JP2000047956A - Data communication system, data download method, and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the load on a network and server in the case of downloading data to a client machine by utilizing the variation of starting time (activating time) of respective client machines. SOLUTION: This data communication system has a CPU 101 for acquiring the passing time after the activation of the client machine (or the passing time from the activation of a download program), comparing the acquired passing time with starting time information stored in a RAM 103, accessing the destination described in the download destination designation information of the RAM 103 when they are matched with each other, and executing a program for downloading data to an external storage device 109 of a local machine.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a data communication system, a data download method, and a storage medium, and more particularly, to a data communication system suitable for acquiring data between a server and a client connected to a network. The present invention relates to a data download method and a storage medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, data download using a network (when a communication line is used, data stored in some storage area is transferred to its own storage area).
In order to shorten the data acquisition time, data acquisition is performed by designating a time such as at night when traffic on the network (communication amount on the communication line) is small. Further, when data update is required on the client every day, the client user consciously downloads the data.

[0003]

However, the above-mentioned prior art has the following problems. That is, in the related art, there is a problem in maintenance such as operating the client machine overnight or starting up at night. Furthermore, if the number of client machines installed in a large-scale office is enormous, and if data acquisition requests are made to the server all at once at a designated time during the night, an enormous load is imposed on the network and the server. There was a problem of becoming.

When a client user intentionally downloads data, the data may not be reliably updated due to forgetting to download the data. It is possible to force download by batch processing at the time of startup, etc. However, depending on the OS (operating system), network resources are used in an unstable state, so errors are likely to occur and data is acquired correctly There were cases where it was not possible.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and uses a network and a server for downloading data to a client machine by utilizing the variation of the startup time (startup time) of each client machine. It is a first object of the present invention to provide a data communication system, a data download method, and a storage medium capable of reducing the load on a computer.

Further, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned points, and a data communication system and a data download system capable of executing a download after a system is stabilized by designating a time after starting. It is a second object to provide a method and a storage medium.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a data communication system in which a plurality of client devices and a server device are connected to a network. It is characterized by having control means for controlling the execution of download according to the activation related to each client device.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication device for performing data communication between a client device and a server device, and a setting device for performing setting for data acquisition on the client device. A first information acquisition unit for acquiring information for operation determination on the client device, and a second information acquisition unit for acquiring information for operation determination on the server device, wherein the control The means controls execution of download based on the setting by the setting means, the communication data by the communication means, and the data obtained by the first and second information obtaining means.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that the communication means acquires data of a server device from a client device.

[0010] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention according to claim 4 is characterized in that the communication means inquires setting information from a client device to a server device.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention according to claim 5 is characterized in that the communication means notifies setting information from a server device to a client device.

[0012] To achieve the above object, the present invention according to claim 6 is characterized in that the setting means can set an access destination of the server device.

[0013] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention according to claim 7 is characterized in that the setting means can set a time after starting to start downloading.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention according to claim 8 is characterized in that the first information obtaining means obtains an elapsed time after activation of the client device.

In order to achieve the above object, according to a ninth aspect of the present invention, the first information obtaining means obtains an elapsed time since the start of the download program.

In order to achieve the above object, according to a tenth aspect of the present invention, the first information acquiring means acquires a result of comparison between an elapsed time after activation and a set time.

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention as set forth in claim 11, the control means makes a comparison result between the elapsed time after activation obtained by the first information obtaining means and the set time coincide. In this case, downloading is performed.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, the second information acquiring means acquires a date.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention according to a thirteenth aspect is characterized in that when the date obtained by the second information obtaining means changes, a reset process is performed by the server device.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention according to claim 14, wherein the data to be downloaded is a data file, application document file, font data, external character data, etc. necessary for the client device. It is characterized by being.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a data download method applied to a data communication system in which a plurality of client devices and a server device are connected to a network. And a control step of controlling the execution of the download in accordance with the activation related to each client device.

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a communication step for performing data communication between a client device and a server device, and a setting step for performing setting for data acquisition on the client device are provided. Has a first information acquisition step of acquiring information for operation determination on the client device, and a second information acquisition step of acquiring information for operation determination on the server device,
In the control step, the setting by the setting step;
The execution of download is controlled based on communication data in the communication step and data obtained in the first and second information obtaining steps.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention according to claim 17 is characterized in that in the communication step, data of a server device is obtained from a client device.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention according to claim 18 is characterized in that in the communication step, an inquiry about setting information is made from a client device to a server device.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention according to claim 19 is characterized in that, in the communication step, setting information from a server device is notified to a client device.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention according to claim 20 is characterized in that in the setting step, an access destination of the server device can be set.

[0027] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention according to claim 21 is characterized in that in the setting step, a time after starting to start downloading can be set.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention according to claim 22 is characterized in that in the first information obtaining step, an elapsed time since the activation of the client device is obtained.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention according to claim 23 is characterized in that in the first information obtaining step, an elapsed time after starting the download program is obtained.

[0030] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention according to claim 24 is characterized in that in the first information obtaining step, a comparison result between an elapsed time after activation and a set time is obtained.

In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention according to the twenty-fifth aspect, in the control step, the comparison result between the elapsed time after activation acquired in the first information acquisition step and the set time coincides with each other. In this case, downloading is performed.

[0032] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention according to claim 26 is characterized in that a date is obtained in the second information obtaining step.

[0033] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention according to claim 27 is characterized in that when the date obtained in the second information obtaining step changes, a reset process is performed in the server device.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention according to claim 28, wherein the data to be downloaded is a data file, application document file, typeface data, external character data and other data necessary for the client device. It is characterized by being.

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a computer storing a program for executing a data download method applied to a data communication system in which a plurality of client devices and server devices are connected to a network. The data download method has a control step of controlling execution of download on each client device in accordance with activation related to each client device.

