JP2007329623A - Portable terminal device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To consider a necessity to charge a secondary battery while the processing results of a predetermined processing are used as un-wastefully as possible. <P>SOLUTION: A predetermined processing executer 200 executes a predetermined processing such as an auxiliary processing or a preparatory processing except for an application (for instance, a web browsing, a creation/transmission and reception of an electronic mail, and a telephone call) which a user directly uses. A predetermined processing controller 220 controls an execution deterrence, actuation and interruption of the predetermined processing by the predetermined processing executer 200 in accordance with the rules stored in a predetermined processing control rule storage 250 in response to a power supply connection state, a charging rate, a terminal processing condition and a time. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a portable terminal device that operates using a secondary battery as a power source.

  The mobile phone terminal has a built-in secondary battery and operates using this as a power source. The secondary battery must be periodically charged from an external fixed power source.

The capacity of the secondary battery is limited, and the time that the terminal can be used by one charge is limited. In the mobile phone terminal, the receiving unit needs to operate in order to detect an incoming call in a standby state, and power is consumed even when the user is not operating. For this reason, a technology has been proposed in which the standby function is operated only during charging and the battery consumption is suppressed without operating the standby function during non-charging (see Patent Document 1).
JP-A-5-91041

  By the way, recent mobile phone terminals have become capable of performing functions that have been performed on PCs (Personal Computers) with mobile phone terminals due to higher functionality and more functions. Therefore, although it is not an application that is directly used by the user, it is necessary to perform predetermined processing that is necessary for the apparatus and has a relatively large processing load (processing time is required). Examples of such processing (referred to as “predetermined processing” in this specification) include, for example, memory and HDD (Hard Disk Drive) defragmentation processing, virus check, garbage collection, SPAM mail check, etc. There can also be a search index for processing.

  If such a predetermined process with a relatively large processing load is executed while the secondary battery is not being charged, the battery is consumed greatly, and the usable time of the mobile terminal is significantly reduced. In order to avoid this problem, it is conceivable that the predetermined process is executed only during charging in accordance with the invention described in Patent Document 1.

  However, if the predetermined process is executed during charging, the charging speed is slowed down due to power consumption by the predetermined process. This is a problem when the user wants to charge urgently. Further, although the predetermined process depends on the size of the processing target, it may take a relatively long time, and the charging of the terminal may be stopped during the execution of the predetermined process. In such a case, if the predetermined process is continuously executed even after the charging is stopped, the remaining amount of the charged battery is unintentionally reduced.

  Although it is conceivable that the predetermined process being executed is immediately stopped when charging of the terminal is stopped, it is not preferable to waste the processed content of the predetermined process.

  The present invention has been made in such a background, and an object of the present invention is to provide a portable terminal device capable of minimizing the processing result of a predetermined process while considering the necessity of charging a secondary battery. It is to provide.

  A mobile terminal device according to the present invention is a mobile terminal device that uses a secondary battery as a power source, and includes a predetermined process executing means for executing a predetermined process, and a power source for recognizing the presence or absence of connection to a fixed power source. It is characterized by comprising connection recognition means and predetermined processing control means for controlling execution of the predetermined processing while being connected to the fixed power source in accordance with a predetermined condition.

  In the present invention, the predetermined process is not executed unconditionally while the mobile terminal device is connected to the fixed power source, but is executed according to a predetermined condition.

  The predetermined condition is, for example, that the elapsed time from the start of charging exceeds a predetermined time, the charging rate of the secondary battery exceeds a predetermined value, the charging increase rate is less than a predetermined value, and a predetermined value. Or a time zone other than the designated time zone. Even if charging is started, if the elapsed time from the start of charging does not exceed a predetermined time, the charging rate of the secondary battery is not more than a predetermined value, the charging increase rate is not less than a predetermined value, the current time is In the case of belonging to a predetermined time zone or a time zone other than the predetermined time zone, the predetermined process is not started.

  The predetermined process control means may suppress the execution of the predetermined process when the process operating rate exceeds a predetermined value. Thereby, if the process operation rate exceeds a predetermined value, it is estimated that some other process has started, and the other process can be prioritized over the urgent predetermined process.

