JP2010141851A - Communications device, method, program, and communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a communication system utilizing a request-response format communication protocol, such as HTTP, which achieves both real-time push notification and energy-saving by a client communication device. <P>SOLUTION: The communication device 10 transmits a request to a server connected to a network and receives a response to the request. The communication device 10 includes an operation mode control means 101 which changes an operation mode to either of a polling operation mode for carrying out transmission/reception operation by a polling method based on a given setting condition for the operation mode of the communication device 10 and a request reserving operation mode for carrying out transmission/reception operation by a request reserving method, and a transmission/reception control means 102 which carries out request transmission processing and response receiving processing in accordance with the operation mode of the communication device 10. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication apparatus, method, program, and communication system, and more particularly, to a communication apparatus, method, program, and communication system using a request / response communication protocol such as HTTP.

  Today, it is widely performed that a server connected to a network such as the Internet transmits information according to a client request via the network. For example, in order to deliver an e-mail from a server to a client via a network, the server receives the transmitted e-mail, and the server sends the e-mail in response to a request from the client that is the destination of the e-mail. Send to client. That is, the server transmits an electronic mail as information in response to a client request. Thus, sending information from the server to the client is called “push”.

In general, in communication using a request / response communication protocol such as HTTP, the server transmits information to the client, particularly that the server notifies the client that an event has occurred. It may be called “push notification”. As a push notification method, a polling method and a request hold method are widely used.
In the polling method, the client periodically issues a request to the server, inquires the server whether an event that should be notified to the client has occurred on the server side, and the server responds to this request. This is a method for sending a response to the client. In this polling method, the number of communication with the server, which is closely related to the real-time property of the push notification, can be adjusted by adjusting the transmission interval of the request transmitted by the client. In other words, the polling method has a feature that if the request transmission interval is shortened, the number of communication with the server is increased and the real-time property of the push notification is improved, but the power consumption is similarly increased by increasing the number of communication. is doing.
In this polling method, a technique for adjusting a request issuance interval and designating a request issuance interval has been proposed (see Patent Literature 1 and Patent Literature 2).

The request hold method is a method in which a response is not sent immediately to a request issued by a client, and a response is sent to the client when a push notification to the client occurs on the server side. Although this request hold method can realize a real-time push notification, it is necessary to always maintain a communication connection between the client and the server. In particular, the client consumes less power than the polling method. It has the feature of becoming larger.
In this request hold method, a technique has been proposed in which when a predetermined event is automatically generated by the web server of the server device, an event occurrence notification is sent to the client web browser (see Patent Document 3).

JP 2004-056725 A JP 2004-153572 A Special table 2007-516527 gazette

  However, the conventional technology has a problem that it is difficult to achieve both real-time push notification and power saving. For example, the technique of Patent Document 1 is a request issuance timing control means for the purpose of simplifying system management specialized for a polling method and optimizing resources related to a server device. The technology is a push notification receiving means for a client to issue a request to the server and receive a push notification at a predetermined time without the user operating the client terminal each time. In the technology of Document 3, the request hold type push notification means for real-time transmission / reception of information in the communication between the web browser and the web server, both of which are real-time push notification and power saving of the client It is not intended to achieve both.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a communication system that uses the request-response communication protocol to achieve both the real-time property of push notification and the power saving of a communication device as a client. With the goal.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a communication device that transmits a request to a server device connected to a network and receives and processes a response corresponding to the request, and sets the operation mode of the device to a predetermined value. Based on the setting conditions, an operation mode control means for switching between a polling operation mode for performing a transmission / reception operation in a polling mode and a request hold operation mode for performing a transmission / reception operation in a request hold mode, and a server device connected to a network On the other hand, a transmission / reception control means for performing a request transmission process and a response reception process according to the operation mode of the own apparatus is provided.

