JP2010033386A - Mobile terminal and application function starting method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To effectively use a memory capacity of a mobile terminal by appropriately determining whether an application is started or not even when memory occupation capacities of the application and its respective functions are different from each other. <P>SOLUTION: A mobile terminal 110 includes: a list storing section 250 for storing a start prohibition list which includes a combination of identifiers of functions unable to be started in parallel; a started function holding section 252 for holding one or more functions presently under operation; a function starting section 256 which receives a start request of a new function and controls the start of the new function; and a list determination section 254 which determines whether or not the start prohibition list includes a combination of an identifier of a function under operation and an identifier of the new function of which the start request has been received, wherein the function starting section starts the new function when the list determination section determines that the start prohibition list does not have the combination of the identifier of the new function and the identifier of the function under operation. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a portable terminal capable of starting a plurality of applications in parallel and an application function starting method.

  In recent years, mobile terminals such as PHS (Personal Handy phone System) and mobile phones have become widespread, and it has become possible to make calls and obtain information regardless of location or time. Especially in recent years, the amount of available information has been increasing, and high-speed and high-quality wireless communication systems have been introduced to download large amounts of data.

  Along with such high functionality, the mobile terminal is not limited to simple use as a calling means, but various functions such as a Web browsing function, a mail transmission / reception function, an imaging function, a music playback function, and a TV viewing function are used. It is like that. However, unlike a large-sized device such as a personal computer, a portable terminal is not equipped with a memory having a sufficient capacity to withstand simultaneous activation of many applications.

  If an application does not actually start, the amount of memory occupied by the start cannot be grasped, and it cannot be determined at the time of start whether the application can be started with available free memory capacity. . Therefore, when an application activation request is generated, the application must be attempted once, and when it is determined that the activation is impossible, the activation is stopped.

  The application has a plurality of functions (tasks), and the user achieves the object by appropriately selecting, calling, and executing necessary functions from the application. For example, a mail application has various functions such as a mail creation editor function, a transmission function for sending a created mail, a reception function for receiving mail via a communication network, and a viewer function for viewing received mail. Yes. Each function uses a memory when it is called from an application and executed. However, even if the function is implemented in the same application, the amount of memory used during execution differs for each function. In addition, each function cannot grasp the memory capacity to be used unless it is executed. Therefore, when a function execution request is generated, the function is attempted once, and the function is executed by the memory. When it was determined that the amount was insufficient, there was no choice but to stop the execution.

Therefore, in order to avoid such a useless activation attempt, a technique is known in which the number of applications that can be simultaneously activated is limited by the number, and activation of new applications exceeding the limitation number is prohibited. In addition, a technique is known in which applications that can be activated simultaneously are limited by the number, and an application having a low priority is terminated when the limit number is exceeded (for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2005-301791 A

  However, in the above-described prior art, the number to be limited is determined in consideration of the case where the memory capacity occupied by the application is large, and therefore the number is relatively small. Therefore, if the memory capacity occupied by the application is small, a situation in which a new application cannot be started even though there is still enough memory capacity available, or a new application is being started instead of starting A situation has arisen in which an application having a low priority among applications has to be terminated, and the user has been inconvenienced to stop using a desired application.

  In order to use the memory capacity effectively, it is desirable to determine whether the application can be activated by comparing the memory capacity actually occupied by the application with the memory capacity available at that time. However, as described above, the memory occupied capacity by the application cannot be grasped without actually starting it, and it is difficult to determine whether or not the application can be started in advance.

  In view of such a problem, the present invention can appropriately determine whether or not an application can be activated even if the memory occupancy capacity of the application and its individual functions is different, and can effectively use the memory capacity. An object of the present invention is to provide a portable terminal and an application function activation method.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, a representative configuration of the present invention is configured to include at least one combination of identifiers of functions that cannot be activated in parallel in a portable terminal that can activate a plurality of functions in parallel. A list storage unit that stores a start prohibition list to be held, a start function holding unit that stores an identifier of one or more currently active functions, and a function that receives a start request for a new function and controls the start of the function An identifier of a function in which a combination of an activation unit, an identifier of a new function for which an activation request has been received in the function activation unit, and an identifier of an active function held in the activation function holding unit cannot be activated in parallel A list determination unit that determines whether or not the combination is stored in the activation prohibition list, and the activation function unit uses the list determination unit to determine whether the identifier of the new function and the identifier of the function being activated Combined is, when it is determined not to be held in the start prohibition list as a combination of an identifier of a not activated in parallel functions, characterized in that to start a new function.