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, in the data download method, a communication step for performing data communication between a client device and a server device, and a method for acquiring data on the client device A setting step of performing settings, a first information obtaining step of obtaining information for operation determination on the client device, and a second information obtaining step of obtaining information for operation determination on the server device. In the control step, the execution of the download is controlled based on the setting in the setting step, the communication data in the communication step, and the data obtained in the first and second information obtaining steps.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention according to claim 31 is characterized in that in the communication step, data of a server device is obtained from a client device.

[0038] To achieve the above object, the present invention according to claim 32 is characterized in that in the communication step, an inquiry about setting information is made from a client device to a server device.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention according to claim 33 is characterized in that in the communication step, setting information from a server device is notified to a client device.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention according to a thirty-fourth aspect is characterized in that in the setting step, an access destination of the server device can be set.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention according to claim 35 is characterized in that in the setting step, a time after starting to start downloading can be set.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention according to claim 36 is characterized in that in the first information obtaining step, an elapsed time since the activation of the client device is obtained.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention according to claim 37 is characterized in that in the first information obtaining step, an elapsed time after starting the download program is obtained.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention according to claim 38 is characterized in that in the first information acquiring step, a comparison result between an elapsed time after activation and a set time is acquired.

In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention according to the thirty-ninth aspect, in the control step, the comparison result between the elapsed time after the start acquired in the first information acquisition step and the set time coincides with each other. In this case, downloading is performed.

To achieve the above object, the present invention according to claim 40 is characterized in that in the second information obtaining step, a date is obtained.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention according to claim 41 is characterized in that when the date obtained in the second information obtaining step changes, the server device performs a reset process.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention according to claim 42, wherein the data to be downloaded is a data file, application document file, font data, external character data, or other data necessary for the client device. It is characterized by being.

[0049]

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

[1] First Embodiment First, before describing the first embodiment of the present invention in detail, a basic flow up to execution of the program of the present invention on a client machine will be described. 1 will be described below.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of an apparatus (client machine) on which a program according to the first embodiment of the present invention operates. The client machine according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a CPU 101, a ROM
102, RAM 103, keyboard control unit (KBC) 1
04, keyboard (KB) 105, display device controller (CRTC) 106, CRT 107, external storage device controller (DKC) 108, external storage device (FD / HD)
109, pointing device control unit (PDC) 11
0, a pointing device (PD) 111, a system bus 112, and a communication control unit 113.

The structure of each of the above components will be described in detail.
Reference numeral 1 denotes a central processing unit that controls the entire apparatus, performs arithmetic processing, and the like, and will be described later with reference to FIG. 5 (first embodiment) and FIG.
The processing shown in the flowchart of the second embodiment is executed. The ROM 102 is a read-only memory,
This is a storage area for a system startup program, a basic I / O program, and the like. The RAM 103 is a random access memory, which is a data area with no usage restrictions, and is an area in which programs and data represented by flowcharts described below are loaded and executed for various processes.

The keyboard control unit (KBC) 104 receives key input data from the keyboard (KB) 105 and transmits it to the CPU 101. Keyboard (KB) 10
5 is used for various inputs. The display device control unit (CRTC) 106 receives data from the CPU 101 and displays the data on the CRT 107. The CRT 107 displays various data. The display method is not limited to the CRT, and various display methods are possible.

The external storage device control unit (DKC) 108
The external storage device (FD / HD) 109 is controlled. The external storage device (FD / HD) 109 is composed of a floppy disk device (FD) or a hard disk device (HD), stores programs and data in the external storage device 109, and executes the programs and data as needed at the time of execution. RAM1
03 and referenced. The pointing device control unit (PDC) 110 controls input data from the pointing device (PD) 111. The pointing device (PD) 111 includes a mouse, a tablet, and the like, and is used for inputting coordinates on the screen of the CRT 107. The system bus 112 is to serve as a data path between the above-described components. The communication control unit 113 communicates with a server machine via a network.

This device is composed of a basic I / O program, an OS
(Operating system) and this program
It operates when the PU 101 executes. Basic I / O
The program is written in the ROM 102, and the OS and the program are written in the external storage device (FD / HD) 109. Then, when the power of the apparatus is turned on, the external storage device (FD / HD) 10 is executed by the initial program load function in the basic I / O program.
From 9, the OS and the program are read into the RAM 103, and the operation of the OS and the program is started.

The medium for storing this program is FD
CD-ROM (Compact Disk RO)
M), IC memory card, MO (Magneto Op)
Tical), DVD (Digital Video D)
isk), ZIP (media of the same magnetic system as a floppy disk developed by Iomega Corporation in the United States), and the like.

In the first embodiment of the present invention, data is automatically downloaded by setting a download start time after startup in a client machine.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing a connection form between a server machine and a client machine according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Reference numeral 201 in FIG. 2 represents a server machine. The types of servers include general servers such as NT servers, NetWare (network OS developed by Novell) servers, Web servers, and the like, as long as they can refer to data from a local machine. Is not specified.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 202 denotes a medium for physical network connection. Representative examples include Ethernet (a local area network with a bus structure jointly developed by Xerox, DEC, and Intel in the United States) and recent use of telephones due to the spread of mobile devices. There is no particular stipulation as long as it can connect to the client machine. There are various connection forms such as a local connection, an intranet (a network using the Internet environment for sharing information within a company), the Internet, and the like, but the form is not particularly specified.

Similarly, regarding the communication protocol between the server machine and the client machine, TCP / IP
(Transmission Control Prot
ocol / Internet Protocol: a type of international standard protocol for constructing a computer-to-computer network, and HTTP (Hype) operating on it
r Text Transfer Protocol: W
There are several typical protocols such as a protocol for a WW client to communicate with a server), but the protocol is not particularly defined as long as the server machine and the client machine can communicate with each other.