  The communication system according to the present invention uses the communication device described above as a communication device that transmits a request to a server device connected to a network and receives and processes a response corresponding to the request. A server apparatus having a transmission / reception control means for receiving a request transmitted from the apparatus and transmitting a response corresponding to the received request is used.

  The communication system according to the present invention uses the communication device described above as a communication device that transmits a request to a proxy server device connected to a network and receives and processes a response corresponding to the request. A proxy server comprising a transmission / reception control means for receiving a request transmitted from a device and transmitting a response according to the received request, and a request hold communication means for communicating with a plurality of application server devices in a request hold method A device is used, and an application server device having a request hold communication means for communicating with the proxy server device by a request hold method is used.

  According to the present invention, in a communication system using a request / response format communication protocol, a push method is switched by switching between a polling method and a request hold method, which are different methods of push notification, according to the status of a communication device as a client. It is possible to achieve both real-time notification and power saving of the client.

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

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating an overview of a communication device according to the first embodiment.
The communication apparatus according to the present embodiment switches the operation mode of the own apparatus to either a polling operation mode in which transmission / reception operations are performed in a polling mode or a request hold operation mode in which transmission / reception operations are performed in a request hold mode. The communication device transmits a request to a connected server device and receives and processes a response corresponding to the request. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication device 10 includes an operation mode control unit 101 that performs switching control of the operation mode of the own device, and a transmission / reception control unit 102 that performs transmission / reception control according to the operation mode of the own device. Yes.
Note that these components are configured such that the computer hardware resources and software of the communication device 10 cooperate by installing a computer program in a computer having a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a memory, and an interface. Is realized.

Next, the operation of the communication apparatus 10 in the present embodiment will be described while explaining the operations of the operation mode control unit 101 and the transmission / reception control unit 102.
The operation mode control unit 101 switches the operation mode of the own device to either a polling operation mode or a request hold operation mode based on a predetermined setting condition stored in a storage unit (not shown) of the communication device 11, and performs communication. The state of the operation mode of the device itself is stored in a storage unit (not shown) of the device 10.
The transmission / reception control unit 102 determines the latest state of the operation mode of the own apparatus switched by the operation mode control unit 101. The transmission / reception control unit 102 controls transmission of a request to a server device connected to the network by any one of a polling method and a request hold method according to the operation mode in the determination result, and a response transmitted from the server device Receive control.
Thus, by switching the operation mode of the communication device to either the polling operation mode for performing transmission / reception operation in the polling method or the request hold operation mode for performing transmission / reception operation in the request hold method, the communication device can change the status of the own device. It is possible to select either a polling method or a request hold method, which is a push notification method, in accordance with.

[Second Embodiment]
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an outline of a communication system according to the second embodiment.
The communication system according to the present embodiment performs push notification by switching between a polling method and a request hold method. As shown in FIG. 2, a communication device 10 and a server device 20 connected to the network 1 Composed. Since the communication device 10 has the same configuration as the communication device 10 according to the first embodiment, the same reference numerals are used and description thereof is omitted.
The server device 20 includes a transmission / reception control unit 201 that receives a request transmitted from the communication device 10 and transmits a response corresponding to the received request.
These components are obtained by installing the computer program in a computer having a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a memory, and an interface, so that the hardware resources and software of the computers of the communication device 10 and the server device 20 described above are installed. It is realized through collaboration.

  Next, the operation of the communication system that performs push notification by switching between the polling method and the request hold method according to the present embodiment will be described while explaining the operations of the communication device 10 and the server device 20.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a transmission / reception processing procedure of the communication apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating encapsulation in the HTTP request structure. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining the encapsulation in the HTTP response structure. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a transmission / reception processing procedure when the operation mode is switched in the communication device 10 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a transmission / reception processing procedure of the server device 20 in the present embodiment. FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram showing an operation sequence of the communication system according to the present embodiment.