  The predetermined process control means may control the predetermined process execution means so as to sequentially execute the predetermined process after the start of execution of the predetermined process.

  This section provides a break when the predetermined process is interrupted after the end of the current section when the connection of the fixed power source is disconnected during the execution of the predetermined process.

  It is also possible to check the charging rate at the end of each section and decide to increase the length of the next section stepwise according to the confirmed charging rate. Thereby, the execution unit of the predetermined process is increased as the charging progresses.

  Wireless communication means may be provided, and the predetermined processing control means may shorten the length of the next section when network transmission is performed by the wireless communication means. This is equivalent to returning to the past the procedure of extending a section stepwise in response to a change in the terminal processing status of network transmission.

  The predetermined process control means preferably saves information necessary for resuming the predetermined process when the predetermined process is interrupted. Thereby, it is possible to restart the predetermined process from the middle without wasting a specific process result during the execution.

  According to the present invention, in a mobile terminal device that operates using a secondary battery as a power source, execution of a predetermined process during charging not only reduces the possibility of hindering the use of the mobile terminal device by the user, but also by the user. As the secondary battery is charged, it is possible for the user to automatically and appropriately control the suppression, activation, interruption, etc. of the predetermined process without being aware of the necessity. As a result, the processing result of the predetermined process can be prevented from being wasted as much as possible while considering the necessity of charging the secondary battery.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a schematic hardware configuration example of a mobile phone terminal 100 as a kind of mobile terminal of the present invention.

  The terminal 100 includes a CPU 101, a ROM 102, a RAM 103, an input unit 104, a display unit 105, a communication unit 106, an antenna 106a, a storage unit 110, a sound processing unit 111, a microphone 111a, a speaker 111b, a power supply / charging unit 112, and a secondary battery. 113 and an RTC (Real Time Clock) unit 114.

  The CPU 101 is connected to predetermined units, configures a control unit that controls each unit of the terminal 100 by executing a program stored in the ROM 102, and realizes various functions (means). The ROM 102 stores fixed data such as fonts in addition to programs in a nonvolatile manner. The RAM 103 is usually a volatile memory, and is used by the CPU 101 as a work area and a temporary storage area for data. The storage unit 110 is a non-volatile storage device that stores various data such as terminal address book data, mail data, web page data, image data, audio data, and control rules described later in a rewritable manner, For example, it is configured by a storage device such as a flash ROM or a small hard disk device.

  The input unit 104 is a user interface for a user to input various instructions and data to the terminal 100, and usually includes various keys such as a power key, a call key, a numeric keypad, and a cursor operation key. The display unit 105 is a user interface for the terminal 100 to provide display information to the user, and includes a display device such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display.

  The communication unit 106 is a processing unit that performs wireless communication with a base station in the mobile phone system via the antenna 106a and performs communication and data communication with a communication partner via the base station.

  The RTC unit 114 is a part that provides functions for a calendar, a clock, a timer, and the like based on a reference clock.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing main functions related to the present invention of the mobile phone terminal 100 shown in FIG.

  The predetermined process execution unit 200 is realized by the operation of the CPU 101 and executes predetermined processes. In this specification, the “predetermined process” is a process such as an auxiliary process or a preparation process other than an application (for example, web browsing, e-mail creation / transmission / reception, telephone call) directly used by the user. This is a process with a heavy processing load, such as a search index creation for a search process, a memory or HDD defragmentation process, a virus check, garbage collection, a SPAM mail check, and the like.

  The network processing unit 210 is realized by the communication unit 106 under the control of the CPU 101, and communicates web data, mail data, voice data, image data, and the like with the Internet, a telephone network, a LAN, and the like.

  The predetermined process control unit 220 is a function realized by the operation of the CPU 101, and controls execution suppression, activation, interruption, and the like of the predetermined process in the present invention under predetermined conditions.

  The power connection recognition unit 230 is a part that recognizes that the power supply / charging unit 112 is connected to a fixed power source under the control of the CPU 101.

  The charging rate recognition unit 235 is a part that recognizes the degree (%) of charging of the secondary battery 113 by the power source / charging unit 112 under the control of the CPU 101.