In FIG. 2, reference numerals 203, 204, and 205 denote client machines (client machine 1, client machine 2, and client machine 3), respectively. For the sake of simplicity, only three machines are shown.
Any number of client machines may be used, and any connection form using a hierarchical structure or the like may be used as long as it can be connected to the server machine.

The correspondence between the components in the claims and the components in the first embodiment of the present invention and the second embodiment described below is as follows. That is, the control means in the claims corresponds to the CPU 101 and the program provided in the client machine, and the communication means in the claims corresponds to the communication control unit 113 provided in the client machine and the communication control unit (not shown) built in the server machine 201. ), And the setting means in the claims is a CRT 10 provided in the client machine.
7 corresponds to a user interface implemented on the client machine, and the first information acquisition unit in the claims corresponds to the CPU 101 and the program provided in the client machine.
The second information acquisition means in the claims corresponds to a CPU (not shown) and a program built in the server machine 201.

Next, the first embodiment of the present invention configured as described above is described.
The embodiment will be described in detail. In the first embodiment of the present invention, the description will be given focusing on the operation in one client machine in order to simplify the description.

The program running on the client machine in the first embodiment of the present invention mainly downloads specified data from a specified server. This program is stored in advance in the external storage device 109 of the client machine by a setup program or the like.
At the start of the client machine.
It is assumed that it is loaded and resident on M103.

This program has a user interface as shown in FIG. 3, and can specify at least a download start time after the client machine is started and a data file on the download destination server. Reference numeral 301 in FIG. 3 denotes an interface for inputting and specifying a character string represented by an edit control for specifying a data file to be downloaded from the server machine. Similarly, reference numeral 302 in FIG. 3 denotes an interface for inputting and specifying the time after the start of the client machine that starts downloading. The display form shown in FIG.
7 is displayed.

The specified contents may be set in advance by a setup program at the time of installing the program, or may be set by a client user at an arbitrary timing. In this example, an HTTP URL (Uniform Res
source locator: the address of the WWW server), but any other file, such as a file on a local server, that can be referenced from the client machine may be used.

The data to be downloaded may be of any type and size, such as a simple data file, application document file, typeface data, and external character data, as long as the data is required by the client machine. It is assumed that the download program has been created so that the data can be specified and the data can be used after downloading to the client machine. The time after activation is specified in minutes here, but can be specified in arbitrary units. However, as for the minimum value, it is desirable that the time until the system is stabilized after the system is started be set to the minimum value.

The contents set by the user interface are stored in the RAM 103 in the form as shown in FIG. 4, and are stored in the external storage device 109 when the program ends, and are read out and stored in the RAM 103 at the next startup. You.

Next, the flow of processing on the client machine according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In step S501 in FIG. 5, the elapsed time since the activation of the client machine is obtained. Regarding the elapsed time after startup, the time after the system is started may be acquired after the client machine is turned on and the OS is loaded, or the download program is loaded and execution is started. Even if the elapsed time after use is used, the same effect can be obtained as the effect of the present invention.

In step S502, step S5
01 and R shown in FIG.
A comparison is made with the activation time information held on the AM 103. If they match, the process proceeds to step S503. If they do not match, the process returns to step S501 to acquire the elapsed time after the activation of the client machine again. In step S503, the destination described in the download destination designation information on the RAM 103 shown in FIG. 4 is accessed, data is downloaded to the external storage device 109 of the local machine, and the process proceeds to step S504. In step S504, if any processing is required on the client machine for the downloaded data file, the processing is executed.

The case where the above processing is actually executed in each client machine will be described. First, when each client machine is started at the time shown in FIG. 6, a setting is made in each client machine to start the download at a predetermined time (for example, 10 minutes in this example) after the start. Each client machine (1, 2, 3, 4,
5) are client machines 1 to 8, respectively:
40, 8:55, 8:30, 9:05, 9:31 ...
In order to start downloading, it is possible to reliably update data after startup, and furthermore, the timing at which the client machine downloads is also executed depending on the variation at the time of starting each client machine, It is possible to reduce the load on the network and the server.

As described above, it is possible to distribute the load without setting each client machine individually or setting a time schedule. The greater the number of client machines, the greater the effect.

As described above, according to the data communication system according to the first embodiment of the present invention, each client machine determines the elapsed time after starting the client machine (or the elapsed time after starting the download program). The acquired elapsed time is compared with the activation time information stored in the RAM 103.
The following operations and effects can be obtained since the CPU 101 has the CPU 101 for executing the program for accessing the download destination and downloading the data to the external storage device 109 of the local machine.

In the above configuration, the CPU 101 of each client machine executes the program to obtain the elapsed time after the client machine is started or the elapsed time after the download program is started. If the acquired elapsed time matches the start-up time information on the RAM 103, the download destination of the RAM 103 is accessed, and the data is downloaded to the external storage device 109 of the local machine.

Therefore, in the first embodiment of the present invention, the client machine is operated overnight by focusing on the variation of the startup time (startup time) in each client machine and utilizing the variation. There is an effect that it is possible to reduce the load on the network and the server machine when downloading data to the client machine, without having to worry about maintenance problems such as starting up at night or at night. In addition, since it is not necessary for the client user to consciously download data, there is an effect that data can be surely updated.

[2] Second Embodiment A client machine according to a second embodiment of the present invention has a CPU 101, a ROM 102, and a RAM similarly to the first embodiment.
103, a keyboard control unit (KBC) 104, a keyboard (KB) 105, a display device control unit (CRT)
C) 106, CRT 107, external storage device control unit (DK)
C) 108, an external storage device (FD / HD) 109, a pointing device control unit (PDC) 110, a pointing device (PD) 111, and a system bus 112. The configuration of each part has been described in detail in the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

The second embodiment of the present invention is an embodiment for coping with the case where a large number of client machines are started simultaneously in a very narrow time zone. The first embodiment cannot cope with a case where an operator or the like starts a large number of client machines almost simultaneously in a large-scale office. Therefore, in the first embodiment, the designation that the download is started in 10 minutes after the start in all the machines is performed. In the second embodiment of the present invention, the start time is individually set for each client machine. It is specified.