An operation of communication device 10 in the present embodiment will be described.
As shown in FIG. 3, the transmission / reception control unit 102 of the communication device 10 first issues a first HTTP request in order to receive desired information from the server device 20 (S101).
This first HTTP request is a reception request for desired information transmitted from the server device 20 that the communication device 10 should receive, and is an HTTP request that always requests reception of information by the request hold method. In such a push notification corresponding to the first HTTP request, the server device 20 transmits an HTTP response notifying the occurrence of an event corresponding to the first HTTP request to the communication device 10, and the communication device 10 This is accomplished by receiving an HTTP response. However, if the first HTTP request is directly transmitted to the server device 20, the communication device 10 can only receive information by the request suspension method.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, the transmission / reception control unit 102 issues a second HTTP request in which the first HTTP request is inserted into the body part of the HTTP request (S102). This second HTTP request is a push notification start request from the communication device 10 to the server device 20.
In this way, putting any data or any other HTTP request into the body of the HTTP request is called “encapsulation”, and an HTTP request in which another HTTP request or the like is encapsulated is “encapsulated HTTP. "Request".

  The transmission / reception control unit 12 transmits the second HTTP request to the server device 20 to register the start of receiving the push notification from the server device 20 (S103). The server device 20 that has received the second HTTP request transmits a response notifying that the start registration of the push notification has been completed. At this point, the push notification method has not been determined.

The transmission / reception control unit 102 that has received the response from the server device 20 determines the operation mode of the own device (S104). Details of this determination will be described later.
As a result, when the operation mode determination result of the own device is the polling operation mode (“polling method” in S104), the transmission / reception control unit 102 issues a third HTTP request for requesting a push notification by the polling method, and the server The third HTTP request is transmitted to the device 20 (S105). The third HTTP request is a polling method inquiry for a push notification transmitted from the server device 20 that the communication device 10 should receive.

The transmission / reception control unit 102 that has transmitted the third HTTP request enters a standby state for an HTTP response corresponding to the third HTTP request transmitted from the server device 20, that is, a response to a polling method request. When the transmitted HTTP response is received, the communication with the server device 20 is temporarily disconnected (S106). The HTTP response received here is a response to a third HTTP request, that is, a polling method inquiry, and at the same time, is an HTTP response in which information on the presence / absence of a push notification for the first HTTP request is encapsulated.
As shown in FIG. 5, the HTTP response corresponding to the third HTTP request includes data on presence / absence of a push notification for the first HTTP request in the body part of the HTTP response, and an HTTP response corresponding to the first HTTP request. Is transmitted from the server device 20 in a state in which is inserted.

  The transmission / reception control unit 102 analyzes the HTTP response corresponding to the third HTTP request transmitted from the server device 20, and determines whether or not there is a push notification for the first HTTP request (S107). .

  If there is no push notification for the first HTTP request as a result of the analysis of the HTTP request transmitted from the server device 20 (“No” in S107), the transmission / reception control unit 102 stores it in a storage unit (not shown) of the communication device 10. The communication with the server apparatus 20 is not resumed for the predetermined polling interval, and a standby state is entered (S108). After a predetermined polling interval elapses, the transmission control unit 102 issues a third HTTP request of the polling method to the server device 20 again and transmits the third HTTP request to the server device 2 again (S105). ). Thereafter, the procedure from S105 to S108 is repeated at predetermined polling intervals until a push notification is received.

If there is a push notification for the first HTTP request as a result of the analysis of the HTTP response transmitted from the server device 20 (“Yes” in S107), the transmission / reception control unit 102 uses the HTTP response to determine the first HTTP request. The HTTP response corresponding to is taken out (S112).
The transmission / reception control unit 102 performs reception processing on the HTTP response corresponding to the first HTTP request extracted from the HTTP response corresponding to the third HTTP request transmitted from the server device 20 (S113), and ends the transmission / reception control operation. To do.

