JP2015103862A - Communication terminal, communication method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To connect with a connection destination corresponding to an application program requesting communication, without setting the information of the connection destination of communication individually for the application program.SOLUTION: A communication management section 102 connects a communication section 13 with an access point of default setting (S1-S3), and when start-up of an application program or start of communication is detected (S4, S5), determines whether or not the access point of the connection destination is switched, based on the owner information included in an electronic certificate of the application program (S6, S7). When switching the access point of the connection destination (S7; YES), the communication management section 102 switches the access point based on a connection request signal designating an APN for specifying the access point (S8). Upon finishing communication, the communication management section 102 switches to the connection with a default access point (S10-S13).

Description

  The present invention relates to communication performed based on an application program.

  For example, Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose a technique for specifying and connecting a communication connection destination. Patent Document 1 refers to an association table indicating the correspondence between the IP addresses of a plurality of Ethernet (registered trademark) external devices that are connection sources and access point names (APNs) that specify connection destinations. Thus, it is disclosed that each Ethernet external device is connected to various access points having different APNs. Patent Document 2 describes a VPN (Virtual Private Network) client terminal that can be simultaneously connected to different networks with reference to an application permission table in which application IDs and connection destination groups of virtual interfaces are associated with each other. It discloses that a connection destination group that can be connected is specified.

  Regarding provision of a service using an application program, Patent Document 3 discloses a technique for authenticating a right to use the service by using a user attribute certificate. Specifically, Patent Document 3 describes information specifying an application program and a user's right in an attribute certificate, and a service that can be provided to the user using the information described in the attribute certificate. Is disclosed. Patent Document 3 describes a connection destination of a service accessed by an application program in an attribute certificate. If the access destination of the application program is different from that described in the attribute certificate, the attribute certificate is Disclose not to send. In Patent Document 4, in communication in which a communication path is constructed so that a relay device (proxy) is interposed between a server application and a client application, the proxy is switched during the period of switching the communication path halfway without ending the communication. It discloses that the contents of communication transmitted by an application are accumulated and the accumulated information is transmitted when communication becomes possible.

JP 2009-49897 A JP-T-2006-262131 JP 2006-268790 A JP 2002-64562 A

When a communication terminal such as a smartphone performs communication requested by an application program, communication is performed by connecting to a connection destination (for example, an access point) corresponding to the application program. For this reason, in a communication terminal that executes a plurality of application programs, it is necessary to select and connect an appropriate connection destination in accordance with the application program that performs communication. However, when a communication terminal selects a connection destination based on information that uniquely identifies an application program (that is, ID information), connection destination information must be set individually for each application program. Furthermore, when the communication terminal newly installs an application program or changes ID information, it is necessary to reset the connection destination information.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a technique for connecting to a connection destination corresponding to an application program that has requested communication without individually setting communication connection destination information for the application program.

In order to solve the above-described problem, a communication terminal according to the present invention includes setting information including a plurality of application programs, connection destination information associated with the application programs, and owner information related to the application programs. Prior to the start of communication with the storage unit to be stored, at least one connection destination indicated by the connection destination information of the setting information is set by the owner of the communication terminal, and communication based on the application program is performed A setting unit that sets a connection destination indicated by any of the connection destination information in the setting information based on the owner information of the application program, and a communication unit that communicates with the set connection destination Is provided.

  In the communication terminal of the present invention, the owner information includes an electronic certificate or creator information of the application program, and the setting unit includes the electronic certificate or the application corresponding to the connection destination set by the owner. The connection destination may be set based on program creator information.

  In the communication terminal of the present invention, the communication unit may perform communication with a connection destination in the communication when the application program being executed transitions to a specific state.

  In the communication terminal of the present invention, the setting unit sets a communication restriction as the setting information for the electronic certificate or creator information of the application program, and the communication unit performs communication based on the application program. The communication restriction set in the electronic certificate of the application program or the creator information of the application program may be applied.

In the communication terminal of the present invention, the communication unit includes a buffer processing unit that buffers communication data to be transmitted to a connection destination that is not connected, and the communication unit is configured to buffer when communicating with the connection destination that is not connected. The ringed communication data is transmitted to the connection destination.
You may do it.

  In the communication terminal of the present invention, the connection destination includes a first connection destination and a second connection destination different from the first connection destination, and the communication unit satisfies a predetermined condition. Depending on the case, communication with the first connection destination or / and the second connection destination may be performed.

  The communication method according to the present invention is a communication method for a communication terminal that executes at least one of a plurality of application programs, and prior to the start of communication, a connection associated with the application program by an owner of the communication terminal When at least one connection destination indicated by the connection destination information of the setting information including destination information and owner information related to the application program is set, and communication is performed based on the application program, the application Based on the owner information of the program, there is a step of setting a connection destination indicated by any of the connection destination information in the setting information, and a step of communicating with the set connection destination.

  The program of the present invention is a communication terminal computer that executes at least one of a plurality of application programs, prior to the start of communication, by the owner of the communication terminal, connection destination information associated with the application program, When at least one connection destination indicated by the connection destination information of setting information including owner information related to the application program is set and communication based on the application program is performed, the ownership of the application program This is a program for executing a step of setting a connection destination indicated by any of the connection destination information in the setting information and a step of communicating with the set connection destination based on user information.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to connect to a connection destination corresponding to an application program that requested communication without individually setting communication connection destination information for the application program.