  Here, it is determined whether or not the newly requested application can be activated using an activation prohibition list in which functions that cannot be activated at a time are shown in advance. Therefore, even if the memory occupancy capacity of the application and its individual functions is different, it is possible to appropriately determine whether or not the application can be activated, and to suppress the processing load and resource consumption due to unnecessary activation attempts, and to effectively use the memory capacity Can be achieved.

  When the activation of a new function by the function activation unit fails, the portable terminal uses a combination of the identifier of the new function and the identifier of the function being activated in combination of identifiers of functions that cannot be activated in parallel. A list addition unit for adding to the activation prohibition list may be further included.

  With this configuration, the actual combination of functions that could not be activated can be reflected in the activation prohibition list based on the activation status of the application in the portable terminal. Accordingly, it is possible to avoid a wasteful restart attempt of a combination of functions that could not be started once, and to more effectively use the memory capacity more reliably.

  When a request for starting a new application is received, the list determination unit starts each combination of the functions implemented by the new application with the identifier of the active function held in the start function holding unit in parallel. The function activation unit determines whether the combination with the identifier of the function being activated is not activated in parallel by the list determination unit. A new application may be activated such that a function determined to be held in the activation prohibition list as a combination of possible function identifiers cannot be selected.

  When a function that is determined not to be activated is an individual function of the application, there is a request that the application itself should be activated even if the function cannot be activated. Therefore, as described above, it is possible to use at least other functions of the same application by starting the application by limiting to other functions having no combination in the start prohibition list.

  When at least one of the currently activated functions is deleted from the activation function holding unit due to the end of activation, the list determination unit displays the identifier of the function that cannot be selected in the application and the activation held in the activation function holding unit When it is determined that the combination with the identifier of the function in the list is not held in the activation prohibition list as the combination of the identifier of the function that cannot be activated in parallel, the function that cannot be selected in the application can be selected. It may be updated.

  With this configuration, it is possible to use a desired function while maintaining the activation of the application without requiring a function re-request.

  The portable terminal determines the memory capacity required to execute the essential function each time a predetermined essential function is executed, and updates the maximum value and stores the maximum value, and the maximum value A memory securing unit that secures a memory area as an area that is not occupied by functions other than essential functions, for a memory capacity stored in the storage unit, and when a new function is activated by the activation function unit, When the memory occupation amount by the function stored in the activation function holding unit makes it impossible to secure the memory area by the memory securing unit, the activation function unit may terminate the newly activated function.

  With this maximum value storage unit, it is possible to derive the memory capacity that is truly necessary based on the record of interrupt processing in the mobile terminal, and the memory reservation unit can be used to store interrupts such as incoming calls that have the highest priority. It is possible to avoid situations such as missing due to lack of capacity, and it is possible to reliably perform such interrupt processing.

  Another representative configuration according to the present invention is an application function activation method that operates using a mobile terminal that can activate a plurality of functions in parallel, the step of receiving a request for activation of a new function, Determining whether the combination of the function identifier and the identifier of one or more currently active functions is held in the activation prohibition list as a combination of function identifiers that cannot be activated in parallel; If the combination of the identifier of the new function and the identifier of the function being activated is not held in the activation prohibition list as a combination of identifiers of functions that cannot be activated in parallel, the new function If the activation of a new function and the activation of a new function fails, the combination of the identifier of the new function and the identifier of the function being activated is identified in parallel. And having a step of adding the start prohibition list as a combination of a.

  The component corresponding to the technical idea in the portable terminal mentioned above and its description are applicable also to the said application function starting method.

  As described above, in the portable terminal of the present invention, even when the memory occupancy capacity of the application and its individual functions is different, it is possible to appropriately determine whether or not the application can be activated and to effectively use the memory capacity. It becomes.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The dimensions, materials, and other specific numerical values shown in the embodiment are merely examples for facilitating understanding of the invention, and do not limit the present invention unless otherwise specified. In the present specification and drawings, elements having substantially the same function and configuration are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted, and elements not directly related to the present invention are not illustrated. To do.

