JP2004015692A - Method and system for sharing/processing status information between communication applications - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for sharing/processing status information between communication applications by which other application setting information and presence information are automatically outputted when a user selects other preference information, a communication device class is changes, a communication quality is changed or a class of information to be shared is changed. <P>SOLUTION: The method has means 110 and 111 for acquiring information on the communication quality of a network, the class of the communication device and the class, size and the like of the information to be shared, means 107 and 108 for extracting the application setting information and creating the presence information based upon the application setting information when one of preference information is selected, a means 109 for sharing the presence information between the applications on a user terminal, and presence information processing means 105 and 106 for performing setting processing of applications based upon the shared presence information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an application that connects to a communication network and allows a user to share information such as characters, sounds, moving images, and other files with a communication partner, and an information processing method and system in an application execution environment. In particular, when the user is provided with means for connecting to multiple types of networks and moves with the terminal to frequently switch the connection status to these networks, the application according to the connection status and the user's request The present invention relates to a method and a system for sharing and processing state information between communication applications for automating the setting process of the communication application and improving user convenience.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an instant message (IM) for transmitting a short message directly to a computer of a partner without using a server like an e-mail has been used. In this case, since the message does not pass through the server, the transmitting and receiving terminals for exchanging the messages must be simultaneously connected to the network.
In an application program (hereinafter, referred to as an application) for transmitting and receiving information between a plurality of users using a communication network including such an IM or the like, whether or not a communication partner uses a specific application, Alternatively, there is an increasing use form of sharing information on whether or not a user is connected to a communication network, thereby knowing the situation of the other party and transmitting / receiving information to / from the other party.
[0003]
As described above, information (presence information) indicating the status of the user and the application being used is shared between the users, and the presence information sharing technology for the user to exchange communications in accordance with the information is also provided to the market. Has been used.
On the other hand, with the spread of the Internet network in recent years, in addition to a method of connecting to a wired communication network such as a public telephone network or a LAN, when a user moves, the communication network is adapted to a situation suitable for the situation at the time. Various wireless communication services such as Bluetooth communication, wireless LAN communication based on the IEEE802.11 standard, infrared communication, digital portable telephone communication, and PHS data communication are used in response to the need to connect to the Internet.
[0004]
The user's terminal has multiple communication devices on the terminal to connect to each network in order to properly use the communication network according to the user's situation, communication cost, etc., and the communication network connection means according to the situation It is also used properly.
In such a situation, the user is not always connected to the network, and the information route between the users and the available network quality frequently change. A roaming technique is used as a technique for maintaining a communication session with a communication partner even when a network to which a user connects changes.
[0005]
In roaming technology, for example, mobile phone carriers belong to different companies in different regions, but each roaming with the same group of carriers in other regions, so the users are the ones that they have contracted with. You can use the mobile phone service outside of the service area. In this case, since the charge system differs depending on the business operator, the charge system differs when the service is used at the roaming destination. Also, when the user travels abroad, the roaming service can be provided as it is, but the usage fee is charged collectively from the contracting party in Japan.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, in a situation where the connection to the wireless communication service for connecting to the communication network is frequently switched, the behavior of the optimum application differs depending on the connection state of each communication network. For example, if the available bandwidth is rapidly reduced due to the switch from the wireless LAN communication service to the PHS data communication service, the application may reduce information loss unless the transfer speed is reduced by reducing the data to be transmitted and received. And so on, and a desired operation cannot be expected. In addition, when the available bandwidth of the communication network decreases while using a mobile terminal, manual work such as resetting the information to be received by another terminal in order to prevent a long transfer time is required. Required.
[0007]
With the conventional presence information sharing technology, it is possible to share the status of connection to a communication network between users. However, there is no technology that reflects information such as the usage status of the communication network and available bandwidth, and it is necessary for the user to manually change the application settings based on the obtained presence information. If the connection status changes frequently, the operation becomes complicated.
Therefore, if information such as the usage status and available bandwidth of the communication network is reflected in the presence information and a technology for automating application setting changes based on the presence information can be provided, the convenience of application users can be improved. it can.