FIG. 7 shows an example of setting the start time and the download start time of each client machine. In FIG. 7, the item of the activation time represents the power-on time of each client machine. The specified time after startup specifies how many minutes to start downloading after the power is turned on. The actual download time is the time at which data download is actually started.

Next, the flow from power-on to the start of actual download on each client machine according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In step S 801 of FIG. 8, after the power of the client machine is turned on, the external storage device 109 such as an HD
Then, the download program is loaded onto the RAM 103, and the server machine managing the client machine group is queried for information corresponding to the designated time after the start in FIG. On the server machine, a program that manages the designated time after activation of each client machine is operating, and returns the designated time information after activation at that time to the client machine that inquired.

Here, the flow of the program for managing the designated time after activation on the server machine will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In step S901 of FIG. 9, the initial value of the designated time after startup, which is returned to the client machine, is read from the value written in the external storage device by the setup program or the like, and is stored in the RAM 103 in the form shown in FIG. I do. The initial value is set to the initial value, and the current value is set to the same value. In step S902, it is determined whether a request for a value from the client machine has been made. If there has been a request, the process proceeds to step S903, and if there has been no request, the process proceeds to step S906.

In step S 903, the current value is returned to the client machine that made the request, and in step S 904
Proceed to. In step S904, the value of the current value is changed. The value to be changed may be increased every minute as shown in FIG. 7, and the change can be made in an arbitrary value unit. After changing the value, the process proceeds to step S905. In step S905, it is determined whether or not to end the processing of this program.
Proceed to 902, otherwise terminate the process. In step S906, it is determined whether the date has changed. If the date has changed, the process advances to step S907 to reset the current value to the initial value and prepare for the next day's processing. If the date has not changed, step S
Proceed to 905.

Here, a method for preparing a program for managing the designated time after startup on the server machine to facilitate the management and automatically managing the program is described. However, if such an environment cannot be prepared, Needless to say, the client user may individually set the set time after activation.

In step S802 in FIG. 8, the elapsed time since the activation of the client machine is acquired.
Regarding the elapsed time after startup, the time after the system was started may be acquired after the power of the client machine is turned on and the OS is loaded, or the download program is loaded and execution is started. Even if a later elapsed time is used, the same effect can be obtained as the effect of the present invention.

In step S803, the above-described step S8
02 is compared with the activation time information stored in the RAM 103 shown in FIG. 4 acquired in step S801. If they match, the process proceeds to step S804. If they do not match, the process proceeds to step S804. Returning to step S802, the elapsed time after the activation of the client machine is acquired again. In step S804, the destination described in the download destination designation information on the RAM 103 shown in FIG. 4 is accessed, data is downloaded to the external storage device 109 of the local machine, and the process proceeds to step S805. In step S805, if any processing is required on the client machine for the downloaded data file, for example, if it is an external character data file, the data is registered in the system of the client machine. , Execute the processing.

With the above processing, it is possible to reliably update the data after startup, and the timing at which each client machine downloads data varies even when the startup time of each client machine is near. And the load on the server can be reduced.

As described above, according to the data communication system according to the second embodiment of the present invention, each client machine determines the elapsed time after starting the client machine (or the elapsed time after starting the download program). The acquired elapsed time is compared with the activation time information stored in the RAM 103.
CPU 101 that accesses the destination described in the download destination designation information and executes a program for downloading data to external storage device 109 of the local machine
In addition, the server machine returns the current value to the client machine when requested by the client machine, and resets the current value to prepare for the processing of the next day if the date is changed, if necessary. To control
The following functions and effects are obtained.

In the above configuration, the CPU 101 of each client machine obtains the elapsed time after starting the client machine or the elapsed time after starting the download program. If the acquired elapsed time matches the start time information on the RAM 103, the download destination indicated by the RAM 103 is accessed, and the external storage device 1 of the local machine is accessed.
09 to download data. On the other hand, the server machine returns the value of the current value when requested by the client machine, and resets the current value to prepare for the processing of the next day if the date has changed.

Therefore, in the second embodiment of the present invention, attention is paid to the variation in the startup time (startup time) in each client machine, and the variation is used, and the startup time is specified for each client machine. In particular, even when a large number of client machines are started simultaneously during a very narrow time, the client machines do not need to be operated all night, or without having to worry about maintenance problems such as starting up at night. This has the effect of reducing the load on the network and the server machine when downloading data to the client machine. In addition, there is no need for the client user to consciously download the data, and the data can be surely updated. Further, by designating the time after activation, there is an effect that the download can be executed after the system is stabilized.

The present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices or an apparatus composed of one device. A storage medium storing software program codes for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or an apparatus, and a computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or the apparatus executes the program code stored in the storage medium. Needless to say, this can also be achieved by executing the reading.

In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

Examples of a storage medium for supplying the program code include a floppy disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, and CD.
-R, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, or the like can be used.

When the computer executes the readout program code, not only the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized, but also the OS and the like running on the computer are actually executed based on the instructions of the program code. It goes without saying that a part or all of the above-described processing is performed, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, based on the instruction of the program code, It goes without saying that the CPU included in the function expansion board or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

[0097]

As described above, according to the data communication system of the first aspect of the present invention, a data communication system in which a plurality of client devices and server devices are connected to a network, wherein each client device Since there is a control unit for controlling the execution of the download according to the activation related to each client device, the following effects are obtained. By paying attention to the variation of the startup time (startup time) in each client device, and using the variation, the client device can be operated all night without operating.
Alternatively, it is possible to reduce the load on the network and the server device when downloading data to the client device without worrying about maintenance problems such as starting up at night. In addition, since it is not necessary for the client user to consciously download data, there is an effect that data can be surely updated.

