Human information management system

Abstract

To realize a human information management system capable of improving reliability of various kinds of human information while increasing a volume of human information that can be used in the system.SOLUTION: A human information management system according to the present invention includes: input information recording means which records, as input information, human information input by a user by using a user terminal; information reliability evaluation means which evaluates reliability of the input information for each information unit, and derives a reliability index associated with the corresponding information unit; and browsing information disclosing means which discloses, to the user, browsing disclosure information formed on the basis of the input information or integrated information generated by integrating a plurality of pieces of the input information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a human information management system.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, an information browsing system has been proposed that stores personal information such as family tree information and messages, as well as other various types of human information, and is configured to transmit the above human information to descendants and other related parties. The following Patent Documents 1-5 are all systems that store various types of human information mainly consisting of the above personal information and manage it so that it can be viewed by others.

[0003] In each of the above systems, personal information is received from a user, and some processing is applied to it so that it can be viewed by other users. However, when actually operating the system, it is necessary to consider the disclosure range of human information and the protection of personal information, and there is a problem of how to manage the above various types of human information. To address these issues, in the following Patent Document 6 and Patent Document 7, the user sets the disclosure target person, and in addition to this, sets the disclosure range of human information, and discloses information according to these settings.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Patent Document 3

Patent Document 4

Patent Document 5

Patent Document 6

Patent Document 7

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] By the way, in each of the above systems, in managing various personal information obtained from users, it is important to ensure the confidentiality of personal information and to perform identity verification in order to ensure the reliability of personal information. However, when trying to enhance the reliability of personal information, the amount of information obtained and the amount of information that can be disclosed decrease, and there is a problem that the attractiveness as a browsing system for various personal information is lost. When trying to ensure the amount of personal information, misinformation is often disclosed, etc., and it becomes difficult to guarantee the quality of personal information. As a result, there is a problem that the reliability of the entire system may be lost.

[0006] Therefore, the present invention solves the above problems, and the object is to realize a personal information management system capable of improving the reliability of various personal information while increasing the amount of personal information that can be used in the system.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, the personal information management system according to the present invention includes input information recording means for recording personal information input by a user as input information, information reliability evaluation means for evaluating the reliability of the input information for each information unit and deriving a reliability index associated with the corresponding information unit, and browsing information disclosure means for disclosing browsing disclosure information formed from the input information or integrated information generated by integrating a plurality of the input information to the user.

[0008] According to the present invention, personal information input by a user is recorded as input information by input information recording means, and the reliability of the input information is evaluated for each information unit by information reliability evaluation means to derive a reliability index. Thus, since the input information and integrated information can be managed based on the reliability index derived for each information unit of the input information, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of problems due to false information without preventing the expansion of the provided personal information. Here, personal information widely includes various types of information including information about the user himself / herself (personal information), information about other people (information about others), and relationships between people (interpersonal relationship information).

[0009] In the present invention, it is preferable that the information reliability evaluation means sets the height of the reliability index according to the degree of consistency of the corresponding information unit of the input information with other information units and the degree of consistency with existing personal information. In this case, when a part of the input information does not match the existing personal information, it is desirable that the information reliability evaluation means decreases the reliability index of the part, and when the part matches the existing personal information, it is desirable that the information reliability evaluation means increases the reliability index of the part. Also, it is preferable that the height of the reliability index is set according to the presence or absence of certificates certified by a third party for the corresponding information unit. Here, certificates by a third party include, for example, a certificate of all household register matters (household register transcript), a certificate of registered matters, a DNA typing certificate, and the like. It is desirable that the information reliability evaluation means increases the reliability index of a part when the part of the input information is certified by certificates submitted by a third party.

[0010] In the present invention, it is preferable that the browsing information disclosure means forms the browsing disclosure information with the reliability index added based on the input information or the integrated information. According to this, since the browsing disclosure information is formed with the reliability index added, it is possible to view information units while looking at the reliability index, thus reducing the influence of false information on the viewer.

[0011] In the present invention, it is preferable that the browsing information disclosure means forms the browsing disclosure information by selecting or limiting the input information or the integrated information for each information unit according to the level of the reliability index. According to this, since the browsing disclosure information is formed by selecting or limiting the input information or the integrated information for each information unit according to the level of the reliability index, the reliability of the browsing disclosure information is improved as a whole, so that a decrease in the reliability of the system can be prevented.

[0012] In the present invention, it is preferable to further include integrated information generation means for generating the integrated information from a plurality of the input information. Here, when a part of the input information matches the existing personal information and there is non-common information in the remaining part that has no corresponding data part, it is desirable that the integrated information is generated in a manner that includes the non-common information in addition to the part. Also, in the integrated information, when a part of the input information does not match the existing personal information, it is preferable that the part and the corresponding part of the existing personal information coexist.

[0013] In this case, it is preferable that the integrated information is generated by selecting or limiting the input information for each information unit according to the level of the reliability index and then integrating them. According to this, the integrated information is generated by selecting or limiting the input information of a plurality of users for each information unit according to the level of the above reliability index and then integrating them, and the integrated information is generated in a manner that the reliability of the personal information input by the users is improved as a whole. Thus, a wide range of personal information can be integrated while avoiding a decrease in reliability, so that it is possible to achieve both the expansion of the provided personal information and the reduction of misinformation. Here, in the integrated information, when a part of the input information does not match the existing personal information, the reliability index of the part and the reliability index of the corresponding part of the existing personal information are compared. When the difference in the level of the reliability index is equal to or greater than the threshold value, only the one with the higher reliability index remains, and when the difference is less than the threshold value, it is desirable that the part and the corresponding part coexist.

[0014] Note that it is desirable that the integrated information be generated with the reliability index added for each information unit. According to this, since the integrated information is generated with the reliability index added, the information unit can be grasped while looking at the reliability index, so that the influence of misinformation in the integrated information can be reduced.

