JP2017129959A - Terminal equipment, server, and terminal control program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To appropriately perform calculation of communication quantity or calculation of communication charge even when performing prefetch of a content.SOLUTION: Terminal equipment 100 comprises: a communication function part 102 for communicating with a data server via an access point 200; a prefetch/cache control part 104 for controlling whether or not communication for prefetch as processing to preliminarily download data from an external server 500 to the terminal equipment 100 should be performed by the communication function part 102; and a cache storage part 106 for storing the data acquired by communication for prefetch. The cache storage part 106 outputs data amount such that at least either the data amount of actually unused data or the data amount of actually used data among the acquired data is reported to the server device 400.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a terminal device, a server, and a terminal control program.

  Digital content such as music and moving images has a larger data size than an HTML file or the like distributed on the network. Therefore, if digital content is distributed via the network, a great load is imposed on the network. In consideration of this point, servers for distributing digital contents are arranged at various locations on the network, and an optimal server (that is, a digital content distribution point) according to the position of the terminal user in the network. By instructing content distribution to the network, it is possible to suppress the network load when distributing large-capacity digital content. At this time, the closer the position of the server in the network is to the position of the terminal user, the greater the effect of reducing the network load.

  However, in order to pursue such an effect of reducing the network load, if excessive measures are taken such as arranging a large number of servers in the network and increasing the amount of data stored in each server, the number of servers and each server However, there is a problem that the amount of data to be stored increases and the cost increases.

  In order to deal with such problems, a server close to the location of the terminal user specifies a preference regarding the content based on the past communication history of the terminal user, and obtains and stores the content according to the specified preference in advance. A method called “prefetch and cache” is known (see Patent Document 1 below). Such a server is, for example, a base station in a mobile communication system or a base station and a server on the Internet. Installed at a node or the like.

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2015-57712 Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2015-5061

  However, wireless communication between the terminal device and the base station is always required even in the case of prefetch and cache (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as “prefetch”) by the above server. The general problem that smooth implementation is difficult due to congestion in the wireless communication section between the two is unsolved. That is, the prefetching by the server has a problem that it is difficult to reduce congestion in the wireless communication section and to improve the user experience associated with the relaxation.

  On the other hand, a technique for controlling whether or not software update data is downloaded to a terminal device according to communication quality or network information is also known (see Patent Document 2). However, this technology is intended to control under what circumstances certain specific data, such as software update data, should be downloaded and applied to an unspecified number of data. However, there remains a problem that it is difficult to reduce congestion in the wireless communication section and improve the user experience associated with the relaxation in various situations and various contents.

  Therefore, for the purpose of alleviating congestion in the wireless communication section and improving the user experience associated with the relaxation, the terminal device downloads an unspecified number of data from the server in advance and stores it in the memory in the terminal device. A technique using prefetch that uses data stored in the memory instead of communicating with the server at the timing when the apparatus actually uses such data is conceivable. Data downloaded by such prefetching is composed of two types of data that are actually used by the terminal device and data that is not actually used.

  By the way, in communication generated by a mobile terminal, a data communication amount and a communication fee are calculated for each user. Of the data downloaded by the above-mentioned prefetch technique, there is a problem that it is not preferable from the viewpoint of the user that the calculation of the communication amount or the calculation of the communication fee is performed on the data that is not actually used.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to appropriately calculate a communication amount and a communication fee even when content prefetching is performed.

  A terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention is a terminal device that communicates with a data server, a communication unit that communicates with the data server via a base station, and downloads data from the data server to the terminal device in advance. A control unit that controls whether or not the communication unit performs communication for prefetching, which is processing to be performed, and a storage unit that stores data acquired by communication for prefetching. The amount of data is output so that at least one of the amount of data that is not actually used and the amount of data that is actually used is reported to a predetermined server.

  A terminal control program according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a computer provided in a terminal device that communicates with a data server, a communication unit that communicates with the data server via a base station, and data from the data server to the terminal device. To function as a control unit that controls whether or not the communication unit performs communication for prefetching, which is a pre-downloading process, and a storage unit that stores data acquired by communication for prefetching It is a terminal control program, and the storage unit is configured so that at least one of the data amount that is not actually used and the data amount that is actually used among the acquired data is reported to a predetermined server. , Output the data amount.