  Mobile terminals such as PHS terminals and mobile phones construct a wireless communication system that communicates wirelessly with base stations that are fixedly arranged at predetermined intervals. In order to understand the usage of such a portable terminal in this embodiment, here, the entire wireless communication system will be described first, and then the specific configuration of the portable terminal will be described.

(Wireless communication system 100)
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic connection relationship of the wireless communication system 100. The wireless communication system 100 includes a mobile terminal 110 (110A, 110B), a base station 120 (120A, 120B), an ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) line, the Internet, a dedicated line, etc. Server 140.

  Note that the portable terminal 110 includes a PHS terminal, a mobile phone, a notebook personal computer, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a digital camera, a music player, a car navigation system, a portable TV, a game device, a DVD player, a remote controller, and the like. Various possible electronic devices are applicable.

  In the wireless communication system 100, the mobile terminal 110 can download various applications from the server 140 connected to the communication network 130, and the user can freely use the applications downloaded to the mobile terminal 110. Further, the mobile terminal 110 can start a plurality of such downloaded applications and preinstalled applications in parallel, and in such a mobile terminal 110, the user can copy data between applications, for example. An e-mail can be created while referring to the contents displayed on the Web browser. Hereinafter, the configuration of the mobile terminal 110 capable of starting a plurality of applications in parallel will be described in detail.

(Mobile terminal 110)
FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the mobile terminal 110, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of the mobile terminal 110. As shown in FIG. The mobile terminal 110 includes a terminal control unit 210, a terminal memory 212, a display unit 214, an operation unit 216, a voice input unit 218, a voice output unit 220, and a terminal wireless communication unit 222. .

  The terminal control unit 210 manages and controls the entire portable terminal 110 by a semiconductor integrated circuit including a central processing unit (CPU). In addition, the terminal control unit 210 uses a program stored in the terminal memory 212 to perform a call function, a web browsing function, a mail transmission / reception function, an imaging function, a music playback function, and a TV viewing function.

  The terminal memory 212 includes a ROM, a RAM, an EEPROM, a nonvolatile RAM, a flash memory, an HDD, and the like, and stores a program processed by the terminal control unit 210, audio data, and the like. The terminal memory 212 functions as an application operation memory, and stores and arranges an application for which an activation request has been made in an available memory area. Furthermore, it functions as a processing area for interrupt processing when an incoming call or incoming call is received.

  The display unit 214 includes a liquid crystal display, an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display, and the like, and is stored in the terminal memory 212 or provided from the application server 140 via the communication network 130. User Interface) can be displayed. In addition, the display unit 214 can display an application selection screen, an unstartable guide when the application cannot be started, and the like. The operation unit 216 includes a keyboard, a cross key, a joystick, and the like, and receives user operation inputs.

  The voice input unit 218 includes voice recognition means such as a microphone, and converts a user voice input during a call or the like into an electrical signal that can be processed in the mobile terminal 110. The audio output unit 220 is configured with a speaker, and converts the audio signal of the call partner received by the mobile terminal 110 into audio and outputs it. The voice output unit 220 can also output a ringtone, an operation sound of the operation unit 216, an alarm sound, and the like.

  The terminal wireless communication unit 222 performs wireless communication with the base station 120. As such wireless communication, for example, on a TDD (Time Division Duplex) in which a communication path is divided by a time axis and transmission and reception are alternately performed in order to realize simultaneous two-way communication, further transmission / reception time (frame) thereof TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) / TDD is used in which time is divided into a plurality of time slots. Also, OFDM (Orthogonal) that uses a large number of carriers on the unit time axis and effectively uses the frequency band by overlapping some of the carrier bands so that the phase of the signal wave to be modulated is orthogonal between adjacent carriers. (Frequency Division Multiplexing) method and OFDMA method are also realized.

  In addition, the terminal memory 212 in this embodiment also functions as the list storage unit 250 and the activation function holding unit 252.

  The list storage unit 250 stores an activation prohibition list. Such an activation prohibition list is a list indicating combinations of application functions (hereinafter referred to as application functions) that cannot be activated at the same time in parallel. Here, the application function indicates any of individual functions implemented by the application.

  FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the activation prohibition list. Here, in order to facilitate understanding, each application function is represented by one English character, but in actuality, it is represented by an identifier that is a combination of a plurality of numbers, characters, and symbols that identify the application function. A method for registering a combination of application functions that cannot be activated at the same time in the activation prohibition list will be described in detail later.

