JP2009130856A - Mobile terminal, application execution method, computer program, and system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To authorize an application to implement a predetermined function, only when a designated environmental condition is satisfied, on the basis of an environment in which a mobile terminal is located. <P>SOLUTION: A mobile terminal 1 stores an application, stores, for each function, environmental information indicating the environment to permit the implementation of the function and inquires whether the function can be implemented or not, in response to a request of the application. When it is inquired whether the implementation is possible or not, the environment of the mobile terminal 1 is recognized, environmental information corresponding to the function of which the implementation possibility is inquired, it is determined whether the recognized environment meets the environmental information and if determined so, the function is implemented. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a portable terminal and method for executing a function provided to an application, a computer program for the portable terminal, and an application execution system for connecting the portable terminal.

  In recent years, it has become a problem that a significant influence on security and privacy is exerted on a user's mobile terminal. To avoid this, it is common to limit the operations that can be performed on applications acquired through the network, and to prevent critical operations such as accessing local files, unless necessary. To be done.

  In a general application execution system, a provider of an application is identified using a code signature, a URL of an application acquisition source, or the like. Then, the authority to execute the operation is given to the application in a range specified in advance by a policy file or the like. In this way, the operations that can be performed on the application are restricted.

Currently, there are various proposals as a system for controlling the execution of the application as described above (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3).
JP 2000-172646 A JP 2005-338959 A JP 2006-099471 A

  However, in the technology for controlling the execution of a general application, the control of the choice of whether or not to grant the function authority is performed. Therefore, if the authority is given, the application can execute the function at any time. Therefore, there is a problem that fine control such as permitting execution of a function cannot be performed only in a specific environment. The technique described in the above document does not take into consideration the environment at the time of execution to determine whether to permit the execution of the function.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems. Based on the environment in which the mobile terminal is placed, the application is authorized to execute a predetermined function only when a specified environmental condition is satisfied. A mobile terminal that can be provided to the mobile terminal, a computer program for the mobile terminal, a method for controlling execution of an application, and a system thereof.

According to the present invention, a portable terminal that controls execution of a function provided to an application,
Application storage means for storing the application;
Authority information management means for storing, for each function, environment information indicating an environment in which the execution of the function is permitted;
Inquiry means for inquiring whether or not the function can be executed in response to an application request,
An environment recognition means for recognizing the environment of the mobile terminal when there is an inquiry about whether or not to execute;
Extraction means for extracting environment information corresponding to the function inquired about whether or not it can be executed;
Permission determination means for determining whether or not the recognized environment is compatible with the extracted environment information;
Function execution means for executing a function when it is determined to be suitable;
There is provided a portable terminal characterized by comprising:

Moreover, according to the present invention,
An application execution method for controlling execution of functions provided to an application,
Storing the application; and
Storing environmental information for each function indicating an environment in which the function is permitted to be executed;
A step of inquiring whether or not the function can be executed in response to an application request;
A step of recognizing the environment of the mobile device when there is an inquiry about whether or not to execute,
Extracting environmental information corresponding to the function inquired about whether or not to execute;
Determining whether the recognized environment is compatible with the extracted environment information;
Performing a function when it is determined to fit;
A method for executing an application is provided.

According to the present invention, there is also provided a computer program for a portable terminal that controls execution of a function provided to an application,
Application storage processing for storing applications;
Authority information management processing for storing environment information indicating an environment permitted to execute a function for each function;
Inquiry processing that inquires whether or not the function can be executed in response to an application request,
When there is an inquiry about whether or not to execute, environment recognition processing that recognizes the environment of the mobile device,
An extraction process that extracts environment information corresponding to the function that has been inquired about whether or not it can be executed;
Permission determination processing for determining whether the recognized environment is compatible with the extracted environment information;
A function execution process for executing a function when it is determined to be suitable;
Is provided on a portable terminal.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, there is provided an application execution system for connecting a mobile terminal that controls execution of a function provided to an application via a network,
The mobile device
Storage means for storing the application;
Authority information management means for storing authority information associated with each function, environment information indicating an environment in which the execution of the function is permitted;
Inquiry means for inquiring whether or not the function can be executed in response to an application request,
An environment recognition means for recognizing the environment of the mobile terminal when there is an inquiry about whether or not to execute;
Extraction means for extracting environment information corresponding to the function for which execution is inquired;
Permission determination means for determining whether or not the recognized environment is compatible with the extracted environment information;
An application execution means for executing a function when it is determined to be suitable;
An application execution system is provided.