1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The block diagram which shows the hardware constitutions of the communication terminal of the embodiment. The figure explaining the structure of the data memorize | stored in the memory | storage part of the communication terminal. The functional block diagram which shows the function structure of the communication terminal. The sequence diagram which shows the flow of the operation example 1 of the connection process of the communication terminal. The figure explaining the specific example of the operation example 1 of a connection process. The sequence diagram which shows the flow of the operation example 2 of the connection process of the communication terminal. The figure explaining the specific example of the operation example 2 of a connection process. The sequence diagram which shows the flow of the filter process of the communication terminal. The figure explaining the specific example of a filter process. The sequence diagram which shows the flow of the operation example 1 of the buffer process of the communication terminal. 6 is a timing chart for explaining a specific example of buffer processing operation example 1; The sequence diagram which shows the flow of the operation example 2 of the buffer process of the communication terminal. 9 is a timing chart illustrating a specific example of buffer processing operation example 2; The sequence diagram which shows the flow of the operation example 3 of the buffer process of the communication terminal. 10 is a timing chart for explaining a specific example of buffer processing operation example 3; The sequence diagram which shows the flow of the operation example 4 of the buffer process of the communication terminal. The figure explaining the list memorized by the storage part of the communication terminal of modification 1. The figure explaining the list memorized by the storage part of the communication terminal of modification 2.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a communication system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication system 1 includes a communication terminal 10, a first server 20, and a second server 30. The communication terminal 10 is a communication terminal that communicates with the first server 20 and the second server 30 by connecting to the network NW. The communication terminal 10 is a smartphone here, but may be a communication terminal such as a mobile phone terminal, a tablet computer, a notebook computer, or a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant). Here, the network NW is a wireless communication network, and includes a plurality of base stations, a plurality of switching stations, a group of communication nodes such as access points AP1 and AP2, and a communication line that connects these communication nodes to each other. The access point AP1 is an access point (an example of a first connection destination) to which the communication terminal 10 is connected in order to communicate with the first server 20. The access point AP2 is an access point (an example of a second connection destination) to which the communication terminal 10 is connected in order to communicate with the second server 30.

  The first server 20 is a computer device that is connected to the network NW via the communication line L1 and functions as a server of the client-server system. Here, the first server 20 is an ISP (Internet Services Provider) server and is a server device managed by the provider. The first server 20 accepts remote access from the communication terminal 10 and communicates with the communication terminal 10 to provide a predetermined service to the communication terminal 10. The service provided by the first server 20 is a service involving communication with the communication terminal 10, such as an Internet connection service or a mail service that provides a storage area for electronic mail. However, the specific content of the service provided by the first server 20 is not particularly limited.

The second server 30 is a computer device that is connected to the network NW via the communication line L2 and functions as a server of the client-server system. Here, the second server 30 is a company server installed in a company to which the user of the communication terminal 10 belongs. The second server 30 receives remote access from the communication terminal 10 and communicates with the communication terminal 10. The communication line L2 is a communication line that is configured by, for example, a dedicated line or Ethernet and is isolated from the communication line L1. That is, the communication line L2 is a communication line (that is, a closed network) for the communication terminal 10 and the second server 30 to perform closed communication.
Although only one communication terminal 10 is shown in FIG. 1, there are actually more communication terminals 10. Further, FIG. 1 shows only one first server 20 and two second servers 30, but two or more servers may be configured.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the communication terminal 10. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the communication terminal 10 includes a control unit 11, an operation unit 12, a communication unit 13, a display unit 14, and a storage unit 15.
The control unit 11 includes a processor including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 111, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 112, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 113, and a buffer 114. CPU111 controls each part of the communication terminal 10 by reading the program memorize | stored in ROM112 or the memory | storage part 15 to RAM113 as a work area, and running it. The CPU 111 may buffer (that is, temporarily store) the communication data in the buffer 114 before transmitting the communication data to the network NW.

  The operation unit 12 is an operation device that includes a touch screen and a physical key provided on the display surface of the display unit 14 and receives an operation input by a user. When the communication terminal 10 recognizes a voice uttered by the user and accepts a voice input operation, the operation unit 12 may include a microphone for sound collection.

  The communication unit 13 includes a physical interface for connecting to the network NW for communication (here, wireless communication). When connecting to the first server 20, the communication unit 13 transmits to the network NW a connection request signal specifying an APN that specifies the access point AP1. When connecting to the second server 30, the communication unit 13 transmits to the network NW a connection request signal specifying an APN that specifies the access point AP2. The APN is an example of connection destination information that identifies a connection destination of the communication unit 13.

  The display unit 14 is a display device such as a liquid crystal display, and displays an image on a display surface. The storage unit 15 includes a storage device such as an EEPROM (Electronically Erasable and Programmable ROM) or a flash memory. The storage unit 15 stores an OS (Operating System) executed by the control unit 11 and a control program executed by the control unit 11. In addition to this, the storage unit 15 stores an application program group 151 including application programs operating on the OS, a connection destination list 152, a priority list 153, and a communication restriction list 154.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of data stored in the storage unit 15.
FIG. 3A shows a configuration example of application programs included in the application program group 151. Here, the application program group 151 includes a plurality (four in this case) of application programs, application A, application B, application C, and application D.
The application A and the application B are application programs that are executed in order to use a service provided by the first server 20. An electronic certificate dc1 is associated with each of the application A and the application B. For example, the provider that manages the first server 20 is the owner of the electronic certificate dc1. In each of the electronic certificates dc1 corresponding to the application A and the application B, owner information (for example, a character string such as the name of the certificate owner or the serial number of the electronic certificate) specifying the same owner is written. ing. The owner of the electronic certificate dc1 is the same as the creator of the application A and the application B. For this reason, the owner information written in the electronic certificate dc1 indicates creator information that identifies creators of the application A and the application B. That is, the owner information of the electronic certificate is an example of information related to the application program associated with the electronic certificate.

  The application C and the application D are application programs that are executed to communicate with the second server 30. An electronic certificate dc2 is associated with each of the application C and the application D. The electronic certificate dc2 is owned by, for example, a company that manages the second server 30. Therefore, owner information that identifies the same owner is written in each of the electronic certificates dc2 corresponding to the application C and the application D. The owner of the electronic certificate dc2 is the same as the creator of the application C and the application D. For this reason, the owner information written in the electronic certificate dc2 indicates creator information that identifies the creator of the application C and the application D.