[0015] In the present invention, as the reliability index, the information reliability evaluation means defines a plurality of information reliability ranks ranging from high to low reliability, and preferably sets one of the intermediate ranks excluding the highest rank and the lowest rank among the plurality of information reliability ranks as the initial value of the information reliability rank. For example, when seven information reliability ranks are A, B, C, D, E, F, and G as in the embodiment described later, it is preferable to set any of the intermediate ranks of B - F as the initial value, and particularly, it is desirable to set the central rank such as D as the initial value.

[0016] In the present invention, it is desirable that the browsing information disclosure means restricts the disclosure range of the input information according to the operation by the user. Further, it is desirable that the disclosure range includes the range of viewers to be disclosed, the range of information to be disclosed, and the time range of the disclosure period. Furthermore, when a part of the input information by a plurality of users matches each other, it is desirable that the partial disclosure range be determined by adjusting according to the relationship of the setting of the disclosure range for each user.

[0017] In the present invention, the long - term data management unit further includes a plurality of recording units for recording the input information or the integrated information, which is composed of a plurality of different types of storage media, and includes at least a first recording unit more suitable for recording changes than others and a second recording unit more suitable for long - term storage than others. The long - term data management unit preferably records the recording data of the information unit with a low reliability index in the first recording unit and records the recording data of the information unit with a high reliability index in the second recording unit.

Advantages of the Invention

[0018] According to the present invention, it is possible to realize a personal information management system that can improve the reliability of various types of personal information while increasing the amount of personal information that can be used in the system.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0019]

Figure 1

Figure 2

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Figure 8

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Figure 10

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Figure 13

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0020] Next, embodiments of the human information management system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, with reference to FIG. 1, the overall configuration of the embodiment of the human information management system according to the present invention will be described.

[0021] FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram for explaining the overall configuration of the human information management system 10. This system 10 includes a WEB server 11 that is connected to a network and executes input / output data exchange with a user terminal, an AP (application) server 12 that is connected to the WEB server 11 and executes processing of the input / output data, and a DB (database) server 13 that exchanges record data with the AP server 12 and executes data storage and management. Since the WEB server 11 and the DB server 13 perform normal server operations, detailed descriptions thereof are omitted.

[0022] The AP server 12 executes processing of various data, such as data conversion, storage, update, deletion, setting, etc., according to various application programs. This AP server 12 includes an input information recording means 121, an information reliability evaluation means 122, an integrated information generation means 123, a browsing information disclosure means 124, and a disclosure range setting means 125.

[0023] The input information recording means 121 receives input information 1a, 2a, 3a consisting of personal information input from the user terminals 1-3, and records it in the recording unit (storage) 131 by the DB server 13 as at least a part of an input information group DB1 consisting of a bundle of input information for each user. The personal information in these input information 1a, 2a, 3a includes personal information that is the information of the user himself / herself, other information regarding others other than the user, first interpersonal relationship information indicating the relationship between the user and others, and second interpersonal relationship information indicating the relationship between others. Note that in the illustrated example, three user terminals are shown, but this is for illustration purposes only, and there is no particular limit on the number of users, and the number of simultaneously connected terminals also depends on the system settings. In the following description, it is assumed that any one of the user terminals is connected at an arbitrary point in time for explanation.

[0024] The information reliability evaluation means 122 evaluates the reliability of the input information 1a, 2a, 3a obtained from the input information group DB1 and the input information recording means 121. This evaluation of information reliability is performed by evaluating the reliability of the input information 1a, 2a, 3a for each information unit and deriving a reliability index. In the present embodiment, as the reliability index, a plurality of information reliability ranks indicating the level of information reliability are defined, and any one of these information reliability ranks is assigned to each information unit. These information reliability ranks will be described later. The reliability index is assigned to each information unit of the input information 1a, 2a, 3a, and is recorded in the recording unit 131 by the DB server 13 as at least a part of a reliability index group DB2. Note that the reliability index is associated (linked) with the corresponding information unit of the input information by a management number or the like. Further, it is preferable that this reliability index is also associated (linked) with the corresponding information unit of the integrated information described later. In the information reliability evaluation means 122 of the present embodiment, the reliability index is derived for each information unit of the input information. However, the process of deriving the reliability index for each information unit of the existing input information that has already been saved may be delayed and executed, or the process of deriving the reliability index for each information unit of the integrated information described later may be executed.

[0025] The integrated information generation means 123 generates an integrated information group DB3 by integrating the input information 1a, 2a, 3a obtained from the input information group DB1 or the input information recording means 121 and the reliability indicators obtained from the reliability indicator group DB2 or the information reliability evaluation means 122, and records this integrated information group DB3 in the recording unit 131 by the DB server 13. The integrated information group DB3 is not individual personal information such as the input information 1a, 2a, 3a for each user, but is composed of general personal information shared by the system, which is preferably separated from the user and obtained as a result of integrating the input information obtained from a plurality of users. This integrated information group DB3 is generated by an integration process that integrates the input information 1a, 2a, 3a according to unified rules. The integration process will be described later. The integrated information group DB3 is a bundle of integrated information that is integrally related to each other. Ideally, as a result, the whole is integrated information that is integrally related. However, usually, it is in a mode where a plurality of groups of integrated information that are not related to each other (the relevance, that is, the information link is disconnected) coexist.

[0026] The browsing information disclosure means 124 generates browsing disclosure information based on the personal information obtained from the input information group DB1 or the input information 1a, 2a, 3a, or the integrated information group DB3 or individual integrated information described above, the reliability indicators obtained from the reliability indicator group DB2 or the information reliability evaluation means 122 described above, and the individual disclosure range information obtained from the disclosure range information group DB5 or the disclosure range setting means 125 described later, and makes the browsing disclosure information described above viewable on the user terminals 1-3 via the WEB server 11. The information disclosure operation of this browsing information disclosure means 124 is executed based on the input operations 1b, 2b, 3b performed by each user via the user terminals 1-3. The browsing disclosure information disclosed corresponding to the input operations 1b, 2b, 3b is sent to the user terminals 1-3 by the output data 1c, 2c, 3c. Here, the browsing disclosure information described above is recorded in the recording unit 131 by the DB server 13 as at least a part of the browsing disclosure information group DB4.