[0008]
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems, and to select a different preference information, change the type of communication device to be used, change the communication quality of the network, or share the information. When the type of information to be changed changes, different application setting information and presence information are output in accordance with these, and shared with another user by the presence information generation function, thereby improving the convenience of the application. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and a system for sharing and processing state information between communication applications, which can improve communication.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the method for sharing and processing state information between communication applications according to the present invention can be used in an application that connects to a communication network and allows a user to share information with a communication partner and an execution environment thereof. The function to obtain the information such as the communication quality of the appropriate network, the type of communication device being used, and the type and size of the information to be shared from the connected network, user terminal, and application, and the communication quality of the available network. Manages information (preference information) that describes a communication state condition based on the type of communication device, the type and size of information to be shared, and a pair of corresponding application setting information. By selecting one of multiple pieces of preference information, Based on selected preference information, and application settings corresponding to conditions such as available network communication quality, type of communication device being used, type and size of information to be shared, etc. A function that extracts information, generates information (presence information) indicating the status of the user and the application being used based on the information, and shares the information between applications on the user terminal, shared presence information, and usage It has a function of automatically performing an application setting process based on preference information selected by a user.
[0010]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
(Functional configuration and prerequisites)
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an access network selection system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Reference numerals 101 and 102 denote user terminals 1 and 2, respectively, 113 and 114 denote transmission / reception directions of application data, 109 denotes a presence information sharing function, and 112 denotes a communication network. Applications 103 and 104 are built in the user terminals 101 and 102, and the applications 103 and 104 include presence information processing functions 105 and 106. The terminals 101 and 102 store presence information generating functions 107 and 108 and communication device state detecting functions 110 and 111, respectively.
[0011]
The state information sharing / processing method between communication applications based on the present invention is realized by an access network selection system mounted on the user terminal 1. The access network selection system is realized by configuring each function in FIG. FIG. 1 schematically illustrates communication between the pair of user terminals 101 and 102.
The access network selection system includes communication device state detection functions 110 and 111, presence information generation functions 107 and 108, presence information sharing function 109, and presence information processing functions 105 and 106. Implemented as software that runs on
[0012]
Examples of the user terminals 101 and 102 include general-purpose mobile terminals such as PDA (personal digital assistants), mobile phones, and notebook personal computers. Examples of the communication device include a user terminal such as a Bluetooth communication device, a wireless LAN device based on the IEEE802.11 standard, an infrared communication device, a digital mobile phone connection communication device, and a PHS data communication device for connecting to the Internet. Hardware devices.
[0013]
The presence information generation functions 107 and 108 are based on the user's status “moving”, “waiting”, “busy”, “free”, and the connection status of communication devices obtained through the communication device status detection function. Then, presence information is generated and shared with other users using the presence information sharing function 109. The presence information is information that describes an application that is currently available and information transmission means for the application. When the communication partner terminal receives the presence information, the presence information processing functions 105 and 106 select an information transmission destination and an access network for each application based on the presence information, thereby performing an application setting process reflecting the presence information. Realize. By transmitting different presence information according to the use environment, the charge, the communication band, the communication quality, and the like, the user can change the application setting based on these conditions.
[0014]
Examples of applications 103 and 104 used by a user to exchange information with a communication partner via arrows 113 and 114 include IM (instance message) that exchanges character information immediately, e-mail, and terminal-to-terminal communication. Examples include voice communication, terminal-to-terminal image communication, groupware applications, file sharing between users, and location information sharing applications.
[0015]
It is assumed that a common application type is defined for each of the above applications among user terminals using the access network selection system according to the present invention. The application type is represented by a character string such as "Instant Message", "File Sharing", "Location AP" (location information sharing application), and the same character string for applications of the same type.
User identification information is used as information for each user application to refer to each other. The user identification information can be described by expressing an application type, a user name, and a unique domain name using a URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) or the like.
[0016]
(Communication device status detection function)
Obtaining the used communication device type from the user terminal is realized by the communication device state detection function.
The communication device state detection functions 110 and 111 acquire information on communication devices attached to the user terminals 101 and 102, and manage the availability of each communication device and its state information.
As an example, in the case of a communication device using wireless communication, such as Bluetooth or a wireless LAN of the IEEE802.11 standard, the communication device accesses the communication device by inquiring information about the radio wave intensity and the connection possibility of the access point. Whether or not it is available through the points can be detected. Further, by operating the activation state of the layer 2 interface through the OS of the user terminals 101 and 102, it is possible to acquire the communication device type and to start / stop according to the connection possibility of the communication device. .
[0017]
(Presence information generation function)
In the state information sharing / processing method between communication applications according to the present invention, information for representing an application currently used by each user is referred to as presence information. The presence information can be described by using a standard presence information description method such as an Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) draft specification, such as an Instant Messaging and Presence Protocol (IMPP) specification. The presence information is described by the IMPP using an XML (extensive Markup Language) standard, and one or more pairs of application types and user identification information are linked for available applications. ing. Using the XML standard, it is also possible to additionally define additional information about the application.