According to the data communication system of the present invention, communication means for performing data communication between the client device and the server device, setting means for performing setting for data acquisition on the client device, A first information obtaining unit that obtains information for determining an operation on the device; and a second information obtaining unit that obtains information for determining an operation on the server device. Since the execution of the download is controlled based on the setting by the setting means, the communication data by the communication means and the data obtained by the first and second information obtaining means, the following effects are obtained. As described above, the load on the network and the server device when downloading data to the client device can be reduced without operating the client device overnight or without worrying about maintenance problems such as starting at night. This eliminates the need for the client user to consciously download the data, thereby ensuring that the data can be updated.

According to the data communication system of the third aspect of the present invention, the communication means acquires the data of the server device from the client device, and thus has the following effects. As described above, the load on the network and the server device when downloading data to the client device can be reduced without operating the client device overnight or without worrying about maintenance problems such as starting at night. This eliminates the need for the client user to consciously download the data, thereby ensuring that the data can be updated.

According to the data communication system of the present invention, since the communication means inquires the setting information from the client device to the server device, the following effects are obtained. As described above, the load on the network and the server device when downloading data to the client device can be reduced without operating the client device overnight or without worrying about maintenance problems such as starting at night. This eliminates the need for the client user to consciously download the data, thereby ensuring that the data can be updated.

According to the data communication system of the present invention, since the communication means notifies the client device of the setting information from the server device, the following effects are obtained. As described above, the load on the network and the server device when downloading data to the client device can be reduced without operating the client device overnight or without worrying about maintenance problems such as starting at night. This eliminates the need for the client user to consciously download the data, thereby ensuring that the data can be updated.

According to the data communication system of the present invention, since the setting means can set the access destination of the server device, the following effects are obtained. As above, without driving the client device all night,
Alternatively, it is possible to reduce the load on the network and the server device when downloading data to the client device without worrying about maintenance problems such as starting up at night, and the client user is conscious of the effect. Thus, there is no need to download the data, so that the data can be surely updated.

According to the data communication system of the present invention, since the setting means can set the time after the start of the download, the following effects can be obtained. As described above, the load on the network and the server device when downloading data to the client device can be reduced without operating the client device overnight or without worrying about maintenance problems such as starting at night. This eliminates the need for the client user to consciously download the data, thereby ensuring that the data can be updated. In addition, by specifying the time after activation, there is an effect that the download can be executed after the system is stabilized.

According to the data communication system of the present invention, since the first information acquiring means acquires the elapsed time since the activation of the client device, the following effects are obtained. As described above, the load on the network and the server device when downloading data to the client device can be reduced without operating the client device overnight or without worrying about maintenance problems such as starting at night. This eliminates the need for the client user to consciously download the data, thereby ensuring that the data can be updated.

According to the data communication system of the ninth aspect of the present invention, the first information obtaining means obtains the elapsed time since the start of the download program. As described above, the load on the network and the server device when downloading data to the client device can be reduced without operating the client device overnight or without worrying about maintenance problems such as starting at night. This eliminates the need for the client user to consciously download the data, thereby ensuring that the data can be updated.

According to the data communication system of the present invention, since the first information acquiring means acquires the comparison result between the elapsed time after activation and the set time, the following effects are obtained. Play. As described above, the load on the network and the server device when downloading data to the client device can be reduced without operating the client device overnight or without worrying about maintenance problems such as starting at night. Effects that can be achieved,
Since the client user does not need to consciously download the data, there is an effect that the data can be surely updated.

According to the data communication system of the present invention, when the comparison result between the elapsed time after the start acquired by the first information acquisition means and the set time matches, The following effects are provided for executing the download. As described above, the load on the network and the server device when downloading data to the client device can be reduced without operating the client device overnight or without worrying about maintenance problems such as starting at night. This eliminates the need for the client user to consciously download the data, thereby ensuring that the data can be updated.

According to the data communication system of the present invention, since the second information acquiring means acquires the date, the following effects are obtained. As described above, the load on the network and the server device when downloading data to the client device can be reduced without operating the client device overnight or without worrying about maintenance problems such as starting at night. This eliminates the need for the client user to consciously download the data, thereby ensuring that the data can be updated.

According to the data communication system of the present invention, when the date obtained by the second information obtaining means changes, the reset processing is performed by the server device, so that the following effects are obtained. . As described above, the load on the network and the server device when downloading data to the client device can be reduced without operating the client device overnight or without worrying about maintenance problems such as starting at night. This eliminates the need for the client user to consciously download the data, thereby ensuring that the data can be updated.

According to the data communication system of the present invention, the data to be downloaded are data necessary for the client device, such as data files, application document files, typeface data, and external character data. Therefore, the following effects are obtained. For example, when downloading data necessary for the client device such as a data file, application document file, typeface data, and external character data, similarly to the above, maintenance such as starting the client device without operating it overnight or at night. It is possible to reduce the load on the network and the server device when downloading data to the client device without worrying about the above problems, and it is necessary for the client user to download data consciously. Since there is no data, there is an effect that data can be surely updated.

According to the data download method of the present invention, a data download method applied to a data communication system in which a plurality of client devices and server devices are connected to a network, wherein each client device Since the method includes the control step of controlling the execution of the download according to the activation related to the client device, the following effects are obtained. By paying attention to the variation in the start-up time (startup time) in each client device and using the variation, the user is concerned about maintenance problems such as starting up the client device without operating all night or at night. Thus, there is an effect that it is possible to reduce the load on the network and the server device when downloading data to the client device. In addition, since it is not necessary for the client user to consciously download data, there is an effect that data can be surely updated.