  Each of the electronic certificates dc1 and dc2 is used for, for example, processing for verifying the validity of the electronic signature of the associated application program. In addition, the application programs constituting the application program group 151 realize functions related to service provision, but the specific functions are not particularly limited. However, in the present embodiment, an application program including a function of displaying an image (screen) on the display unit 14 is assumed.

FIG. 3B shows a configuration example of the connection destination list 152. The connection destination list 152 is a list in which an APN that specifies a connection destination of communication requested by the application program is set in association with each application program of the application program group 151. Specifically, in the connection destination list 152, an APN is set for the electronic certificate associated with the application program.
The owner information “I1” shown in FIG. 3B is information for specifying the owner of the electronic certificate dc1. APN “apn1.net” is a character string that identifies the access point AP1. The APN “apn1.net” is used for communication requested by the application program associated with the electronic certificate dc1. The owner information “I2” is information for specifying the owner of the electronic certificate dc2. APN “apn2.ne.jp” is a character string that identifies the access point AP2. The APN “apn2.ne.jp” is used for communication requested by the application program associated with the electronic certificate dc2.

  In the connection destination list 152, the default setting “◯” is written in association with the APN “apn1.net”. This means that the connection to the access point AP1 is set to default. In this case, the communication terminal 10 connects to the access point AP1 set as a default even during a period when communication is not performed. When communication to be performed by connecting to the access point AP2 occurs, the communication terminal 10 switches to the connection to the access point AP2 led by the terminal.

  The correspondence between the electronic certificate owner information and the access point APN, and the default connection destination information written in the connection destination list 152 are based on the consent (permission) of the owner of the terminal device 10. Is the setting information set. For example, the owner of the terminal device 10 sets the information of the connection destination list 152 by operating its own terminal device 10. The owner of the terminal device 10 is typically a user who uses the terminal device 10. The owner of the terminal device 10 is, for example, the same person as the contractor who has made a subscription contract with the communication carrier, but may be a person who is not a contractor. As a specific example of a person who is not a contractor, if the contractor is an individual, a close relative such as the family of the contractor, and if the contractor is a corporation, an employee (employee) of the corporation, a contract When the person is a trader who provides a service that lends the communication terminal 10, the user is a user (service use member) of the service.

FIG. 3C shows a configuration example of the priority list 153. The priority list 153 is a list in which the priority of communication requested by the application program is set in association with the application program of the application program group 151. Specifically, in the priority list 153, the priority is set for the electronic certificate associated with the application program.
As shown in FIG. 3C, in the priority list 153, the priority of the application program associated with the electronic certificate dc1 including the owner information “I1” is set to “1”. In the priority list 153, the priority of the application program associated with the electronic certificate dc2 including the owner information “I2” is set to “2”. Here, the smaller the priority value, the higher the communication priority.

FIG. 3D shows a configuration example of the communication restriction list 154. The communication restriction list 154 is a list in which communication restrictions for communication requested by the application program are set in association with the application programs of the application program group 151. Specifically, in the communication restriction list 154, communication restrictions are set for the electronic certificate associated with the application program.
As shown in FIG. 3D, the communication restriction list 154 is identified by APN “apn1.net” in the communication requested by the application program associated with the electronic certificate dc1 including the owner information “I1”. This means that connection to the access point AP1 is permitted. In other words, the communication requested by the application program associated with the electronic certificate dc1 means that connection to another access point (for example, the access point AP2) is not permitted. In the communication restriction list 154, the communication requested by the application program associated with the electronic certificate dc2 including the owner information “I2” is connected to the access point AP2 specified by the APN “apn2.ne.jp”. Means you are allowed to. In other words, the communication requested by the application program associated with the electronic certificate dc2 means that connection to another access point (for example, the access point AP1) is not permitted.

  The priority set in the priority list 153 and the communication restriction set in the communication restriction list 154 are setting information set by the owner of the terminal device 10. The setting information is typically set by the owner of the terminal device 10 operating his / her terminal device 10. The setting information may further include other information. For example, the setting information includes general contract information necessary for communication such as contract information regarding communication performed by the communication terminal 10 and connection destination information of Wi-Fi (registered trademark) connection as a partner in overseas roaming. Information may be included.

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the control unit 11 of the communication terminal 10. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the control unit 11 of the communication terminal 10 realizes functions corresponding to the setting unit 101, the communication management unit 102, the application control unit 103, and the buffer processing unit 104.
Prior to communication, the setting unit 101 performs operation setting of the communication terminal 10 by writing information related to the operation setting of the communication terminal 10 in each of the connection destination list 152, the priority list 153, and the communication restriction list 154. For example, the setting unit 101 updates each list based on a user operation received by the operation unit 12.

  The communication management unit 102 manages communication performed by the communication terminal 10 based on the operation setting by the setting unit 101. For example, when communication is performed based on an application program, the communication management unit 102 connects the communication unit 13 to an access point that is a connection destination of the communication based on the connection destination list 152. For example, the communication management unit 102 controls an API (Application Program Interface) for connecting the communication unit 13 to a predetermined access point. Further, the communication management unit 102 manages communication so that communication with higher priority is preferentially performed based on the priority list 153 when communication requested by a plurality of application programs occurs simultaneously. Further, the communication management unit 102 applies communication restrictions to the communication executed by the application control unit 103 based on the communication restriction list 154.

  The application control unit 103 executes the application program of the application program group 151 and controls the communication terminal 10 according to the executed application program. For example, when performing communication requested by the application program being executed, the application control unit 103 communicates with the access point after the communication unit 13 is connected to a predetermined access point by the communication management unit 102.

  The buffer processing unit 104 performs buffer processing that is processing related to the buffer 114. For example, the buffer processing unit 104 buffers communication data to be transmitted to an access point that is not a default connection destination in the buffer 114. Further, the buffer processing unit 104 reads out communication data buffered in the buffer 114 (hereinafter referred to as “buffering data”) and supplies it to the application control unit 103.