  The network referred to in the present invention may be any network that can mediate data communication of the mobile terminal, and may be wired, wireless, or a combination thereof, such as the Internet or a telephone line.

  In addition, the various components of the present invention need only be formed so as to realize their functions. For example, dedicated hardware that exhibits a predetermined function, data processing in which a predetermined function is provided by a computer program It can be realized as an apparatus, a predetermined function realized in the data processing apparatus by a computer program, an arbitrary combination thereof, or the like.

  In addition, the various components of the present invention do not have to be individually independent, a plurality of components are formed as a single member, and a single component is formed of a plurality of members. It may be that a certain component is a part of another component, a part of a certain component overlaps a part of another component, and the like.

  Moreover, although the several process is described in order in the method of controlling execution of the function provided to the application of this invention, the order of the description does not limit the order which performs a several process. For this reason, when implementing the method of this invention, the order of the some process can be changed in the range which does not interfere in content.

  Further, the steps of the method for controlling the execution of the application of the present invention are not limited to being executed at different timings. For this reason, another process may occur during execution of a certain process, or a part or all of the execution timing of a certain process and the execution timing of another process may overlap.

  In addition, the portable terminal referred to in the present invention can read a computer program and execute corresponding data processing, such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), an I / F (I / F). It can be implemented as hardware constructed with a general-purpose device such as an interface unit, a dedicated logic circuit constructed so as to execute predetermined data processing, a combination thereof, or the like.

  In the present invention, causing the portable terminal to execute various operations corresponding to the computer program also means causing the portable terminal to control the operation of the various devices.

  For example, storing various data in a portable terminal means that the CPU stores various data in an information storage medium such as an HDD (Hard Disc Drive) fixed to the portable terminal, and is exchangeably loaded in the data processing device. The CPU may store various data with a CD drive in an information storage medium such as a CD-R (Compact Disc-Recordable).

  Further, “store” in the present invention means that the portable terminal of the present invention has a function of storing at least an application or predetermined data. For this reason, in addition to storing data newly registered by the consumer in the portable terminal of the present invention, it is also possible to store data registered at the time of manufacture by the supplier and not register new data by the consumer after shipment To do.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to give an application the authority to execute a predetermined function only when a specified environmental condition is satisfied based on the environment in which the mobile terminal is placed.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In all the drawings, the same reference numerals are given to the same components, and the description will be omitted as appropriate.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing the logical structure of the application execution system of this embodiment. The application execution system according to the present embodiment connects a mobile terminal 1 that controls execution of a function provided to an application via a network.

  As long as the network of this embodiment can mediate data communication between the mobile terminal 1 and the application distribution server 2 or the authority information distribution server 3 (in FIG. 1, authority execution issuing server), wired, wireless, Any of these combinations may be used, for example, the Internet, a telephone line, a wired LAN, a wireless LAN, or a mobile phone network.

  The mobile terminal 1 stores authority information that associates, for each function, an application execution unit 123 that executes an application, an application management unit 104 that stores the application, and environment information that indicates an environment that permits the execution of the function. A management unit 105, an execution control unit 101 that inquires whether or not a function can be executed in response to an application request, a situation recognition unit 103 that recognizes the environment of the mobile terminal 1 when there is an inquiry about whether or not the function can be executed, Environment information corresponding to the function that is inquired about whether or not it is possible, and permission determination means 102 that determines whether or not the recognized environment is compatible with the extracted environment information. Execution control means 101 to execute.

  The system of the present embodiment connects a mobile terminal 1, an application distribution server 2 that provides an application to the mobile terminal 1, and an authority information distribution server 3 that provides authority information to the mobile terminal 1 via a network.

  The authority information management unit 105 may store a function for each application identifier.

  The mobile terminal 1 can be a mobile phone terminal, for example. The cellular phone terminal may be a folded cellular phone terminal, a sliding cellular phone terminal, a solid cellular phone terminal, or the like. Further, the mobile terminal 1 may be made of a PDA (Personal Digital Assistance) or PHS having a folding structure, a slide structure, or a solid structure.

  Specifically, the mobile terminal 1 includes an execution control unit 101, a permission determination unit 102, a situation recognition unit 103, an application management unit 104, an authority information management unit 105, a communication unit 110, and a display device 121. , An input device 122 and an application execution unit 123.

  The application management unit 104 connects to the application distribution server 2 and installs the application. The application management unit 104 manages applications in the mobile terminal 1.

  The execution control unit 101 provides a basic function set to an application through an API (Application Program Interface). When a function is called from an application being executed, the execution control unit 101 sends a function execution permission determination request to the permission determination unit 102 to inquire whether the function can be executed by the application.

