WO2022249240A1

WO2022249240A1 - Activation system and activation method

Info

Publication number: WO2022249240A1
Application number: PCT/JP2021/019613
Authority: WO
Inventors: 耕司松下
Original assignee: 三菱電機株式会社
Priority date: 2021-05-24
Filing date: 2021-05-24
Publication date: 2022-12-01
Also published as: JPWO2022249240A1

Abstract

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a technology capable of reducing a period of time until a computer terminal to switch to becomes operable. This activation system comprises a first terminal and a second terminal. The first terminal has a first RAM and transmits RAM data stored in the first RAM when transitioning to a sleep state before a shutdown state. The second terminal has a second RAM, and restores the operation state of the first terminal before the sleep state by storing the RAM data into the second RAM.

Description

Activation system and activation method

The present disclosure relates to an activation system and an activation method.

In recent years, a system has been proposed in which an interface device is provided for each of a plurality of seats in a vehicle so that any user can individually execute an application on each interface device. In such a system, when a user is working with an application on the interface device of one seat, even if the user moves to another seat, the work can be continued on the interface device of the other seat. technology is desired. As such technology, for example, the technology of Patent Document 1 and the technology of a thin client system have been proposed.

JP-A-7-129524

In the conventional technology, one computer terminal that manages one interface device takes over work by transmitting data for taking over to another computer terminal that manages another interface device. However, the takeover data is data that is used after the OS (Operating System) and applications are activated. For this reason, in order to take over the work, it is necessary to start the application and load the data for the handover by the application, so it will take time before the work can be started on the new computer terminal. I had a problem.

Therefore, the present disclosure has been made in view of the problems described above, and aims to provide a technology that can reduce the time until work can be started on the computer terminal to which the change is made.

A startup system according to the present disclosure includes one or more first terminals that have a first RAM and that transmits RAM contents stored in the first RAM when transitioning to a sleep state before a shutdown state, and a second RAM. and a second terminal for restoring the operating state of the first terminal before the sleep state by storing the contents of the RAM in the second RAM.

According to the present disclosure, the first terminal transmits the RAM contents stored in the first RAM when transitioning to the sleep state prior to the shutdown state, and the second terminal stores the RAM contents in the second RAM. Restoring the operating state before the sleep state of the first terminal. As a result, it is possible to reduce the time until work can be started on the new computer terminal.

The objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent with the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an activation system according to Embodiment 1; FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of the activation system according to Embodiment 1; FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of the activation system according to Embodiment 1; FIG. FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of the activation system according to Embodiment 2; FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of the activation system according to Embodiment 2; FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of the activation system according to the modified example of the second embodiment; FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of the activation system according to Embodiment 3; FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of the activation system according to Embodiment 3; FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of the activation system according to Embodiment 4; FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of the activation system according to Embodiment 4; FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of the activation system according to Embodiment 5; FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of the activation system according to Embodiment 5;

<Embodiment 1>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an activation system according to the first embodiment. The activation system of FIG. 1 includes

computer terminals

10, 20, 30, and 40 provided at four seats of a vehicle, respectively, and a thin client server 110.

Computer terminals

10 , 20 , 30 , 40 and thin client server 110 are communicatively connected via shared bus 100 .

The computer terminal 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 12, and an input/output device 13. The input/output device 13 is an interface device, and includes, for example, an input device such as a touch panel and an output device such as a display device. The CPU 11 executes programs such as applications, middleware, and OS based on operations received by the input/output device 13, stores the execution results in the RAM 12 as RAM contents, and stores the execution results in the input/output device 13 as appropriate. output. Note that in this specification, executing a program includes starting the program.

The

computer terminals

20, 30, 40 are provided with

CPUs

21, 31, 41,

RAMs

22, 32, 42, and input/

output devices

23, 33, 43, respectively.

CPUs

21, 31, 41,

RAMs

22, 32, 42 and input/

output devices

23, 33, 43 are the same as CPU 11, RAM 12 and input/output device 13, respectively. For the sake of convenience, the operations of the CPU 11 and the like are sometimes referred to as the operations of the computer terminal 10 and the like.