Next, the operation of the communication terminal 10 will be described. In the following description of the operation, unless otherwise specified, the communication terminal 10 uses the access point AP1 as the default connection destination. However, even when the access point AP2 is the default connection destination, the operations of the communication terminal 10 other than the operations related to switching of the connection destination access point are common.
<Connection process>
First, connection processing for connecting the communication unit 13 to an access point will be described.
(Operation example 1 of connection processing)
FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing a flow of operation example 1 of connection processing performed by the communication terminal 10. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of operation example 1 of the connection process.
First, prior to communication, the setting unit 101 updates each list of the connection destination list 152, the priority list 153, and the communication restriction list 154 according to the setting of the owner of the communication terminal 10, thereby setting the operation settings of the communication terminal 10. (Step S1). Here, the connection destination list 152, the priority list 153, and the communication restriction list 154 are updated as shown in FIGS. 3B, 3C, and 3D by the process of step S1.

  Next, the communication management unit 102 connects the communication unit 13 to the access point set as the default connection destination. Specifically, the communication management unit 102 supplies a connection request signal specifying APN “apn1.net” for specifying the access point AP1 to the communication unit 13 based on the connection destination list 152 (step S2). The communication unit 13 connects to the access point AP1 by transmitting this connection request signal to the network NW (step S3). By the process of step S3, as shown in FIG. 6A, a communication path via the access point AP1 and the communication line L1 of the network NW is established between the communication terminal 10 and the first server 20.

  Here, while connecting to the access point AP1, the application control unit 103 starts the application program stored in the storage unit 15 or tries to start communication requested by the running application program. (Step S4). Here, a case is considered where the application program that is about to start or start communication is an application program that operates in the foreground. The communication management unit 102 constantly monitors the presence / absence of communication in the application control unit 103 and the communication destination of communication performed by the application control unit 103. When the communication management unit 102 detects activation of the application program by the application control unit 103 or start of communication of the application program being executed (step S5), the process proceeds to step S6.

  Next, the communication management unit 102 specifies an access point to which the communication unit 13 should be connected based on the electronic certificate associated with the application program that has detected activation or the start of communication (step S6). The communication management unit 102 refers to the owner information written in the electronic certificate, and acquires an APN associated with the owner information based on the connection destination list 152. Here, in the case of the application C associated with the electronic certificate dc2, the communication management unit 102 acquires the APN “apn2.ne.jp” associated with the owner information “I2” from the connection destination list 152. To do.

Next, the communication management unit 102 determines whether to switch the connection destination access point (step S7). The communication management unit 102 determines to switch the access point when the APN acquired in the process of step S6 is different from the APN that specifies the default access destination access point. If the communication management unit 102 determines that the access point is switched in the process of step S7 (step S7; YES), the communication management unit 102 connects the communication unit 13 to the access point specified in the process of step S6. For example, in the case of application C, the communication management unit 102 supplies a connection request signal specifying APN “apn2.ne.jp” to the communication unit 13 based on the connection destination list 152 (step S8). The communication unit 13 switches the connection destination to the access point AP2 by transmitting this connection request signal to the network NW (step S9). By the process of step S9, as shown in FIG. 6B, a communication path via the access point AP2 and the communication line L2 of the network NW is established between the communication terminal 10 and the second server 30.
Note that the communication management unit 102 does not communicate with either access point during switching of the access point to be connected. At this time, the communication management unit 102 may cause the display unit 14 to display a message indicating that the access point is being switched.

  After switching the access point, the application control unit 103 uses the communication unit 13 to perform communication requested by the application program being executed. For example, the application control unit 103 controls the communication unit 13 so that the communication requested by the application C is performed with the second server 30. Thereafter, it is assumed that the application control unit 103 ends the application program that has been executed, or ends communication requested by the application program that is being executed (step S10). When the communication management unit 102 detects the end of the application program by the application control unit 103 or the end of communication requested by the application program being executed based on the monitoring result of the application control unit 103 (step S11), step S12 is performed. Proceed to the process.

  Next, the communication management unit 102 connects the communication unit 13 to the access point set as the default connection destination. Specifically, the communication management unit 102 supplies a connection request signal specifying APN “apn1.net” specifying the access point AP1 to the communication unit 13 based on the connection destination list 152 (step S12). The communication unit 13 switches the connection destination from the access point AP2 to the access point AP1 by transmitting this connection request signal to the network NW (step S13). By the process of step S13, as shown in FIG. 6C, a communication path via the access point AP1 and the communication line L1 of the network NW is established between the communication terminal 10 and the first server 20.

If it is determined in step S7 that the communication management unit 102 does not switch the connection destination access point (step S7; NO), the connection to the access point AP1 set as the default connection destination is maintained. For example, in the case of application A or application B associated with the electronic certificate dc1, the application control unit 103 communicates with the first server 20 via the access point AP1. In the case of the application D, since the application C and the electronic certificate dc2 are common, the application control unit 103 communicates with the second server 30 after switching to the access point AP2.
Thereafter, when the application control unit 103 activates the application program of the application program group 151 in the process of step S4 or starts communication requested by the application program being executed, the communication terminal 10 performs the above-described step S5. Each process of -S13 is performed.

(Operation example 2 of connection processing)
In the operation example 2 of the connection process, the communication management unit 102 determines whether to switch the connection destination access point when the application program being executed has transitioned to a specific state prior to the start of communication.
Taking Android (registered trademark) OS as an example, there is Activity as a component (that is, component) of an application program that runs on this Android OS. When an application program for displaying a screen on the display unit 14 is executed, the program written in Activity is operated. This Activity has methods related to the life cycle (that is, state transition) of the application program. For example, there are “onCreate”, “onStart”, “onResume”, “onBind”, and “onPause” as methods that are called and executed when the component is started, and are called and executed when the component ends. There are “onDestroy” and “onStop” as methods. Among these methods, “onPause” is a method executed when screen display of the application program is started. “OnStop” is a method that is executed when the user cannot see the screen display of the application program. For this reason, when the “onPause” or “onStop” method is executed, the application program operating in the foreground may change, and communication requested by the application program may be started. That is, when the “onPause” and “onStop” methods are executed, the life cycle of the application program has transitioned to a state prior to the start of communication.