  Upon receiving the permission determination request from the execution control unit 101, the permission determination unit 102 acquires the authority information of the application from the authority information management unit 105, and determines whether or not the function can be called based on the environment information acquired by the situation recognition unit 103. judge. The determination result is notified to the execution control means 101.

  The situation recognizing means 103 is means for acquiring information inside and outside the portable terminal 1 in order to recognize the environment where the portable terminal 1 is placed. The environment information acquired by the situation recognizing unit 103 may be the position of the terminal, the time, the temperature, the remaining battery level of the terminal, or a combination thereof. That is, the environment information may be information indicating a condition or state inside or outside the terminal, which is a function call permission condition. For example, as a means for obtaining position information indicating the current position of the mobile terminal 1, there is a GPS (Global Positioning System). Moreover, when the portable terminal 1 is PHS, it may connect with a PHS base station and acquire position information. Moreover, you may grasp | ascertain the environment of the portable terminal 1 using a wireless LAN signal. The situation recognition unit 103 may include a unit that acquires the current time. As means for acquiring the current time, there are NTP (Network Time Protocol), a timer built in the portable terminal 1, and the like. The situation recognizing unit 103 does not necessarily need to acquire the position and the current time, and may be any device that can acquire necessary environment information according to the use of the system.

  The authority information management unit 105 manages authority information for each application. In this embodiment, when installing an application in the mobile terminal 1, the authority information management unit 105 sends an authority information request to the authority information distribution server 3 to acquire authority information of the application to be installed. The authority information is data in which environment information indicating an environment in which an application is executed is associated with each function of the application.

  In order to guarantee the validity of the authority information, the authority information management means 105 connects to the authority information distribution server 3 having a predetermined URL through a secure communication path such as SSL (Secure Socket Layer), and It is desirable to obtain information.

  The application distribution server 2 distributes applications that can be executed on the mobile terminal 1.

  Upon receiving the authority information request, the authority information distribution server 3 returns the authority information of the requested application.

  In the authority information, a list of functions that can be called from the application is described. For each function, environment information that enables the function to be called is described. The functions include, for example, setting the mobile terminal 1 to the manner mode, turning off the power of the mobile terminal 1, connecting to a predetermined URL, opening a predetermined file, and the like. Each function is identified by function identification information. The function identification information represents information for identifying a function used by the application in the form of a function name or an interrupt number.

  The mobile terminal 1 can execute an application. The application is stored on the hard disk of the application distribution server 2. The portable terminal 1 accesses the application distribution server 2 and the user downloads a desired application. The downloaded application is stored in the application management means 104.

  As applications, there are applications that operate various keys of the input device 122 to enjoy games and the like, and there are resident applications that display a standby screen made up of a three-dimensional moving image on the display device 121. And when the application execution part 123 starts this stored application, the standby screen which consists of a three-dimensional moving image is displayed on the display apparatus 121, a game or fortune-telling is performed on the portable terminal 1, and music is reproduced. You can do it.

  Examples of applications include a point application that manages points generated at the time of payment, an electronic ticket application related to automatic ticket gates, and the like. Examples of the electronic ticket information include ticket information for industry, a boarding ticket for transportation, and the like.

  The application uses some functions provided by the mobile terminal 1. Execution of these functions is restricted by the environment in which the mobile terminal 1 is located. For example, when the application is an electronic ticket application, if the electronic ticket information is a movie ticket, a function of setting the portable terminal 1 to the manner mode is used. This function can be restricted to be performed only in certain movie theaters. Therefore, when the movie ticket application is activated in a predetermined movie theater, the function is executed, and the portable terminal 1 is set to the manner mode. In this way, even if there is an incoming call while watching a movie, ringtones can be prevented from being generated, and other audiences can concentrate on watching the movie. On the other hand, outside the movie theater, the manner mode setting is not changed against the user's intention.

  When the electronic ticket information is an air ticket, a function such as turning off the power of the mobile terminal 1 is used. This function is limited to be executed only at the boarding gate of the airport using the air ticket. Therefore, when the airline ticket application is activated at a predetermined boarding gate, the function is executed, and the function of turning off the power of the mobile terminal 1 is executed. By doing so, it is possible to prevent the radio equipment of the portable terminal 1 from adversely affecting aircraft equipment. On the other hand, the electronic ticket application cannot turn off the mobile terminal 1 outside the boarding gate.

  The environment information may be environment identification information (for example, a movie theater, an airport, etc.) that identifies a predetermined facility. The portable terminal 1 may acquire position information corresponding to the environment identification information from a position information providing server that provides position information on the network. The portable terminal 1 stores the acquired environment information and position information in association with each other (not shown).