  The terminal processing status recognition unit 240 is a function realized by the operation of the CPU 101, and is a part that recognizes a task being executed (particularly, network transmission processing) and recognizes the process operation rate of the CPU.

  The predetermined processing control rule storage unit 250 is a storage unit that stores control rules for predetermined processing in the present embodiment, and is provided as a storage area in the storage unit 110 (FIG. 1). Here, a charging status rule 251, a terminal processing status rule 252, and a predetermined processing priority rule 253 are stored as control rules. The local storage unit 260 includes a file storage unit 261 that stores various files, a mail storage unit 262 that stores transmission / reception mails, a predetermined processing result storage unit 263 that stores predetermined processing result data (such as a search index), and the like. It is provided in the storage unit 110. Result data may not be obtained depending on the type of predetermined processing (for example, defragmentation).

  The time management unit 270 is realized by the RTC unit 114 and is a part for confirming the current time.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of the contents of various rules stored in the predetermined process control rule storage unit 250.

  FIG. 3A shows an example of the charging status rule 251. In this example, the rule that the predetermined process control content is “not executed” under the condition that “the elapsed time from the start of charging is up to a minute (for example, 5 minutes)” is defined as the first rule. Thereby, if other conditions permit, execution of the predetermined process is started when a minutes have elapsed from the start of charging.

  Further, the predetermined process control content is also defined by the degree of the charging rate. In this example, as the second rule, a rule that the predetermined process control content is “not executed” under the condition that the charging rate is “30% or less” is defined. Under the condition that the charging rate is “over 30% but not more than 70%”, the content of the predetermined processing control is “check the charging rate once every m minutes (m = constant or m = increase stepwise, m goes to max when going into midnight) Is defined. Here, m is the length of one section in which the predetermined process is executed. One aspect is to increase the section length in stages, such as 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 40 minutes, or 5 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 20 minutes. It will be.

  Furthermore, under the condition that the charging rate is “over 70%”, the rule of the predetermined processing control content is that “the charging rate is confirmed once every m minutes (m is large, m is set to max when entering midnight)”. . In this case, m is larger, for example, 30 minutes, 60 minutes, and the like. In addition, after a predetermined process is started, m may be set to a maximum value (for example, 3 hours) when entering a predetermined midnight time (for example, midnight to 2:00).

  The third rule is to “suspend (or cancel)” the predetermined process under the condition of “fixed power off”. In this specification, “interruption” refers to an operation that allows processing to be stopped halfway and then resumed from the middle. On the other hand, “canceling” refers to an operation of starting processing again from the beginning after stopping the processing. In the present embodiment, as long as the nature of the predetermined processing is permitted, “interrupt” is performed instead of “cancel” in order not to waste the processing up to the middle. In the case of interruption, the resumption information of the predetermined process is generated and saved. The resume information includes resume position information and necessary processed data.

  The reason why the predetermined process is performed by dividing the section in this way is as follows. That is, the predetermined process in the present invention is a process that requires a certain amount of time to complete the process, although it depends on the amount of data to be processed, and is preferably executed to the end without interruption as much as possible. Even if it is interrupted, it is desirable not to prolong the completion time. If it is prolonged, there is a high possibility that the processed result will be wasted because the processed data is updated in the meantime. Therefore, it is preferable to execute the predetermined process as long as possible once the process is started. On the other hand, when an event such as disconnection of the external power supply occurs that interrupts the predetermined process, if the predetermined process is continued with the battery power, the battery is consumed. Therefore, in the second rule, when charging is started from a state where the charging rate is relatively low, the section is set to be relatively short, but the section is stepwise unless the reason for interrupting the predetermined process occurs. Will be lengthened.

  The fourth rule is that execution of the predetermined process is suppressed under the condition that “the charging increase rate is b% or more”. Usually, when charging is started from a low charging rate, the charging increase rate is relatively large, and the charging increasing rate decreases as the charging approaches expiration. Therefore, the fact that the rate of increase in charge is equal to or greater than the predetermined value b% means that it is still far from the end of charge. In such a case, the predetermined process is not executed.