Therefore, in the operation example 2 of the connection process, when the communication management unit 102 detects that the “onPause” or “onStop” method is executed, it is necessary to switch the connection destination access point of the communication unit 13. Judging.
FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram showing a flow of operation example 2 of the connection process performed by the communication terminal 10. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of operation example 2 of the connection process. In FIG. 7, steps in which the same process as in the operation example 2 is executed are denoted by the same reference numerals.
First, the setting unit 101 sets the operation of the communication terminal 10 by updating each of the connection destination list 152, the priority list 153, and the communication restriction list 154 (step S1a). In addition to the operation setting described in (Operation Example 1), the setting unit 101 sets, as a switching condition, an Activity method that triggers the necessity of switching the connection destination access point. Here, the setting unit 101 updates the connection destination list 152 so as to set the methods “onPause” and “onStop”. By the processing in step S1a, the connection destination list 152 has the configuration shown in FIG.

  After the operation setting in step S1a, the communication terminal 10 executes the processes in steps S2 to S9 as in the above-described (Operation Example 1). Thereafter, it is assumed that the application control unit 103 executes the “onPause” or “onStop” method, and the application program transitions to a specific state (step S14). When the application control unit 103 detects that there is a state transition to “onPause” or “onStop” and satisfies the switching condition based on the monitoring result (step S11a), the communication management unit 102 connects to the access point of the connection destination. It is determined whether or not to switch (step S15). For example, the communication management unit 102 determines whether or not it is necessary to switch the connection destination to an access point set to a default when performing communication requested by an application program operating in the foreground. If the communication management unit 102 determines that the connection destination access point is switched in the process of step S15 (step S15; YES), the communication management unit 102 changes the connection destination of the communication unit 13 from the access point AP2 to the access point AP1. Switching (steps S12 and S13).

According to the operation example 2 of the connection process described above, the communication terminal 10 can switch the access point to be connected even when the application program being executed is not terminated and transitions to a state of operating in the background. Necessity can be determined at an appropriate timing.
In the description of the operation example 2 of the connection process, the Android OS method is taken as an example, but another OS may be used. Even in this case, the communication terminal 10 may determine whether or not it is necessary to switch the connection destination access point when it is detected that the state has changed to a specific state prior to communication based on the state transition of the application program.

<Filter processing>
Next, filter processing performed by the communication terminal 10 will be described. The filtering process is a process of applying communication restrictions to communications performed by connecting to an access point while the communication terminal 10 is connected to any access point.
FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of the filter process. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of filter processing.
It is assumed that the application control unit 103 tries to start communication requested by the running application program (step S21). Here, a case is considered where the application program that is about to start communication is an application program that operates in the background. When the communication management unit 102 detects the start of communication based on the monitoring result of the application control unit 103 (step S22), the communication management unit 102 specifies the communication restriction to be applied based on the electronic certificate associated with the application program (step S22). S23). The communication management unit 102 refers to the owner information written in the electronic certificate, and identifies the communication restriction associated with the owner information based on the communication restriction list 154. In the case of the application C associated with the electronic certificate dc2, the communication management unit 102 connects the APN “apn2.ne.jp” associated with the owner information “I2” to a connection destination access point that permits communication. Specified as indicating.

  Next, the communication management unit 102 determines whether to permit communication with the connected access point based on the communication restriction specified in step S23 (step S24). If communication to the connected access point is not permitted in the communication restriction list 154 (step S24; NO), the communication management unit 102 sends a non-permission signal notifying that communication is not permitted. Then, the data is supplied to the application control unit 103 (step S25). When the non-permission signal is supplied, the application control unit 103 does not execute the communication that is to be started in the process of step S21. On the other hand, if communication with the connected access point is permitted in the communication restriction list 154, the communication management unit 102 determines that the communication is permitted (step S24; YES). In this case, the communication management unit 102 supplies a permission signal notifying that communication is permitted to the application control unit 103 (step S26). When the permission signal is supplied, the application control unit 103 transmits communication data to the access point by the communication unit 13 (step S27).

  As shown in FIG. 10A, when connected to the access point AP1, the communication management unit 102 permits the communication requested by the application A and the application B while the communication requested by the application C or the application D. The communication restriction that is not permitted is applied to the communication unit 13. As shown in FIG. 10B, when connecting to the access point AP2, the communication management unit 102 permits the communication requested by the application C and the application D, while allowing the communication requested by the application A or the application B. The communication restriction that is not permitted is applied to the communication unit 13.

<Buffer processing>
Next, buffer processing performed by the communication terminal 10 will be described. In the description of the buffer processing, the communication management unit 102 sets the access point AP2 as a default connection destination (an example of a first connection destination) and every time a predetermined period elapses (for example, 1 second to 1). In order to transmit a polling signal to the first server 20, the connection to the access point AP1 (an example of the second connection destination) is switched at a time interval.

(Operation example 1 of buffer processing)
FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram illustrating a flow of operation example 1 of buffer processing performed by the communication terminal 10. FIG. 12 is a timing chart illustrating a specific example of operation example 1 of buffer processing.
When the communication management unit 102 determines that communication data to be transmitted to an access point to which the communication unit 13 is not connected is generated and is to be buffered in the buffer 114, the communication management unit 102 displays a buffer instruction signal for instructing buffering. It supplies to the control part 103 (step S31). For example, the communication management unit 102 supplies a buffer instruction signal to the application control unit 103 when it is determined in step S24 of the filter processing described above that communication with the connected access point is not permitted.
When the buffer instruction signal is supplied, the application control unit 103 supplies communication data to be buffered to the buffer processing unit 104 (step S32). The buffer processing unit 104 buffers the supplied communication data in the buffer 114 (step S33). For example, if communication data to be transmitted to the first server 20 is generated during a period from time t1 to time t2 in FIG. 12, the buffer processing unit 104 buffers the communication data in the buffer 114.