  On the other hand, when the operation mode determination result of the own device is the request hold operation mode (“request hold method” in S104), the transmission / reception control unit 102 is a third request for receiving a push notification by the request hold method to the server device 20. The third HTTP request is transmitted to the server device 20 (S109). The third HTTP request issued here is a request suspension method reception request for a push notification transmitted from the server device 20 that the communication device 10 should receive.

Since the third HTTP request is a request for receiving a push notification by the request hold method, in the server device 20, until an event for the communication device 10 occurs, that is, until a push notification corresponding to the first HTTP request occurs. Do not send an HTTP response. Therefore, the reception control unit 102 continuously waits for reception of an HTTP response transmitted from the server device 20 until a push notification corresponding to the first HTTP request is generated in the server device 20 (S110). ).
In the present embodiment, when there is no event in the server device 20 for a certain period of time in the response reception standby state, and transmission / reception with the reception control unit 102 is interrupted, the server device 20 Is transmitted to the communication device 10 in order to confirm that is operating, and the transmission / reception control unit 102 receives the keep-alive response transmitted from the server device 20. Upon receiving this keep-alive response, the transmission / reception control unit 102 immediately resends the third HTTP request of the request hold method transmitted last time to the server device 20, and again waits to receive an HTTP response from the server device 20. It becomes.

When a push notification corresponding to the first HTTP request is generated in the server device 20, an HTTP response from the server device 20 is transmitted to the communication device 10, and the transmission / reception device 102 receives this HTTP response (S111). . Here, as shown in FIG. 5, the HTTP response transmitted from the server device 20 is encapsulated in the body of the HTTP response in accordance with the first HTTP request.
The transmission / reception control unit 102 extracts an HTTP response corresponding to the first HTTP request from the received HTTP response (S112).

  The transmission / reception control unit 102 performs a reception process on the HTTP response corresponding to the first HTTP request extracted from the HTTP response corresponding to the third HTTP request transmitted from the server device 20 (S113), and performs the transmission / reception control operation. finish.

[Transmission / reception control in the communication device when the operation mode of the communication device is switched]
Next, a procedure of transmission / reception control when the operation mode of the communication apparatus 10 is switched will be described. As shown in FIG. 6, the operation mode control unit 101 sets its own operation mode between the polling operation mode and the request hold operation mode based on predetermined setting conditions stored in a storage unit (not shown) of the communication device 10. Switch to either (S201). As the predetermined setting condition, the remaining battery level and the operating environment of the communication device 10, the time and the elapsed time of the operation, and an explicit instruction from the user may be set as the setting condition.
After the operation mode control unit 101 switches the operation mode of the communication device 10, the transmission / reception control unit 102 determines whether or not the operation state of the own device is a push notification request operation (S202). Here, the state in which the push notification request operation is being performed means that the transmission / reception control unit 12 issues a third HTTP request, receives an HTTP response corresponding to the third HTTP request, and responds to the first HTTP request. It shows that it is in any state until the HTTP response is taken out.
When the determination result of the operation state of the own device is not in the push notification request operation (“No” in S202), the push notification corresponding to the third HTTP request is performed between the communication device 10 and the server device 20. Since the process for doing so is not performed, the transmission / reception control process when the operation mode of the communication apparatus 10 is switched ends.
If the operation state determination result of the own device is the push notification request operation (“Yes” in S202), the transmission / reception control unit 102 confirms the operation mode of the own device (S203).

When the operation mode of the own device has been switched from the request hold operation mode to the polling operation mode (the polling method in S203), the transmission / reception control unit 102 sets the request hold method being transmitted to the server device 20 at that time. A request for interrupting the processing corresponding to the HTTP request 3 is transmitted to the server device 20 (S204). Then, the server device 20 receives this interruption request, interrupts the processing for the third HTTP request by the request suspension method, and notifies the communication device 10 that the processing interruption has been completed.
When the transmission / reception control unit 102 receives a notification from the server device 20 that the processing corresponding to the third HTTP request in the request suspension method has been interrupted (S205), the transmission / reception control unit 102 issues a third HTTP request in the polling method, This third HTTP request is transmitted to 20 (S206).
On the other hand, when the operation mode of the own device has been switched from the polling operation mode to the request hold operation mode (request hold method in S203), the transmission / reception control unit 102 interrupts the standby state at a predetermined polling interval (S207). Then, a third HTTP request of the request hold method is issued, and this third HTTP request is transmitted to the server device 2 (S208).