  According to the terminal device or the terminal control program, at least one of the data amount of data that is not actually used and the data amount of data that is actually used among the data acquired by communication for prefetching is predetermined. The amount of data is output as reported to the server. For this reason, when a predetermined server calculates a communication fee for prefetch communication based on the reported data amount, for example, a calculation of a communication amount or a communication fee for data that is not actually used. Can be prevented. Alternatively, the calculation of the communication amount and the calculation of the communication fee can be performed only for the actually used data. Therefore, even when the terminal device prefetches content, it is possible to appropriately calculate the communication amount and the communication fee.

  The control unit may determine whether to perform communication for prefetch based on at least one of the type of communication network, communication quality information, base station identification information, and time information. For example, by determining whether or not to perform communication for prefetching in this way, it is possible to reduce congestion in the wireless communication section and improve the user experience associated with the relaxation.

  A server according to an embodiment of the present invention is a server that can communicate with a terminal device that performs prefetching, which is a process of downloading data from a data server in advance, and the data acquired by communication for prefetching in the terminal device A counting unit that counts the data amount of the data that is not actually used in the terminal device and the data amount of the data that is actually used among the data acquired in the terminal device. A charge for communication for prefetching is calculated based on at least one.

  According to the server, based on at least one of the data amount actually used in the terminal device and the data amount actually used among the data acquired by the communication for prefetch in the terminal device. Thus, a charge for communication for prefetching is calculated. Therefore, even when the terminal device prefetches content, it is possible to appropriately calculate the communication amount and the communication fee.

  The counting unit may calculate a charge for communication for prefetch based on a data amount obtained by subtracting a data amount of data that is not actually used from the acquired data. In that case, the counting unit targets the data amount obtained by subtracting the data amount of the data that was not actually used from the acquired data, and the communication fee required for the terminal device to download the target data amount, You may calculate as a charge with respect to the communication for prefetch. For example, in this way, an appropriate communication amount and communication charge can be calculated.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to appropriately calculate the communication amount and the communication fee even when prefetching content.

It is a block diagram of the mobile communication system in each embodiment of this invention. It is a functional block block diagram of the terminal device in each embodiment of this invention. It is a functional block block diagram of the server apparatus in each embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the prefetch and cache control method based on the type of communication network in 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the control method of the prefetch and cache based on the communication quality information in 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the prefetch and cache control method based on the identification number of the access point in 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the prefetch and cache control method based on time in 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the control method when the application part in 1st Embodiment of this invention requires data. It is a flowchart which shows the calculation processing method of the data amount which the cache preservation | save part after the application part in 1st Embodiment of this invention uses the data preserve | saved at the cache preservation | save part. It is a flowchart which shows the calculation processing method after the count server in 2nd Embodiment of this invention receives the data amount from the receiving server. It is a figure which shows the classification of the data amount preserve | saved at the cache preservation | save part in 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the classification of the data amount preserve | saved at the count server in 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a hardware block diagram of the terminal device in embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram of a terminal control program.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions are omitted.

(Mobile communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention)
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a mobile communication system in each embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the mobile communication system according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a terminal device 100, an access point 200, a backhaul 300 such as a wired network, a server device 400, and an external server 500. The access point 200 is configured by a base station, for example. The external server 500 is a data server that can provide various contents to the terminal device 100, for example. Note that the mobile communication system may include a plurality of terminal devices 100, a plurality of access points 200, and a plurality of external servers 500, as shown in FIG. The number of each element is not limited to the example shown in FIG.

  FIG. 2 is a functional block configuration diagram of the terminal device. As shown in FIG. 2, the terminal device 100 includes a communication function unit 102 that performs communication with the access point 200, a prefetch, a prefetch / cache control unit 104 that controls a cache, a cache storage unit 106 that stores a cache, an application Part 108. The communication function unit 102, the prefetch / cache control unit 104, and the cache storage unit 106 are connected to each other. The application unit 108 is connected to the cache storage unit 106 and the communication function unit 102.

  The communication function unit 102 communicates with the access point 200. That is, the communication function unit 102 receives downlink data from the external server 500 via the server device 400, the backhaul 300, and the access point 200, and the access point 200, the backhaul 300, and the server device to the external server 500. Uplink data is transmitted to the external server 500 via 400. That is, the terminal device 100 can communicate with the server device 400 and the external server 500 via the access point 200.