Next, when the communication management unit 102 determines that the switching timing of the connection destination access point has arrived (step S34), the connection destination of the communication unit 13 is switched from the access point AP2 to the access point AP1 (steps S35 and S36). ).
Next, the communication management unit 102 supplies a transfer instruction signal for instructing transfer of buffered communication data (that is, buffering data) to the buffer processing unit 104 (step S37). When the transfer instruction signal is supplied, the buffer processing unit 104 reads the buffering data from the buffer 114 and supplies it to the application control unit 103 (step S38). The application control unit 103 causes the buffering data from the buffer processing unit 104 to be transmitted to the access point AP1 to which the communication unit 13 is connected (step S39). For example, the application control unit 103 transmits buffering data during a period of connection to the access point AP1 for transmission of a polling signal from time t2 to time t3 in FIG.
Thereafter, the communication terminal 10 executes the processes of steps S31 to S39. For example, when communication data to be transmitted to the access point AP1 is generated in the period from the time t3 to the time t4 in FIG. 12, the communication terminal 10 buffers the communication data in the buffer 114. And the communication terminal 10 transmits buffering data in the period connected to access point AP1 from the time t4 to the time t5.
With the buffer processing described above, even when communication data to be transmitted to an access point to which the communication unit 13 is not connected is generated, the communication terminal 10 receives this communication data when connecting to the access point next time. Can be sent.

(Operation example 2 of buffer processing)
In operation example 2 of the buffer process, the communication terminal 10 preferentially performs communication when communication with a high priority occurs regarding communication with an access point that is not connected.
FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram illustrating a flow of operation example 2 of buffer processing. FIG. 14 is a timing chart illustrating a specific example of buffer processing operation example 2.
It is assumed that the application control unit 103 tries to start communication requested by the application program (step S41). When the communication management unit 102 detects the start of communication based on the monitoring result of the application control unit 103 (step S42), the communication management unit 102 determines whether the communication is requested by an application with high priority (step S43). Here, the communication management unit 102 determines whether the communication priority of the application program that starts communication is higher than the communication priority of the application program that triggered the connection to the currently connected access point. to decide. Here, the communication management unit 102 specifies the priority of communication by referring to the priority associated with the owner information of the electronic certificate associated with the application program in the priority list 153.
If the communication management unit 102 determines that the communication is not requested by an application program with a high priority (step S43; NO), the communication management unit 102 proceeds to the process of step S31 of (operation example 1) described in FIG. Control to buffer

On the other hand, when the communication management unit 102 determines that the communication is requested by the application program with high priority (step S43; YES), the application program requested the access point to which the communication unit 13 is connected. Switching to a connection destination for communication (that is, access point AP1) (steps S44 and S45). After switching the access point to be connected, the communication management unit 102 supplies the buffer processing unit 104 with a transfer instruction signal instructing transfer of buffering data in the buffer 114 (step S46). When the transfer instruction signal is supplied, the buffer processing unit 104 supplies the buffering data read from the buffer 114 to the application control unit 103 (step S47). The application control unit 103 transmits the communication data generated in the process of step S41 and the buffering data supplied from the buffer processing unit 104 by the communication unit 13 (step S48).
As shown in FIG. 14, when communication with high priority occurs at time t6, the communication management unit 102 advances the timing of polling signal transmission and switches the connection destination to the access point AP1 at time t7. Then, the application control unit 103 transmits the communication data and the buffering data to the first server via the access point AP1 during the period when the application control unit 103 is connected to the access point AP1 to transmit the polling signal from the time point t7 to the time point t8. 20 is transmitted.
Through the above buffer processing, the communication terminal 10 can immediately transmit communication data related to communication with high priority.

(Operation example 3 of buffer processing)
The operation example 3 of the buffer processing is different from the operation example 2 described above in the method for determining communication with high priority. In operation example 3 of the buffer process, the communication management unit 102 determines that communication that occurs periodically is low-priority communication, and that communication that occurs aperiodically is high-priority communication.
FIG. 15 is a sequence diagram illustrating a flow of operation example 3 of the buffer process. FIG. 16 is a timing chart illustrating a specific example of buffer processing.
It is assumed that the application control unit 103 tries to start communication requested by the application program (step S41). When the communication management unit 102 detects the start of communication based on the monitoring result of the application control unit 103 (step S42), the communication management unit 102 determines whether this communication is aperiodic communication (step S43a). The communication management unit 102 collects a communication history including the time (for example, date and time) of communication for each application program in advance and stores the communication history in the storage unit 15. Then, when the communication requested by the same application periodically occurs at a predetermined interval, the communication management unit 102 determines that the communication is periodic communication, and otherwise, it is aperiodic. Judge as communication.

As shown in FIG. 16, it can be presumed that the communication requested by the same application periodically generated at intervals of ΔT is the transmission of a polling signal for the purpose of confirming the status of the first server 20. This type of periodic communication data is considered to have a relatively low possibility of communication data to be transmitted immediately. Therefore, when the communication management unit 102 determines that the communication occurs periodically (step S43a; NO), the communication management unit 102 proceeds to the process of step S31 of (operation example 1) described in FIG. 11 to buffer the communication data. To control.
On the other hand, when the communication management unit 102 determines non-periodic communication (step S43a; YES), the connection destination access point of the communication unit 13 is set as a connection destination (access point AP1) for communication. Switching (steps S44, S45). Thereafter, the communication terminal 10 operates in the same manner as in the operation example 2 of the buffer process.
As illustrated in FIG. 16, when aperiodic communication occurs at time t10, the communication management unit 102 advances the polling signal transmission timing and switches the connection destination to the access point AP1 at time t11. And the application control part 103 transmits buffering data in the period connected to access point AP1 for the transmission of the polling signal from the time t11 to the time t12.
Through the above buffer processing, the communication terminal 10 can determine communication with high priority according to whether the communication is periodic or aperiodic.