[0027] The disclosure range setting means 125 sets the disclosure range for the input information 1a, 2a, 3a according to the input operations 1d, 2d, 3d by each user input on the user terminals 1-3. This disclosure range is set for each information unit of the input information. Although the details of this disclosure range will be described later, the range of viewers to be disclosed, the range of information to be disclosed content, and the time range of the disclosure period are set for each information unit. The setting information regarding these various disclosure ranges is recorded in the recording unit 131 by the DB server 13 as at least a part of the disclosure range information group DB5.

[0028] In this system 10, a BU (backup) server 14 may be provided as needed. The BU server 14 backs up the above-mentioned various information recorded in the recording unit 131 with the DB server 13. In the illustrated example, the BU server 14 preferably records backup data using a main recording medium (a certain type of storage) 141 and a secondary recording medium (another type of storage) 142. For example, a storage with a high processing speed is used for the main recording medium 141 for information with a high frequency of access, and a storage that is less likely to deteriorate even during long-term storage is used for the secondary recording medium 142 for information with a low frequency of access. Examples of the type of storage include flash memory, optical disk, magnetic disk, magnetic tape, etc. When configuring this BU server 14 as a long-term data management unit, the main recording medium 141 is used as the first recording unit, and the secondary recording medium 142 is used as the second recording unit. The data backed up to these first recording unit and second recording unit respectively records the ones with a low reliability index for each information unit described later in the first recording unit, and the ones with a high reliability index in the second recording unit, so that it can function instead of the long-term data management unit 15 described later.

[0029] Also, in this system 10, it is preferable to separately provide a long-term data management unit 15 apart from or instead of the BU server 14. As will be described later, in this system 10, information indicating human relationships such as family trees, communication diagrams, and other human relationship diagrams, which are human information input by users, as well as information related to ancestors such as messages, diaries, photos, and histories of the deceased are configured to be viewable by descendants. Therefore, it is necessary to store and manage the above various types of human information in the long term. For this reason, the long-term data management unit 15 is configured to be able to reliably store the information recorded in the aforementioned recording unit 131, main recording medium 141, and sub-recording medium 142 over a long period of time. In the illustrated example, it includes a primary recording unit 151, a secondary recording unit 152, and a tertiary recording unit 153. The primary recording unit 151 (corresponding to the first recording unit above) basically records all information, but among the information it records, information with high content reliability and low possibility of content change is also recorded in the secondary recording unit 152. Among the information recorded in the secondary recording unit 152, information with even higher content reliability and even lower possibility of content change, although difficult to rewrite, is recorded in the tertiary recording unit 153 (corresponding to the second recording unit above) that can ensure long-term storage. Such a hierarchical recording mode is not limited to three levels, and a two-level configuration may also be used, or even a configuration with four or more levels may be provided. In a higher-order recording unit (corresponding to the second recording unit) such as the tertiary recording unit 153, a recording means capable of withstanding long-term recording is used. Examples of such recording means include methods such as engraving on a hard material. For example, by using MEMS (microfabrication technology) such as laser engraving to write information on a hard material disk such as quartz, it is possible to retain information recording semi-permanently, unlike a magnetic recording medium where the recorded content is lost over time.

[0030] In the long-term data management unit 15, in the hierarchical recording unit structure such as the primary recording unit 151, the secondary recording unit 152, and the tertiary recording unit 153, among the information to be stored, the recording units with high reliability indicators of the above-mentioned information reliability are preferentially stored in the higher-order recording unit (the second recording unit). This is because the higher the information reliability, the lower the necessity of rewriting the information. In addition, not only the information units with high reliability indicators, but also information that is less likely to change or fluctuate in content in the future, such as when the user has already died, is preferentially stored in the higher-order recording unit (the second recording unit). By doing so, information with high reliability and less likely to change in the future can be efficiently and reliably stored for a long time, so that the increase in management costs can be suppressed and the system 10 can be maintained semi-permanently.

[0031] Next, with reference to FIG. 2, an example of the specific processing procedure of the above-mentioned information reliability evaluation means 122 will be described. In this example, first, the input information (1a, 2a, 3a) by the user is received and the reliability of the information is evaluated. An example of the input information is shown in FIG. 8. For each information unit that is the "specific example" in the right column belonging to the "classification" in the left column of "information type / item" among the input information shown in FIG. 8, a reliability indicator is set. In this specific example, as the reliability indicator, a plurality (specifically, seven) of information reliability ranks A-G indicating the high and low information reliability are defined. In the order of A, B, C, D, E, F, G, the earlier the alphabetical order, the higher the reliability, and the later the alphabetical order, the lower the reliability. The initial value (initial setting) of the information reliability rank is preferably the middle rank. In this embodiment, it is the rank "D" which is the middle rank and further in the center.

[0032] In FIG. 8, as the personal information among the input information, personal identification information, additional personal information, and personal certification information are shown. The personal identification information is information for identifying the user himself / herself, and examples include name, date of birth, and address. Also, the additional personal information includes telephone number, email address, occupation, workplace, etc. Furthermore, the personal certification information includes household registration certificates such as a certificate of all household registration matters (household register transcript) (in the case of a corporation, a certificate of registered matters), My Number information, DNA typing certificate, etc. Certificates issued by chambers of commerce and industry, countries, or local public entities are also included. As the first person-to-person relationship information among the input information, family relationship information, kinship information, acquaintance relationship information, etc. are included. These first person-to-person relationship information has as the main matters items indicating relationships such as the connection with the user himself / herself. However, in addition to the relationship with the user himself / herself, information about the person himself / herself in that relationship, for example, information such as date of birth, gender, occupation, address, etc. may be attached, or as a result of person-to-person relationship information such as the connection (for example, "niece"), information about other person information (for example, female) may be found. Also, there may be cases where second person-to-person relationship information indicating the relationship between one other person and another other person is included. Note that the input information is not limited to the above information, and various other information such as the user's photo, email content, message, diary content, other images, etc. may be included. Of course, regarding these various other information, other information as described above corresponding to family members and acquaintances other than the user himself / herself may be included.