  In the position information providing server, a plurality of pieces of position information are associated with environment identification information. For example, assuming that the application is an electronic ticket application and the environment identification information is a movie theater where movies can be watched by a ticket, the location information providing server provides location information of a plurality of movie theaters that provide corresponding movies. The user selects and downloads the movie theater location information to be used from the location information. The downloaded location information is stored in the mobile terminal 1 in association with the environment information.

  For this reason, the situation recognition unit 103 can detect the current position of the mobile terminal 1, and the permission determination unit 102 can determine whether or not the current position matches the environment information.

  The environment information may be indicated by specific position information in advance. The position information is information displayed by latitude and longitude, information specified by a GPS signal, and the like. The position of a predetermined environment can be determined by specifying the position within a certain range by the position information. In this case, the stored position information and the permission determination unit 102 may determine whether or not the position information recognized by the situation recognition unit 103 matches.

  As described above, the situation recognition unit 103 can detect the current position of the mobile terminal 1, and the permission determination unit 102 can determine whether or not the current position matches the environment information.

  Further, the authority information management unit 105 stores the environment information and the position where the application is executed in association with each other, the situation recognition unit 103 detects the current position of the mobile terminal 1, and the permission determination unit 102 executes the current position. It can also be determined whether or not the position matches.

  When the permission determining unit 102 determines that it is suitable, the permission determining unit 102 notifies the execution control unit 101 of permission to execute the function. In addition, when the permission determination unit 102 determines that the information does not match, the permission determination unit 102 notifies the execution control unit 101 that the execution of the function is not permitted. By doing so, it is possible to control the execution of the function of the application based on the environmental conditions of the mobile terminal 1.

  The communication means 110 is a network connection device such as a wired LAN, a wireless LAN, or a mobile phone network. The communication unit 110 acquires the application together with an application identifier that identifies the application. The communication unit 110 acquires authority information based on the application identifier. The authority information includes a function that permits the application to be used together with environment information indicating permission conditions. The authority information management unit 105 stores authority information for each application identification information. A plurality of applications can be identified by the application identifier, and various functions corresponding to each application can be executed.

  Therefore, the execution control unit 101 sends out function identification information for identifying the function and inquires whether the function can be executed. The permission determination unit 102 determines whether the corresponding function is stored based on the function identification information. If the corresponding function is stored, the environmental information is extracted.

  Further, the execution control unit 101 sends out function identification information for identifying the function and inquires whether the function can be executed. The permission determination unit 102 determines whether or not the corresponding function is stored based on the function identification information. When the corresponding function is not stored, the execution control unit 101 is notified of non-permission that does not permit the execution of the function.

  Each part of the portable terminal 1 as described above is realized by using various kinds of hardware as necessary. However, it is realized by functioning corresponding to a computer program in which the portable terminal 1 is mounted.

  Such a computer program is, for example, an application storage process for storing an application, an environment information indicating an environment for permitting execution of a function, an authority information management process for storing the function for each function, and a function according to an application request. Inquiry process for inquiring whether execution is possible, environment recognition process for recognizing the environment of a mobile terminal when there is an inquiry about execution possibility, extraction process for extracting environment information corresponding to the function inquired about whether execution is possible, recognized As a software for causing a CPU or the like to execute processing operations such as a permission determination process for determining whether or not the environment is compatible with the extracted environment information, a function execution process for executing a function when it is determined to be compatible It is stored in an information storage medium such as a RAM.

  In the configuration as described above, an application execution method by the mobile terminal 1 of the present embodiment will be described below. FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 are flowcharts for explaining a method in which the system according to the present embodiment controls execution of application functions.

  First, the operation at the time of application installation will be described with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. The application management means 104 connects to the application distribution server 2 (step T1), acquires an application (step T2), and is unique. The acquired application is stored together with the application identifier (step T3).

  Subsequently, the application management unit 104 sends out the application identifier of the acquired application and instructs the authority information management unit 105 to acquire the authority information (step T4). The authority information management unit 105 connects to the authority information distribution server 3 and transmits an authority information request including the received application identifier (step T5).

  The authority information distribution server 3 takes out a list of application authority information corresponding to the received application identifier and returns it to the authority information management means 105 (step T6). The list includes a plurality of functions that are allowed to be used by the application.

  The authority information management unit 105 displays a list of authority information received from the authority information distribution server 3 on the display device 121. Specifically, it is displayed together with the environment in which functions permitted to be used for the application are executed.