(Operation example 4 of buffer processing)
In addition to the buffer processes of the operation examples 1 to 3 described above, the communication terminal 10 may immediately transmit the buffering data when the buffering capacity of the buffer 114 becomes equal to or greater than the threshold value.
FIG. 17 is a sequence diagram illustrating a flow of the operation example 4 of the buffer process.
The buffer processing unit 104 checks the buffer capacity that is the capacity of the buffering data accumulated in the buffer 114 (step S51). When the buffer capacity is equal to or greater than the threshold (step S52; YES), the buffer processing unit 104 supplies an excess capacity signal to each of the communication management unit 102 and the application control unit 103 (step S53). Receiving the excess capacity signal, the communication management unit 102 switches the access point to which the communication unit 13 is connected (steps S54 and S55). Further, the application control unit 103 that has received the capacity excess signal supplies a transfer instruction signal to the buffer processing unit 104 (step S56). When the transfer instruction signal is supplied, the buffer processing unit 104 reads the buffering data from the buffer 114 and supplies it to the application control unit 103 (step S57). The application control unit 103 transmits buffering data through the communication unit 13 (step S58).
Through the above buffer processing, the communication terminal 10 can transmit the communication data in the buffer 114 at a timing when the buffering capacity becomes equal to or greater than the threshold value. As a result, loss of communication data due to excess capacity of the buffer 114 can be prevented.

When performing the communication requested by the application program, the communication terminal 10 according to the embodiment described above switches the connection destination of the communication unit 13 to an access point corresponding to owner information that identifies the owner of the application program. As a result, when the communication requested by the application program is performed, the user of the communication terminal 10 does not need to be particularly aware of the setting of the access point of the connection destination in the communication. Further, the communication terminal 10 manages the information of the access point of the connection destination in association with the creator information of the application program (here, the owner information of the electronic certificate). With this management, even if the number of application programs installed in the storage unit 15 increases or the ID information of the application program changes, the electronic certificate is common to other application programs. The communication terminal 10 can specify a connection destination access point based on information already set in each list.
In addition, the communication terminal 10 can more reliably perform communication requested by each application program by performing filter processing and buffer processing.

[Modification]
The present invention can be implemented in a form different from the above-described embodiment. The present invention can also be implemented in the following forms, for example. Further, the following modifications may be combined as appropriate.
(Modification 1)
In the embodiment described above, each of the connection destination list 152, the priority list 153, and the communication restriction list 154 relates to the operation setting of the communication terminal 10 in association with the owner information of the electronic certificate associated with the application program. Information is written. The owner information related to the application program may be further information. For example, the communication terminal 10 writes information related to operation settings of the communication terminal 10 in each list in association with creator information included in an identifier for identifying an application program (hereinafter referred to as “application identifier”). Also good. In this modification, the setting unit 101 stores a connection destination list 152a, a priority list 153a, and a communication restriction list 154a shown in FIGS. 18A, 18B, and 18C, respectively.

  The application identifier is an identifier for uniquely identifying each application program, and here is information called a package name. This package name generally includes creator information that identifies the creator of the application program. For example, the package name is represented by a character string “com.serviceprovider1.app1”, and includes a character string “serviceprovider1” that is information for identifying the creator. The application programs provided by this creator are, for example, “com.serviceprovider1.app1”, “com.serviceprovider1.app2”, “com.serviceprovider1.app3”. The character string after that is different for each application program.

  Therefore, when performing communication requested by the application program, the communication management unit 102 first specifies the application identifier of the application program. Then, the communication management unit 102 associates the creator information (“serviceprovider1” or “serviceprovider2” in the example of FIG. 18) included in the identified application identifier with the connection destination list 152a, the priority list 153a, and the communication restriction. The communication terminal 10 is operated based on the information written in the list 154a.

(Modification 2)
The owner information related to the application program may be further information. For example, the communication terminal 10 may write information related to operation settings of the communication terminal 10 in each list in association with the creator information included in the communication destination address of the communication requested by the application program. In this modification, the setting unit 101 stores a connection destination list 152b, a priority list 153b, and a communication restriction list 154b shown in FIGS. 19A, 19B, and 19C, respectively. The communication destination address is, for example, a URL (Uniform Resource Locator).
The domain name of the communication address here includes creator information that identifies the creator of the application program. Here, the communication address for accessing the first server 20 is “https: //serviceprovider1.supl*.com” and “https: //serviceprovider1.sup2*.com”, and the domain name is the creator information. It is a meaning character string. The character string indicating the creator information is common to a plurality of application programs having the same creator. On the other hand, the communication address for accessing the second server 30 is “https: //serviceprovider2.sup3*.com” and “https: //serviceprovider2.sup4*.com”, and the domain name means creator information. It is a character string to be. The character string indicating the creator information is common to a plurality of application programs having the same creator.

In this modification, when performing communication requested by an application, the communication management unit 102 first specifies a communication address of a communication destination. Then, the communication management unit 102 associates with the creator information (“serviceprovider1” or “serviceprovider2” in the example of FIG. 19) included in the identified communication address, the connection destination list 152b, the priority list 153b, and the communication restriction. The communication terminal 10 is operated based on the information written in the list 154b.
Note that the communication terminal 10 may write information related to operation settings of the communication terminal 10 into each list by using two or more of the electronic certificate owner, application identifier, and communication destination address information. .