  The activation function holding unit 252 temporarily holds identifiers of all currently activated application functions.

  FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the activation function holding unit 252. The activation function holding unit 252 stores an identifier each time an application function is activated. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, when the application function D is newly activated while the application functions A, B, and C are activated, the activation function holding unit 252 stores the application function D in its own free space. Stores an identifier. When the activated application function is terminated, the activated function holding unit 252 deletes the identifier of the application function.

  In addition, the terminal control unit 210 in the present embodiment also functions as a list determination unit 254, a function activation unit 256, a list addition unit 258, a maximum value storage unit 260, and a memory reservation unit 262.

  The list determination unit 254 stores a combination of the identifier of the application function requested by the user and the identifier held in the activation function holding unit 252 (that is, the identifier of the currently activated application function) in the list storage unit 250. It is determined whether it is in the start prohibition list. That is, the list determination unit 254 determines whether or not the newly requested application can be started using the start prohibition list.

  For example, when the identifier of the application function held in the activation function holding unit 252 is in the state shown in FIG. 5, that is, when the application functions A, B, and C are currently being executed, the new application function D When there is an execution request, the list determination unit 254 registers the combination of the identifier of the application function D and the identifiers of the application functions A, B, and C held in the activation function holding unit 252 in the activation prohibition list. It is determined whether or not. If the activation prohibition list is in the state shown in FIG. 4, the list determination unit 254 determines that the combination of the application functions A, B, C, and D is not registered in the activation prohibition list. On the other hand, when there is a new execution request for the application function E, the combination of the identifier of the application function E and the identifiers of the application functions A, B, and C held in the activation function holding unit 252 is the activation prohibition list. Therefore, the list determination unit 254 determines that the identifier combinations A, B, C, and E are registered in the activation prohibition list.

  In addition, when the application is requested to start an application by the user, the list determination unit 254 includes a combination of the function implemented by the application and the identifier of the application function held in the activation function holding unit 252 as the activation prohibition list. It is determined whether or not it is registered.

  The function activation unit 256 is requested when the list determination unit 254 determines that the combination of the identifier of the application function requested by the user and the identifier held in the activation function holding unit 252 is not in the activation prohibition list. Attempt to start application function.

  On the other hand, when the list determination unit 254 determines that the combination of the identifier of the application function requested to be executed by the user and the identifier stored in the activation function storage unit 252 is in the activation prohibition list, the function activation unit 256 The activated application function is not activated, and a message to that effect is displayed on the display unit 214 or an alarm is sounded through the audio output unit 220 to notify the user.

  With such a configuration, according to the memory occupancy capacity of the application and its individual functions, it is possible to appropriately determine whether the application can be activated, to suppress processing load and resource consumption due to unnecessary activation attempts, and to effectively use the memory capacity. Is possible. Therefore, the number of application functions that can be activated in parallel at a time is not limited to a predetermined number, and an appropriate number is activated according to the memory occupation capacity of the application function. You can also

  In addition, when the activation of the application is requested by the user, the function activation unit 256 is held in the activation function holding unit 252 by the list determination unit 254 among the functions implemented by the application requested to be activated. The application is activated in a state where it is not possible to select a function determined to have a combination with the application function registered in the activation prohibition list. In addition, as a method of starting an application in a state where a predetermined function cannot be selected, for example, graying out a soft key assigned to starting a function that cannot be selected or non-displaying can be applied.

  As described above, the combination of the application functions held in the activation function holding unit 252 is limited to only the functions not registered in the activation prohibition list, and the requested application is activated, thereby increasing the memory capacity. It is possible to provide the user with an opportunity to use a desired application while avoiding the problem that the application itself hangs up due to the activation of a function that requires a memory capacity exceeding that.

  Note that, as described above, when a predetermined application is activated with a limited function, when activation of another application function stored in the activation function holding unit 252 is completed, that is, the activation function is retained. When the identifier of the other application function is deleted from the unit 252, the list determination unit 254 is held in the function that cannot be selected in the activated application and the activated function holding unit 252. It is determined whether the combination with the application function is registered in the activation prohibition list. The list determination unit 254 registers a combination of a function that cannot be selected in an application that has been activated with a limited function and an application function that is held in the activation function holding unit 252 in the activation prohibition list. If it is determined that the function is not present, the function activation unit 256 updates a function that is restricted in function and cannot be selected in the activated application to a selectable state.

