reception screen and specifies the reception timing (step S7). Then, when the user presses the “receive” button, the user terminal 2
Notifies the data delivery server 4 of the designated reception timing via the access network 7 (step S8).

The data delivery server 4 responds to the notification from the user terminal 2 in step S8, based on the size of the data received from the data delivery server 3 and the speed of the access network 7 (data transfer capability). The transmission time (required time) is calculated, and the transmission time for data transmission is notified to the user terminal 2 via the access network 7 (step S9). For example, if the reception timing is January 2, 2001
When the time is specified as 8:00 a day and the required time calculated based on the speed of the access network 7 and the amount of data to be transmitted is one hour, the transmission time notified to the user terminal 2 is 20
From 7:00 on January 2, 2001 (transmission start time) to 8:00
Minutes (transmission completion time).

At the calculated transmission start time, the data delivery server 4 divides the data into packets and starts transmission to the user terminal 2 via the access network 7 (step S1).
0). That is, in the data delivery system according to the embodiment of the present invention, data transmission is completed at the time of the reception timing designated by the user. Needless to say, the process may be started. In step S10, if a data error or data loss occurs during packet transmission due to a communication error between the user terminal 2 and the data home delivery server 4 or a power failure of the user terminal 2, the data home delivery server 4 performs retransmission. By performing recovery processing such as processing and transmission restart processing, digital data to be delivered is reliably transmitted to the user terminal 2.

The user terminal 2 receives the data transmitted by the data delivery server 4, and decompresses and decodes the received data. Then, if the received data is normal, the user terminal 2 creates a home delivery completion message indicating that the reception of the digital data is completed, and transmits it to the data home delivery server 4 via the access network 7 (step S11). The data delivery server 4 transfers the delivery completion message from the user terminal 2 to the data delivery server 3 via the Internet 5 (Step S12).

The data home delivery server 3 transmits the home delivery completion message to the user terminal 1 via the access network 6 in response to the reception of the home delivery completion message from the data home delivery server 4, so that the user terminal 1 In addition to notifying that the transmitted digital data has been delivered to the user terminal 2, the home delivery record of the digital data is recorded in a log, and the user of the user terminal 1 performs a charging process according to the size of the delivered digital data ( Step S13).

In response to receiving the home delivery completion message from the data home delivery server 3, the user terminal 1 displays the completion of the home delivery of the digital data, for example, by displaying the fact on the screen of the user terminal 1, Report to the user (step S14).

By the way, when the user of the user terminal 2 presses the “reject” button shown in FIG.
Transmits a rejection notice to the effect that data reception is rejected to the data delivery server 4. The data delivery server 4 transfers the rejection notification from the user terminal 2 to the data delivery server 3 and erases the digital data stored in the storage medium. The data home delivery server 3 transmits the transferred refusal notice to the user terminal 1 so that the user of the user terminal 1 can know that the user of the user terminal 2 has refused data reception.

In the data delivery system according to the embodiment of the present invention, the digital data transmitted by the user terminal 2 is delivered to the user terminal 1 with the user terminal 2 as the source terminal and the user terminal 1 as the destination terminal. It is clear that you can.

As described above, in the data delivery system according to the embodiment of the present invention, the user terminal 1 and the data delivery server 3 are connected by the access network 6 and the user terminal 2 and the data delivery server 4 are connected by the access network 7. In other words, when the data delivery server 3 (data delivery server 4) is installed in the access network 6 (access network 7) connecting the Internet 5 and the user terminal 1 (user terminal 2), the access network Since the communication in 6 and 7 can be separated from the communication in the Internet 5, it is possible to perform communication in consideration of characteristics (bandwidth, delay, data loss, etc.) in each network,
Therefore, efficient digital data delivery can be performed.

In the data delivery system according to the embodiment of the present invention, each data delivery server accommodates only one user terminal via the access network. However, the data delivery server may accommodate a plurality of user terminals. Of course. In this case, for example, if digital data transmitted by a certain user terminal accommodated in the data home delivery server 3 is to be delivered to another user terminal housed in the data home delivery server 3, the user terminal transmits the digital data. The digital data is delivered to the other user terminal only by the data delivery server 3 and does not have to go through the Internet 5, so that the digital data can be delivered without imposing a load on the Internet 5.