[0018]
(Preference information)
In the method of sharing and processing state information between communication applications according to the present invention, it is assumed that the user sets preference information in advance as user setting information for generating presence information. The presence information is generated by the presence information generation functions 107 and 108 of the terminals 101 and 102 according to conditions such as available communication devices, user status, application type, type and size of shared data, and the like. It is a set of processing logic necessary for automatically setting the communication environment, and is managed as internal information of the terminals 101 and 102.
[0019]
The preference information can be described as a correspondence table between “condition” and “process”. As information indicating “conditions” in the preference information, (1) information representing an application type such as “IM”, “File Sharing”, “Location AP” by a text character string, (2) “text-message”, Content data types such as "video", "audio", "presence info", and "location info" are represented by text character strings, and (3) data to be transferred represented in units such as "kilobytes". The size, (4) communication devices currently available in the terminal, and the like are described. As information indicating “processing” in the preference information, user identification information as a destination is described.
[0020]
The preference information is used in processing for generating presence information and receiving a general-purpose message. Based on the order (number order) of “conditions” described in the preference information, the corresponding “process” is selected. Therefore, when a message or data satisfies a plurality of “conditions”, a message having a smaller order is preferentially applied.
[0021]
Next, a description example of the preference information will be described with reference to FIGS.
In the figure, the preference information is indicated in a table consisting of “condition” and “process”.
The preference information in FIG. 2 to FIG. 4 uses both a portable terminal carried by the user and a fixed terminal at home, and automatically sets the destination of the received data according to the user situation, available communication devices and data size, and the like. It is assumed that it is used in a situation where it switches dynamically.
[0022]
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a description example (1) of a preference information table according to the present invention.
The preference information is based on the situation in which the destination of the received data is automatically switched according to the user status, available communication devices, data size, etc. using both the portable terminal carried by the user and the fixed terminal at home. It is assumed to be used.
The preference information 201 shown in FIG. 2 is described as ID = “P01”, Name = “NotBusy, Accept Files”, and there is a restriction because the mobile terminal is being used, but the file is not received because it is not busy. "State". In the first line, the description of “IM”, −, −, “WLAN, PHS” is used. For IM (instant message), if it is a text message, the communication device is used in the priority order of wireless LAN and PHS. Indicates that the mobile terminal wants to receive.
[0023]
In the second line of FIG. 2, the description of “File Sharing”, “mp3, audio”, “300”, “WLAN, PHS” indicates that if the file is 300 Kbytes or less, the PHS can be used even if the wireless LAN is unavailable. If there is, it indicates that it is desirable to receive the data at the mobile terminal without transferring it to the fixed terminal.
The third line indicates that if the file is 5000 Kbytes or less (for reasons such as the storage capacity of the portable terminal), the portable terminal receives the file if the wireless LAN is usable.
Lines 2 to 4 indicate that the mobile terminal wants to receive a file in MP3-audio format (for example, video display is impossible due to terminal capability, but audio playback is possible).
The fifth line indicates that a file that does not satisfy the above conditions is desired to be transferred to a fixed terminal. It should be noted that the information of “Location AP” indicates that neither the mobile terminal nor the fixed terminal receives the information.
[0024]
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a description example (2) of the preference information table in the present invention.
The preference information 301 shown in FIG. 3 is a description of ID = “PO3”, Name = “Busy, Don't Disturb!”. “Because it is busy, it does not receive a file or the like on a portable terminal, but receives a text message. Represents a state. The first line indicates that the instant message is to be received by the portable terminal, and that the rest be transferred to the fixed terminal.
In the second line, the description of "File Sharing"-,-,-indicates that the file is not received on a mobile phone, and therefore, "Home PC", that is, that it is desired to be transferred to a fixed terminal.
[0025]
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a description example (3) of the preference information table in the present invention.
The preference information 401 shown in FIG. 4 is a description of ID = “PO3”, Name = “Busy, Don't Disturb!”, And represents a state “the mobile terminal does not receive information because it is busy”. The first and second lines indicate that all data of “IM” and “File Sharing” are desired to be transferred to the fixed terminal. It should be noted that the information of “Location AP” indicates that neither the mobile terminal nor the fixed terminal receives it.
[0026]
(Selection of preference information)
A plurality of pieces of preference information are prepared, and the user selects one of the pieces of preference information, thereby reflecting a processing logic desired by the user.