  The communication function unit 102 identifies the type of communication network (GSM (registered trademark), W-CDMA, LTE, 5G, WiFi, etc. described later) used for communication with the access point 200, and the type of communication network obtained. Information regarding the prefetch / cache control unit 104 is notified. For example, when the communication function unit 102 communicates with the access point 200 using a 5G communication network, or when the terminal device 100 is in a state in which the terminal device 100 can communicate with the access point 200 using a 5G communication network, communication is performed. “5G” is notified to the prefetch / cache control unit 104 as information regarding the type of network.

  The communication function unit 102 acquires quality information (hereinafter referred to as “communication quality information”) when performing communication with the access point 200. Here, the communication quality information may be, for example, quality information of a downlink pilot signal, more specifically, may be a reception level of a downlink pilot signal, or may be downlink. It may be the SINR (Signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio) of the pilot signal of the link. Alternatively, the communication quality information may be RSRP (Reference Signal Received Power), RSRQ (Reference Signal Received Quality), SINR, or the like, or may be a path loss between the terminal device 100 and the access point 200. . Alternatively, the communication quality information may be the above-described various quality information in the uplink instead of the downlink.

  The communication function unit 102 acquires the identification number of the access point 200. Here, the identification number may be notified by, for example, a downlink pilot signal, a synchronization signal, a broadcast channel, or the like. That is, the communication function unit 102 receives and decodes a downlink pilot signal, a synchronization signal, a broadcast channel, and the like transmitted from the access point 200, and acquires an identification signal of the access point 200. The identification number of the access point 200 may be an identification number of a base station that constitutes the access point 200, or may be an identification number of a cell managed by the access point 200.

  The communication function unit 102 transmits the received downlink data to the application unit 108.

  The communication function unit 102 receives uplink data to be transmitted from the application unit to the external server 500, and transmits the uplink data to the external server 500 via the access point 200, the backhaul 300, and the server device 400. Send.

  When the communication function unit 102 receives an instruction from the prefetch / cache control unit 104 “acquires data from the server by prefetching and stores the data as a cache”, the communication function unit 102 receives the server device 400, backhaul from the external server 500. 300, downlink data is received via the access point 200, and the data is transmitted to the cache storage unit 106. The prefetch here is a process in which the terminal device 100 downloads various data in advance from the external server 500 through the access point 200, for example.

  The prefetch / cache control unit 104 transmits an instruction “acquire data from the server by prefetching and save the data as a cache” to the communication function unit 102.

  The prefetch / cache control unit 104 receives the various communication information (for example, communication network type, communication quality information, communication congestion information, access point 200 identification number, etc.) from the communication function unit 102. Further, the prefetch / cache control unit 104 acquires time information from a clock function unit (not shown) in the terminal device 100.

  The prefetch / cache control unit 104 acquires data from the server by prefetching based on at least one of the acquired communication network type, communication quality information, access point 200 identification number, and time information as a cache. Decide whether to save. For example, when the network type received from the communication function unit 102 is a specific type, the prefetch / cache control unit 104 determines to acquire data from the server by prefetching and store the data as a cache. The communication function unit 102 is instructed to acquire data from the server and store the data as a cache. The specific type may be 5G.

  When the prefetch / cache control unit 104 sends an instruction “acquire data from the server by prefetching and stores the data as a cache” to the communication function unit 102, the cache function unit 106 Data received from the server 500 via the server device 400, the backhaul 300, and the access point 200 is received from the communication function unit 102, and the data, data amount, and communication quality information are stored in a storage medium in the cache storage unit 106.

  The cache storage unit 106 receives an inquiry from the application unit 108 as to whether data required by the application unit 108 is cached. When the data required by the application unit 108 is already cached in the cache storage unit 106, the cache storage unit 106 transmits the data to the application unit 108.

  The cache storage unit 106 performs processing for subtracting the amount of data transmitted to the application unit 108 from the total amount of downloaded data. For example, if the terminal device 100 owned by the user generates a data amount of 300 MB (Mega-Byte) by prefetch / cache communication, and the data transmitted to the application unit 108 is 200 MB, the cache storage unit 106 has 300 MB And 100 MB of the difference between 200 MB and 200 MB are stored as the data amount after subtraction. Note that 200 MB of data transmitted to the application unit 108 may be stored in the cache storage unit 106 as the data amount instead of or together with the data amount after subtraction.