[0057]

A first effect of the present invention is that data can be efficiently distributed according to the characteristics of an access network connecting a destination terminal and a communication network. The reason is that the first data delivery server and the second data delivery server are connected via a communication network,
Since the source terminal and the first data delivery server are connected via the first access network, and the destination terminal and the second data delivery server are connected via the second access network, This is because communication using the access network can be separated from communication using the communication network, and communication can be performed in consideration of the characteristics (bandwidth, delay, data loss, etc.) of each network.

A second effect of the present invention is that when the user terminal is constantly connected to the access network, data can be delivered during a time when the user is not using the access network (for example, at night or early morning). What you can do. The reason is that the data is delivered to the destination terminal at the specified time specified by the user on the destination terminal. Note that this is particularly effective when delivering large-size data such as music or video to a home.

The third effect of the present invention is that data such as contracts and confidential documents that need to be kept confidential and confirmed for delivery can be handled. The reason is that, in response to the data reception, if the received data is normal, the transmission destination terminal notifies the transmission source terminal that the reception has been completed. This is because the completion can be confirmed. In addition, since the transmission source terminal encrypts and transmits the data, the data can be safely delivered to the transmission destination terminal. This is particularly effective when dealing with transaction data between companies for which confidentiality is considered important.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a data delivery system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the data delivery system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a screen of the user terminal 1 in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a screen of the user terminal 2 in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of a first conventional data delivery system.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of a second conventional data delivery system.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration of a third conventional data delivery system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1,2 user terminal 3,4 data delivery server 5 internet 6,7 access network

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G09C 1/00 660 G09C 1/00 660D

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. A data delivery system for delivering data transmitted from a source terminal to a destination terminal, wherein the first data is connected to the source terminal via a first access network. Including a home delivery server, a second data home delivery server connected to the first data home delivery server via a communication network, and connected to the destination terminal via a second access network. Characterized data delivery system. 2. The transmission destination terminal, in response to data reception, when the reception data is normal, notifies the transmission source terminal of the completion of reception. Data delivery system described. 3. The server according to claim 1, wherein the second data delivery server transmits the received data to the destination terminal at a specified time specified by a user on the destination terminal. Or the data delivery system according to 2. 4. The second data delivery server calculates a time required for transmitting the received data based on a size of the received data and a data transfer capability of the second access network, 3. The received data is transmitted to the destination terminal so that transmission of the received data is completed at a specified time specified by a user on the destination terminal. Data delivery system. 5. In response to the data reception, the second data delivery server notifies the destination terminal that the data has been received, and the destination terminal responds to the notification. 5. The data delivery system according to claim 3, wherein the user can designate the designated time. 6. The data delivery system according to claim 1, wherein the transmission source terminal encrypts and transmits the data. 7. The data delivery system according to claim 1, wherein the communication network is the Internet. 8. A data delivery method in a data delivery system for delivering data transmitted from a transmission source terminal to a transmission destination terminal, wherein a data delivery method is provided between the transmission source terminal and a first data delivery server. Transmitting and receiving the data via a first access network; transmitting and receiving the data via a communication network between the first data home delivery server and the second data home delivery server; Transmitting and receiving the data between a second data delivery server and the destination terminal via a second access network. 9. The method according to claim 9, further comprising the step of, in response to the data reception, notifying the transmission source terminal of the completion of the reception in response to the data reception at the transmission destination terminal. The data delivery method according to claim 8. 10. The second data delivery server, further comprising the step of transmitting the received data to the destination terminal at a specified time specified by a user on the destination terminal. The data delivery method according to claim 8. 11. The second data home delivery server calculates a time required for transmitting the received data based on a size of the received data and a data transfer capability of the second access network, 9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising the step of transmitting the received data to the destination terminal so that the transmission of the received data is completed at a designated time designated by a user on the destination terminal.
Or the data delivery method described in 9. 12. The method according to claim 12, wherein, in response to the data reception, the second data home delivery server notifies the destination terminal of the fact that the data has been received. 12. The data delivery method according to claim 10, further comprising a step of allowing the user to specify the specified time in response to the notification. 13. The data delivery method according to claim 8, further comprising a step of encrypting and transmitting the data at the transmission source terminal. 14. The data delivery method according to claim 8, wherein the communication network is the Internet.