According to the data download method of the present invention, a communication step for performing data communication between the client device and the server device, a setting step for performing setting for data acquisition on the client device, A first information acquisition step of acquiring information for operation determination on the device, and a second information acquisition step of acquiring information for operation determination on the server device, wherein the control step Setting by the setting step, communication data by the communication step and the first,
Since the execution of the download is controlled based on the acquired data in the second information acquiring step, the following effects are obtained. As described above, the load on the network and the server device when downloading data to the client device can be reduced without operating the client device overnight or without worrying about maintenance problems such as starting at night. This eliminates the need for the client user to consciously download the data, thereby ensuring that the data can be updated.

According to the data download method of the present invention, since the data of the server device is obtained from the client device in the communication step, the following effects are obtained. As described above, the load on the network and the server device when downloading data to the client device can be reduced without operating the client device overnight or without worrying about maintenance problems such as starting at night. Effects that can be achieved,
Since the client user does not need to consciously download the data, there is an effect that the data can be surely updated.

According to the data download method of the present invention, since the client device inquires of the server device about the setting information in the communication step, the following effects are obtained. As described above, the load on the network and the server device when downloading data to the client device can be reduced without operating the client device overnight or without worrying about maintenance problems such as starting at night. This eliminates the need for the client user to consciously download the data, thereby ensuring that the data can be updated.

According to the data download method of the present invention, since the setting information from the server device is notified to the client device in the communication step, the following effects are obtained. As described above, the load on the network and the server device when downloading data to the client device can be reduced without operating the client device overnight or without worrying about maintenance problems such as starting at night. This eliminates the need for the client user to consciously download the data, thereby ensuring that the data can be updated.

According to the data download method of the present invention, since the access destination of the server device can be set in the setting step, the following effects are obtained. As described above, the load on the network and the server device when downloading data to the client device can be reduced without operating the client device overnight or without worrying about maintenance problems such as starting at night. This eliminates the need for the client user to consciously download the data, thereby ensuring that the data can be updated.

According to the data download method of the present invention, the setting step can set the time after starting to start the download, and thus has the following effects. As described above, the load on the network and the server device when downloading data to the client device can be reduced without operating the client device overnight or without worrying about maintenance problems such as starting at night. This eliminates the need for the client user to consciously download the data, thereby ensuring that the data can be updated. In addition, by specifying the time after activation, there is an effect that the download can be executed after the system is stabilized.

According to the data download method of the present invention, the first information obtaining step includes:
Since the elapsed time after the activation of the client device is obtained, the following effects are obtained. As described above, the load on the network and the server device when downloading data to the client device can be reduced without operating the client device overnight or without worrying about maintenance problems such as starting at night. This eliminates the need for the client user to consciously download the data, thereby ensuring that the data can be updated.

[0119] According to the data download method of the present invention, the first information obtaining step includes:
Since the elapsed time since the start of the download program is obtained, the following effects are obtained. As described above, the load on the network and the server device when downloading data to the client device can be reduced without operating the client device overnight or without worrying about maintenance problems such as starting at night. This eliminates the need for the client user to consciously download the data, thereby ensuring that the data can be updated.

[0120] According to the data download method of the present invention, the first information obtaining step includes:
Since the result of comparison between the elapsed time after activation and the set time is obtained, the following effects are obtained. As described above, the load on the network and the server device when downloading data to the client device can be reduced without operating the client device overnight or without worrying about maintenance problems such as starting at night. This eliminates the need for the client user to consciously download the data, thereby ensuring that the data can be updated.

According to a twenty-fifth aspect of the present invention, in the control step, when the comparison result between the elapsed time after activation obtained in the first information obtaining step and the set time matches, The following effects are provided for executing the download. As described above, the load on the network and the server device when downloading data to the client device can be reduced without operating the client device overnight or without worrying about maintenance problems such as starting at night. This eliminates the need for the client user to consciously download the data, thereby ensuring that the data can be updated.

According to the data download method of the present invention, the second information obtaining step includes:
The following effects are obtained because the date is acquired. As described above, the load on the network and the server device when downloading data to the client device can be reduced without operating the client device overnight or without worrying about maintenance problems such as starting at night. Because the effect that can be achieved and the client user does not need to download data consciously,
This has the effect that data can be updated reliably.

According to the data download method of the present invention, when the date obtained in the second information obtaining step changes, the server device performs the reset processing, so that the following effects are obtained. . As described above, the load on the network and the server device when downloading data to the client device can be reduced without operating the client device overnight or without worrying about maintenance problems such as starting at night. This eliminates the need for the client user to consciously download the data, thereby ensuring that the data can be updated.

According to the data download method of the present invention, the data to be downloaded is data necessary for the client device such as a data file, an application document file, font data, and external character data. Therefore, the following effects are obtained. For example, when downloading data necessary for the client device such as a data file, application document file, typeface data, and external character data, similarly to the above, maintenance such as starting the client device without operating it overnight or at night. It is possible to reduce the load on the network and the server device when downloading data to the client device without worrying about the above problems, and it is necessary for the client user to download data consciously. Since there is no data, there is an effect that data can be surely updated.

According to the storage medium of the present invention, a plurality of client devices and server devices can be read by a computer storing a program for executing a data download method applied to a data communication system connected to a network. Since the data download method includes a control step of controlling execution of download on each client device in accordance with activation related to each client device, the data download method has the following effects. By paying attention to the variation in the start-up time (startup time) in each client device and using the variation, the user is concerned about maintenance problems such as starting up the client device without operating all night or at night. Thus, there is an effect that it is possible to reduce the load on the network and the server device when downloading data to the client device. In addition, since it is not necessary for the client user to consciously download data, there is an effect that data can be surely updated.