[0033] In FIG. 8, an information reliability rank “D” is marked for the information units given by the above input information, and “-” is entered for the information units not input. Next, a basic reliability determination is performed on this input information. In this basic reliability determination, the mutual relationships of a plurality of information units (specific examples) in the input information 1a, 2a, 3a are examined, and it is determined whether there is a contradiction between the plurality of mutually related information units. If there is no contradiction between the mutually related information units, the information reliability ranks of those plurality of information units are upgraded to a higher rank, for example, “C”. If there is a contradiction between the mutually related information units, the information reliability ranks of those plurality of information units are downgraded to a lower rank, for example, “E”. For information units that are not mutually related to other information units, the initial value “D” is used as it is. Each information reliability determination process, including this basic reliability determination, may be executed in accordance with a specific determination program, or may be executed by a learned machine learning model (particularly, a deep learning model) that has learned the mutual relationships of the input information in advance. In the illustrated example, a single piece of information such as a name or an address is assumed as the information unit, but a plurality of information units may be combined in a form where a plurality of personal information such as parents further includes a relationship, or a form where gender and relationship are integrated such as a nephew, etc., and the information units may be in a form where a plurality of information is integrally or intentionally included. In any case, the above reliability index is derived for each information unit.

[0034] Next, FIG. 8 shows an example in which documents, for example, the household register documents of the person himself / herself, are supplemented. After this additional supplementation, a determination of the documents is carried out, and based on the result of the determination, an additional reliability determination is executed. The determination of the documents and the additional reliability determination may also be executed in accordance with a specific determination program, or may be executed by a pre-trained machine learning model (especially, a deep learning model) that has learned the interrelationships of the input information in advance. In FIG. 8, since the household register documents are submitted, the relationships with other information units change, so information such as name, date of birth, parents, children, etc. is ranked as the highest rank "A", and information such as the person's address, email address, photo, email content, message, etc. is also given the second information reliability rank "B". Note that the documents to be submitted may be included in the initial input information, or may be submitted at another opportunity, for example, after a certain period of time has passed. Furthermore, another set of documents may be submitted simultaneously or separately. The additional reliability determination based on the above-mentioned documents is executed after the submission in any case.

[0035] Thereafter, the input information 1a, 2a, and 3a is compared with existing personal information such as other input information that has already been recorded (personal information previously input by the current user, as well as personal information previously input by other users different from the current user) and integrated information that has already been generated (hereinafter referred to as existing information). Through the information consistency confirmation process, the consistency between the current new information and the existing information is confirmed. At this time, after confirming the presence or absence of overall consistency between the current new information and the existing information, a comprehensive reliability determination is performed according to the confirmation result. Here, when the existence of the current input information 1a, 2a, and 3a affects the information reliability of the existing information, the reliability index of the existing information is also changed. FIG. 8 shows the change in the information reliability rank, which is the reliability index for each information unit after this information consistency confirmation process. For example, in the illustrated example, as a result of confirming that the consistency of the person's address has been achieved through comparison with the existing information, the information reliability rank for the person's address is upgraded to "A", the information reliability rank for the person's siblings is upgraded to "B", and the information reliability rank for the person's photo is upgraded to "A". In the case where an information unit that is inconsistent with the existing information is confirmed in a part of the current new information, conversely, the information reliability ranks of both the new information and the existing information for the relevant information unit are downgraded.

[0036] The above information reliability determination process is executed at an appropriate timing by adding newly input personal information, additional submission of certificates, etc., regardless of whether it is in the form of basic reliability determination, additional reliability determination, or comprehensive reliability determination, and a reliability index for each information unit is derived. Note that the processing procedure shown in FIG. 2 is merely an example, and each of the above processes can be executed in an appropriate order different from the illustration as necessary.

[0037] Figure 3 is a schematic flowchart showing an example of a procedure for integrating the current new information, which is the input information 1a, 2a, and 3a, by the above-described integrated information generation means 123, with the existing information. The above input information 1a, 2a, and 3a is recorded in the recording unit 131 via the DB server in units of users who input the information by the input information recording means 121 of the AP server 12. On the other hand, there may be information that overlaps between the individual input information 1a, 2a, and 3a. In this case, integrated information can be configured by integrating a plurality of input information including the overlapping information as a series of information. The integration process first performs the same process as the above-described information consistency confirmation process in terms of comparing the input information with the existing information and confirming its consistency. This confirmation of consistency may use the result obtained by the above-described information consistency confirmation process shown in FIG. 2. Conversely, the result of the information consistency confirmation process performed in this integration process may be used instead of the above-described information consistency confirmation process in the procedure example shown in FIG. 2.

[0038] An example of the above integration process will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11 regarding family tree information. For example, the family tree 1 shown in FIG. 10 and the family tree 2 shown in FIG. 11 each include family tree information centered on the "self", who is the user who input the information. Here, the part indicated by the dotted line in the figure is the part where the description is omitted, and the broken line in the figure indicates that the person is dead at the current time. Note that the schematic flowchart shown in FIG. 3 assumes a case where the input information is integrated into a part of the existing information. Therefore, if the family tree 1 shown in FIG. 10 is the input information and the family tree 2 shown in FIG. 11 is a part of the existing information. At this time, the "step-sister" (shown in a double frame), who is the spouse (wife) of the younger brother of the user who input the family tree 1, is the self in the family tree 2. Therefore, the family tree 1 and the family tree 2 include information (common information) that overlaps with each other. On the other hand, in the family tree 1 and the family tree 2, there is some information (non-common information) that is not included in the other family tree, respectively. For example, in the family tree 1, the family tree part in the range surrounded by the one-dot chain line in the figure (there are two parts in FIG. 10) is information (non-common information) that does not exist in the family tree 2. Also, in the family tree 2, the family tree part in the range surrounded by the two-dot chain line in the figure (there are two parts in FIG. 11) is information (non-common information) that does not exist in the family tree 1.