  The cache storage unit 106 notifies the receiving server 404, which will be described later, of the amount of data stored in the cache storage unit 106. The data amount to be notified is the data amount after subtraction described above, that is, the data amount of data that is not actually used among the acquired data, and the data amount transmitted to the application unit 108 described above, that is, acquired. It may be at least one of the data amount actually used among the data. The notification of the data amount may be specifically performed by the communication function unit 102, and in this case, the cache storage unit 106 outputs the data amount to the communication function unit 102, for example, so as to be reported to the server device 400. do it. After notifying the receiving server 404, the cache storage unit 106 deletes the data amount, the communication quality information, and the identification number information of the access point 200.

  The application unit 108 transmits and receives data to and from the external server 500 via the communication function unit 102, the access point 200, the backhaul 300, and the server device 400.

  When data is needed, the application unit 108 inquires of the cache storage unit 106 whether the corresponding data is cached before communicating with the external server 500. If the data is cached, the data is acquired from the cache storage unit 106 without communicating with the external server 500.

  Here, the hardware configuration of the terminal device 100 will be described with reference to FIG. As illustrated in FIG. 13, the terminal device 100 physically includes one or more CPUs (Central Processing Units) 100A, RAMs (Random Access Memory) 100B, ROMs (Read Only Memory) 100C, and data transmission / reception devices. A communication unit 100D, an auxiliary storage unit 100E such as a semiconductor memory or a hard disk, an input unit 100F that receives input of a user operation such as an operation panel (including operation buttons) or a touch panel, an output unit 100G such as a display, and a CD- It can be configured as a computer including a reading unit 100H such as a ROM drive device. The ROM 100C may include an EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM) or an EEPROM (registered trademark) (Electronically Erasable and Programmable ROM).

  2 functions as described above by reading one or more programs stored in the recording medium M such as a CD-ROM by the reading unit 100H and loading them into hardware such as the RAM 100B. This is realized by operating the communication unit 100D, the input unit 100F, and the output unit 100G under the control of the CPU 100A, and reading and writing data in the RAM 100B and the auxiliary storage unit 100E. That is, information processing by software such as the terminal control program 100P of FIG. 14 described later is specifically realized by using the hardware resources of FIG. 13, thereby executing various control processes described later.

  FIG. 14 shows a configuration of a terminal control program 100P for causing a computer to function as the terminal device 100. As shown in FIG. 14, the terminal control program 100P includes a communication module P1, a control module P2, and a storage module P3. These modules implement the functions of the communication function unit 102, the prefetch / cache control unit 104, and the cache storage unit 106 described above with reference to FIG. The terminal control program 100P is provided by being stored in the program storage area R of the recording medium M, for example, or provided by downloading via a network. The recording medium M may be any type of recording medium such as a flexible disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, a USB memory, a DVD, a hard disk, and a semiconductor memory.

  FIG. 3 is a functional block configuration diagram of the server apparatus. As shown in FIG. 3, the server device 400 includes a count server 402, a receiving server 404, and a control server 406. The control server 406 is a part that performs overall control of the server device 400, for example.

  The count server 402 is a part (counting unit) that receives uplink data from the terminal device 100 via the access point 200 and the backhaul 300 and transmits the data to the external server 500. When the count server 402 receives uplink data from the communication function unit 102 via the access point 200 and the backhaul 300, the count server 402 calculates (counts) the communication amount of the received data. The count server 402 can also count the amount of data acquired by communication for prefetching in the terminal device 100. Further, the count server 402 may calculate a communication fee based on the communication amount of the data. The count server 402 receives downlink data from the external server 500, and transmits downlink data to the terminal device 100 via the backhaul 300 and the access point 200. When the count server 402 receives downlink data from the external server 500, the count server 402 calculates the communication amount of the received data. Further, the count server 402 may calculate a communication fee for each user based on the communication amount of the data. For example, when the user generates a data amount of 1 GB (gigabytes), the count server 402 calculates the communication amount of data related to the user as 1 GB, and holds information that the communication amount of the user is 1 GB. The data amount includes both data by prefetch / cache communication and data by other communication (hereinafter referred to as “total data amount”).

  The count server 402 is generated by the prefetch / cache communication of each user from the receiving server 404 described later, and the amount of data not used by the application unit 108 (the amount of data not transmitted from the cache storage unit 106 to the application unit 108). (Hereinafter also referred to as “unused data amount”), and subtracting the unused data amount that is not used by the application unit 108 for each user from the total data amount for each user. I do.