According to the storage medium of the present invention, the data download method includes a communication step of performing data communication between a client device and a server device;
A setting step of performing settings for data acquisition on the client device, a first information acquisition step of acquiring information for operation determination on the client device, and information for operation determination on the server device. And a second information acquisition step of acquiring, wherein in the control step, the download is executed based on the setting by the setting step, the communication data by the communication step, and the acquisition data by the first and second information acquisition steps. The control has the following effects. As described above, the load on the network and the server device when downloading data to the client device can be reduced without operating the client device overnight or without worrying about maintenance problems such as starting at night. This eliminates the need for the client user to consciously download the data, thereby ensuring that the data can be updated.

According to the storage medium of the present invention, since the data of the server device is obtained from the client device in the communication step, the following effects are obtained. As described above, the load on the network and the server device when downloading data to the client device can be reduced without operating the client device overnight or without worrying about maintenance problems such as starting at night. This eliminates the need for the client user to consciously download the data, thereby ensuring that the data can be updated.

According to the storage medium of the present invention, since the client device inquires of the server device about the setting information in the communication step, the following effects are obtained. As described above, the load on the network and the server device when downloading data to the client device can be reduced without operating the client device overnight or without worrying about maintenance problems such as starting at night. This eliminates the need for the client user to consciously download the data, thereby ensuring that the data can be updated.

According to the storage medium of the present invention, since the setting information from the server device is notified to the client device in the communication step, the following effects are obtained. As described above, the load on the network and the server device when downloading data to the client device can be reduced without operating the client device overnight or without worrying about maintenance problems such as starting at night. This eliminates the need for the client user to consciously download the data, thereby ensuring that the data can be updated.

According to the storage medium of the present invention, since the access destination of the server device can be set in the setting step, the following effects are obtained. As described above, the load on the network and the server device when downloading data to the client device can be reduced without operating the client device overnight or without worrying about maintenance problems such as starting at night. Because the effect that can be achieved and the client user does not need to download data consciously,
This has the effect that data can be updated reliably.

According to the storage medium of the present invention described in claim 35, in the setting step, the time after starting to start downloading can be set, so that the following effects are obtained. As described above, the load on the network and the server device when downloading data to the client device can be reduced without operating the client device overnight or without worrying about maintenance problems such as starting at night. This eliminates the need for the client user to consciously download the data, thereby ensuring that the data can be updated. In addition, by specifying the time after activation, there is an effect that the download can be executed after the system is stabilized.

According to the storage medium of the present invention, the first information obtaining step obtains the elapsed time since the activation of the client device, and thus has the following effects. As described above, the load on the network and the server device when downloading data to the client device can be reduced without operating the client device overnight or without worrying about maintenance problems such as starting at night. This eliminates the need for the client user to consciously download the data, thereby ensuring that the data can be updated.

According to the storage medium of the present invention, the first information obtaining step obtains the elapsed time since the start of the download program, and thus has the following effects. As described above, the load on the network and the server device when downloading data to the client device can be reduced without operating the client device overnight or without worrying about maintenance problems such as starting at night. This eliminates the need for the client user to consciously download the data, thereby ensuring that the data can be updated.

According to the storage medium of the present invention, in the first information obtaining step, a comparison result between the elapsed time after the start and the set time is obtained, so that the following effects are obtained. . As described above, the load on the network and the server device when downloading data to the client device can be reduced without operating the client device overnight or without worrying about maintenance problems such as starting at night. This eliminates the need for the client user to consciously download the data, thereby ensuring that the data can be updated.

[0135] According to the storage medium of the present invention, in the control step, if the comparison result between the elapsed time after the start acquired in the first information acquisition step and the set time matches, the download is performed. Has the following effects. As described above, the load on the network and the server device when downloading data to the client device can be reduced without operating the client device overnight or without worrying about maintenance problems such as starting at night. This eliminates the need for the client user to consciously download the data, thereby ensuring that the data can be updated.

According to the storage medium of the present invention, since the date is acquired in the second information acquiring step, the following effects are obtained. As described above, the load on the network and the server device when downloading data to the client device can be reduced without operating the client device overnight or without worrying about maintenance problems such as starting at night. This eliminates the need for the client user to consciously download the data, thereby ensuring that the data can be updated.

According to the storage medium of the present invention, when the date obtained in the second information obtaining step is changed, the reset processing is performed by the server device, so that the following effects are obtained. As described above, the load on the network and the server device when downloading data to the client device can be reduced without operating the client device overnight or without worrying about maintenance problems such as starting at night. This eliminates the need for the client user to consciously download the data, thereby ensuring that the data can be updated.

According to the storage medium of the present invention, the data to be downloaded is data necessary for the client device, such as data files, application document files, typeface data, and external character data. The following effects are obtained. For example, when downloading data necessary for the client device such as a data file, application document file, typeface data, and external character data, similarly to the above, maintenance such as starting the client device without operating it overnight or at night. It is possible to reduce the load on the network and the server device when downloading data to the client device without worrying about the above problems, and it is necessary for the client user to download data consciously. Since there is no data, there is an effect that data can be surely updated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of a client machine according to first and second embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing a connection form between a server machine and a client machine according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a user interface for specifying a download of a program according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a memory map of information set by a user interface according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing on each client machine according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a startup time of each client machine according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of setting a start time and a download start time of each client machine according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing on each client machine according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing processing on a server machine according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a memory map of designated time information after startup on a server machine according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 101 CPU 102 ROM 107 CRT 109 External storage device 113 Communication control unit 201 Server machine 203 to 205 Client machine

Claims (42)