  With this configuration, the user can use the application function while maintaining the activation of the application.

  When the function activation unit 256 cannot activate the requested application function due to insufficient memory capacity, the list adding unit 258 activates the combination of the requested application function identifier and the identifier held in the activation function holding unit 252. Add to the ban list.

  In other words, when the requested application function fails to start, the combination of the application function that failed to start and the application function that was being started at that time is registered in the start prohibition list as a combination that cannot be started simultaneously. By doing so, it is possible to know the combination of application functions that exceed the memory capacity when the application functions are activated at the same time, and it is possible to avoid problems such as hang-up of the mobile terminal.

  The maximum value storage unit 260 updates the maximum value of the memory capacity required for interrupt processing when an interrupt event such as an incoming call or incoming mail occurs. The maximum value storage unit 260 can derive the memory capacity that is truly necessary for the interrupt process based on the record of the interrupt process in the mobile terminal 110.

  The memory securing unit 262 secures a memory area that is not occupied by the application function by the memory capacity updated by the maximum value storage unit 260 among the free memory capacity. With such a configuration of the memory securing unit 262, it is possible to avoid a situation in which an interrupt such as an incoming call that has the highest priority is missed due to insufficient memory capacity, and such an interrupt process can be reliably performed.

  In the portable terminal 110 described above, it is possible to appropriately determine whether or not to activate an application or a function according to the memory occupancy capacity of the application and its individual functions, and to effectively use the memory capacity.

(Application function startup method)
Next, an application function starting method for starting a plurality of application functions in parallel using the mobile terminal 110 described above will be described.

  6 and 7 are flowcharts showing the processing flow of the application function activation method. In particular, FIG. 6 shows the operation when the application function is activated, and FIG. 7 shows the operation when the application function ends.

  In FIG. 6, the activation function holding unit 252 of the mobile terminal 110 holds identifiers of all currently activated application functions (S300).

  Here, when the activation of a new application function is requested by the user (S302), the list determination unit 254 reads the activation prohibition list from the list storage unit 250 (S304), and the identifier of the application function requested by the user and It is determined whether or not the combination with the identifier held in the activation function holding unit 252 is in the activation prohibition list (S306). In S306, when the list determination unit 254 determines that the combination of the identifier of the application function requested to be activated by the user and the identifier held in the activation function holding unit 252 is not in the activation prohibition list (“S306” NO "), the function activation unit 256 attempts to activate the requested application function (S308).

  Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the application function has been successfully activated, that is, whether or not the memory has become insufficient by executing the application function (S310). If the activation fails ("NO" in S310), the requested application is determined. A combination of the function identifier and the identifier held in the activation function holding unit 252 is added to the activation prohibition list (S314).

  If the requested application function is successfully activated (“YES” in S310), the memory securing unit 262 acquires the available memory capacity and is required for interrupt processing when an interrupt event such as an incoming call or incoming mail occurs. It is determined whether a memory area corresponding to the memory capacity is secured (S320). If the memory capacity is secured (“YES” in S320), the identifier of the requested application function is added to the activation function holding unit 252 (S322).

  In S320, when it is determined by the memory securing unit 262 that sufficient memory capacity cannot be secured to accept the interrupt process (“NO” in S320), the user is notified (S324), and the requested application function And the combination of the identifier held in the activation function holding unit 252 are added to the activation prohibition list (S326). Then, the application function activated immediately before is terminated to secure a memory area for interrupt processing, and the activation state before the application function is requested is maintained (S328).

  In S306, if the list determination unit 254 determines that there is a combination of the identifier of the application function requested to be activated by the user and the identifier held in the activation function holding unit 252, the user is in short of memory. The notification is made (S330), and the processing ends without starting the application function requested by the user.

  Next, the operation at the end of the application function will be described with reference to FIG. When there is an application function termination request by the user (S350), it is first determined whether the termination request is for all application functions (S352). If all application functions are terminated by a cancel key or the like (S352). “YES”), the process ends (S354), and all the identifiers of the activation function holding unit 252 are deleted (S356).

  If the termination request is for some application functions (“NO” in S352), some application functions are terminated (S358), and the target identifier in the activation function holding unit 252 is deleted (S360). .

