JP2004258936A - Mobile communication terminal, fail-safe method used therefor, and its program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mobile communication terminal capable of preventing proper cellphone functions from becoming unusable in the event that there is trouble with application software. <P>SOLUTION: An operating state monitoring task 11 issues an operation check request event (message) by means of a freeze monitoring timer for each task in order to detect freeze, and detects freeze from an operation check response. On receiving the operation check request event (message), the task calls an application interface function provided by the operating state monitoring task 11, and provides an operation check response. When the freeze monitoring timer is timed out, the operating state monitoring task 11 puts the device into freeze (inoperable state) and performs an initializing process if there is a task from which no operation check response is sent back or if the execution counters of all pieces of application software (A-C) 13-15 are not updated, so as to restore the mobile communication terminal 1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a mobile communication terminal, a fail-safe method used therefor, and a program therefor, and more particularly to a fail-safe function in the mobile communication terminal.
[0002]
[Prior art]
At present, in mobile communication terminals such as mobile phones, PHSs (Personal Handy-phone Systems), and PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), various types of application software exist on a real-time OS (Operating System).
[0003]
For example, in the case of a mobile phone, browser software for browsing the Internet, SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) for e-mail, a schedule book, a phone book, software for processing images captured by a camera, software for music playback, and the like. Various application softwares exist.
[0004]
These application softwares are installed in addition to the communication terminal functions inherent in mobile phones, and the capacity has been increasing year by year with the expansion of various functions in mobile phones. Therefore, in the mobile communication terminal as described above, similarly to various information processing apparatuses, maintenance for a failure due to an abnormality in application software is required.
[0005]
As the maintenance processing in the above information processing apparatus, there are processing for recovering from the occurrence of an unexpected system lock without hardware reset (for example, see Patent Document 1), and when the master system recovers, each of the master system and the backup system is promptly restored. (For example, refer to Patent Document 2), a process for continuing normal operation even when a start queue, a restart queue, and an interrupt queue are dropped (for example, see Patent Document 3). .
[0006]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2001-109637 A (page 4, FIG. 4)
[Patent Document 2]
JP-A-2001-337939 (pages 9 and 10, FIG. 1)
[Patent Document 3]
JP-A-2002-099437 (pages 5 to 9, FIG. 1)
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the above-mentioned conventional mobile communication terminal, when the above-mentioned application software causes an abnormality, the original mobile phone function may not be available, so that there is no response even if a button is pressed and the power cannot be turned off. There is a problem that may be. This problem cannot be solved even by the techniques described in Patent Documents 1 to 3 described above.
[0008]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and to prevent a mobile communication terminal from being unable to use its original mobile phone function when application software fails, a fail-safe method used therefor, and a program therefor. Is to provide.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
A mobile communication terminal according to the present invention is a mobile communication terminal capable of operating a plurality of application software, a detection function for detecting that an abnormality has occurred in the application software, and a device for detecting that the abnormality has occurred. A fail-safe function for resetting the device by performing a reset.
[0010]
A fail-safe method according to the present invention is a fail-safe method for a mobile communication terminal capable of operating a plurality of application software, wherein the mobile communication terminal side detects that an abnormality has occurred in the application software; and Resetting the device when it is detected that an abnormality has occurred to recover the device.
[0011]
The program of the fail-safe method according to the present invention is a program of the fail-safe method of a mobile communication terminal capable of operating a plurality of application software, and includes a process for detecting, in a computer, an abnormality in the application software; And resetting the device when it is detected that an abnormality has occurred to recover the device.
[0012]
That is, the mobile communication terminal of the present invention avoids an inoperable case in which the original communication terminal function cannot be used when an application software running on a real-time OS (Operating System) fails. I do.
[0013]
More specifically, in the mobile communication terminal of the present invention, when it is detected that application software running on the real-time OS has failed, a fail-safe (fail- (safe) The operation state monitoring task is implemented to execute the function.
[0014]
Thereby, in the mobile communication terminal of the present invention, when a failure occurs in the application software system, a software structure for recovering from the failure is realized. It is possible to prevent the "mobile phone not operating" state from being used and the original mobile phone function cannot be used.
[0015]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a mobile communication terminal according to one embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, a mobile communication terminal 1 includes an operation status monitoring task 11, an OS (operating system) 12, application software (A to C) 13 to 15, an application interface group 16, a device driver group 17, a hardware A group 18 is provided. On the OS 12, in addition to the application software (A to C) 13 to 15, the mobile phone function inherent to the mobile communication terminal is operated.
[0016]
The operation state monitoring task 11, the application interface group 16, and the device driver group 17 can each be constituted by a program executable by a computer (not shown), or can be constituted by hardware or firmware. .