In the first embodiment, the computer terminal 10, which is the first terminal, transmits the RAM contents stored in the RAM 12, which is the first RAM, when transitioning to the sleep state before the shutdown state. Similarly, the computer terminal 30, which is the first terminal, transmits the RAM contents stored in the RAM 32, which is the first RAM, when transitioning to the sleep state before the shutdown state. The computer terminal 40, which is the first terminal, transmits the RAM contents stored in the RAM 42, which is the first RAM, when transitioning to the sleep state before the shutdown state. Note that the transition to the sleep state before the shutdown state referred to here may be while transitioning to the sleep state or while maintaining the sleep state.

In the first embodiment, the computer terminal 20, which is the second terminal, stores the contents of the RAM transmitted from the

computer terminals

10, 30, and 40 in the RAM 22, which is the second RAM. Restore the operating state of 30,40. For example, if the transmission and restoration are performed while the application is being executed on the computer terminal 10, the state in which the application was being executed on the computer terminal 10 is substantially restored on the computer terminal 20. . Note that in the following description, the computer terminal 20 performs the above restoration when the computer terminal 20 is started up, but the restoration is not limited to this.

As described above, in Embodiment 1, the first terminals are the

computer terminals

10, 30, and 40, and the second terminal is the computer terminal 20, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the number of first terminals may be one or more, and the number of second terminals may be one or more. Further, the

computer terminals

10, 30, and 40 may have the functions of the second terminal as well as the functions of the first terminal, and the computer terminal 20 may have the functions of the first terminal as well as the functions of the second terminal. may have

The thin client server 110 includes a CPU 111, a RAM 112, and a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 113. The CPU 111 controls the RAM 112 and the HDD 113 to store the contents transmitted from the

computer terminals

10, 20, 30 and 40, and transmits the contents stored in the HDD 113 to the

computer terminals

10, 20, 30 and 40. control.

<Action>
2 and 3 are sequence diagrams showing an example of the operation of the activation system according to the first embodiment. Next, with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, the operation when the terminal used by the user A is changed from the computer terminal 10 whose initial state is the operating state to the computer terminal 20 whose initial state is the shutdown state will be described. .

First, in step S1, user A performs a sleep operation on the computer terminal 10. At step S2, the computer terminal 10 starts transitioning to the sleep state before the shutdown state. In step S3 , the computer terminal 10 registers that the computer terminal 10 is in the sleep state for the user A in the thin client server 110 . As a result, computer terminals other than the computer terminal 10 can confirm that the computer terminal 10 is in the sleep state by accessing the thin client server 110 . At step S4, the computer terminal 10 enters a sleep state.

In step S5, user A performs a startup operation on the computer terminal 20. At step S6, the computer terminal 20 starts the process of confirming the terminal in the sleep state. In step S7, the computer terminal 20 accesses the thin client server 110 and identifies a sleeping computer terminal registered in the thin client server 110 as a computer terminal whose operating state needs to be taken over. In the example of FIG. 2, since computer terminal 10 is registered in thin client server 110 as being in a sleep state, computer terminal 20 identifies computer terminal 10 as a computer terminal that needs to take over the operating state.

At step S8, the computer terminal 20 requests the computer terminal 10 to transmit the RAM contents of the RAM 12 of the computer terminal 10. In step S9, the computer terminal 10 activates the software in response to a request from the computer terminal 20, thereby entering a state in which the contents of RAM can be transmitted in the sleep state. At step S10, the computer terminal 10 acquires the contents of RAM from the RAM 12. FIG. The contents of the RAM acquired here include sleep state information capable of restoring the operating state of the computer terminal 10 before the sleep state. In step S11 , computer terminal 10 transmits the contents of RAM acquired from RAM 12 to computer terminal 20 .