(Modification 3)
In the communication terminal 10 of the above-described embodiment, the user has determined the access point of the default connection destination, but the communication terminal 10 determines the access point to be the default connection destination with the consent of the owner. It may be set.
For example, the communication terminal 10 may preferentially set an access point with push communication from the mobile communication network NW side as a default. If it carries out like this, when there exists push communication from the network NW side, it will become easy for the communication terminal 10 to receive the communication data regarding this push communication more reliably.
Further, the communication terminal 10 may be set as a default connection destination access point according to time such as time or date. For example, the communication terminal 10 sets the access point AP2 as a default connection destination at a predetermined time such as a user's working hours, and sets the access point AP1 as a default connection destination at other times. . The communication terminal 10 may set a default access point according to the current position of the terminal itself. For example, the communication terminal 10 sets the access point AP2 as the default connection destination when the terminal is in a specific position such as a company or its surroundings, and sets the access point AP1 when the terminal is in any other position. Is set as the default destination. As this positioning method, a known positioning method such as GPS (Global Positioning System) positioning or base station positioning can be adopted.
As described above, the communication terminal 10 can change the default access point when a predetermined condition is satisfied. The function of changing the default access point is realized by the setting unit 101, for example.

(Modification 4)
The communication terminal 10 may determine whether or not to set the operation based on the list stored in the storage unit 15 according to the communication network (that is, the communication network) to which the communication unit 13 is connected. For example, the communication terminal 10 does not set the operation based on the list while connected to a predetermined communication network such as a Wi-Fi network.
Each of the lists stored in the communication terminal 10 may be any of a white list format, a black list format, and a list obtained by combining these. In the case of the white list format, the communication terminal 10 permits only operations set in the list, and disallows operations not set in the list. In the case of the black list format, the communication terminal 10 permits only operations set in the list, and disallows operations not set in the list.

A part of the processing performed by the communication terminal 10 described in the above-described embodiment may be omitted. For example, the communication terminal 10 may not perform part of the connection process, the filter process, and the buffer process.
The network NW may be a fixed communication network instead of a wireless communication network. Further, the specific types of communication lines L1 and L2 are not particularly limited. That is, in the present invention, the type of the connection destination device or communication network of the communication terminal is not particularly limited. Accordingly, the connection destination information for specifying the connection destination of the communication terminal is not limited to the APN, and may be information for specifying the connection destination of the communication terminal.
The communication terminal of the present invention may be connected to three or more different connection destinations (access points) in communication.

  Each function realized by the communication terminal 10 of the above-described embodiment may be realized by one or a plurality of hardware circuits, or may be realized by an arithmetic device executing one or a plurality of programs. It may be realized by a combination of When the function of the communication terminal 10 is realized using a program, the program includes a magnetic recording medium (magnetic tape, magnetic disk (HDD (Hard Disk Drive), FD (Flexible Disk), etc.)), optical recording medium (optical disk). Etc.), may be provided in a state of being stored in a computer-readable recording medium such as a magneto-optical recording medium or a semiconductor memory, or may be distributed via a network. Further, the present invention can be grasped as a communication method performed by a computer.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Communication system 10 ... Communication terminal 101 ... Setting part 102 ... Communication management part 103 ... Application control part 104 ... Buffer processing part 11 ... Control part 111 ... CPU, 112 ... ROM, 113 ... RAM, 114 ... buffer, 12 ... operation unit, 13 ... communication unit, 14 ... display unit, 15 ... storage unit, 151 ... application program group, 152, 152a, 152b ... connection destination list, 153, 153a, 153b ... priority list, 154, 154a, 154b ... communication restriction list, 20 ... first server, 30 ... second server.

Claims (8)

A storage unit for storing a plurality of application programs, connection destination information associated with the application programs, and setting information including owner information related to the application programs;
Prior to the start of communication, at least one connection destination indicated by the connection destination information of the setting information is set by the owner of the own communication terminal,
When communication based on the application program is performed, based on the owner information of the application program, a setting unit that sets a connection destination indicated by any of the connection destination information of the setting information,
A communication terminal comprising: a communication unit that communicates with the set connection destination. The owner information includes electronic certificate or creator information of the application program,
The setting unit
The communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein the connection destination is set based on an electronic certificate corresponding to the connection destination set by the owner or creator information of the application program. The setting unit
Set communication restrictions as the setting information for the creator information of the electronic certificate or the application program,
The communication unit is
The communication terminal according to claim 2, wherein the communication restriction set in an electronic certificate of the application program or creator information of the application program is applied in communication performed based on the application program. The communication unit is
The communication terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein when the application program being executed transitions to a specific state, communication is performed with a connection destination in the communication. A buffer processing unit for buffering communication data to be transmitted to a connection destination not connected to the communication unit;
The communication unit is
The communication terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein, when communicating with a connection destination that is not connected, the buffered communication data is transmitted to the connection destination. The connection destination includes a first connection destination and a second connection destination different from the first connection destination,
The communication unit is
The communication with the first connection destination or / and the second connection destination is performed in accordance with whether or not a predetermined condition is satisfied. 6. Communication terminal. A communication method of a communication terminal that executes at least one of a plurality of application programs,
Prior to the start of communication, at least one of the connection destination information of the setting information including connection destination information associated with the application program and owner information related to the application program by the owner of the communication terminal. There are two connection destinations,
When communication based on the application program is performed, based on the owner information of the application program, setting a connection destination indicated by the connection destination information of any of the setting information;
Communicating with the set connection destination. A computer of a communication terminal that executes at least one of a plurality of application programs,
Prior to the start of communication, at least one of the connection destination information indicated by the setting information including connection destination information associated with the application program and owner information related to the application program by the owner of the communication terminal. There are two connection destinations,
When communication based on the application program is performed, based on the owner information of the application program, setting a connection destination indicated by the connection destination information of any of the setting information;
A program for executing the step of communicating with the set connection destination.

Images