  Information for requesting the user (user) to select whether or not to agree to give the function use authority to the application is displayed. When the user of the portable terminal 1 confirms the display contents (step T7) and presses the “agree” button using the input device 122, the authority information management unit 105 stores the authority information together with the application identifier (step T8). ), The application management means 104 is notified of the completion of processing (step T9). Consent to the user may be obtained for each function. By doing so, the user can select and permit only a desired function.

  In addition, when there are a plurality of candidate locations indicated by the environment, the user can select a specific position. In this case, the user acquires position information corresponding to the environment. Specifically, it connects to a location information providing server (not shown), selects a location where execution of the function is permitted from a plurality of location information corresponding to the environment, and acquires the corresponding location information. The acquired position information is stored in the mobile terminal 1 in association with the environment information. Thereafter, the same operations as in Steps T7 to T9 are performed.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 3, the operation at the time of application execution will be described. When a function is called from the application being executed by the application execution unit 123 to the execution control unit 101 (step S1), the execution control unit 101 sends an inquiry about whether or not execution is possible to the permission determination unit 102 (step S1). S2). This inquiry includes an identifier of the calling application and function identification information.

  The permission determination unit 102 requests authority information from the authority information management unit 105 (step S3). A list of authority information corresponding to the application identifier as a key is extracted from the authority information management means 105 (step S4). The permission determination unit 102 confirms whether or not the requested function identification information is included in the retrieved authority information list. (Step S5)

  When the corresponding function name is not included in the permission list (step S6-N), the permission determination unit 102 returns a “non-permission” response to the execution control unit 101 (step S11). When the function identification information is included in the list (step S6-Y), the permission determination unit 102 requests the environment information of the portable terminal 1 using the situation recognition unit 103 (step S7), and recognizes the situation. Environmental information is acquired from the means 103 (step S8).

  The permission determination unit 102 checks the acquired permission condition (step S9), and determines whether or not the environmental condition described in the authority information is satisfied (step S10). If the condition is satisfied (step S10-Y), a “permitted” response is returned to the execution control means 101 (step S12). If the condition is not satisfied (step S10-N), a “not permitted” response is returned to the execution control means 101 (step S11).

  When a response of “non-permission” is obtained from the permission determination unit 102 (step S13-N), the execution control unit 101 returns an authority error response to the application (step S14). When a response of “permission” is obtained from the permission determination unit 102 (step S13-Y), the function is actually executed and a response is returned to the application (step S15).

  For example, when using an application for realizing a movie theater electronic ticket service, the system of the present embodiment operates as follows.

  First, GPS is used as the situation recognition means 103. A mobile phone terminal is used as the mobile terminal 1. FIG. 4 shows a data structure of authority information corresponding to this application held by the authority information distribution server 3. “Operation” indicates a function used by the movie theater electronic ticket application. “Location” indicates environment information. In this example, the environment information indicates a place where a certain movie theater exists, and is represented by position information specified by a GPS signal.

  FIG. 4 shows the authority information data described so that the manner mode can be switched only within the theater facility. Here, the function to allow includes the manner mode switching function (set_manner_mode) of the portable terminal 1. Moreover, it is described as a callable condition for this function that the position of the portable terminal 1 is within a specific range indicating the location of the movie theater.

  First, in order to use a certain movie theater, the user downloads an electronic ticket application from the application distribution server 2 of the movie theater operating company to the portable terminal 1. The communication unit 110 connects to the authority information distribution server 3, acquires the authority information of the application shown in FIG. 4, and stores it in the authority information management unit 105.

  Next, the user activates an electronic ticket application at home in order to purchase a ticket. At this time, it is assumed that the application started by the application execution unit 123 calls the manner mode switching function (step S1 in FIG. 3).

  The execution control unit 101 sends an inquiry about whether or not execution is possible including the application identifier and function identification information (set_manner_mode) to the permission determination unit 102 (step S2). The permission determination unit 102 acquires a list of authority information corresponding to the application identifier from the authority information management unit 105 (steps S3 and S4). The permission determination unit 102 confirms the list of acquired authority information (step S5).

  As shown in FIG. 4, since the authority information includes a line “OPERATION = set_manner_mode”, the process proceeds to the determination of the permission condition (step S6-Y).