  The fifth rule is to suppress execution of the predetermined process in a predetermined time zone, for example, a time zone other than midnight. The predetermined time period may be fixedly determined in advance or may be specified by the user. Such a predetermined time period is usually a time period in which the user is highly likely to use the terminal, and prevents the predetermined process from being executed in such a time period. The designation of the time zone may be a passive designation such as a time zone other than a certain time zone.

  In the present invention, not all the first to fifth rules of the charging state rule 251 are essential.

  FIG. 3B shows an example of the terminal processing status rule 252.

  As the first rule, a rule that “interrupts (or cancels)” a predetermined process under the condition that “the operation rate is p% or more” is defined. This is because when the CPU operating rate exceeds a predetermined value (for example, 70%), it is presumed that a process other than the predetermined process is being executed by a user operation or the like, and the predetermined process which is an emergency process is performed. Is to be interrupted.

  The second rule is a section on the condition that network transmission is performed at a frequency higher than a predetermined frequency by a user operation (for example, a mail transmission or a telephone call is performed twice or more in 10 minutes). The length is decreased (for example, halved or changed to a minimum value). The fact that such network transmission has been performed is because it is determined that the possibility that the user will soon disconnect the external power supply has increased.

  FIG. 3C shows an example of the predetermined processing priority rule 253.

  As the first rule, the priority processing is executed under the condition that “priority processing is determined (including default)”. Here, the “priority processing” refers to processing specified by the user among various predetermined processing such as search index creation, memory and HDD defragmentation processing, virus check, garbage collection, and SPAM mail check. This is the process specified by default.

  In addition to specifying the priority processing in advance, it is also possible to predict the execution time of each processing and prioritize the processing with a short required time to complete in a shorter time. Further, even if the execution time of the entire process is not short, priority may be given to a process that can be executed by dividing the entire process into a plurality of parts. For example, priority can be given to files that can be processed in units of files, such as virus checking.

  Alternatively, the last execution date and time of each process may be stored, and the priority process may be determined based on the last date and time. As a method for determining the final date and time, a method of comparing the final date and time of each process and giving priority to the process with the oldest final date and time, and a method of giving priority to a specific process whose elapsed time from the final date and time exceeds a predetermined value There can be. For example, in the latter case, with respect to the defragmentation process, the previous defragmentation date / time is referred to, and if it is determined that the predetermined date / time has passed from the previous defragmentation date / time, the defragmentation process is executed with priority over other processes.

  As a second rule, processing is executed from the priority file under the condition that a priority file has been determined (including default). Here, the “priority file” is a file that is preferentially executed first for each type of predetermined processing. Examples of the file type include mail, camera image, chat, address book, web page, Java (registered trademark) program, bookmark, web browsing history, and screen shot. For example, in the case of defragmentation processing, the priority may be determined based on the degree of fragmentation. For example, priority is given to a file with a low degree of fragmentation. A file with a short processing time may be given priority.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the mobile terminal in the present embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart corresponding to the operation of the predetermined process control unit 220 (FIG. 2) and showing an example of an interrupt process executed when the mobile terminal is connected to a fixed power source. When the mobile terminal is connected to a fixed power source, that is, when charging is started, the CPU is interrupted and this process is started.

  The predetermined process control unit 220 operates in accordance with various rules in the predetermined process control rule storage unit 250 in accordance with input information from each unit. The following description will be given in the form of incorporating various rules into the conditions in the flowchart. The format of the predetermined processing control rule storage unit 250 is not limited, and includes cases where the processing program includes conditions and results as described above.

  First, it is checked whether the interruption flag is ON (S11). The interruption flag is a flag indicating whether or not the predetermined process is interrupted, and is initially set to ON when it is interrupted with OFF.

  When the interruption flag is ON, it is checked whether or not the predetermined process can be resumed (S12). In the present embodiment, the “interruption” of the predetermined process is a result of determining that the resumption is possible, but the resumption may not be possible due to the process after the interruption. For example, the content of a file that has been processed in a predetermined process is updated. When it is determined that the restart is possible, the restart position is confirmed (S15).

