Application start control method and communication terminal

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD [Detailed description of the invention]

【0001】

[Technical field to which the invention belongs]

The present invention relates to a method of activating an application for acquiring information, and more particularly to a method of activating an application for acquiring information in a communication terminal device via a predetermined communication network.

【0002】

The present invention also relates to a communication terminal device in which an application for acquiring information is started according to such an application starting method.

【0003】

[Conventional technology]

In recent years, a system for acquiring various information from the Internet has been realized by a communication terminal device such as a mobile phone. In such a system, a communication terminal device is equipped with an application for acquiring information such as a browser. When such a communication terminal device periodically acquires information that requires immediacy, such as a weather forecast or a stock price, the user periodically operates the communication terminal device to obtain such information. I am trying to start the application to get it.

【0004】

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

In such a conventional method of starting an application for information acquisition, the application mounted on the communication terminal device is not started unless the user performs an operation to start the application. Therefore, if the user neglects the activation operation, the acquired information held in the communication terminal device is not updated.

【0005】

For example, in a so-called push-type information distribution service in which information is regularly distributed from a distribution source regardless of a request from a communication terminal device, the information is installed in the communication terminal device regardless of the user's activation operation as described above. The application is automatically started. That is, in the communication terminal device that receives such a service, when the trigger for starting information distribution is received, the application for acquiring the distribution information is started. Then, the information distributed according to the activated application is acquired by the communication terminal device.

【0006】

However, since the application mounted on the communication terminal device (application for receiving the push-type information distribution service) is activated by a trigger from the outside of the communication terminal device, the communication terminal device is used as a mobile device such as a mobile phone. Therefore, when the mobile device is out of service area, the trigger from the outside cannot be received and the application is not started when the information is delivered. Therefore, the user cannot know whether or not the information acquired by the mobile device is updated to the latest information.

【0007】

Therefore, the first object of the present invention is to start an application that enables the user to more reliably start an application for acquiring information mounted on a communication terminal device at a predetermined timing without paying special attention. To provide a method.

【0008】

A second object of the present invention is to provide a communication terminal device in which a mounted application is activated according to such an application activation method.

【0009】

[Means for solving problems]

In order to solve the above problems, as described in claim 1, the communication terminal device is used in an application activation control method for activating an application for acquiring information mounted on the communication terminal device. When the time condition for starting the application mounted on the communication terminal device is managed, it is determined whether or not the present satisfies the above time condition, and it is determined that the present satisfies the above time condition. , It is configured to start the above application.

【0010】

In such an application start control method, the time condition for starting the application mounted on the communication terminal device is managed, and the application is started when it is determined that the current time condition is satisfied. When the application is started, the communication terminal device acquires information according to the application.

【0011】

The time condition for starting the application is not particularly limited as long as the timing for starting the application can be specified. For example, as described in claim 2, the time when the application should be started may be managed as the above time condition. In this case, as described in claim 3, the time of the specified date on which the application should be started can be managed as the above time condition, and as described in claim 4, each time the application should be started. The time on a predetermined day can be managed as the time condition, and as described in claim 5, the time every day when the application should be started can be managed as the time condition.

【0012】

Further, as described in claim 6, the time interval in which the application should be started from the predetermined reference date can be managed as the above time condition. In this case, as described in claim 7, in the application start control method, the next start time is calculated based on one start time of the application and the time interval, and the present is the next time. It can be configured to determine whether or not the current time condition is satisfied by determining whether or not the start time has come.

【0013】

From the viewpoint that the user of the communication terminal device can easily know that the application has failed to start, the present invention corresponds to the application in each of the above-mentioned application start control methods as described in claim 8. It can be configured to notify predetermined information from the communication terminal device when it cannot be started due to the time condition.

【0014】

The predetermined information to be notified can be, for example, information indicating that the application could not be started under the corresponding time condition, as described in claim 9.

【0015】

By notifying such information, the user of the communication terminal device can know that the application was not directly started by the notification.

【0016】

In addition, the predetermined information to be notified can be, for example, information regarding the latest startup of the application, as described in claim 10.

