JP2002373136A - System for transferring file - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a file transferring system capable of improving convenience related with file transfer. SOLUTION: A file provider side transmits a file to be distributed to a file distributing server 20, and transmits the designated destination information of the transfer destination of the file. The file distributing server 20 holds the received file to be distributed by converting the format of the file according to the information of a file format set so as to be associated with the designated destination information. A reception substituting server 31 at a receiver side receives the announcement of the URL of the file from the file distributing server 20, and receives the file to be distributed by performing access to the URL.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a file transfer system for transferring a file via a network.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, as information communication using a network has become widespread, a document file relating to a business request has been widely exchanged via the network. Conventionally, in such a file transfer, a dedicated server for temporarily storing files is provided on a network, a transmitting computer transmits a document to the dedicated server, the dedicated server stores the document, and the receiving side A document delivery device that downloads from a dedicated server using a receiving client application is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-272594, “Method and Apparatus for Document Delivery on Electronic Network”.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional document delivery apparatus, for example, when a document is compressed and transferred, the compression processing is performed on the transmission side so that the original document can be extracted on the receiver side. And the convenience of the transmitting side is low. In addition, the receiving side must explicitly download the document using the receiving client application, and there is a problem in the operability of the receiving side. Further, since no consideration is given to transmitting the outline contents of the document to be transferred to the receiving side before downloading, the receiving side cannot judge whether the download is necessary or not, and whether the document should be downloaded immediately.

[0004] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a file transfer system that can improve the convenience related to file transfer between both the transmitting and receiving parties.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, the present invention transfers a file from a provider device to a recipient device via a file distribution server provided on a network. In the file transfer system, the provider device specifies a recipient of the file to be transferred, uploads the file to be transferred to the file distribution server, and the file distribution server Attribute database that associates information on the file format to be distributed to the recipient for each recipient, and the file to be transferred should be distributed to the designated recipient by referring to the attribute database. A means for converting to a file format, a means for notifying a designated recipient that a file has been uploaded, and It includes a means for distributing the files to the receiving side apparatus, wherein the receiving side apparatus receives the notification from the file delivery server, and wherein downloading the converted file. In this way, the file distribution server provided between the provider side and the recipient side for transfer converts the file format,
The convenience on the transmission side can be improved.

Further, when the file distribution server detects that the recipient-side device has downloaded the file to be transferred, the file distribution server informs at least one of the provider of the file that uploaded the file and the recipient who downloaded the file. It is also preferable to carry out the billing process.

Further, the present invention for solving the problems of the above conventional example is provided when a file is transferred from a provider device to a receiver device via a network, the file is provided on the network and the transfer target is provided. In the file distribution server that mediates the files that have become, each recipient has an attribute database that associates information on the file format to be distributed to the recipient, Means for receiving the upload of the file including the designation of the recipient, and means for referring to the attribute database and converting the file to be transferred into a file format to be delivered to the designated recipient , Means to notify the designated recipient that the file has been uploaded, and,
Means for distributing the file to the recipient-side device. Here, when it is detected that the recipient has downloaded the file to be transferred, it is also preferable to perform a billing process on at least one of the provider of the file that uploaded the file and the recipient who downloaded the file.

Further, the present invention for solving the problem of the conventional example is a file receiving apparatus for receiving a file to be transferred via a file distribution server provided on a network, Means for referencing the attribute information of each transfer target file in order to receive at least one transfer target file held in the file distribution server together with predetermined attribute information, and according to a result of the reference Means for downloading each transfer target file in the order of reception priority according to a reception priority predetermined in advance.

Further, the present invention for solving the problem of the above-mentioned conventional example, receives a file to be transferred,
A proxy receiving device that obtains a file to be transferred from a file distribution server provided on a network in place of at least one recipient, wherein the proxy server is held together with predetermined attribute information in the file distribution server. Means for referring to the attribute information of at least one file to be transferred, and according to a result of the reference,
Means for downloading each transfer target file in order of reception priority according to a predetermined reception priority. Here, if the file distribution server is on the Internet and the proxy receiving device is on the recipient's network, the file once imported to the proxy receiving device will be sent to the firewall from the recipient's network. It is preferable to be able to access by an arbitrary protocol without going through.