  If the interruption flag is OFF or cannot be resumed, a predetermined process and file with high priority (default predetermined process or file if not specified) are selected (S13), and start from the beginning is set ( S14). Step S13 is based on the predetermined processing priority rule 253 described with reference to FIG.

  After step S14 or step S15, the initial condition for starting the predetermined process is confirmed (S16), and the predetermined process is started from the designated position (S17).

  A specific process of the initial condition confirmation (S16) will be described with reference to FIG. This process includes a part of the first rule and the second rule of the charging status rule 251 described with reference to FIG. 3A and the first rule of the terminal processing status rule 252 described with reference to FIG. Is a process corresponding to.

  FIG. 6 shows an example of the predetermined process (1) in the present embodiment. This corresponds to the process of step S17 in FIG. 4 and corresponds to a part of the second rule of the charging status rule 251 described in FIG.

  First, a variable n representing a section number is initialized (set to 1 in this case) (S31), and then a timer is set and started in the nth section (S32). Therefore, predetermined processing is executed from the designated position (S33). This “designated position” is an intermediate position when resuming, and is the first position of the entire processing target when not resuming.

  The predetermined process is continued (S33) until there is no predetermined process target (S34) and the timer expires (S35).

  When the timer expires, n is incremented (S35), and the charging rate is confirmed (S37). The length of the new nth section is determined according to the confirmed charging rate (S38), and the process returns to step S32.

  FIG. 7 is similar to the process of FIG. 6 but adds a processing step corresponding to the second rule of the terminal process status rule 252 shown in FIG. The processing steps S41 to S48 in FIG. 7 are the same as the processing steps S31 to S38 in FIG. In FIG. 7, when there is a transmission by a user operation before the timer expires (S49, Yes), the variable n is decreased by 2 (S50). However, if the result is negative, n = 0. Since the value of n is incremented by 1 at step S46 when the timer expires, step S50 corresponds to returning the next section to the previous stage as a result. Thereby, the section length is reduced (for example, halved). In step S50, 2 is subtracted from n, but a larger numerical value may be subtracted. Alternatively, it is possible to set n = 0 or n = 1 in order to forcibly return to the first or the next section after the start of the predetermined process.

  FIG. 8 shows an interrupt process (1) executed when the fixed power supply is turned off. This corresponds to the third rule of the charging status rule 251 in FIG.

  First, it is checked whether or not a predetermined process is currently being executed (S51). If it is not being executed, this process is terminated and the process returns to the original process. If the predetermined process is being executed, it is checked whether or not the “interruption” is possible (S52). This is determined based on the type of the predetermined process. If the interruption is not possible, the predetermined process is “stopped” (S53), and the process returns to the original process.

  If it is determined in step S52 that “interruption is possible”, the process waits until the end of the current section (S54), and “suspends” the predetermined process (S55). At the time of this interruption, the processing may be stopped after continuing the processing to the end of the file currently being processed. Alternatively, the processing result of the file currently being processed may be discarded and the processing may be stopped immediately. Next, resumption information necessary for resuming the predetermined process is saved in a predetermined storage area (S56). Next, the interruption flag is turned ON (S57), and the process returns to the original process.

  FIG. 9 shows the interrupt process (2) executed when the fixed power supply is turned off. This is similar to the process of FIG. 8, but is different from the process of FIG. 8 in that the predetermined process is interrupted without waiting for the end of the current section in the case of “Can be interrupted” (S62, S63). That is, S61 to S66 in FIG. 9 correspond to S51 to S53 and S55 to S57 in FIG. 8, respectively, and a step corresponding to step S64 in FIG. 8 is missing. A duplicate description is omitted.

  In the process of FIG. 9, there is no guarantee that the file being processed at the time of the interruption will execute the predetermined amount of the predetermined process as much as possible, but it is possible to minimize the time for the battery to execute the predetermined process after the fixed power is turned off. There is an advantage that you can.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but various modifications and changes other than those mentioned above can be made.