  The permission determination unit 102 requests environmental information from the state recognition unit 103 (step S7). The state recognition unit 103 receives an instruction to acquire environmental information from the permission determination unit 102 and uses the GPS to determine the position of the mobile terminal 1. Information is acquired (step S8). For example, assume that values of lat = + 35.40.39.524 and lon = + 139.4.13.461 are obtained (step S8). This value is a range specified by the position information described in the authority information (lat = + 35.38.47.454 to +35.38.455.581, lon = + 139.45.05.578 to +139.45. 03.781) (step S10-N), the permission determination unit 102 returns a non-permission response to the execution control unit 101 (step S11). The execution control unit 101 sends an authority error to the application execution unit 123, and the call fails. In this way, when an application tries to execute a function in an environment that is undesirable for the user, the execution of the function is not permitted.

  Next, after the user purchases the ticket, the user goes to the movie theater and holds the portable terminal 1 over the reader for the ticket gate at the entrance gate. The application execution unit 123 activates the electronic ticket application. At this time, when the application calls the manner mode switching function, steps S1 to S4 shown in FIG. 3 are performed in the same procedure, and the permission information permission list is confirmed (step S5).

  When it is confirmed in step S6 that the function is included in the list (S6-Y), in step 7, the permission determination unit 102 requests the environment information regarding the current position from the situation recognition unit 103. The situation recognizing means 103 acquires the current position information by GPS, and obtains a value of (lat = + 35.38.47.460, lon = + 139.45.03.701). This value is included in the range described in the authority information (step S10-Y). In this case, unlike the previous case, the permission determination means 102 returns a permission response (step S12). The execution control unit 101 sends the execution result to the application execution unit 123 (step S15), and the application execution unit 123 executes set_manner_mode. Thereby, the manner mode is set in the portable terminal 1.

  Next, the effect of this embodiment will be described. According to the present embodiment, the environment information indicating the environment in which the function provided by the application is executed is stored for each function, and the environment of the mobile terminal 1 conforms to the environment information in which the function is executed according to the request of the application. It can be determined whether or not. Therefore, the function of the application can be executed only in a specific environment. Therefore, based on the environment in which the mobile terminal 1 is placed, it is possible to give the application the authority to execute the function only when the specified condition is satisfied.

  In the conventional technique, control is performed by selecting whether or not the authority to execute the function is given to the application. If the authority is given, the application can execute the function at any time. Therefore, there is a problem that fine control such as permitting execution cannot be performed only in a specific environment. The reason is that the execution environment is not considered in the determination of the permission of execution.

  For example, Patent Document 1 describes a technique for creating a user executable function list and setting an executable function among the functions of an applet based on the executable function list to be executable by the user. . Further, Patent Document 2 collates whether or not non-permission information including the application and / or version described in the non-permission list information matches the activation application and / or version. A technique is described that does not permit execution of matching start applications as they are. Furthermore, Patent Document 3 confirms whether or not the control included in the window has the usage authority by referring to the technology for acquiring the usage restriction information in the application and the usage authority data, and executes the function if there is. Techniques for performing are described.

  However, even in these related technologies, the environment at the time of execution is not taken into consideration in the determination of permission to execute the function of the application.

  On the other hand, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to give an authority to perform functions only in a specific situation to an application. The reason is that, in response to a function call from an application, the environment information is acquired using the situation recognition means 103, and the execution is performed only when the acquired environment information satisfies the environmental conditions described in the authority information. This is because it is configured to allow.

  Specifically, when the permission determining means 102 includes function identification information of the function that has been called, the environment information is acquired through the situation recognition means 103, and the environment information corresponds to the function identification information. Check whether the conditions are met. Therefore, the application can be executed only when the designated environmental condition is satisfied based on the environment where the mobile terminal is located. Therefore, it is possible to perform fine control that permits an operation only in a specific situation.

  The technique described in Patent Document 1 controls whether or not an end user can use a function provided by an application program. On the other hand, according to the present embodiment, it is controlled whether an application program can call a function provided by the mobile terminal 1 or the like. Specifically, according to the present embodiment, the basics such as setting the mobile terminal 1 provided by the mobile terminal 1, the operating system (OS), the JAVA (registered trademark) virtual machine (Java VM), etc. to the manner mode. Whether or not the application program can be called based on the user's will. Therefore, the application program according to the present embodiment realizes a target operation by calling these basic functions through the API. Therefore, it is possible to prevent an operation contrary to the user's intention due to malicious intent or program error. For example, it is possible to prevent the manner mode from being set without permission from a movie theater or changing the manner mode setting by other than the movie ticket application.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to give an application the authority to perform a function only in a specific situation, and the user can receive a highly convenient service while maintaining safety. . The reason is that the permission determination unit 102 permits the execution of the function only when the environment information obtained by the situation recognition unit 103 matches the permission condition described in the authority information.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, an application that can give an application the authority to execute an operation only when a specified condition is satisfied based on the situation of the mobile terminal 1 An execution system can be provided.