  For example, the total data amount of the user is 1 GB, and among the total data amount, the data amount generated by the prefetch cache communication is 300 MB. Furthermore, among the 300 MB data amount, the unused data amount is 100 MB. Consider the case. In this case, the count server 402 calculates the data communication amount “900 MB” obtained by subtracting the unused data amount “100 MB” from the value “1 GB” for the total data amount generated by the user, and the user communication amount Holds information that is 900 MB.

  Note that the count server 402 may calculate a communication fee based on the total data amount and the unused data amount. More specifically, the count server 402 may calculate the communication fee based on the data amount obtained by subtracting the unused data amount from the total data amount. For example, the count server 402 calculates a communication fee required for the terminal device 100 to download the subtracted data amount as a fee for communication for prefetch.

  When the data amount transmitted from the cache storage unit 106 to the application unit 108 in the terminal device 100 is stored in the cache storage unit 106, the count server 402 determines the communication fee based on such data amount. You may calculate.

  The count server 402 may calculate the communication fee for the data generated by the prefetch / cache communication and the communication fee for the downlink data other than the data generated by the prefetch / cache communication by different calculation methods. Good. For example, a charge per data size related to data generated in the prefetch cache communication may be smaller than a charge per data size related to downlink data other than data generated in the prefetch cache communication. Since the data generated in the prefetch / cache communication is more likely to be transmitted in a situation where the network is not loaded as compared with the normal data, it is possible to set a lower price.

  Alternatively, the count server 402 uses a separate calculation method to calculate a communication fee related to used data in the data generated in the prefetch cache communication and downlink data other than the data generated in the prefetch cache communication. You may calculate. For example, the charge per certain data size related to used data among the data generated in the prefetch cache communication is more than the charge per certain data size related to downlink data other than the data generated in the prefetch cache communication. May be made smaller. Since the data generated in the prefetch / cache communication is more likely to be transmitted in a situation where the network is not loaded as compared with the normal data, it is possible to set a lower price.

  The receiving server 404 receives the amount of data (“100 MB” in the case of the above-described specific example) generated by the prefetch and cache communication from the terminal device 100 via the access point 200 and the backhaul 300. To do. The receiving server 404 notifies the count server 402 of the amount of data generated by such prefetch and cache communication and not used by the user.

(Control example 1 regarding determination of whether to perform communication for prefetch)
Next, a prefetch and cache control method based on the type of communication network will be described with reference to FIG. In step S102 of FIG. 4, the terminal device 100 acquires information regarding the type of communication network. In step S104, the terminal device 100 determines whether or not the communication network is 5G from the acquired information. As a result of the determination, if the communication network is 5G (step S104: YES), the process proceeds to step S106 described later. On the other hand, if the communication network is not 5G (step S104: NO), the process proceeds to step S108 described later. .

  The communication network here may be a communication network in which the terminal device 100 is communicating, or may be a communication network in which the terminal device 100 is in the idle mode. Further, the communication network may be a peripheral communication network that is notified by the notification information in the serving cell of the communication network in which the terminal device 100 is “in communication”. For example, in LTE, since information related to W-CDMA, CDMA2000, GSM, 5G, etc. in the same area is notified by broadcast information, based on information related to the type of communication network notified by such broadcast information, The determination in step S104 may be performed. Alternatively, the communication network may be a peripheral communication network that is notified by the notification information in the serving cell of the communication network in which the terminal device 100 is located in the “idle mode”. For example, in LTE, since information related to W-CDMA, CDMA2000, GSM, 5G, etc. in the same area is notified by broadcast information, based on information related to the type of communication network notified by such broadcast information, The determination in step S104 may be performed.

  In step S106, the terminal device 100 acquires data from the external server 500 via the server device 400 or the like by prefetching, and stores the acquired data as a cache. The process for determining the amount of data to be stored will be described in a second embodiment described later. On the other hand, in step S108, the terminal device 100 does not acquire data from the external server 500 by prefetch.

  As described above, the terminal device 100 determines whether or not to perform prefetch communication based on the type of the communication network, and performs control according to the determined content.