In the case of a contract content in which the charge setting changes according to the time zone, the presence information generating functions 107 and 108 can switch the preference information selected according to the time zone to reflect different processing logic for each time zone. It is.
[0027]
(Conversion process from preference information to presence information)
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a procedure for converting preference information to presence information according to the present invention.
In the presence information generation functions 107 and 108, the following procedure is repeated for each element (row) of the selected table of preference information to generate presence information.
(Procedure 1) Regarding the element of the table of the selected preference information, if the corresponding application cannot respond, the process proceeds to the next element of the table (step 501).
(Procedure 2) A list of available communication devices is acquired from the communication device state detection functions 110 and 111. If the device specified in the “available communication device” column of the selected preference information table is not available, the process proceeds to the next element of the table (step 502).
[0028]
(Procedure 3) If there is no information element corresponding to the application in the presence information, this is generated and added to the presence information (step 503).
(Procedure 4) If there is an information element corresponding to the relevant application in the already generated presence information, information on the content type and the maximum data size is added to this information element (step 504).
(Procedure 5) If the next element in the table does not exist, the preference information is described using an XML tag, output, and the processing is terminated (step 505).
[0029]
(Presence information sharing function)
The presence information created by the presence information generating functions 107 and 108 is shared by each user by the presence sharing function 109.
The presence sharing function 109 is realized by generating a communication session for transmitting and receiving presence information between users in advance and using this to transmit and receive presence information. The communication session can be realized by a multicast session on the Internet or an inter-group communication using a message distribution server.
In addition, sharing of presence information is realized by transmitting and receiving presence information between users at regular time intervals or when a change occurs in the selected presence information.
[0030]
(Presence information processing function)
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a selection operation screen presented to the user when meta information is received during file transfer.
The processing of the presence information is realized by presence information processing functions 105 and 106 in the applications 103 and 104.
The presence information processing functions 105 and 106 perform a process of determining a destination of the information according to the presence information of the communication partner obtained in advance and the preference information of the own terminal. Thereby, the application setting process is executed.
An application operating on the user terminals 101 and 102 shares information such as a text message, a request for starting a session such as voice communication, meta information and position information at the time of file transfer between the sender and the receiver. .
[0031]
From the presence information of the communication partner obtained through the presence information sharing function 109, the application 103 operating on the terminal 101 of the user as the information sender, the destination of the file transmission message, the content type condition, the maximum data size, and the like. Get information about conditions. With respect to conditions such as the type and size of information, it is checked whether or not the file to be transmitted meets the conditions. If the other party has indicated that the file is to be rejected (by the presence information), a warning is displayed to the user who is trying to send the file, indicating that the file cannot be transferred. If the condition is met, a file transmission message is transmitted to the destination (user identification information) specified in the presence information.
[0032]
The application 104 running on the terminal 102 of the user who receives the information receives a text message, a request to start a session such as voice communication, meta information for file transfer, position information, and the like. In this case, when the meta information at the time of the file transfer is received, the type and data size of the content and the information of the communication device in use are acquired from the meta information, and if the “condition” of the profile information is satisfied, Receive files. At this time, a prompt (prompt: input prompting symbol) such as 601 in FIG. 6 is displayed to the user, and the user is asked whether to receive the file, not to receive the file, or to redirect the file to another terminal. It is also possible to make a selection.
[0033]
In 601 of FIG. 6, below the file transmission message, there are description fields of name, content type, date and file size, and below that, receive, ignore, go ahead, execute ~, and later There is a button for selecting one of “Receive” and pressing OK.
As described above, the presence information processing functions 105 and 106 select an information transmission destination for each application type and each user status, thereby realizing an application setting process reflecting presence information.
[0034]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, in the present invention, the communication device type in use is obtained by the communication device state detection function, and the presence information generation function is used to determine the communication device type, the communication quality of the network, and the meta information of the information to be shared. , And generates corresponding application setting information and presence information.
[0035]
As a result, according to the present invention, (1) when the user selects different preference information, (2) when the type of communication device to be used is changed, (3) when the communication quality of the network changes Or (4) when the type of information to be shared changes, another application setting information and presence information are output in response to the change, and the presence information generation function shares the information with another user. .