At step S12, the computer terminal 20 stores the contents of the RAM transmitted from the computer terminal 10 in the RAM 22 and develops them. As a result, the computer terminal 20 enters a sleep state in which the operating state before the sleep state of the computer terminal 10 can be restored. In step S13, the computer terminal 20 resumes to restore the operating state of the computer terminal 10 before the sleep state, thereby starting the transition from the sleep state to the operating state. In step S14, the computer terminal 20 registers with the thin client server 110 that the computer terminal 20 is in an operating state. At step S15, the computer terminal 20 requests the computer terminal 10 to shut down.

In step S16 , the computer terminal 10 starts transitioning to the shutdown state in response to a request from the computer terminal 20 . In step S17, the computer terminal 10 registers with the thin client server 110 that the computer terminal 10 is in a shutdown state. As a result, for example, even if the computer terminal 30 is activated immediately after the registration, the computer terminal 30 can be prevented from performing the processes of steps S6 to S8. In other words, only one computer terminal can take over the operating state of one computer terminal 10 . At step S18, the computer terminal 10 is put into a shutdown state and the computer terminal 20 is put into an operating state.

<Summary of Embodiment 1>
According to the startup system according to the first embodiment as described above, the computer terminal 10 transmits the contents of the RAM stored in the RAM 12 when transitioning to the sleep state before the shutdown state, and the computer terminal 20 Storing the RAM contents in RAM 22 restores the operating state of computer terminal 10 prior to the sleep state. According to such a configuration, even if the computer terminal of the change destination does not start programs such as applications, middleware, and OS, and load applications, it is possible to continue work on the computer terminal of the change destination. can. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the time until work can be started on the new computer terminal.

In addition, since many existing OSs have a suspend-to-RAM function that enters a sleep state while maintaining information in RAM, the first embodiment can be applied to many existing OSs. can. Further, since the computer terminal 20 only needs to be activated when taking over the operating state from another computer terminal, and does not need to be activated all the time, improvements in convenience and economy can be expected.

Also, in the first embodiment, the computer terminal 10 directly transmits the contents of the RAM to the computer terminal 20 without going through another device such as the thin client server 110 . As a result, it is possible to further reduce the time until work can be started on the new computer terminal.

<Embodiment 2>
4 and 5 are sequence diagrams showing an example of the operation of the activation system according to the second embodiment. Among the components according to the second embodiment, the same or similar components as those described above are given the same or similar reference numerals, and different components will be mainly described.

The thin client server 110 is used in the operation of the activation system according to the first embodiment, but the thin client server 110 is unnecessary in the operation of the activation system according to the second embodiment. In the second embodiment, computer terminal 20 confirms with

computer terminals

10, 30, and 40 the sleep states of

computer terminals

10, 30, and 40 in order to correct the problem that thin client server 110 does not exist. Then, the computer terminal 20 identifies the computer terminal in the sleep state among the

computer terminals

10, 30, and 40 as the computer terminal whose operating state should be restored.

　Hereinafter, the parts of the operations in FIGS. 4 and 5 that are different from the operations in FIGS. 2 and 3 will be mainly described.

After the processing of steps S1 and S2 is performed, the processing of steps S4 to S6 is performed without performing the processing of step S3, which is the registration processing to the thin client server 110.

After that, in step S21, the computer terminal 20 confirms with the computer terminal 30 whether the computer terminal 30 is in the sleep state for the user A, and confirms that the computer terminal 30 is not in the sleep state in the example of FIG. In step S22, the computer terminal 20 confirms with the computer terminal 40 whether the computer terminal 40 is in the sleep state for the user A, and confirms that the computer terminal 40 is not in the sleep state in the example of FIG. In step S23, the computer terminal 20 confirms with the computer terminal 10 whether the computer terminal 10 is in the sleep state for the user A, and confirms that the computer terminal 10 is in the sleep state in the example of FIG. Then, the computer terminal 20 identifies the computer terminal 10 in the sleep state as a computer terminal that needs to take over the operating state.

In this way, even without using the thin client server 110, the computer terminal 20 comprehensively confirms the sleep states of the

computer terminals

10, 30, and 40, thereby identifying the computer terminal whose operating state needs to be handed over. becomes possible.

After that, the processing of steps S8 to S18 is performed without performing steps S14 and S17. The order of processing for confirming the status of the

computer terminals

10, 30, and 40 is not limited to the above, and the same applies to the following description.