  Moreover, according to this Embodiment, it can apply to uses, such as the portable terminal 1 which uses the service which changes with places, and the program which wants to change operation | movement according to a condition. Furthermore, the present invention relates to an application execution system, method, terminal device, and program, and particularly to application execution system, method, mobile terminal 1 and program capable of controlling an application based on the situation where the mobile terminal 1 is placed. Can do.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described with reference to drawings, these are the illustrations of this invention, Various structures other than the above are also employable. For example, the following aspects are also effective within the scope of the present invention.

(1) An application distribution server including an application distribution server 2 that distributes an application, an authority information distribution server 3 that distributes permission information, and a portable terminal 1 that can communicate with the application distribution server 2 and the authority information distribution server 3 2 is an application execution system that executes an application distributed from the mobile terminal 1 on the mobile terminal 1. The mobile terminal 1 includes an execution control unit 101, a situation recognition unit 103, a permission determination unit 102, and an authority information management unit 105. The permission determination unit 102 acquires and stores permission information from the authority information distribution server 3 when the application is installed in the terminal, and the execution control unit 101 performs a function call from the application. Application identification information that identifies the application The function identification information for specifying the function is passed to the permission determination unit 102. The permission determination unit 102 acquires the permission information associated with the application identification information from the authority information management unit 105, and the function is stored in the permission list described in the permission information. Check whether the identification information is included, and if it is included, acquire the environmental information through the status recognition means 103, check whether the environmental information satisfies the permission condition corresponding to the function identification information, and In the application execution system, a permission response is returned, and the execution control unit 101 executes the function only when the permission response is obtained.
(2) An application execution method performed by the application execution system according to (1), wherein the execution control unit 101 is configured to identify application identification information for identifying an application and a function for identifying a function when a function is called from the application. The identification information is passed to the permission determination means 102, and the permission determination means 102 acquires permission information associated with the application identification information from the authority information management means 105, and the function identification information is included in the permission list described in the permission information. If it is included, the environment information is acquired through the status recognition means 103, and it is confirmed whether the environment information satisfies the permission condition corresponding to the function identification information. The execution control means 101 returns the permission response only when the permission response is obtained. How the application execution, which comprises carrying out the execution.
(3) An execution control unit 101, a situation recognition unit 103, a permission determination unit 102, and an authority information management unit 105 are provided. The execution control unit 101 specifies an application when a function is called from the application. Application identification information to be specified and function identification information for specifying the function are passed to the permission determination means 102, and the permission determination means 102 acquires permission information associated with the application identification information from the authority information management means 105, and is described in the permission information. Whether or not the function identification information is included in the permitted list. If the function identification information is included, the environmental information is acquired through the status recognition means 103, and the environmental information satisfies the permission condition corresponding to the function identification information. If the condition is satisfied, a permission response is returned, and the execution control means 101 obtains a permission response. Only when the mobile terminal 1, characterized in that the execution of the function.
(4) A program to be executed by the portable terminal 1, comprising an execution control unit 101, a situation recognition unit 103, a permission determination unit 102, and an authority information management unit 105. The execution control unit 101 functions from an application. Is called, the step of passing the application identification information for identifying the application and the function identification information for identifying the function to the permission determining means 102, and the permission determining means 102, from the authority information managing means 105 to the application identification information. Obtaining permission information associated with the information, and checking whether the function identification information is included in the permission list described in the permission information. If included, the environment information is obtained through the status recognition unit 103. And the environmental information satisfies the permission conditions corresponding to the function identification information. A program for executing a function only when a permission response is obtained in the execution control means 101. .

  Moreover, in this Embodiment, it illustrated that each part of the portable terminal 1 was logically implement | achieved as various functions with a computer program. However, each of these units can be formed as unique hardware, or can be realized as a combination of software and hardware.

  Moreover, although the present Internet was illustrated as a data network in the said form, this may be NGN (Next Generation Network) which is the next generation internet.

  Needless to say, the above-described embodiment and a plurality of modifications can be combined within a range in which the contents do not conflict with each other. Further, in the above-described embodiments and modifications, the structure of each part has been specifically described, but the structure and the like can be changed in various ways within a range that satisfies the present invention.