[0036]
By defining different user identification information according to each communication device type, it is possible to specify different information transfer destinations according to the connection method to the communication network, and to set application settings in the presence information processing function. By the processing, the change of the setting is automatically reflected. Therefore, the user does not need to change the application settings according to the movement of the terminal, and the convenience of the application is improved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an access network selection system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a description example (1) of a preference information table according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a description example (2) of a preference information table according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a description example (3) of a preference information table according to the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a procedure for converting preference information to presence information according to the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a selection operation screen presented to a user when meta information is received during file transfer according to the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
101, 102 ... user terminal, 103, 104 ... application,
105, 106 ... presence information processing function,
107, 108 ... presence information generation function,
109 ... Presence information sharing function,
110, 111: communication device state detection function, 112: communication network,
113, 114: application data transmission / reception direction,
115, 116 ... delivery of presence information,
117, 118... Transmission of presence information;
119, 120: delivery of communication device state information;
201, 301, 401 ... preference information table,
501 to 505: Procedures 1 to 5, 601: Selection operation screen presented to the user.

Claims (8)

In a state information sharing / processing method between applications connecting to a communication network and sharing information between user terminals,
Acquire meta information including the communication quality of the available network, the type of the communication device being used, and the type and size of the shared information from the connected network, the user terminal or the application,
Manages preference information describing a condition of a communication state based on the meta information and a pair of application setting information corresponding to the condition. When one of the pieces of preference information is selected, the selected information is used. Reflected in the situation
Extracting application setting information corresponding to the condition of the communication state, and generating presence information indicating a user state and an application being used based on the setting information;
Sharing the presence information between applications on the user terminal,
A state information sharing / processing method between communication applications, wherein an application setting process is performed based on shared presence information and selected preference information. 2. The state information sharing / processing method between communication applications according to claim 1,
The user terminal is all or one of a PDA, a mobile phone, and a notebook computer,
The communication device is a hardware device for connecting to the Internet, such as a Bluetooth communication device, a wireless LAN device based on the IEEE 802.11 standard, an infrared communication device, a digital mobile phone communication device, a PHS data communication device, or the like. A method for sharing and processing state information between communication applications. 2. The state information sharing / processing method between communication applications according to claim 1,
In the generation of the presence information, the presence information is determined based on the state of the user indicating any one of “moving”, “waiting”, “busy”, “free”, and the like, and the connection status of the communication device. A method for sharing and processing state information between communication applications, characterized in that the state information is generated. 2. The state information sharing / processing method between communication applications according to claim 1,
A method for sharing and processing state information between communication applications, wherein the type of the application is represented by a character string. 2. The state information sharing / processing method between communication applications according to claim 1,
The preference information includes an application type displayed as a text character string, a content data type displayed as a text character string, a transfer data size, and "conditions" describing all or one of the communication devices available on the terminal. A state information sharing / processing method between communication applications, which is represented as a correspondence table with "processing" describing user identification information as a destination. In a state information sharing / processing method between applications connecting to a communication network and sharing information between user terminals,
If the application is not responsive to each element of the selected preference information table, proceed to the next element of the table,
In the table of the selected preference information, if not all available communication devices and the specified device are available, proceed to the next element of the table,
If there is no information element corresponding to the application in the presence information, the information element is generated and added to the presence information.
In the presence information that has already been generated, if there is an information element corresponding to the corresponding application, information on the content type and the maximum data size is added to the information element,
If the next element of the table does not exist, the preference information is described using an XML tag and output, thereby converting the preference information into the presence information. Information sharing and processing methods. 7. The state information sharing / processing method between communication applications according to claim 1 or claim 6,
The generated presence information generates a communication session for transmitting and receiving presence information between user terminals in advance,
By transmitting and receiving presence information using the communication session, or by transmitting and receiving presence information between user terminals when a predetermined time interval or a change occurs in the selected presence information, A method of sharing and processing state information between communication applications, wherein the state information is shared between applications of each user terminal. An access network selection system having an application for connecting to a communication network and sharing information between user terminals,
The communication quality of an available network, the type of a communication device being used, the type of information to be shared, and the size of the information are acquired, and a condition of a communication state based on any of the above information and the condition A communication device state that manages preference information describing a pair of application setting information corresponding to a user and reflects a user's situation by selecting one of a plurality of pieces of preference information by a user terminal using the application. Detecting means;
Based on the selected preference information, the communication quality of the available network, the type of communication device being used, the type of information to be shared, and the application setting information corresponding to any of the conditions of the size of the information are extracted, Based on the setting information, presence information generating means for generating presence information indicating the status of the user and the application being used;
Presence information sharing means for sharing the generated presence information between applications on the user terminal;
An access network selection system comprising: presence information processing means for automatically performing application setting processing based on shared presence information and preference information selected by a user terminal.

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