(Control example 2 regarding determination of whether to perform communication for prefetch)
Next, a prefetch and cache control method based on communication quality information will be described with reference to FIG. Here, a case where downlink reception quality information is used is shown as an example of communication quality information. First, in step S200 of FIG. 5, the terminal device 100 sets a threshold value of communication quality information that is a criterion for determining whether or not to prefetch. Here, a plurality of quality information such as RSRP, RSRQ, SINR, etc. may be used as the communication quality information. In step S202, the terminal device 100 acquires communication quality information, and in step S204, determines whether or not the value of the communication quality information is equal to or greater than a threshold value. As a result of the determination, if the value of the communication quality information is greater than or equal to the threshold value (step S204: YES), the process proceeds to step S206 described later. On the other hand, if the value of the communication quality information is less than the threshold value (step S204: NO) The process proceeds to step S208 described later.

  In step S206, the terminal device 100 acquires data from the external server 500 via the server device 400 or the like by prefetching, and stores the acquired data as a cache. On the other hand, in step S208, the terminal device 100 does not acquire data from the external server 500 by prefetch.

  As described above, the terminal device 100 determines whether or not to perform prefetch communication based on the communication quality information, and performs control according to the determined content.

(Control example 3 regarding determination of whether to perform communication for prefetch)
Next, a prefetch and cache control method based on an access point identification number will be described with reference to FIG. First, in step S300 of FIG. 6, the terminal device 100 sets the value of the identification number of the access point 200 that is a criterion for determining whether or not to prefetch. The identification number set here is not limited to one, but may be plural. Such an identification number may be separately notified from an external server via a network.

  In step S302, the terminal device 100 acquires the identification information of the access point 200, and in step S304, determines whether or not the identification information matches the value set in step S300. As a result of the determination, if the identification information matches the set value (step S304: YES), the process proceeds to step S306 to be described later. On the other hand, if the identification information does not match the set value (step S304: In the case of NO), the process proceeds to step S308 described later.

  In step S306, the terminal device 100 acquires data from the external server 500 via the server device 400 or the like by prefetching, and stores the acquired data as a cache. On the other hand, in step S308, the terminal device 100 does not acquire data from the external server 500 by prefetch.

  As described above, the terminal device 100 determines whether or not to perform prefetch communication based on the access point identification number, and performs control according to the determined content.

(Control example 4 regarding determination of whether to perform communication for prefetch)
Next, a prefetch and cache control method based on time information will be described with reference to FIG. First, in step S <b> 402 of FIG. 7, the terminal device 100 acquires time information from a clock function unit (not shown) in the terminal device 100. In step S404, the terminal device 100 determines whether or not the time is a predetermined time (here, the time in the time zone from 1 am to 4 am as an example). As a result of the determination, when the time is a predetermined time (step S404: YES), the process proceeds to step S406 described later. On the other hand, when the time is not a predetermined time (step S404: NO), step S408 described later is performed. Proceed to

  In step S406, the terminal apparatus 100 acquires data from the external server 500 via the server apparatus 400 or the like by prefetching, and stores the acquired data as a cache. On the other hand, in step S408, the terminal device 100 does not acquire data from the external server 500 by prefetch.

  As described above, the terminal device 100 determines whether or not to perform communication for prefetching based on the time information, and performs control according to the determined content.

(Control example when the application part needs data)
Next, control when the application unit 108 needs data will be described with reference to FIG.

  The processing in FIG. 8 is started when the application unit 108 needs data. Here, “when data is required” means, for example, when acquiring data for displaying a website in a web browser, when acquiring a moving image file of an application for moving images, when acquiring data in FTP This refers to the case where it is performed.

  In step S502 of FIG. 8, the terminal device 100 determines whether necessary data has already been cached. As a result of the determination, if the necessary data is not cached (step S502: NO), the process proceeds to step S504, which will be described later. On the other hand, if the necessary data is already cached (step S502: YES) ), The process proceeds to step S506 to be described later. The “necessary data” may be audio data, moving image data, or application data itself required by the application unit 108.

  In step S504, the terminal apparatus 100 acquires data from the server apparatus 400 via the backhaul 300 and the access point 200 as usual. On the other hand, in step S <b> 506, the terminal device 100 uses data stored as a cache by the cache storage unit 106 without acquiring data from the server device 400.

  The above “data stored as cache” is downloaded from the external server 500 via the server device 400, the backhaul 300, and the access point 200 at the timing when the data is required by the application unit 108. Are transferred from the prefetch / cache control unit 104 to the application unit 108. As described above, since the application unit 108 can use the data without performing actual communication at the above timing, it is possible to significantly reduce the time for downloading the data from the viewpoint of the user. It is possible to greatly improve the user experience.