[Claims] 1. A data communication system in which a plurality of client devices and a server device are connected to a network, wherein each client device has control means for controlling execution of download according to activation related to each client device. Characteristic data communication system. 2. A communication device for performing data communication between a client device and a server device, a setting device for performing settings for obtaining data on the client device, and obtaining information for determining an operation on the client device. The first information acquisition means, having a second information acquisition means for acquiring information for determining the operation on the server device, the control means,
2. The data communication system according to claim 1, wherein the execution of the download is controlled based on the setting by the setting unit, the communication data by the communication unit, and the data obtained by the first and second information obtaining units. 3. The data communication system according to claim 2, wherein said communication unit acquires data of a server device from a client device. 4. The data communication system according to claim 2, wherein said communication means makes an inquiry about setting information from the client device to the server device. 5. The data communication system according to claim 2, wherein said communication unit notifies the client device of setting information from a server device. 6. The data communication system according to claim 2, wherein said setting means can set an access destination of a server device. 7. The data communication system according to claim 2, wherein the setting unit can set a time after the start of the download. 8. The data communication system according to claim 2, wherein the first information acquisition unit acquires an elapsed time after activation of the client device. 9. The data communication system according to claim 2, wherein the first information acquisition unit acquires an elapsed time after starting a download program. 10. The data communication system according to claim 2, wherein the first information acquisition unit acquires a comparison result between an elapsed time after activation and a set time. 11. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit executes the download when the comparison result between the elapsed time after activation acquired by the first information acquisition unit and the set time matches. The data communication system according to any one of claims 10 to 13. 12. The data communication system according to claim 2, wherein said second information acquisition unit acquires a date. 13. The data communication system according to claim 12, wherein when the date obtained by said second information obtaining means changes, a reset process is performed by a server device. 14. The data to be downloaded is data necessary for a client device, such as a data file, a document file of an application, font data, and external character data. A data communication system according to claim 1. 15. A data download method applied to a data communication system in which a plurality of client devices and a server device are connected to a network, wherein each client device controls execution of download according to activation of each client device. A data download method, comprising a control step of performing data download. 16. A communication step for performing data communication between a client device and a server device, a setting step for performing settings for data acquisition on the client device, and acquiring information for determining an operation on the client device. A first information acquisition step, and a second information acquisition step of acquiring information for determining an operation on the server device, wherein the control step includes: setting by the setting step; communication data by the communication step. And the first,
16. The execution of download is controlled based on data acquired by the second information acquisition step.
Data download method described. 17. The data download method according to claim 16, wherein in the communication step, data of a server device is obtained from a client device. 18. The data download method according to claim 16, wherein in the communication step, an inquiry about setting information is made from the client device to the server device. 19. The data download method according to claim 16, wherein in the communication step, setting information from a server device is notified to a client device. 20. The setting step, wherein an access destination of a server device can be set.
20. The data download method according to any one of 6 to 19. 21. The data download method according to claim 16, wherein in the setting step, a time after starting to start downloading can be set. 22. The data download method according to claim 16, wherein in the first information obtaining step, an elapsed time after starting the client device is obtained. 23. The data download method according to claim 16, wherein in the first information acquisition step, an elapsed time after starting a download program is acquired. 24. The data download method according to claim 16, wherein in the first information obtaining step, a comparison result between an elapsed time after activation and a set time is obtained. 25. The method according to claim 15, wherein in the control step, when the comparison result between the set time and the elapsed time after the start obtained in the first information obtaining step matches, the download is executed. 24. The data download method according to any one of 24. 26. The data download method according to claim 16, wherein a date is obtained in the second information obtaining step. 27. The data download method according to claim 26, wherein when the date obtained in the second information obtaining step changes, the server device performs a reset process. 28. The data according to claim 15, wherein the data to be downloaded is data necessary for the client device, such as a data file, an application document file, typeface data, and external character data. Data download method described in. 29. A storage medium readable by a computer storing a program for executing a data download method applied to a data communication system in which a plurality of client devices and server devices are connected to a network, wherein the data download method includes: And a control step of controlling execution of download on each client device in accordance with activation related to each client device. 30. A data download method comprising: a communication step of performing data communication between a client device and a server device; a setting step of performing settings for acquiring data on the client device; A first information obtaining step of obtaining information for, and a second information obtaining step of obtaining information for determining the operation on the server device, wherein the control step, the setting by the setting step, 30. The storage medium according to claim 29, wherein execution of download is controlled based on communication data in the communication step and data obtained in the first and second information obtaining steps. 31. The storage medium according to claim 30, wherein in the communication step, data of a server device is obtained from a client device. 32. The storage medium according to claim 30, wherein in the communication step, an inquiry about setting information is made from a client device to a server device. 33. The storage medium according to claim 30, wherein in the communication step, setting information from a server device is notified to a client device. 34. The setting step, wherein an access destination of a server device can be set.
34. The storage medium according to any one of 0 to 33. 35. The storage medium according to claim 30, wherein in the setting step, a time after starting to start downloading can be set. 36. The storage medium according to claim 30, wherein the first information obtaining step obtains an elapsed time since the activation of the client device. 37. The storage medium according to claim 30, wherein in the first information obtaining step, an elapsed time after starting a download program is obtained. 38. The storage medium according to claim 30, wherein in the first information acquisition step, a comparison result between an elapsed time after activation and a set time is acquired. 39. The method according to claim 29, wherein, in the control step, when the comparison result between the set time and the elapsed time after activation acquired in the first information acquisition step matches, the download is executed. 38. The storage medium according to any one of 38. 40. The storage medium according to claim 30, wherein a date is obtained in the second information obtaining step. 41. The storage medium according to claim 40, wherein when the date obtained in said second information obtaining step changes, the server device performs a reset process. 42. The data according to claim 29, wherein the data to be downloaded is data necessary for the client device, such as a data file, an application document file, font data, and external character data. A storage medium according to claim 1.