Further, the present invention for solving the problems of the above-mentioned conventional example is provided when a file is transferred from a provider device to a receiver device via a network, the file is provided on the network and the transfer target is provided. This is a file distribution method that mediates files that have been transferred to a file distribution server using an attribute database that associates file format information to be distributed to the recipient for each recipient. Receiving the upload of the file including the designation of a recipient, and referring to the attribute database, converting the file to be transferred into a file format to be delivered to the designated recipient The process, notifying the designated recipient that the file has been uploaded, and transmitting the file to the recipient device in accordance with the instruction. Is characterized by comprising the step of delivering the Le, the. Here, when it is detected that the recipient has downloaded the file to be transferred, it is also preferable to perform a billing process to at least one of the provider of the file that uploaded the file and the recipient who downloaded the file.

Further, according to the present invention for solving the problems of the above conventional example, a file is transferred from a provider device to a receiver device via a network. A program that is executed by a file distribution server that mediates the file,
For each recipient, using an attribute database that associates information on the file format to be distributed to the recipient, uploading the file including the designation of the recipient, which has been transferred to the file distribution server, Receiving, and referring to the attribute database, converting the file to be transferred to a file format to be delivered to the designated recipient; and sending the file to the designated recipient. It is characterized by including a step of notifying that the file has been uploaded, and a step of delivering the file to the recipient-side device in accordance with the instruction.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, a file transfer system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a network 1 on the provider side of a file to be transferred, the Internet 2, and a network 1 on the file provider side via the Internet 2. And a network 3 on the file receiving side connected to the network. A file provider side device 11 and a transmission proxy server 12 are connected to the network 1 on the file providing side.
Is connected to the Internet 2 via a gateway. A reception proxy server 31, a mail server 32, and a file receiver device 33 are connected to the file receiving side network 3. Also, this network 3
Is connected to the Internet 2 via a gateway.

Further, a file distribution server 20 and a public key server 40 are connected to the Internet 2. In the public key server 40, information for identifying a recipient (or a recipient group) and a public encryption key are registered in association with each other. In addition, a gateway provided between the networks 1 and 3 and the Internet 2 also operates as a firewall, and the SMTP (Simple Mail Trunk).
ansfer Protocol) and HTTP (HyperText Transfer)
Protocol).

Here, the overall configuration is such that more servers and the like are connected to each network and the Internet, but these are omitted here for the sake of explanation.

The file provider device 11 is an ordinary personal computer, and is a program (Web) for accessing various servers on the Internet 2.
Browser, etc.) is installed. The transmission proxy server 12 receives an input of a file to be transferred and information of a transfer destination of the file (destination information) from the file provider device 11, and receives the file to be transferred via the Internet 2. Is uploaded to the file distribution server 20, and the destination information of the file is transmitted to the file distribution server 20.

As shown in FIG. 2, the file distribution server 20 includes a file storage database 21, a profile database 22, and a control unit 23. The file storage database 21 stores a file received as a transfer target and destination information of the file in association with each other in accordance with an instruction input from the control unit 23. As shown in FIG. 3, the profile database 22 includes a profile identifier, destination information, a mail address of a partner (recipient) to be notified that the transfer target file is kept, and a file that can be handled by the partner. It is stored as profile data in association with format information. Here, the file format information includes a file encryption method, a file compression method, and the like. What is characteristic in the present embodiment is that a plurality of communication partners to be associated with the destination information can be set. That is, the destination information can be handled as a group name as well as the individual name of the recipient. And a particular recipient may belong to more than one group. The profile database 22 corresponds to the attribute database of the present invention, and each piece of information included in the profile data corresponds to attribute information.

The file data can be registered in the file distribution server 20 by the file provider, and the contents of the profile database 22 are transmitted from the file provider device 11 to the HTTP (HyperText Transcript).
It is preferable to be able to access by a protocol such as sfer protocol). Thereby, for example, when setting the destination information of the file to be transferred, the file provider can refer to the profile data registered in advance to make the setting, thereby improving the convenience for the provider. Can contribute to. Also, in this case, in consideration of a case where a plurality of different file providers set the same destination information, the information (for example, the mail address) of the file provider who registered the profile data is related to the profile data. It is preferable to keep it. That is, file provider A and file provider B
When setting destination information (such as "project 1") consisting of the same character string, which profile data should be used is determined from the information specifying the file provider.