  For example, as in the example of FIG. 4 described above, if data acquisition by prefetching is performed when the type of the communication network is 5G, prefetching is performed using 5G having a characteristic that the transmission capacity is larger than that of other communication networks. Thus, it becomes possible to download data, so that the load on the mobile communication system can be greatly reduced.

  In addition, as described above, by downloading data by prefetching, the data communication volume (or traffic volume) can be smoothed temporally or spatially when viewed from the whole system. Become. Such smoothing makes it possible to reduce the amount of data communication at the most crowded time / place. In general, a network facility in a certain place is constructed in accordance with the data communication volume (or traffic volume) during the most busy time. By such smoothing, the data communication amount (or traffic amount) during the most congested time is reduced, and as a result, the equipment cost can be reduced.

(Example of processing for calculating the amount of data held by the cache storage unit after the application unit uses the data stored in the cache storage unit)
Next, a data amount calculation process in the cache storage unit 106 after data is transferred from the cache storage unit 106 to the application unit 108 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The processing in FIG. 9 is started after data is transmitted to the application unit 108. In step S602 of FIG. 9, a process of subtracting the data amount transmitted to the application unit 108 from the total data amount downloaded by the cache storage unit 106 is performed. Here, the total amount of data downloaded means, for example, when acquiring data for displaying a website in a web browser, when acquiring a moving image file of an application for moving images, when acquiring data in FTP, etc. Represents the amount of traffic generated by.

(Control example when count server receives data volume)
Next, the calculation of the communication amount and the communication fee after the count server 402 receives the data amount not used by the application unit 108 (unused data amount) from the reception server 404 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The processing in FIG. 10 is started after the count server 402 receives the data amount at the receiving server 404. In step S702 in FIG. 10, a process of subtracting the unused data amount from the total data amount held by the count server 402 is performed. The count server 402 may calculate a communication fee based on the subtraction result.

(Examples of types of data amount stored in the cache storage unit in the first embodiment of the present invention)
As shown in FIG. 11, the type of data amount stored in the cache storage unit according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a used data amount D800 and an unused data amount D802.

  The used data amount D800 represents the data amount of data transmitted from the cache storage unit 106 to the application unit 108 among the data amount generated in the prefetch / cache communication. The unused data amount D802 represents the amount of data that has not been transmitted from the cache storage unit 106 to the application unit 108 among the amount of data generated by prefetch / cache communication. Further, the total data amount of the used data amount 106A and the unused data amount 106B represents the amount of data generated by prefetch / cache communication.

  For example, when the communication fee is calculated based on the unused data amount D802 and the total data amount, the used data amount D800 is transmitted from the cache storage unit 106 (via the communication function unit 102 or the like) to the receiving server 404. However, the unused data amount D802 is transmitted from the cache storage unit 106 to the receiving server 404. When the communication fee is calculated based on the used data amount D800, the used data amount D800 may be transmitted from the cache storage unit 106 to the receiving server 404.

(Example of the type of data amount stored in the count server in the second embodiment of the present invention)
As shown in FIG. 12, the type of data amount stored in the count server according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a total data amount D900 and an unused data amount D902.

  The total data amount D900 is the data amount of all communication data generated by the user. Here, the generated communication includes both normal communication and cache prefetch communication. The unused data amount D902 is the amount of data transmitted from the cache storage unit 106 to the receiving server 404, that is, the amount of data that has been prefetched / cached but was not needed by the application unit 108. A data amount obtained by subtracting the unused data amount D902 from the total data amount D900 may correspond to the used data amount.

  As described above, the terminal device 100 according to an embodiment is a terminal device that communicates with the external server 500. The terminal device 100 communicates communication for the communication function unit 102 that communicates with the external server 500 via the access point 200 and prefetching that is a process of downloading data from the external server 500 to the terminal device 100 in advance. A prefetch / cache control unit 104 that controls whether or not the unit 102 performs, and a cache storage unit 106 that stores data acquired by communication for prefetching. The cache storage unit 106 sets the data amount so that at least one of the data amount of the acquired data that is not actually used and the data amount of the actually used data is reported to the server device 400. Output.

  In addition, the terminal control program 100P according to an embodiment performs communication between a computer provided in the terminal device 100 that communicates with the external server 500, a communication function unit 102 that communicates with the data server via the access point 200, and data. Prefetch / cache control unit 104 that controls whether or not the communication unit performs communication for prefetching, which is a process of downloading from the external server 500 to the terminal device 100 in advance, and data acquired by communication for prefetching Is a terminal control program for functioning as a cache storage unit 106 for storing.