<Summary of Embodiment 2>
According to the activation system according to the second embodiment as described above, the computer terminal 20 restores the operating state by confirming the sleep state of the

computer terminals

10, 30, and 40 with the

computer terminals

10, 30, and 40. Identify the computer terminal that should According to such a configuration, it is possible to specify a computer terminal whose operating state needs to be handed over without using the thin client server 110 .

<Modification>
FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of the activation system according to the modification of the second embodiment. In this modification,

computer terminals

10, 20, 30 and 40 have HDDs 14, 24, 34 and 44, which are non-volatile memories, respectively. Then, when all of the

computer terminals

10, 20, 30, 40 are shut down, the identification information identifying the computer terminal whose operating state is the last among the

computer terminals

10, 20, 30, 40 is the

HDD

14, 24, 34 , 44.

Next, with reference to FIG. 6, the operation of the computer terminal 20 switching from the operating state to the shutdown state when the

computer terminals

10, 30, and 40 are in the shutdown state will be described.

First, in step S31, user A performs a normal shutdown operation on the computer terminal 20. At step S32, the computer terminal 20 acquires identification information identifying the computer terminal 20 that is in the last operating state among the

computer terminals

10, 20, 30, and 40. FIG. In step S33 , computer terminal 20 stores the identification information in HDD 24 .

In step S34, the computer terminal 20 transmits the identification information to the computer terminal 10. In step S35, the computer terminal 10 activates the software in response to the transmission from the computer terminal 20, so that the identification information can be stored in the HDD in the shutdown state. Note that the shutdown state of this modified example is a state in which the software can be activated. In step S36 , computer terminal 10 stores the transmitted identification information in HDD 14 .

At steps S37, S38, and S39, the same processing as steps S34, S35, and S36 is performed in the computer terminal 30, and the identification information is stored in the HDD34. In steps S40, S41 and S42, processing similar to that of steps S34, S35 and S36 is performed in computer terminal 40, and the identification information is stored in HDD44.

At step S43, the computer terminal 20 enters a shutdown state.

According to the activation system according to the present modification as described above, by performing the same operation as the operation in FIG. The operating state of the computer terminal 20 before the shutdown state can be restored. Cold boot may be used to start the

computer terminals

10, 20, 30, and 40 in this case.

<Embodiment 3>
7 and 8 are sequence diagrams showing an example of the operation of the activation system according to the third embodiment. Among the components according to the third embodiment, the same or similar components as those described above are given the same or similar reference numerals, and different components will be mainly described.

In Embodiment 3, the computer terminal 10 is configured to transmit the contents of RAM to the computer terminal 20 via the removable storage 120 . Removable storage 120 includes, for example, an optical disk, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory, and the like.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, the operation when the terminal used by the user A is changed from the computer terminal 10 whose initial state is the operating state to the computer terminal 20 whose initial state is the shutdown state will be described. .

First, in step S51, user A performs a sleep operation on the computer terminal 10. At step S52, the computer terminal 10 starts transitioning to the sleep state before the shutdown state. In step S53, computer terminal 10 activates software for transmitting the contents of RAM in the sleep state. At step S54, computer terminal 10 acquires the contents of RAM from RAM 12. FIG. In step S55 , computer terminal 10 stores the RAM contents obtained from RAM 12 in removable storage 120 . At step S56, the computer terminal 10 automatically enters a shutdown state.

In step S57, user A replaces the removable storage 120 from the computer terminal 10 to the computer terminal 20. In step S58 , the user B performs an activation operation on the computer terminal 10 . At step S59, the computer terminal 10 becomes operational. Note that the processing of steps S58 and S59 may be performed at any point after the processing of step S57.