[0039] In this example, since the common information other than the parts surrounded by the illustrated dashed-dotted line and double-dotted line is mutually consistent, after leaving this common information as it is, the range surrounded by the dashed-dotted line in FIG. 10 and the range surrounded by the double-dotted line in FIG. 11 are connected to the above common information as non-common information, thereby generating integrated information.

[0040] On the other hand, when assuming the case where the information of the "fourth nephew" marked with an "x" in FIG. 10 is missing in the family tree 1, since the family tree 1 with one "nephew" missing and the family tree 2 with the information of the "fourth child" marked with a corresponding "〇" do not match, there will be an information unit that is not consistent with a part of the above common information. At this time, except for the presence or absence of the "fourth nephew" and the "fourth child", in the same way as described above, non-common information, which is a part of the family tree that does not exist on the other side, is connected to the common information to generate integrated information, and regarding the "non-existence of the fourth nephew" for user 1 in family tree 1 and the "existence of the fourth child" for user 2 (the younger sister of user 1) in family tree 2, both pieces of information can be recorded.

[0041] On the one hand, regarding Family Tree 1 and Family Tree 2, if the information reliability has already been evaluated for each, the method of generating integrated information can also be changed depending on which information has higher reliability between Family Tree 1 and Family Tree 2. For example, regarding the "non-existence of the fourth nephew" in Family Tree 1, since there is no reliability index, when the information reliability rank of the reliability index of "other nephews" is set as X1, and the information reliability rank of the "existence of the fourth child" in Family Tree 2 is set as X2, if X1 and X2 are close and the difference in the rank numbers is small (for example, 2 or less), then, as described above, regarding the "non-existence of the fourth nephew" for User 1 in Family Tree 1 and the "existence of the fourth child" for User 2 (User 1's younger sister) in Family Tree 2, both pieces of information should be recorded (recorded together). On the other hand, when the rank of the higher reliability index is high (for example, when it is "A" or "B"), or when the difference in the rank numbers between the reliability indices of both pieces of information is large (for example, 3 or more), a method of reflecting the information with the higher reliability index in the integrated information can be adopted.

[0042] In this example, since the non-existence in Family Tree 1 is corresponded to the existence in Family Tree 2, the reliability index of "other nephews", which is considered equivalent to non-existence in the relationship with the person himself / herself in Family Tree 1, was used as the comparison target. However, when the existences in Family Tree 1 ("nephew") and Family Tree 2 ("child") have different attributes (for example, when the "nephew" in Family Tree 1 is male, but the "child" in Family Tree 2 is female (daughter), etc.), the reliability indices of both can be directly used as the comparison target and processed in the same way as above. Also, in the above example, the case where the existence or non-existence of a certain person does not match was explained. However, even when the personal relationship such as the relationship between the person himself / herself and a certain person is different (for example, although the names are the same, the relationship is different between "nephew" and "cousin"), the reliability index regarding the personal relationship can be considered in the same way as above.

[0043] In the case where there is a plurality of duplicate information, the above-described determination and the correction of reliable information are executed for each of the duplicate information, and the process is repeated until there is no more duplicate information. When the processing for all the duplicate information is completed, it is determined whether or not integrated processing is possible between the input information and the existing information, for example, whether or not the above-described common information exists, and whether or not the above-described non-common information exists. If the common information and the non-common information exist and integrated processing is possible, the generation process of the integrated information is executed as described above. When the above-described integrated processing is completed, and when there is no duplicate information and integrated processing is impossible, after correcting the disclosure range information regarding the input information and the existing information, information output is performed, and storage processing is performed by the DB server 13.

[0044] FIG. 4 is a schematic flowchart showing an example of the procedure of the setting process of the disclosure range of the input information by the above-described disclosure range setting means 125. This process starts from the fact that the disclosure range of the input information by the user is performed by the input operations 1d, 2d, 3d. The disclosure range setting means 125 prompts the user terminals 1-3 to perform a setting operation of the disclosure range of the input information via the WEB server 11. In response to this, when the input operations 1d, 2d, 3d are performed on the user terminals 1-3, the AP server 12 sets the disclosure range via the WEB server 11. Here, the disclosure range includes three types of ranges: the viewer range, the information range, and the time range. That is, specifically, in the disclosure range information included in the above-described disclosure range information group DB5, the viewer range condition as the disclosure target person, the information range condition as the disclosure information, and the time range condition as the disclosure time are respectively defined.

[0045] Figure 9 shows an example of setting the disclosure range for each information unit related to the family tree 1 which is the input information. Here, the classification and specific example content in the browsing information and items are the same as those shown in Figure 8. In this example, as the content of setting the disclosure range, six ranks of X, Y, Z, V, W, and Q are defined from the one with stricter disclosure conditions. Here, more specifically, for the viewer range, there are six ranks of X1, Y1, Z1, V1, W1, and Q1, for the information range, there are six ranks of X2, Y2, Z2, V2, W2, and Q2, and for the time range, there are six ranks of X3, Y3, Z3, V3, W3, and Q3. The setting examples for each rank are described at the lower part outside the column of the table shown in Figure 9. The initial setting example of the disclosure range in this system 10 is Z, which indicates that the viewer range is Z1, the information range is Z2, and the time range is Z3. Also, in setting the disclosure range, it is possible to make a certain degree of high reliability index of the above-mentioned reliability index a prerequisite for disclosure. That is, as the browsing disclosure information, if the reliability index for each information unit is not high, it will affect the reliability of the system 10 itself. Therefore, information units without a minimum reliability index are not included in the disclosure information. In the illustrated example, the date of birth, email address, household registration certificates, etc. of the person himself / herself are set as information units not to be disclosed unless the information reliability rank is "A" or higher, and the name, address, parents, children, etc. of the person himself / herself are set as information units not to be disclosed unless the information reliability rank is "B" or higher. Here, when setting a disclosure restriction on the information reliability rank, the system administrator may be able to select not to add the display of the reliability index for each information unit in the browsing disclosure information. Note that the above is only the initial setting of the system 10, and it is preferably made individually changeable by the user himself / herself. Figure 9 shows an example set by the user himself / herself for each of the disclosure range, that is, the viewer range, the information range, and the time range. Also, the setting of the information reliability rank may be made settable by the user himself / herself, or the initial setting value may be fixed, or only the administrator of the system 10 may be able to change it.