The control unit 23 receives the upload of the file from the transmission proxy server 12 and receives the destination information of the file, and uses the received destination information (hereinafter referred to as “designated destination information”) as a key to store the profile database 22. Is searched, and the information of the file format associated with the destination information is referred to. Then, the uploaded file is converted according to the format information, and the converted file is stored in the file storage database 21 in association with the designated destination information. Here, the file format includes the encryption method as described above. In this case, a public encryption key associated with the designated destination information is obtained from the public key server 40, and the file is encrypted with the public encryption key. I do.

The control unit 23 searches the profile database 22 using the designated destination information as a key, obtains the mail address of the recipient to be notified, and stores the converted mail file in the mail address. The reference information (URL) indicating the location and the designated destination information of the file are distributed by e-mail.

The control unit 23 also operates as a Web server, and upon receiving designation of a URL of a file stored in the file storage database 21 and a download instruction, distributes the file in accordance with the instruction.

The receiving proxy server 31 sends the destination information
There is provided a priority database in which the priorities at the time of acquiring the file transferred by the destination information are stored in association with each other. Here, the priority database is preferably settable by the recipient. Further, the reception proxy server 31 monitors the mail server 32, and when e-mail arrives from the file distribution server 20 to the mail server 32, starts a file reception preparation process. That is, the reception proxy server 31 obtains the e-mail from the mail server 32, extracts the URL described in the body of the e-mail and the designated destination information, and uses the extracted designated destination information as a key to store the priority database. The information on the priority when the file is obtained from the searched and extracted URL is obtained. Then, the extracted URL and the priority information are added to the acquisition queue.

Further, the reception proxy server 31 receives the transfer target file (converted file) from the file distribution server 20 according to the contents of the acquisition queue. Specifically, the reception process refers to the URL that has the highest priority from the acquisition queue and is added first to the acquisition queue, accesses the URL, and stores the file in, for example, HTTP or the like. It is received by a protocol and stored in a hard disk device (not shown). Also, here, the priority has been described as being related to the order of file reception. However, as an alternative to specifying whether to receive a file immediately or later (for example, during a time period when the number of users of the network 3 is small). May be used. For example, priority "1"-
“3” is acquired immediately according to its priority, while priority “4” is further acquired as priority “5” as acquired later.
Is set not to be acquired.

The file receiver device 33 accesses the reception proxy server 31 according to the operation of the user, and obtains a file to be distributed stored in the hard disk device. Note that, between the reception proxy server 31 and the file receiver device 33, NetBEUI (NetBIOS Extended User I
file transfer using a simple protocol such as nterface). When the obtained file is encrypted, the user decrypts the secret decryption key (the public encryption key associated with the designated destination information) stored in the disk of the file receiver device 33. The key is used to decrypt the obtained file, and when the file is compressed, the original file is similarly extracted using a decompression program stored in the disk to browse the contents.

Next, the operation of the file transfer system according to this embodiment will be described. For example, in order to transfer the file to be transferred to all the members belonging to a predetermined group, the file provider needs to previously transmit the mail address of the member, a public encryption method commonly used by the member, and a compression method. The format is registered in the profile database 22 of the file distribution server 20 by attaching a group name as destination information.

At the time of actual transfer, the file to be transferred is transmitted to the transmission proxy server 12. This transmission is performed within the network 1, and specifically, NetBEUI
This is performed by using a file sharing service using such as.
Also, by selecting desired destination information from profile data registered in advance in the profile database 22,
The selected destination information is transmitted to the transmission proxy server 12.

The transmission proxy server 12 obtains the transfer target file and its destination information and, for example,
The file to be transferred and its destination information are transmitted to the file distribution server 20 using a protocol (ie, e-mail) using a mail transfer protocol. At this time, provide the e-mail address of the sender of the e-mail (here, at least one of the return e-mail addresses that can be specified in ReplyTo as well as the general e-mail address column (From)) of the file. Person's email address.

The control unit 23 of the file distribution server 20
The transfer target file and its destination information (designated destination information) are extracted from the electronic mail. That is, the upload is performed by the e-mail. Then, the file distribution server 20 searches the profile database 22 for the corresponding profile data by using the designated destination information and the file provider (that is, the sender mail address of the electronic mail) as keys.

Then, referring to the profile data obtained as a result of the search, information for specifying the encryption method and the file compression method is obtained, and the public encryption key associated with the designated destination information is obtained from the public key server 40. I do.
Then, the file to be distributed is compressed by the specified file compression method, and is further encrypted by the specified encryption method using the acquired public encryption key to generate a converted file.