Next, operation | movement of the server apparatus 20 concerning this Embodiment is demonstrated.
As shown in FIG. 7, the transmission / reception control unit 201 in the server device 20 receives the second HTTP request transmitted from the communication device 1. The second HTTP request received here encapsulates the first HTTP request, which is a request for receiving information by the request hold method, and therefore the transmission / reception control unit 201 releases the encapsulation of the second HTTP request. Then, the first HTTP request is extracted (S301).
The transmission / reception control unit 201 enters a standby state for the occurrence of an event corresponding to the first HTTP request taken out by itself, and responds to the second HTTP request to notify that the registration of the push notification has been completed. An HTTP response is transmitted to the communication device 10 (S302).

The transmission / reception control unit 201 transmits an HTTP response corresponding to the second HTTP request, and then receives a third HTTP request that is a request for receiving a push notification by the polling method or the request hold method transmitted from the communication device 10. A standby state is entered (S303).
When receiving the third HTTP request transmitted from the communication device 10 (S304), the reception control unit 201 determines whether the push notification method in the received third HTTP request is a polling method or a request hold method. A determination is made (S305).

When the push notification method in the third HTTP request is the polling method (“polling method” in S305), the transmission / reception control unit 201 determines the event corresponding to the first HTTP request extracted from the third HTTP request. Check out the occurrence. That is, the presence / absence of a push notification to the communication device 10 is confirmed (S306).
The transmission / reception control unit 201 transmits an HTTP response corresponding to the confirmation result of the presence / absence of the push notification to the communication device 10 to the communication device 10 (S307). Here, as shown in FIG. 5, the HTTP response transmitted by the transmission / reception device 201 is encapsulated in the body part of the HTTP response with data relating to the presence / absence of push notification and the HTTP response according to the first HTTP request.

When there is no push notification to the communication device 10, the transmission / reception control unit 201 inserts data indicating that there is no push notification into the body portion of the HTTP response and transmits an HTTP response encapsulated to the communication device 10.
When there is a push notification to the communication device 10, the transmission / reception control unit 201 sends to the communication device 10 an HTTP response that encapsulates the data indicating that there is a push notification and the HTTP response corresponding to the first HTTP request. Send to.

  When the push notification method in the third HTTP request is the request hold method (“request hold method” in S305), the transmission / reception control unit 201 determines that the push notification to the communication device 10 occurs, that is, the first Wait until an event corresponding to the HTTP request occurs (S308), and when an event corresponding to the first HTTP request occurs, an HTTP response corresponding to the first HTTP request is sent to the HTTP response corresponding to the third HTTP request. (S309), and the encapsulated HTTP response is transmitted to the communication apparatus 10.

  After transmitting the HTTP response to the communication device 10, the communication control unit 201 again enters a standby state for a request transmitted from the communication device 10 (S303).