[0046] Next, returning to FIG. 4 again, the description will be continued. When the disclosure ranges of the input information 1a, 2a, and 3a are set as described above, a disclosure range consistency confirmation process for confirming the consistency with the disclosure range of the existing information is executed. In this process, it is confirmed whether there is an overlap between the input information and the existing information, and moreover, whether a disclosure range is set for each overlapping part (that is, the presence or absence of "duplicate setting"). As a result, when there is a duplicate setting, the information disclosure conditions are adjusted. For example, in the input information of the family tree 1, since the user himself / herself sets the disclosure range, that is, the viewer range, information range, and time range, for the part (the co-shared information) surrounded by the one-dot chain line included only in the family tree 1 among the input information, the disclosure range set by the user himself / herself is used. On the other hand, in the existing information of the family tree 2, since there is a disclosure range setting input by the user's stepsister, for the part (non-shared information) surrounded by the two-dot chain line included only in the family tree 2, the disclosure range set by the stepsister is used. However, for the shared information between the family tree 1 and the family tree 2, there is no problem if the disclosure range settings by the user himself / herself and the stepsister are the same, but if the disclosure range settings are different from each other, it is necessary to adjust the different setting contents of both.

[0047] As a method for adjusting this information disclosure condition, a method of unifying to the setting with stricter disclosure conditions among the two settings can be mentioned. For example, when the rank of the viewer range for the parents in the family tree 1 is "Z1" (public only to direct relatives), and when the rank of the viewer range for the "foster parents" in the family tree 2 is "Y1" (public only to relatives and acquaintances), the viewer range of the corresponding parents is set to "Z1". In addition, as other examples of this adjustment method, a method of setting in the middle of each rank of the disclosure range for the information unit with duplicate setting, a method of unifying to the setting value that gives priority to disclosure, etc. can be considered. In any method, when the above adjustment process is performed, the disclosure range information of the existing information is corrected.

[0048] After that, if there is no such adjustment process, the disclosure range input this time is directly added as the disclosure range information corresponding to the new input information. If there is such an adjustment process, the adjusted disclosure range, that is, the changed disclosure range, is added as the disclosure range information corresponding to the new input information. After that, these pieces of information are output and recorded in the recording unit 131 by the DB server 13. Note that the disclosure range information for each input information may be the same as the input setting of the disclosure conditions by the user, and for the integrated information obtained by the integration process, it may be set to the common disclosure range for each information unit of the adjusted result as described above. In any case, the disclosure range information for each information unit is saved in a state where it is associated with the corresponding information unit respectively.

[0049] Next, with reference to FIGS. 5-7, the reception function for the user terminals 1-3 via the WEB server 11 of the present system 10, and the user reception means that cooperates with the above input information recording means 121, information reliability evaluation means 122, integrated information generation means 123, browsing information disclosure means 124, and disclosure range setting means 125 will be described. This user reception means is composed of the above WEB server 11 and AP server 12.

[0050] FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a specific reception screen of the user reception means, and FIG. 6 is a schematic flowchart showing an example of the reception procedure of the user. When the user terminal 1-3 is connected to the WEB server 11 via the Internet, a reception selection screen 110A is displayed. On this reception selection screen 110A, the user is configured to be able to select a transition to the registration input screen 110B and a transition to the browsing display screen 110C. The registration input screen 110B is a display screen for the accessed user to input information about himself / herself and related persons. On this registration input screen 110B, the user first inputs personal identification information and performs a confirmation process to determine whether it is himself / herself. Then, the user inputs browsing information other than the personal identification information. These become the input information 1a, 2a, 3a described above. Finally, the user inputs disclosure range information indicating the disclosure range related to the input information already input. Note that instead of inputting the personal identification information, if there is account information such as an ID or password that has been registered in advance, this may be input.

[0051] On the other hand, the viewing display screen 110C is a display screen for a user who has accessed to view personal information related to the user himself / herself. On this viewing display screen 110C, the user first inputs personal identification information and performs a confirmation process to determine whether the user is the person himself / herself. After that, the user searches for viewing information, and one or more items of viewing disclosure information that the user can view are displayed according to the search result. When the user selects any item, the viewing disclosure information corresponding to the selected item is displayed. In addition, when input information is recorded after the confirmation of the identity of the user, it becomes possible to issue or register account information such as the user's ID and password as personal identification information. After that, the confirmation process of the identity of the user may be performed using the issued or registered account information such as the ID and password. Here, the display of the viewing disclosure information may be performed in a manner with a reliability index associated with each information unit as described above (additional display of the reliability index). By doing so, the viewer can know the degree of reliability of the information unit of the viewing disclosure information, so that it is possible to suppress the occurrence of problems caused by false information. Regarding this reliability index, it is desirable to configure the system so that the administrator side can set whether to add and display it for each information unit.

[0052] Figure 7 is a schematic flowchart showing an example of the procedure when viewing the viewing disclosure information by the viewing information disclosure means 124. As described above, first, the input process and confirmation process of personal identification information are executed. If the reliability of the identity confirmation is not sufficient, submission of documents is required, and the validity of the submitted documents is determined by judging the submitted documents. Then, the reliability of the identity confirmation is further determined, and this can be repeated until the reliability is recognized. However, if the reliability is not recognized even after reaching the number limit, viewing is not possible. In addition, when the user as the viewer is a person who has input personal information in the past and the above-mentioned account information is registered, the identity confirmation process for this viewer may also be configured to be executable using the account information.