  According to the terminal device 100 or the terminal control program 100P described above, at least one of the data amount of data that is not actually used and the data amount of data that is actually used among the data acquired by communication for prefetching. Is reported to the server apparatus 400, the amount of data is output. Therefore, when the server apparatus 400 calculates a communication fee for communication for prefetch based on the reported data amount, for example, a calculation of a communication amount or a communication fee for data that is not actually used. Can be prevented. Alternatively, the calculation of the communication amount and the calculation of the communication fee can be performed only for the actually used data. Therefore, even when the terminal device 100 prefetches content, it is possible to appropriately calculate the communication amount and the communication fee.

  Further, the prefetch / cache control unit 104 determines whether to perform communication for prefetch based on at least one of the type of communication network, communication quality information, base station identification information, and time information. To do. For example, by determining whether or not to perform communication for prefetching in this way, it is possible to reduce congestion in the wireless communication section and improve the user experience associated with the relaxation.

  The server apparatus 400 according to an embodiment is a server that can communicate with the terminal apparatus 100 that performs prefetching, which is a process of downloading data from the external server 500 in advance. The server device 400 includes a count server 402 that counts the data amount of data acquired by communication for prefetching in the terminal device 100. The count server 402 performs prefetching based on at least one of the amount of data actually used in the terminal device 100 and the amount of data actually used among the data acquired in the terminal device 100. Calculate the charges for communications.

  According to the server apparatus 400, at least of the data amount actually used in the terminal device 100 and the data amount actually used among the data acquired by the communication for prefetch in the terminal device 100. Based on one, a charge for communication for prefetch is calculated. Therefore, even when the terminal device 100 prefetches content, it is possible to appropriately calculate the communication amount and the communication fee.

  Further, the count server 402 may calculate a charge for communication for prefetch based on a data amount obtained by subtracting a data amount of data that is not actually used from the acquired data. In this case, the count server 402 targets the data amount obtained by subtracting the data amount of the data that has not been actually used from the acquired data, and calculates the communication fee required for the terminal device to download the target data amount. The charge for communication for prefetch may be calculated. For example, in this way, an appropriate communication amount and communication charge can be calculated.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Terminal device, 100P ... Terminal control program, 102 ... Communication function part, 104 ... Prefetch cache control part, 106 ... Cache preservation | save part, 200 ... Access point, 400 ... Server apparatus, 402 ... Count server, 500 ... External server .

Claims (6)

A terminal device that communicates with a data server,
A communication unit for communicating with the data server via the base station;
A control unit that controls whether or not the communication unit performs communication for prefetching, which is a process of downloading data from the data server to the terminal device in advance;
A storage unit for storing data acquired by communication for prefetch;
With
The storage unit is configured to report the amount of data so that at least one of the amount of data that is not actually used and the amount of data that is actually used among the acquired data is reported to a predetermined server. Output,
Terminal device. The control unit determines whether to perform communication for prefetch based on at least one of a type of communication network, communication quality information, identification information of the base station, and time information.
The terminal device according to claim 1. A server that can communicate with a terminal device that performs prefetching, which is a process of downloading data from a data server in advance,
A count unit that counts the amount of data acquired by communication for the prefetch in the terminal device;
With
The counting unit is configured to perform the prefetching based on at least one of a data amount of data not actually used in the terminal device and a data amount of data actually used among the data acquired in the terminal device. Calculate the charges for communications for,
server. The counting unit calculates the charge for the communication for the prefetch based on a data amount obtained by subtracting a data amount of the data not actually used from the acquired data;
The server according to claim 3. The counting unit targets a data amount obtained by subtracting a data amount of the data that is not actually used from the acquired data, and calculates a communication fee required for the terminal device to download the target data amount. , Calculate as the fee for communication for the prefetch,
The server according to claim 4. A computer provided in a terminal device that communicates with a data server,
A communication unit for communicating with the data server via the base station;
A control unit that controls whether or not the communication unit performs communication for prefetching, which is a process of downloading data from the data server to the terminal device in advance;
A storage unit that stores data acquired by communication for prefetch,
Is a terminal control program for functioning as
The storage unit is configured to report the amount of data so that at least one of the amount of data that is not actually used and the amount of data that is actually used among the acquired data is reported to a predetermined server. Output,
Terminal control program.

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