The controller 23 converts the converted file into:
Registered in the file storage database 21 in association with the designated destination information, the mail address of the notification destination is acquired from the profile data obtained as a result of the search, and the mail address in the file storage database 21 as shown in FIG. An e-mail including the URL for extracting the converted file and the designated destination information is transmitted to the e-mail address.

This e-mail arrives at the mail server 32 in the network 3 of the recipient, and the mail server 3
2 is stored. The reception proxy server 31 checks the e-mail stored in the mail server 32, for example, periodically, and checks whether the e-mail from the file distribution server 20 has arrived. Then, if an electronic mail from the file distribution server 20 has arrived, the URL and the designated destination information are extracted from the electronic mail.

The reception proxy server 31 refers to the priority database, acquires the priority associated with the designated destination information, and obtains the priority and the U extracted from the electronic mail.
The RL is added to the acquisition queue in association with the RL. Then, from the URLs included in the acquisition queue, the files to be transferred are acquired from the file distribution server 20 in the order of their priorities and accumulated. The recipient of the file
By operating the file receiver device 33, the reception proxy server 3
The file to be transferred stored in No. 1 is extracted.

In the above description, the file provider has always transmitted the file via the transmission proxy server 12, but the file provider apparatus 11 directly transmits the file to be transferred to the file distribution server 20. May be uploaded.

[Accounting] In one embodiment of the present invention, when the administrator of the file distribution server 20 deposits the file to be transferred from the file provider, or when the recipient of the file downloads the file to be transferred, At the time of acquisition, at least one of the file provider and the file receiver is charged.

As a first example of the charging process, when a file to be transferred is received from the file provider, a process for charging the file provider as a file deposit fee is performed.

In the second example of the billing process, a file received from a file provider is stored, and when the receiver receives this file, a charge is charged to the receiver as a file retrieval fee. . According to the second example, the designated destination information is set as “program registration user”, and the file is registered in the file distribution server 20 as an upgraded version of the program. When the registered user who wishes to upgrade the version receives this file, the manager of the file distribution server 20 collects the fee as the retrieval fee. At this time, if a part of the collected fee is transferred to the file provider,
Upgraded software can be distributed in a simple manner.

In a third example of the accounting process, a file received from the file provider is stored, and when the receiver receives this file, a fee is charged to the file provider as a file distribution fee. In this third example,
Further, when a plurality of recipients are set in association with the designated destination information, a fee may be charged only when all of the plurality of recipients have acquired the file. In this case, whether or not all have been obtained is determined by, for example, inquiring the recipient's e-mail address when receiving the file, and comparing the response result to the e-mail of the notification destination associated with the designated destination information. can do.

[Utilization of Priority on Transmission Side] In the description so far, the reception proxy server 31 has a priority database in which the designated destination information is associated with the priority for acquisition. Although the file acquisition conditions (priority acquisition, etc.) have been determined, the transmission proxy server 12 also sets a priority database in which destination information and transmission priority are associated, and refers to this. It is also preferable that the upload to the file distribution server 20 is performed in the order of the transmission priority related to the designated destination information.

[Expiration Date] Further, the above profile information further includes information on the expiration date, and is set in the profile information searched using the designated destination information as a key when the file distribution server 20 receives the upload. It is also preferable to acquire the information of the expiration date, and delete the file stored in the file storage database 21 when the expiration date has arrived.

[0039]

According to the present invention, there is provided a file transfer system for transferring a file from a provider device to a receiver device via a file distribution server provided on a network, wherein the provider device is Specify the recipient of the file to be transferred, upload the file to be transferred to the file distribution server, and the file format that the file distribution server should distribute to the recipient for each recipient The file to be transferred is converted to the file format to be delivered to the specified recipient by referring to the attribute database that associates the information of the specified file, and the file is uploaded to the specified recipient. The file transfer system downloads the converted file after receiving the notification from the file distribution server. Because it is a no, conversion to a file format that matches the recipient side is performed on a file-by-file distribution server side, it is possible to improve the convenience for the file transfer.