[0017]
The operation state monitoring task 11 is a task implemented for executing a fail-safe function, and when detecting that the mobile communication terminal 1 has become inoperable according to a processing flow described below, Perform a device reset to recover the device.
[0018]
The operating system 12 is a real-time OS of the mobile communication terminal 1. The application software (A to C) 13 to 15 is software to be monitored by the operation status monitoring task 11 for operation. The application software (A to C) 13 to 15 includes browser software for Internet browsing, SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) for e-mail, schedule book, phone book, processing software for images taken by a camera, and music. There is software for reproduction.
[0019]
The application interface group 16 is an interface group to be monitored by the operation status monitoring task 11, and the device driver group 17 is a driver group to be monitored by the operation status monitoring task 11. The hardware group 18 indicates a hardware configuration for realizing the mobile phone function inherent in the mobile communication terminal and the processing by the application software (A to C) 13 to 15.
[0020]
The operation state monitoring task 11 monitors the freeze of the task group of the software portion on the upper side from the device driver layer, and sets the task priority to be higher than the device driver group 17 and lower than the hardware group 18. For the application to be monitored by the operation state monitoring task 11, the application software (A to C) 13 to 15 adds an execution counter for each of the application software (A to C) 13 to 15 when receiving an event. Call the processing function.
[0021]
The operation state monitoring task 11 issues an operation confirmation request event to the tasks of the application interface group 16 and the device driver group 17 in order to control the application interface group 16 and the device driver group 17 to be monitored. This is an operation check request to the operation monitoring target task. The task that has received the operation confirmation request event (message) calls the operation confirmation processing function.
[0022]
The operation state monitoring task 11 issues an operation confirmation request event (message) by a freeze monitoring timer to each task for detecting a freeze, and detects the freeze in the operation confirmation response. The task that has received the operation confirmation request event (message) calls an application interface function provided by the operation state monitoring task 11 and performs an operation confirmation response.
[0023]
Each time the application software (A to C) 13 to 15 receives an event, it calls an application interface function provided by the operation state monitoring task 11 and updates the execution counter.
[0024]
When the freeze monitoring timer has timed out, the operation state monitoring task 11 must have no task that returns an operation confirmation response, or must not update at least one of the execution counters of all the application software (A to C) 13 to 15. For example, an initialization process is performed with the device frozen (inoperable), and the mobile communication terminal 1 is restored.
[0025]
FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating the task processing of the operation state monitoring task 11 of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the operation monitoring target task processing of the operation state monitoring task 11 of FIG. The operation of the mobile communication terminal 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0026]
In FIG. 2, a freeze monitoring timer is a timer for monitoring each task when a monitoring cycle times out, and an execution counter is a timer by which each of the application software (A to C) 13 to 15 is incremented when the task is executed. is there.
[0027]
The operation confirmation request is requested from the operation state monitoring task 11 to the application interface layer and the device driver layer, and the operation confirmation response is a response of the application interface layer and the device driver layer to the operation confirmation request.
[0028]
In FIG. 3, the execution counter is a counter that is incremented each time the application software (A to C) 13 to 15 is executed, and is implemented in the application software layer. In the operation check, when the operation check is requested, an operation check response is performed, and the operation check is implemented in the application interface layer and the device driver layer.
[0029]
The operation state monitoring task 11 initializes the task at the start of the operation (Step S1 in FIG. 2), and waits for an event (Step S2 in FIG. 2). Thereafter, when a freeze monitoring timer event occurs (step S3 in FIG. 2), the operation state monitoring task 11 reads the execution counters of all the application software (A to C) 13 to 15 (step S4 in FIG. 2).
[0030]
Further, the operation state monitoring task 11 reads out operation confirmation responses from all tasks to be monitored (Step S5 in FIG. 2), and any one of the execution counters of all the application software (A to C) 13 to 15 changes. It is determined whether the process has been performed (step S6 in FIG. 2).
[0031]
If any of the execution counters has not changed, and if no operation confirmation response has been received from all of the tasks to be monitored (step S7 in FIG. 2), the operation state monitoring task 11 determines that an apparatus freeze has been detected and determines that the apparatus has been frozen (operation The mobile communication terminal 1 is restored by performing an initialization process (reset process) in a state of “impossible”.
[0032]
If an operation confirmation response has been received from all monitored tasks (step S7 in FIG. 2), the operation state monitoring task 11 issues an operation confirmation request event (message) to all monitored tasks (step S8 in FIG. 2), and freeze monitoring is performed. The timer is set (step S9 in FIG. 2), and the process returns to step S2 to wait for an event.