It is a block diagram which shows typically the logical structure of the application execution system of this Embodiment. It is a flowchart explaining the application execution method of this Embodiment. It is a flowchart explaining the application execution method of this Embodiment. It is an example of the data structure of the authority information management means concerning this Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Mobile terminal 2 Application distribution server 3 Authority information distribution server 101 Execution control means 102 Permission judgment means 103 Status recognition means 104 Application management means 105 Authority information management means 110 Communication means 121 Display device 122 Input device 123 Application execution part

Claims (11)

A mobile device that controls the execution of functions provided to an application,
Application storage means for storing the application;
Authority information management means for storing, for each function, environment information indicating an environment in which execution of the function is permitted;
Inquiry means for inquiring whether or not the function can be executed in response to a request from the application;
Environment recognition means for recognizing the environment of the mobile terminal when there is an inquiry about whether or not the execution is possible;
Extraction means for extracting the environment information corresponding to the function that has been inquired about whether or not it can be executed;
Permission determination means for determining whether or not the recognized environment is compatible with the extracted environment information;
Function execution means for executing the function when it is determined to be suitable;
A portable terminal characterized by comprising: The environment recognition means detects a current position of the mobile terminal,
The portable terminal according to claim 1, wherein the permission determination unit determines whether or not the current position matches the environment information. The authority information management means stores the environment information and the location for executing the function in association with each other,
The environment recognition means detects a current position of the mobile terminal,
The portable terminal according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the permission determination unit determines whether or not the current position matches the position to be executed. When the permission determining means determines that it is suitable, the permission determining means notifies the inquiry means of permission to execute the function,
The portable terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein when the permission determination unit determines that the function does not match, the permission determination unit sends a non-permission notification that does not permit the execution of the function to the inquiry unit. Application acquisition means for acquiring the application together with application identification information for identifying the application;
Function acquisition means for acquiring the function provided by the application together with the environment information based on the application identification information;
Further comprising
The application storage means stores a plurality of applications,
The portable terminal according to claim 1, wherein the authority information management unit stores the function for each application identification information. The inquiry means sends out function identification information for identifying the function and inquires whether the function can be executed;
The extraction means determines whether or not the corresponding function is stored based on the function identification information, and extracts the environment information when the corresponding function is stored. Item 6. The mobile terminal according to any one of Items 1 to 5. The inquiry means sends out function identification information for identifying the function and inquires whether the function can be executed;
The extraction means determines whether or not the corresponding function is stored based on the function identification information, and when the corresponding function is not stored, the inquiry means does not permit the execution of the function. The mobile terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein permission is notified. An application execution method for controlling execution of functions provided to an application,
Storing the application;
Storing environment information indicating an environment in which execution of the function is permitted for each function;
Inquiring whether the function can be executed in response to a request from the application;
A step of recognizing the environment of the mobile terminal when there is an inquiry about whether or not the execution is possible;
Extracting the environment information corresponding to the function that has been inquired about whether it can be executed;
Determining whether the recognized environment is compatible with the extracted environment information;
Performing the function when determined to be suitable;
An application execution method comprising: A computer program for a portable terminal that controls execution of a function provided to an application,
An application storage process for storing the application;
Authority information management processing for storing environment information indicating an environment in which execution of the function is permitted for each function;
Inquiry processing for inquiring whether or not to execute the function in response to a request from the application;
An environment recognition process for recognizing the environment of the mobile terminal when there is an inquiry about whether or not the execution is possible;
An extraction process for extracting the environment information corresponding to the function that has been inquired about whether or not it can be executed;
Permission determination processing for determining whether or not the recognized environment matches the extracted environment information;
A function execution process for executing the function when it is determined to be suitable;
A computer program for executing the above on a portable terminal. An application execution system for connecting a mobile terminal that controls execution of a function provided to an application via a network,
The portable terminal is
Storage means for storing the application;
Authority information management means for storing authority information associated with each function, environment information indicating an environment in which execution of the function is permitted;
Inquiry means for inquiring whether or not the function can be executed in response to a request from the application;
Environment recognition means for recognizing the environment of the mobile terminal when there is an inquiry about whether or not the execution is possible;
Extraction means for extracting the environment information corresponding to the function that has been inquired about whether or not it can be executed;
Permission determination means for determining whether or not the recognized environment is compatible with the extracted environment information;
Application execution means for executing the function when it is determined to be suitable;
An application execution system comprising: An application control system for connecting the mobile terminal, an application providing server that provides the application to the mobile terminal, and an authority information providing server that provides the authority information to the mobile terminal via a network,
The portable terminal is
Application acquisition means for acquiring the application together with application identification information for identifying the application;
Function acquisition means for acquiring the authority information based on the application identification information;
Further comprising
The application execution system according to claim 10, wherein the authority information management unit stores the function for each application identification information.

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