[0053] When the identity verification process is correctly performed, a viewable list corresponding to the personal identification information is presented. When a selection operation is performed on this viewable list, the corresponding disclosure information for viewing is generated and displayed on the screen. Also, if the user searches for viewable information, a viewable list corresponding thereto is presented, and the disclosure information for viewing is displayed in the same manner as described above. Regarding the additional display of the reliability index, it is the same as the description above in FIG. 6.

[0054] As the personal information of the system 10 described above, it also includes a human relationship diagram showing various communication relationships as shown in the communication diagram 1 and communication diagram 2 shown in FIGS. 12 and 13. In the illustrated communication diagrams, various communication relationships other than the kinship (blood relationship) like the family tree described above are shown, for example, friends, colleagues, superiors, subordinates at work, business transaction relationships, various acquaintances such as school relationships like classmates, seniors, and juniors, etc. The specific information of the acquaintance and the relationship between the acquaintance and the user are recorded.

[0055] In the communication diagram 1 shown in FIG. 12, the user X is the person himself / herself, and the friends A and B of the user X, the merchant C in the transaction relationship, the subordinate D at work, etc. are shown. Also, in the communication diagram 2 shown in FIG. 13, the above-mentioned friend A is the user himself / herself, and in the relationship with this user A, the friend X, relative B, merchant C, and friend D are listed as the persons included in the common information with the above communication diagram 1. Here, the related persons surrounded by the dashed line in the communication diagram 1 are the communication relationship parts (non-common information) not included in the communication diagram 2, and the related persons surrounded by the dotted line in the communication diagram 2 are the communication relationship parts (non-common information) not included in the communication diagram 1. The input information related to such communication diagram 1 and communication diagram 2 is recorded and integrated in the same manner as the family tree 1 (FIG. 10) and family tree 2 (FIG. 11). Furthermore, although not particularly illustrated, for the parts lacking consistency in the same manner as described above, the same processing as described above is performed for the integrated information. Here, even between different types of information that are both human relationship diagrams like the family tree and the communication diagram, in terms of the relationship between common information and non-common information, they can be integrated in the same manner as between the family trees or between the communication diagrams.

[0056] As described above, the personal information management system according to the present embodiment includes an input information recording means 121 that records the personal information input by the user as input information 1a, 2a, 3a, an information reliability evaluation means 122 that evaluates the reliability of the input information 1a, 2a, 3a for each information unit and derives a reliability index associated with the corresponding information unit, and a browsing information disclosure means 124 that discloses browsing disclosure information formed based on integrated information generated by integrating the input information 1a, 2a, 3a or a plurality of input information to the user. By including these components, it is possible to manage the input information and the integrated information based on the reliability index associated with each information unit of the input information, so that it is possible to suppress the occurrence of problems caused by misinformation without hindering the expansion of the provided personal information.

[0057] In the present embodiment, the information reliability evaluation means 122 can objectively evaluate the reliability of information for each information unit by setting the height of the reliability index according to the degree of consistency with other information units in the input information 1a, 2a, 3a of the corresponding information unit and the degree of consistency with existing personal information, or according to the existence of certificates by which the corresponding information unit is certified by a third party.

[0058] Here, when a part of the input information 1a, 2a, 3a does not match the existing personal information, the information reliability evaluation means 122 can lower the reliability index of the part, and when the part matches the existing personal information, the information reliability evaluation means 122 can raise the reliability index of the part. Therefore, it is possible to evaluate the reliability according to the mutual consistency of the input information from a plurality of users, and thus it is possible to objectively and simply evaluate the reliability of the information.

[0059] In addition, when a part of the input information 1a, 2a, 3a is proved by certificates submitted by a third party, the information reliability evaluation means 122 can raise the reliability index of the part, so that it is possible to objectively and surely evaluate the reliability of the information.

[0060] Furthermore, the browsing information disclosure means 124 preferably forms browsing disclosure information with a reliability index added based on the input information 1a, 2a, 3a or the integrated information. According to this, since the browsing disclosure information is formed with the reliability index added (that is, the addition indication of the reliability index is made), it is possible to browse information units while looking at the reliability index, so that the influence of misinformation on the viewer can be reduced.

[0061] Also, the browsing information disclosure means 124 preferably forms browsing disclosure information by selecting or limiting the input information 1a, 2a, 3a or the integrated information for each information unit according to the height of the reliability index. According to this, since the browsing disclosure information is formed by selecting or limiting the input information or the integrated information for each information unit according to the height of the reliability index, the reliability of the browsing disclosure information is improved as a whole, so that a decrease in the reliability of the system can be prevented.

[0062] Next, in the present embodiment, by further comprising integrated information generation means for generating integrated information from a plurality of input information 1a, 2a, 3a, it is possible to configure a highly valuable human information source related to a wide range by integrating the input information from a plurality of users.

[0063] In particular, when a part of the input information 1a, 2a, 3a matches the existing human information and there is non-common information in the remaining part that has no corresponding data part, the integrated information is generated in a mode that includes the non-common information in addition to the part, so that a group of highly valuable information can be constituted by relating a plurality of input information. Also, in the integrated information, when a part of the input information 1a, 2a, 3a does not match the existing human information, it is possible to manage in a mode that maintains the reliability of the information while maintaining the wide range of human information by coexisting the part and the corresponding part of the existing human information.

[0064] Here, the integrated information can be generated by selecting or limiting the input information 1a, 2a, 3a for each information unit according to the height of the reliability index and then integrating them, so that the reliability of the integrated information can be improved.

[0065] In this case, in the integrated information, if a part of the input information 1a, 2a, 3a does not match the existing personal information, then the reliability index of the part is compared with the reliability index of the corresponding part of the existing personal information. If the difference in the height of the reliability index is equal to or greater than the threshold value, only the one with the higher reliability index is retained. If the difference is less than the threshold value, the part and the corresponding part coexist, so that it is possible to achieve both the expansion of personal information and the ensuring of reliability.