[0033]
On the other hand, if any one of the execution counters has changed and the operation confirmation response has been received from all the tasks to be monitored (step S10 in FIG. 2), the operation state monitoring task 11 sends an operation confirmation request event to all the tasks to be monitored (step S10 in FIG. 2). Message (step S8 in FIG. 2), a freeze monitoring timer is set (step S9 in FIG. 2), and the process returns to step S2 to wait for an event.
[0034]
If no operation confirmation response has been received from all monitored tasks (step S10 in FIG. 2), the operation state monitoring task 11 searches for a currently active application (step S11 in FIG. 2). If the execution counter of the retrieved application has changed (step S12 in FIG. 2), the operation state monitoring task 11 sets a freeze monitoring timer (step S9 in FIG. 2), and returns to the event wait state in step S2.
[0035]
If the execution counter of the retrieved application has not changed (step S12 in FIG. 2), the operation state monitoring task 11 determines that the apparatus has been frozen, and sets the apparatus to the apparatus frozen (inoperable) state and initializes (reset processing). ) To restore the mobile communication terminal 1.
[0036]
In contrast, the operation monitoring target of the operation state monitoring task 11 initializes the task at the start of the operation (Step S21 in FIG. 3), waits for an event (Step S22 in FIG. 3), and increments the execution counter by one (Step S3 in FIG. 3). S23).
[0037]
If an operation check request event does not occur in the operation monitoring target of the operation state monitoring task 11 (step S24 in FIG. 3), application normal processing is performed (step S25 in FIG. 3), and the process returns to step S22 to wait for events.
[0038]
When an operation check request event occurs (step S24 in FIG. 3), the operation monitoring target of the operation state monitoring task 11 transmits an operation check response (step S26 in FIG. 3), and returns to the event wait state in step S22.
[0039]
As described above, in the present embodiment, when the application software (A to C) 13 to 15 becomes abnormal, the power button does not operate and the original mobile phone function cannot be used. Can be prevented.
[0040]
In the present invention, even when the time occupied by the application software (A to C) 13 to 15 differs depending on the system, the monitoring operation can be performed without problems by another system by changing the value of the freeze monitoring timer.
[0041]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, by adopting the above-described configuration and operation, it is possible to prevent the original mobile phone function from being unavailable when an abnormality occurs in the application software.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a mobile communication terminal according to one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing task processing of an operation state monitoring task of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a task process of an operation monitoring target of the operation state monitoring task of FIG. 1;
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Mobile communication terminal 11 Operation status monitoring task 12 OS
13-15 Application Software (AC)
16 Application Interface Group 17 Device Driver Group 18 Hardware Group

Claims (11)

A mobile communication terminal operable with a plurality of application software, a detection function for detecting that an abnormality has occurred in the application software, and performing a device reset when the abnormality has been detected to recover the device. A mobile communication terminal having a fail-safe function. 2. The mobile communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of application software adds a corresponding execution counter when an event is received. 3. The mobile communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein the detection function is a freeze monitoring timer that monitors a freeze of a task group of a software portion on a higher side from a device driver layer. 4. The fail-safe function according to claim 3, wherein when the freeze monitoring timer times out and there is a task for which an operation confirmation response to the operation confirmation request is not returned, an initialization process is performed to recover the terminal itself. Mobile communication terminal. 5. The fail safe function according to claim 3, wherein when the freeze monitoring timer has timed out and the execution counter has not been updated at all, initialization processing is performed to recover the terminal. Mobile communication terminal as described. A fail-safe method for a mobile communication terminal capable of operating a plurality of application software, wherein the mobile communication terminal detects that an abnormality has occurred in the application software, and has detected that the abnormality has occurred. Resetting the device by resetting the device at some time. 7. The fail-safe method according to claim 6, wherein each of the plurality of application software adds a corresponding execution counter when an event is received. 8. The fail-safe according to claim 6, wherein in the step of detecting the occurrence of the abnormality, a freeze monitoring timer monitors a freeze of the task group of the upper software portion from the device driver layer. Method. 9. The device according to claim 8, wherein in the step of restoring the device, when the freeze monitoring timer times out and there is a task for which an operation confirmation response to the operation confirmation request is not returned, an initialization process is performed to restore the terminal. The failsafe method described. 9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the step of restoring the apparatus performs an initialization process when the freeze monitoring timer has timed out and no update of the execution counter has been performed to restore the terminal. Item 10. The fail-safe method according to item 9. A program of a fail-safe method for a mobile communication terminal capable of operating a plurality of application software, the computer comprising: a process for detecting that an abnormality has occurred in the application software; and a device for detecting the occurrence of the abnormality. A program for executing a process of performing a reset to recover the device.

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