In step S60, user A performs a startup operation on the computer terminal 20. At step S61, the computer terminal 20 confirms whether or not the removable storage 120 is attached. When the removable storage 120 is attached to the computer terminal 20 as in the example of FIG. 8, the computer terminal 20 acquires the RAM contents from the removable storage 120 in step S62. At step S63, the computer terminal 20 stores the contents of the RAM in the RAM 22 and develops it. As a result, the computer terminal 20 enters a sleep state in which the operating state before the sleep state of the computer terminal 10 can be restored. In step S64, the computer terminal 20 resumes to restore the operating state before the sleep state of the computer terminal 10, thereby starting the transition from the sleep state to the operating state. At step S65, the computer terminal 20 becomes operational.

<Summary of Embodiment 3>
According to the activation system according to the third embodiment as described above, computer terminal 10 transmits the contents of RAM to computer terminal 20 via removable storage 120 . Such a configuration eliminates the need for the software used in the first embodiment for transmitting the contents of the RAM in the sleep state. Moreover, since the computer terminal 10 can be put into a shutdown state before the computer terminal 20 is started, the state in which the user B other than the user A can use the computer terminal 10 can be brought forward. Also, the load on the communication network can be reduced.

<Embodiment 4>
9 and 10 are sequence diagrams showing an example of the operation of the activation system according to the fourth embodiment. Among the components according to the fourth embodiment, the same or similar components as those described above are given the same or similar reference numerals, and different components will be mainly described.

In the fourth embodiment, the computer terminal 10 is configured to transmit the contents of RAM to the computer terminal 20 via the thin client server 110 .

　Hereinafter, the parts of the operations in FIGS. 9 and 10 that are different from the operations in FIGS. 7 and 8 will be mainly described.

After the processing of steps S51 to S54 is performed, the processing of step S71 is performed. In step S71 , the computer terminal 10 transmits the RAM content obtained from the RAM 12 to the thin client server 110 . In step S72 , thin client server 110 stores the contents of RAM in HDD 113 .

After the processing of step S56 is performed, the processing of steps S58 and S59 is performed without performing the processing of step S57. Note that the processing of steps S58 and S59 may be performed at any point after the processing of step S56.

In step S60, user A performs a startup operation on the computer terminal 20. At step S73, the computer terminal 20 confirms with the thin client server 110 whether or not the contents of the RAM are stored. When the RAM contents are stored in the thin client server 110 as in the example of FIG. 10, the computer terminal 20 requests the RAM contents from the thin client server 110 in step S74. In step S75 , thin client server 110 acquires the contents of RAM from HDD 113 in response to a request from computer terminal 20 . In step S76 , thin client server 110 transmits the read contents of RAM to computer terminal 20 . After that, the processing of steps S63 to S65 is performed.

<Summary of Embodiment 4>
According to the activation system according to the fourth embodiment as described above, computer terminal 10 transmits the contents of RAM to computer terminal 20 via thin client server 110 . Such a configuration eliminates the need for the software used in the first embodiment for transmitting the contents of the RAM in the sleep state. Moreover, since the computer terminal 10 can be put into a shutdown state before the computer terminal 20 is started, the state in which the user B other than the user A can use the computer terminal 10 can be brought forward. Moreover, since the removable storage 120 is not used, security can be improved more than the third embodiment.

<Embodiment 5>
11 and 12 are sequence diagrams showing an example of the operation of the activation system according to the fifth embodiment. Among the components according to the fifth embodiment, the same or similar components as those described above are given the same or similar reference numerals, and different components will be mainly described.

In the fifth embodiment, the ability of the thin client server 110 to execute the OS is higher than that of the computer terminal 10 to execute the OS. The thin client server 110 includes a virtual machine 115 that executes an OS when the computer terminal 10 is started up, and is configured to transmit RAM contents obtained by the execution to the computer terminal 10 .

In the fifth embodiment, the operation between thin client server 110 and computer terminal 10 will be described. may be performed in between operations. Also, the configuration of the fifth embodiment may be implemented independently of the first to fourth embodiments.

Next, using FIGS. 11 and 12, the operation of starting up the computer terminal 10, that is, the operation of switching from the shutdown state to the operating state will be described.

First, in step S81, user A performs a startup operation on the computer terminal 10. At step S82, the computer terminal 10 requests the contents of RAM capable of restoring the operating state in which the OS has been executed.