【0017】

By notifying such information, the user of the communication terminal device compares the notified information on the latest startup time with the current time, so that the application to be started periodically is not started. You can know that indirectly.

【0018】

The time condition for starting the application to be managed may be set by the user in the communication terminal device or may be transmitted from another communication device to the communication terminal device. In the latter case, as described in claim 11, in each of the above application activation control methods, the time condition for activating the application acquired when the application is downloaded to the communication terminal device. Can be configured to add to the above temporal conditions for launching an application to be managed.

【0019】

In such an application start control method, the application can be automatically started based on the time condition without the user performing an operation for setting the time condition for starting the application.

【0020】

From the viewpoint that an application for acquiring information can be reliably started on a mobile device, the present invention provides an application mounted on a mobile device housed in a predetermined mobile communication system as described in claim 12. The above-mentioned application start control method can be applied at the time of starting.

【0021】

In order to solve the second problem of the present invention, as described in claim 13, the present invention sets a time condition for starting the application in a communication terminal device equipped with an application for acquiring information. The start condition management means to be managed, the start condition determination means for determining whether or not the current time condition managed by the start condition management means is satisfied, and the start condition determination means currently present to the above timing condition. It is configured to have an application start control means for starting the application when it is determined that the above is satisfied.

【0022】

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

【0023】

A communication system including a communication terminal device in which an application is started according to a method of starting an application according to an embodiment of the present invention is configured as shown in FIG. 1, for example. This example shows a case where a mobile device such as a mobile phone acquires information from the Internet.

【0024】

In FIG. 1, a mobile communication system having a base station 20 that wirelessly communicates with a mobile device 10 such as a mobile phone and an exchange 30 connected to the base station 20 is connected to the Internet (IP communication network) via a gateway server 40. It is connected. As a result, the mobile device 10 can acquire information from the IP server 50 on the Internet via the base station 20, the exchange 30, and the gateway server 40.

【0025】

The mobile device 10 is configured as shown in FIG. 2, for example.

【0026】

In FIG. 2, the mobile device 10 includes a wireless unit 11, a control unit 12, a display / operation unit 14, and a memory unit 13. The wireless unit 11 wirelessly communicates with the base station 20 under the control of the control unit 12. The display / control unit 14 is operated by the user, the operation control signal is supplied to the control unit 12, and various information is displayed based on the control signal from the control unit 12. The memory unit 13 stores an application for acquiring information from the Internet (for example, a Java application) and a list of automatically started applications as described later.

【0027】

As described above, the control unit 12 controls the wireless unit 11, the memory unit 13, and the display / operation unit 14, and starts the application by referring to the automatic application list stored in the memory unit 13 as described later. Take control.

【0028】

Note that FIG. 2 illustrates a part related to the machine according to the present invention, and other parts (for example, a part related to voice processing in a mobile phone) are omitted.

【0029】

For example, the start control of the application is performed according to the procedure shown in FIG.

【0030】

In FIG. 3, when the power of the mobile device 10 is turned on, it is determined whether or not the auto-start application is saved in the memory unit 13 (S1). The auto-start application is an application that is automatically started at a predetermined timing. When such an auto-start application is not saved in the memory unit 13 (YES in S1), when the user operates the display / operation unit 14 to download the desired application from the Internet, a predetermined procedure is performed. According to this, the control unit 12 performs a process for downloading the application (S2).

【0031】

According to the process in the control unit 12, the application is downloaded to the mobile device 10 as follows, for example.

【0032】

URL (Uniform Resource) that identifies the application involved in the request When Locator) is specified, a distribution request for the application is sent from the mobile device 10 to the IP server 50, which is the distribution source of the application specified by the URL, via the base station 20, the exchange 30, the gateway server 40, and the Internet. Will be sent. Upon receiving this distribution request, the IP server 50 transmits an information file describing information about the specified application to the mobile device 10 that is the request source. In this information file, for example, the name, location (URL), update date, size, etc. of the application and the automatic start information are described. Upon receiving such an information file, the control unit 12 of the mobile device 10 can download the application related to the request to the mobile device 10 based on the information described in the information file (for example, based on the size). If it is determined that the application should be downloaded (for example, based on the update date), the distribution request of the application is transmitted to the IP server 50 again. Then, the IP server 50 that receives the distribution request distributes the application related to the request to the mobile device 10.