  For example, in the above embodiment, a mobile phone terminal is described as an example of the mobile terminal of the present invention, but the present invention can also be applied to other mobile terminals such as a portable PC, a PDA, an information appliance, and a game machine. Although the length of the “section” is determined by time, it may be determined by the number of processing files instead of time. As the “predetermined processing”, memory and HDD defragmentation processing, virus check, garbage collection, and SPAM mail check are mentioned, but only one of these may be used, or the user may select from a plurality. Further, processing other than these may be performed.

It is a figure which shows the example of schematic hardware constitutions of the mobile telephone terminal as a kind of portable terminal of this invention. It is the block diagram which showed the main functions relevant to this invention of the mobile telephone terminal shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the content of the various rules memorize | stored in the predetermined process control rule memory | storage part in embodiment of this invention. It is the flowchart showing an example of the interruption process performed when the portable terminal in embodiment of this invention is connected to a fixed power supply. 5 is a flowchart showing specific processing of initial condition confirmation (S16) shown in the flowchart of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the example of the predetermined process (1) in embodiment of this invention. FIG. 7 is a flowchart similar to the process of FIG. 6, but adding a processing step corresponding to the second rule of the terminal processing status rule shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the interruption process (1) performed at the time of fixed power-off in embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the interruption process (2) performed at the time of fixed power supply disconnection in embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Mobile phone terminal, 104 ... Input part, 105 ... Display part, 106 ... Communication part, 106a ... Antenna, 110 ... Memory | storage part, 111 ... Sound processing part, 111a ... Microphone, 111b ... Speaker, 112 ... Power supply / charge part , 113 ... secondary battery, 114 ... RTC unit, 200 ... predetermined processing execution unit, 210 ... network processing unit, 220 ... predetermined processing control unit, 230 ... power connection recognition unit, 235 ... charge rate recognition unit, 240 ... terminal processing Situation recognition unit 250 ... Predetermined processing control rule storage unit 251 ... Charging status rule 252 ... Terminal processing status rule 253 ... Predetermined processing priority rule 260 ... Local storage unit 261 ... File storage unit 262 ... Mail storage , 263 ... Predetermined processing result storage section, 270 ... Time management section

Claims (11)

A portable terminal device using a secondary battery as a power source,
Predetermined processing execution means for executing predetermined predetermined processing;
Power connection recognition means for recognizing the presence or absence of connection to a fixed power source;
A portable terminal device comprising: a predetermined process control unit that controls execution of the predetermined process while being connected to the fixed power source in accordance with a predetermined condition.   The predetermined condition is that the elapsed time from the start of charging exceeds a predetermined time, the charging rate of the secondary battery exceeds a predetermined value, the charging increase rate is less than a predetermined value, and is determined in advance. The mobile terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the mobile terminal device is at least one of the following time zone or a time zone other than the time zone.   The portable terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined processing control unit suppresses execution of the predetermined processing when a process operation rate exceeds a predetermined value.   The portable terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined process control unit controls the predetermined process execution unit so as to execute the predetermined process by sequentially dividing intervals after the execution of the predetermined process.   4. The predetermined process control unit controls the predetermined process execution unit that waits for the end of a current section and interrupts the predetermined process when the connection of the fixed power source is disconnected during the execution of the predetermined process. The portable terminal device described.   The mobile phone according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the predetermined processing control unit checks the charging rate at the end of the section and determines to lengthen the length of the next section stepwise according to the confirmed charging rate. Terminal device.   7. The portable terminal device according to claim 6, further comprising a wireless communication unit, wherein the predetermined processing control unit shortens the length of the next section when network transmission is performed by the wireless communication unit.   5. The portable terminal device according to claim 4, wherein the predetermined process control means saves information necessary for resuming the predetermined process when the predetermined process is interrupted.   The portable terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined process includes a plurality of processes, and the predetermined process control unit determines which process is preferentially executed according to a predetermined condition.   The portable terminal device according to claim 9, wherein the predetermined condition is based on one of a time required for the entire process, a possibility of divided execution of the process, and a final execution date and time.   The portable terminal device according to claim 1 or 9, wherein the predetermined processing control means determines which file is to be preferentially processed among a plurality of target files of the predetermined processing according to a predetermined condition.

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