[0066] Next, the information reliability evaluation means 122 defines a plurality of information reliability ranks A - G ranging from high to low as the above-mentioned reliability index, and sets one D among the intermediate ranks B - F excluding the highest rank A and the lowest rank G of the plurality of information reliability ranks as the initial value of the information reliability rank. By doing so, it becomes possible to set a suitable reliability index through determination processes such as subsequent basic reliability determination, additional reliability determination, and comprehensive reliability determination.

[0067] Next, the browsing information disclosure means 124 can realize system operation that respects the disclosure intention of the user by restricting the disclosure range of the input information 1a, 2a, 3a according to the operation by the user. Also, as the above-mentioned disclosure range, it is desirable that the range of viewers to be disclosed, the range of information to be disclosed, and the time range of the disclosure period are set respectively. Furthermore, when a part of the input information by a plurality of users matches each other, it is desirable that the disclosure range of the part is determined by adjusting according to the relationship of the setting of the disclosure range for each user. At this time, due to the adjustment of the disclosure range of the part, the condition of the strictest disclosure range among the setting conditions by a plurality of users may be selected, or the condition of the intermediate disclosure range among the setting conditions by a plurality of users may be selected.

[0068] Next, by being composed of a plurality of mutually different storage media, a long-term data management unit 15 having a plurality of recording units 151-153 for recording input information 1a, 2a, 3a or integrated information is further provided, including a first recording unit 151 that is more suitable for recording changes than others and a second recording unit 153 that is more suitable for long-term storage than others. The long-term data management unit 15 records the recording data of information units with a low reliability index in the first recording unit 151 and records the recording data of information units with a high reliability index in the second recording unit 153. As a result, it can be dispersed and stored in a recording unit suitable for handling according to the level of reliability, so that the management efficiency can be improved and reliable data storage over a long period can be easily realized.

[0069] Note that the personal information management system according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described illustrated examples, and it goes without saying that various changes can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, in each of the above embodiments, the BU server 14 and the long-term data management unit 15 are provided separately from the DB server 13, but the long-term data management unit 15 may be incorporated into the DB server 13, and the specific configuration is not limited as long as it is configured to achieve an equivalent function as a result. Further, as an aspect in which the reliability index is associated with the information unit of the input information or the integrated information, not only the configuration including the link information that associates each other as described above, but also the aspect in which the information unit and the reliability index are simply included in the same data configuration may be acceptable.

[0070] Note that the diagram examples and reliability index examples shown in the above embodiments are merely examples and can be appropriately changed according to the requirements of users, administrators, and others. For example, as the reliability index, not only letters and symbols but also those expressed by numerical values, marks, etc. can be used, and any thing can be used as long as the degree of reliability can be grasped as a result. Also, the disclosure scope is not particularly limited. For example, as the time range, it can be disclosed when the descendant reaches a specific age (e.g., 20 years old), when the descendant obtains a specific qualification (e.g., lawyer), when the descendant meets a specific situation (such as when getting sick), etc., and it is also possible to set according to various conditions.

Explanation of Signs

[0071] 1, 2, 3... User terminals, 1a, 2a, 3a... Input information, 1b, 2b, 3b... Input operations (for viewing disclosure information), 1c, 2c, 3c... Output data, 1d, 2d, 3d... Input operations (for setting the disclosure scope), 10... Personal information management system, 11... WEB server, 12... AP server, 121... Input information recording means, 122... Information reliability evaluation means, 123... Integrated information generation means, 124... Disclosure means for viewing information, 125... Disclosure scope setting means, 13... DB server, 14... BU server, 15... Long-term data management section, A - G... Information reliability ranks (reliability indicators)

Claims

1. Input information recording means for recording personal information input by a user as input information; Information reliability evaluation means for evaluating the reliability of the input information for each information unit and deriving a reliability index associated with the corresponding information unit; Browsing information disclosure means for disclosing browsing disclosure information formed based on the input information or integrated information generated by integrating a plurality of the input information to the user; A personal information management system characterized by comprising the above.

2. The information reliability evaluation means sets the height of the reliability index according to the height of the consistency of the input information in the corresponding information unit with other information units and the consistency with existing personal information. The personal information management system according to Claim 1.

3. When a part of the input information does not match existing personal information, the information reliability evaluation means reduces the reliability index of the part, and when the part matches the existing personal information, the information reliability evaluation means increases the reliability index of the part. The personal information management system according to Claim 2.

4. When a part of the input information is proved by certificates submitted by a third party, the information reliability evaluation means increases the reliability index of the part. The personal information management system according to Claim 3.

5. The browsing information disclosure means forms the browsing disclosure information with the reliability index added based on the input information or the integrated information. The personal information management system according to any one of Claims 1 - 4.

6. The browsing information disclosure means forms the browsing disclosure information by selecting or limiting the input information or the integrated information for each information unit according to the height of the reliability index. The personal information management system according to any one of Claims 1 - 4.

7. Further comprising integrated information generation means for generating the integrated information from a plurality of the input information, The integrated information is generated by selecting or limiting the input information for each information unit according to the height of the reliability index and then integrating them. The personal information management system according to any one of Claims 1 - 4.

8. In the integrated information, when a part of the input information does not match the existing personal information, the reliability index of the part is compared with the reliability index of the corresponding part of the existing personal information. When the difference in the height of the reliability index is equal to or greater than a threshold value, only the one with the higher reliability index remains. When the difference is less than the threshold value, the part and the corresponding part coexist. The personal information management system according to claim 7.

9. The information reliability evaluation means defines a plurality of information reliability ranks ranging from high to low as the reliability index, and sets one of the intermediate ranks excluding the highest rank and the lowest rank among the plurality of information reliability ranks as the initial value of the information reliability rank. The personal information management system according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

10. The long-term data management unit further includes a plurality of recording units for recording the input information or the integrated information, which are composed of a plurality of different types of storage media, and includes at least a first recording unit more suitable for recording changes than others and a second recording unit more suitable for long-term storage than others. The long-term data management unit records the recording data of the information unit with a low reliability index in the first recording unit and records the recording data of the information unit with a high reliability index in the second recording unit. The personal information management system according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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