【0033】

In the mobile device 10 that has received the application distributed from the IP server 50 on the Internet in this way, the received application is stored in the memory unit 13. That is, the application is downloaded to the mobile device 10.

【0034】

When the download of the application desired by the user is completed in this way, it is determined whether or not the automatic start information is described in the above information file for that application (S3). If this auto-start information is not described in the information file (NO in S3), the downloaded application will be managed as a non-auto-start application (S4). On the other hand, if the auto-start information is described in the information file, the downloaded application is managed as an auto-start application (S5).

【0035】

The above automatic start information is the time condition for starting the application, for example, the date and time to start (year, month, day, hour, minute, second), and the time of the predetermined day to start (day, hour, minute). , Seconds), daily time to start (hours, minutes, seconds), start time interval based on the date and time when the application was downloaded (year, month, day, hour, minute, second), etc.

【0036】

Management (S5) of the downloaded application as an auto-launch application is performed as follows, for example.

【0037】

The downloaded application and the automatic start information that specifies the time condition to be started are registered in the automatic start list as shown in FIG. 4, for example. In this auto-start list, the auto-start information specifies the time to start every day (time specification format), the time of the specified day of the week to start (day of the week specification format), and the date and time to start. It is classified into the one that specifies the date (date specification format) and the one that specifies the startup time interval (time interval specification format). Then, the relationship between the automatic start information T11, T12, ... that specifies the time condition in the time specification format and the application AP11, AP12, ... is sorted in the order of the earliest time to start, and the time is specified in the day of the week specification format. The relationship between the automatic start information T21, T22, ... and the application AP21, AP22, ... The relationship between the auto-start information T31, T32, ... that specifies the time condition in the format and the application A31, AP32, ... is sorted in order of the date and time. In addition, the relationship between the automatic start information T41, T42, ... that specifies the time condition in the time interval specification format and the application, and the relationship between AP41 and AP42 are arranged in the registered order.

【0038】

By managing the startup time of each application in such an automatic startup list, the application is managed as an automatic startup application.

【0039】

In the state where the automatically started application is managed as described above, the control unit 12 performs startup control for the automatically started application as follows. For the sake of simplification of the explanation, the start control of the application in which the time condition to be started is specified in the time interval specification format will be described later.

【0040】

The control unit 12 has the current time measured by the internal timer and the time conditions (hereinafter referred to as start time) T11 and T21 located at the beginning of each item (time designation, day of the week designation, date designation) in the automatic start list. , T31 is compared, and it is repeatedly determined whether or not the current time is any of the start times T11, T21, and T31 (S6). Then, when the control unit 12 determines that the current time has reached the start time T11, T21, or T31, for example, the start time T11, the application AP11 corresponding to the start time T11 stored in the memory unit 13 is set. Start up (S7).

【0041】

After that, the control unit 12 determines whether or not the application AP11 has been successfully started (S8). If the activation is successful (YES in S8), the control unit 12 updates the automatic activation list (see FIG. 4). This update moves, for example, the record showing the relationship between the started application AP11 and the start time T11 to the lowest position of the corresponding item (time designation). As a result, the record showing the relationship between the application AP12 to be started next and its start time T12 becomes the highest level. Hereinafter, the above-mentioned processes (S6, S7, S8, S9) are repeatedly executed.

【0042】

When the application AP11 is successfully started as described above (YES in S8), the control unit 12 executes the above-described processing and a processing for acquiring predetermined information from the Internet according to the application AP11.

【0043】

On the other hand, for example, when the mobile device 10 is used for a call and the application AP11 is not successfully started, or when the application AP11 is started but the mobile device 10 is out of the service area and the information acquisition fails. If the application AP11 does not start normally (NO in S8), the control unit 12 displays a predetermined message on the display panel of the display / operation unit 14 (S10).