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing when there is an application activation request. Here, a still image shooting application (camera application) will be described as an example of an application that has requested activation. The camera application can call (execute) various functions such as a shooting function using a shooting button, an image playback function for confirming a shot image, and an editing function for a shot image. By executing various functions, a desired still image is obtained. In FIG. 8, when there is a camera application activation request via the operation unit 216, the list determination unit 254 combines each of the functions implemented by the camera application with the application function held in the activation function holding unit 252. Is registered in the activation prohibition list (S402).

  If it is determined in S402 that any function implemented by the camera application is not registered in the activation prohibition list with the combination of the application function held in the activation function holding unit 252 (NO in S402), the camera application Are activated in a state where all functions are valid (executable) (S404). On the other hand, if it is determined in S402 that any function implemented by the camera application, for example, a combination of an image playback function and an application function held in the activation function holding unit 252 is registered in the activation prohibition list The function activation unit 256 activates the camera application in a state where the image reproduction function cannot be selected (for example, graying out a soft key assigned to the image reproduction function) (S406).

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing when execution of another application function ends when there is an application that is activated with use of one or more functions restricted. Here, description will be made by taking as an example the camera application started in S406 of FIG. 8 in a state where the image reproduction function cannot be selected. Note that portions denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 7 are the same as those in FIG.

  In FIG. 9, after terminating the application function requested to be terminated and deleting the identifier from the activation function holding unit 252, the function activation unit 256 is activated with the function limited to the currently activated application. It is determined whether or not there is (S362). In S362, when it is determined that there is no application that is activated with the function restricted, the function activation unit 256 ends the process as it is.

  On the other hand, in S362, when the function activation unit 256 determines that there is an application that is activated with the function restricted, for example, when it is the above camera application, the list determination unit 254 In step S364, it is determined whether the combination of the identifier held in the activation function holding unit 252 is registered in the activation prohibition list with respect to the function (image reproduction function) that cannot be selected in step S364.

  When the list determination unit 254 determines that the combination of the image playback function of the camera application that cannot be selected and the identifier stored in the activation function storage unit 252 is registered in the activation prohibition list (S364) YES), the function activation unit 256 ends the process as it is. In other words, the image playback function of the camera application ends the process without being selectable. On the other hand, when the list determination unit 254 determines that the combination of the image playback function of the camera application that cannot be selected and the identifier held in the activation function holding unit 252 is not registered in the activation prohibition list (NO in S364), the function activation unit 256 updates the image reproduction function to a selectable state (S366).

(Specific example 1)
Hereinafter, examples to which the above-described embodiment is applied will be described. First, when an arbitrary e-mail is received in the background of the mobile terminal 110, it is assumed that a data folder image is further reproduced and infrared communication is attempted. The activation function holding unit 252 holds an identifier of the e-mail receiving function (communication function). Here, when the activation request for the data folder image reproduction function is made, the list determination unit 254 has a function request for the e-mail receiving function held in the activation function holding unit 252 (that is, currently activated). It is determined whether or not the combination with the identifier of the reproduction function of the data folder image is in the activation prohibition list. In the present embodiment, assuming that the combination of identifiers is not in the activation prohibition list, the data reproduction function identifier is registered in the activation function holding unit 252 and the reproduction function of the data folder image is executed, resulting in a memory shortage. If the execution is successful, the memory capacity for interrupt processing is secured and the process is terminated.

  Subsequently, when an activation request for the infrared communication function is made based on a user operation in order to transmit the image being reproduced by infrared, the list determination unit 254 receives the email received in the activation function holding unit 525. It is determined whether or not the identifier of the function and the image reproduction function and the identifier of the infrared communication function requested to be activated are registered in the activation prohibition list. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the infrared communication function is activated on the assumption that such a combination of identifiers is not registered in the activation prohibition list. However, the activation of the infrared communication function fails due to insufficient memory. In such a case, the list adding unit 258 puts the combination of the identifiers of the mail reception function, the image reproduction function, and the infrared communication function held in the activation function holding unit 252 into the activation prohibition list as a combination of functions that cannot be activated simultaneously. Register additional.

  If the clear key is pressed during the reproduction of the data folder image in the course of such an operation, only the data folder image reproduction function is terminated, and the identifier is deleted from the activation function holding unit 252.

  As mentioned above, although preferred embodiment of this invention was described referring an accompanying drawing, it cannot be overemphasized that this invention is not limited to the example which concerns. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made within the scope of the claims, and these are naturally within the technical scope of the present invention. Understood.