According to the present invention, in order to acquire a file to be transferred from a file distribution server provided on a network in place of at least one recipient who receives the file to be transferred. , At least one transfer target file held together with predetermined attribute information in the file distribution server,
Refers to the attribute information, and according to the result of the reference, according to a predetermined receiving priority, the proxy receiving device downloads each transfer target file in the order of the receiving priority. To download the file, and receive the file at a preferable time, thereby improving the convenience.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration block diagram of a file transfer system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration block diagram of a file distribution server.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of the contents of a profile database.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of an electronic mail transmitted from a file distribution server.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 3 network, 2 Internet, 11 file provider side device, 12 transmission agent server, 20 file distribution server, 21 file storage database,
22 profile database, 23 control unit, 31
Receive agent server, 32 mail server, 33 file receiver device, 40 public key server.

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A file transfer system for transferring a file from a provider device to a recipient device via a file distribution server provided on a network, wherein the provider device includes a file to be transferred. And uploading the file to be transferred to the file distribution server, and the file distribution server associates, for each recipient, information on a file format to be distributed to the recipient. An attribute database, means for referring to the attribute database, converting the file to be transferred into a file format to be delivered to a designated recipient, and transmitting the file to the designated recipient. Means for notifying that the file has been uploaded, and means for distributing the file to the recipient-side device in accordance with the instruction, Ryo side apparatus, the file transfer system, characterized in that upon receiving a notification from the file delivery server, downloading the converted file. 2. The file transfer system according to claim 1, wherein the file distribution server, when detecting that the recipient-side device has downloaded the file to be transferred, downloads the file that has been uploaded. Alternatively, a file transfer system for performing billing processing on at least one of the downloaded recipients. 3. When a file is transferred from a provider device to a recipient device via a network, a file distribution server provided on the network and mediating the file to be transferred is provided for each recipient. Means for providing an attribute database in which file format information to be distributed to the recipient is associated, and receiving uploading of the file including the designation of the recipient, which has been transferred to the file distribution server. Means for referring to the attribute database to convert the file to be transferred to a file format to be delivered to the designated recipient; and uploading the file to the designated recipient Means for notifying that the file has been transmitted, and means for distributing the file to the recipient device in response to the instruction. Airu distribution server. 4. The file distribution server according to claim 3, wherein when the recipient detects that the transfer target file has been downloaded, at least one of the provider of the file that uploaded the file or the recipient who downloaded the file is sent to the server. A file distribution server for performing a billing process for the file. 5. A file receiving apparatus for receiving a file to be transferred via a file distribution server provided on a network, wherein the file receiving apparatus is held in the file distribution server together with predetermined attribute information. Means for referring to the attribute information of each file to be transferred in order to receive at least one file to be transferred, and according to the reception priority predetermined according to the result of the reference, each file to be transferred is Means for downloading files in order of priority of reception, and a file receiving apparatus. 6. Receiving a file to be transferred,
A proxy receiving device that obtains a file to be transferred from a file distribution server provided on a network in place of at least one recipient, wherein the proxy server is held together with predetermined attribute information in the file distribution server. Means for referring to the attribute information for at least one file to be transferred, and means for downloading each file to be transferred in order of reception priority according to a result of the reference and according to a predetermined reception priority. And a substitute receiving device comprising: 7. A file distribution method provided on the network when a file is transferred from a provider device to a receiver device via a network and mediating a file to be transferred. Using an attribute database that associates file format information to be distributed to the recipient for each recipient, and accepts the upload of the file that includes the designation of the recipient and that is to be transferred to the file distribution server Converting the file to be transferred to a file format to be delivered to the designated recipient by referring to the attribute database; and uploading the file to the designated recipient. A step of notifying that the file has been transmitted, and a step of distributing the file to the recipient-side device in accordance with the instruction. Yl delivery method. 8. When the file distribution server according to claim 7 detects that the recipient has downloaded the file to be transferred, the file distribution server notifies the file upload server of the file or at least one of the downloaded recipients. A file delivery method characterized by performing a billing process for the file. 9. In order to transfer a file from a provider device to a recipient device via a network, a file distribution server provided on the network and mediating the file to be transferred is provided for each recipient. Receiving an upload of the file containing the designation of the recipient, which is to be transferred to the file distribution server, using an attribute database in which file format information to be distributed to the recipient is associated; Referring to the attribute database, converting the file to be transferred to a file format to be delivered to the designated recipient; and uploading the file to the designated recipient And transmitting a file to the recipient device in response to the instruction. File distribution program. 10. The file delivery program according to claim 9, wherein upon detecting that the recipient has downloaded the file to be transferred, at least one of the provider of the file that uploaded the file and the recipient who downloaded the file. A file delivery program for causing the user to further execute a step of performing a billing process on the file.