【0044】

For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the title of the information to be acquired (weather forecast) and the time when the application was started can be displayed. Looking at such a display, the user can start the application at any time (7:00 am the previous day) before the original acquisition time (7:00 am today) of the information to be acquired regularly. You can know that you have failed for some reason. Further, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, it is possible to display the time when the application should be started and the message that the application was not started. In this case, the user can directly know that the application was not started at the time when it should be started (7 am on September 12).

【0045】

When the message display process is completed as described above, the control unit 12 performs the automatic start list update process as described above (S9), and performs the time condition determination process (S6) for the next start. Transition.

【0046】

In the above example, the application startup process (S6, S7, S8,) in which the start time condition is specified in the day of the week specification format or the automatic start list update (S10) after the message display process (S10) is completed ( S9) is performed, for example, as follows. The record showing the relationship between the started application and the start time is moved to the bottom of the record showing the relationship between the application belonging to the specified day of the week and the time condition. Then, when the start control process of the application to be started on that day of the week is completed, the record showing the relationship between all the applications belonging to that day and the time condition of start is moved to the bottom of the item (specified day of the week). Will be done.

【0047】

In addition, in the update process (S9) for an application whose start time condition is specified in the date specification format, the relationship between the application and the start time condition is shown after the start control process of the application is completed. The record is removed from the autostart list.

【0048】

Furthermore, for applications for which the start time condition is specified in the time interval specification format, the first start time is Loading time + time interval = startup time It is decided by. Also, from the next onward Last startup time + time interval = startup time, It is decided by. Then, when the current time reaches the startup time determined in this way (YES in S6), the startup control processing (S7, S8, S9, S10) of the application is performed in the same manner as described above.

【0049】

In the above example, the mobile device 10 such as a mobile phone has been described, but other communication terminal devices such as a computer terminal having a communication function and a personal digital assistant (PDA) may be used.

【0050】

For application startup control in which the time condition for startup is specified in the time interval specification format, the time interval is measured by the timer associated with each application, and the startup control is performed based on the measurement result. Good.

【0051】

In the above example, the automatic start list (see FIG. 4) stored in the memory unit 13 corresponds to the start condition management means, the process in S6 shown in FIG. 3 corresponds to the start condition determination means, and S7 shown in FIG. The processing in is corresponding to the application start control means.

【0052】

The calculation function for determining the start time of the control unit 12 for the application for which the start time condition is specified in the time interval specification format corresponds to the start time calculation means.

【0053】

The processing in S8 shown in FIG. 3 corresponds to the activation determination means, and the display / operation unit 14 that displays the format shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 corresponds to the activation status notification means. Further, the process in S2 shown in FIG. 3 corresponds to the start condition acquisition means, and the process in S5 corresponds to the start condition update control means.

【0054】

[Effect of the invention]

As described above, according to the invention of the present application according to claims 1 to 12, it is determined that the time condition for starting the application mounted on the communication terminal device is managed and the present time condition is satisfied. At that time, the application is started. Therefore, the user can more reliably start the information acquisition application mounted on the communication terminal device at a predetermined timing without paying special attention.

【0055】

Further, according to the invention of the present application according to claims 13 to 24, it is possible to provide a communication terminal device in which a mounted application is activated according to such an application activation method.

[Simple explanation of drawings]

[Figure 1]

It is a figure which shows the configuration example of the communication system including the communication terminal apparatus which starts the installed application according to the application start control method which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.

[Figure 2]

It is a block diagram which shows the configuration example of a mobile device (communication terminal device).

[Fig. 3]

It is a flowchart which shows an example of the activation control processing in the control part in a mobile machine.

[Fig. 4]

It is a figure which shows the configuration example of the automatic start list.

[Fig. 5]

It is a figure which shows the display example in a mobile machine.

[Fig. 6]

It is a figure which shows the other display example in a mobile machine.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 mobile 11 Wireless section 12 Control unit 13 Memory unit 14 Display / operation unit 20 base stations 30 switchboard 40 Gateway server 50 IP server