  It should be noted that each step in the application function activation method of the present specification does not necessarily have to be processed in time series in the order described in the flowchart, and may include processing in parallel or by a subroutine.

  The present invention can be used for a portable terminal capable of starting a plurality of applications in parallel and an application function starting method.

It is explanatory drawing which showed the rough connection relation of the radio | wireless communications system. It is the functional block diagram which showed the hardware constitutions of the portable terminal. It is the perspective view which showed the external appearance of the portable terminal. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating a starting prohibition list. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating operation | movement of a starting function holding | maintenance part. It is the flowchart which showed the flow of the process of the application function starting method. It is the flowchart which showed the flow of the process of the application function starting method. It is the flowchart which showed the flow of the process of the application function starting method. It is the flowchart which showed the flow of the process of the application function starting method.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 110 ... Portable terminal 250 ... List memory | storage part 252 ... Starting function holding | maintenance part 254 ... List determination part 256 ... Function starting part 258 ... List addition part 260 ... Maximum value memory | storage part 262 ... Memory securing part

Claims (6)

In mobile devices that can start multiple functions in parallel,
A list storage unit that stores an activation prohibition list that holds at least one combination of identifiers of functions that cannot be activated in parallel;
An activation function holding unit that holds an identifier of one or more currently activated functions;
A function activation unit that accepts a new function activation request and controls activation of the function;
A combination of an identifier of a new function that has received an activation request in the function activation unit and an identifier of the function being activated held in the activation function holding unit is an identifier of a function that cannot be activated in parallel A list determination unit that determines whether the activation prohibition list is held as a combination of
With
The activation function unit includes the activation prohibition list in which the combination of the identifier of the new function and the identifier of the function being activated is a combination of identifiers of functions that cannot be activated in parallel by the list determination unit. A mobile terminal that activates the new function when it is determined that the new function is not held.   When activation of the new function by the function activation unit fails, a combination of the identifier of the new function and the identifier of the function being activated is a combination of identifiers of functions that cannot be activated in parallel. The mobile terminal according to claim 1, further comprising: a list addition unit that adds to the activation prohibition list. When a request to start a new application is received,
The list determination unit is configured such that, for each of the functions implemented by the new application, a combination of the identifier of the function being activated held in the activation function holding unit is a function that cannot be activated in parallel. It is determined whether or not it is held in the activation prohibition list as a combination of identifiers,
The function activation unit determines, by the list determination unit, that a combination with an identifier of a function being activated is held in the activation prohibition list as a combination of identifiers of functions that cannot be activated in parallel. The mobile terminal according to claim 1, wherein the new application is activated so that the selected function cannot be selected. When at least one of the currently activated functions is deleted from the activated function holding unit due to the termination of activation,
The list determination unit is a function in which a combination of an identifier of a function that cannot be selected in the application and an identifier of the function being activated held in the activation function holding unit cannot be activated in parallel. 4. The mobile terminal according to claim 3, wherein when it is determined that the combination of identifiers is not held in the activation prohibition list, a function that cannot be selected in the application is updated so as to be selectable. A maximum value storage unit that determines the memory capacity required to execute the essential function each time a predetermined essential function is executed, and updates and stores the maximum value;
A memory securing unit that secures a memory area as an area that is not occupied by functions other than the essential function, corresponding to the memory capacity stored in the maximum value storage unit;
Further comprising
When the new function is activated by the activation function unit, the amount of memory occupied by the function stored in the activation function holding unit makes it impossible to secure the memory area by the memory securing unit, The mobile terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the activation function unit terminates the newly activated function. An application function activation method that operates using a mobile terminal that can activate a plurality of functions in parallel,
A step of accepting a request for starting a new function;
It is determined whether the combination of the identifier of the new function and the identifier of one or a plurality of currently active functions is held in the activation prohibition list as a combination of identifiers of functions that cannot be activated in parallel. And steps to
When it is determined that the combination of the identifier of the new function and the identifier of the function being activated is not held in the activation prohibition list as the combination of the identifier of the function that cannot be activated in parallel, Activating the new function;
When the activation of the new function fails, the combination of the identifier of the new function and the identifier of the function being activated is included in the activation prohibition list as the combination of the identifiers of the functions that cannot be activated in parallel. Adding steps,
An application function starting method characterized by comprising:

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