In step S83, the thin client server 110 acquires an OS image, which is information for executing the OS, from the HDD 113. In step S84, the thin client server 110 causes the virtual machine 115 to execute (start) the OS based on the OS image. In step S85 , the virtual machine 115 stores and develops information on the operating state obtained by executing the OS in the RAM 112 . In step S86, thin client server 110 puts virtual machine 115 into a sleep state. As a result, the RAM contents of the RAM 112 include sleep state information capable of restoring the operating state in which the OS was executed. In step S87 , thin client server 110 acquires the contents of RAM from RAM 112 . In step S88 , thin client server 110 transmits the contents of RAM acquired from RAM 112 to computer terminal 10 .

At step S89, the computer terminal 10 stores the contents of the RAM transmitted from the thin client server 110 in the RAM 12 and develops them. As a result, the computer terminal 10 enters a sleep state in which the operating state in which the OS was executed can be restored. In step S90, the computer terminal 10 resumes to restore the operating state in which the OS was executed, thereby starting the transition from the sleep state to the operating state. In step S91, the computer terminal 10 notifies the thin client server 110 that the computer terminal 10 is in operation. In step S92, the thin client server 110 brings the virtual machine 115 into a shutdown state. At step S93, the computer terminal 10 becomes operational.

<Summary of Embodiment 5>
According to the startup system according to the fifth embodiment as described above, the thin client server 110 executes the OS when the computer terminal 10 is started up, and transmits the contents of the RAM thus obtained to the computer terminal 10 . According to such a configuration, it is possible to shorten the apparent boot time of the computer terminal 10 by increasing the performance of the thin client server 110 . Also, the amount of data in the RAM content is generally smaller than that of the OS image, and the amount of data transmitted from the thin client server 110 to the computer terminal 10 is also small. Therefore, since the data transmission time can be shortened, the apparent boot time of the computer terminal 10 can be shortened.

It should be noted that it is possible to freely combine each embodiment and each modification, and to modify or omit each embodiment and each modification as appropriate.

The above description is illustrative in all aspects and not restrictive. It is understood that innumerable variations not illustrated can be envisaged.

10, 20, 30, 40 computer terminals, 12, 22, 32, 42 RAM, 14, 24, 34, 44 HDD, 110 thin client server, 120 removable storage.

Claims

one or more first terminals having a first RAM and transmitting RAM contents stored in the first RAM when transitioning to a sleep state prior to a shutdown state;
a second terminal having a second RAM and restoring the operating state of the first terminal before the sleep state by storing the contents of the RAM in the second RAM.
The activation system of claim 1, comprising:
the one or more first terminals are a plurality of first terminals;
the second terminal,
confirming the sleep states of the plurality of first terminals with the plurality of first terminals, and identifying the first terminal in the sleep state among the plurality of first terminals as the first terminal to restore the operating state; boot system.
The activation system of claim 1, comprising:
Each of the first terminal and the second terminal further has a non-volatile memory,
When all of the first terminal and the second terminal are shut down, the identification information for identifying the terminal whose operation state is the last among the first terminal and the second terminal is the first terminal and the second terminal. An activation system, stored in said non-volatile memory of each of the terminals.
The activation system of claim 1, comprising:
The activation system, wherein the first terminal directly transmits the RAM contents to the second terminal.
The activation system of claim 1, comprising:
The activation system, wherein the first terminal transmits the RAM contents to the second terminal via removable storage.
The activation system of claim 1, comprising:
The activation system, wherein the first terminal transmits the RAM contents to the second terminal via a thin client server.
The activation system of claim 1, comprising:
any one of the first terminal and the second terminal has a higher ability to execute the OS, the OS is executed when the one of the terminals is started up, and the contents of the RAM obtained thereby are transferred to the one of the terminals; activation system further comprising a thin client server transmitting to the terminal of the.
one or more first terminals having a first RAM transmit RAM contents stored in the first RAM when transitioning to a sleep state prior to a shutdown state;
A wake-up method wherein a second terminal having a second RAM restores a pre-sleep state operating state of said first terminal by storing said RAM contents in said second RAM.