Next, the operation of the communication system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In the communication system that performs the push notification by switching between the polling method and the request hold method according to the present embodiment, the communication device 10 and the server device 20 connected to the network 1 are in a request / response format including HTTP. This is established when the server device 20 transmits a response to a request transmitted by the communication device 10 via the network 1 using a communication protocol.
As shown in FIG. 6, the communication device 10 issues a request that is a push notification start request in order to receive desired information from the server device 20 (S1). Next, the communication device 10 transmits a request, which is a request for starting the issued push notification, to the server device 20, and performs push registration, which is registration for starting reception of the push notification from the server device 20 (S2).
The server device 20 receives a request that is a push start request transmitted from the communication device 10. The server device 20 is in a standby state for generating an event corresponding to the received request, while notifying the communication device 10 that the registration for starting the push notification requested by the communication device 10 has been completed ( S3).
The server device 20 notifies the communication device 10 that the registration for starting the push notification is completed, and then enters a standby state for a request that is a request for receiving a push notification transmitted from the communication device 10 (S4). ).
The communication device 10 that has received the registration of the push notification start from the server device 20 switches to either the polling method or the request hold method according to the operation mode of the own device, and A request which is a reception request is issued, and this request is transmitted to the server device 20 (S5).
The server device 20 that has received the request that is a push notification reception request transmitted from the communication device 10 issues a response according to the push notification method in the received request, and sends the response according to this request to the communication device 10. Is sent to the server to execute push notification (S6).
The communication device 10 receives the push notification response transmitted from the server device 20 (S7), and performs a reception process of extracting desired information from the received response (S8).

  As described above, by performing the push notification by switching between the polling method and the request hold method according to the state of the communication device 10, it is possible to achieve both the real time property of the push notification and the power saving of the communication device.

[Third Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
The communication system according to the present embodiment performs a push notification by switching between a polling method and a request hold method. In particular, the polling method and the request hold method can be flexibly switched according to the situation of the own device. It is a communication system comprised of a possible communication device and a server device.
As shown in FIG. 9, the communication apparatus 11 and the server apparatus 20 are connected to the network 1.
The communication device 11 switches the operation mode of its own device to either a polling operation mode for performing a transmission / reception operation in a polling mode or a request hold operation mode for performing a transmission / reception operation in a request hold mode based on a set condition. Unit 111 and the operation mode of the own device are stored in the storage unit of communication device 11 (not shown), and the server device 20 connected to the network transmits and receives requests and responses according to the operation mode of the own device. And a control unit 102.
The operation mode control unit 111 polls the operation mode of the own device based on the operation policy management unit 112 that stores an operation policy that is a determination criterion for determining the setting condition, and the setting condition determined in accordance with the operation policy. The operation mode switching unit 113 is configured to switch between the operation mode and the request hold operation mode.
These components are realized by installing the computer program in a computer having a CPU, a memory, and an interface, so that the hardware resources and software of the computers of the communication device 11 and the server device 20 cooperate. It is what is done.
In addition, the transmission / reception control unit 102 and the server device 20 of the communication device 11 in the present embodiment have the same configuration and configuration as the transmission / reception control unit 102 and the server device 20 of the communication device 11 described in the second embodiment. Since they have functions, the same reference numerals are used here, and descriptions thereof are omitted.

Next, the operation of the communication system according to the present exemplary embodiment will be described while focusing on the operation of the operation mode control unit 111 in the communication device 11.
The operation mode control unit 111 in the communication device 11 determines a setting condition for switching the operation mode of the own device in accordance with the operation policy, and switches the operation mode of the own device.

Here, the operation policy will be described.
The operation mode control unit 111 creates an operation policy by performing predetermined weighting on a plurality of external data described about conditions for switching the operation mode of the own device stored in a storage unit (not shown) of the communication device 11. To do.
In addition to the setting by the user, each external data constituting the operation policy may be external data that can be set from a server device that performs push notification or set by a communication carrier.

An example of the operation policy is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 10, the state of the own device referred to switch the operation mode of the own device is “item”, “condition” for each item, and “operation mode” to be selected when this condition is met. Are described in association with each other. In this example, when a plurality of conditions are overlapped, the determination is made based on a condition described at a higher level.
For example, in the embodiment of FIG. 10, the operation mode control unit 111 selects the request hold operation mode when the communication device is at home even if the remaining battery level of the communication device 11 is less than 10%. As described above, the setting conditions are determined.
Therefore, the operation mode can be flexibly switched according to the status of the communication device 11, and the communication device 11 communicates with the server device 20 by a push notification method according to the operation mode switched by the operation mode control unit 111. I do.

Next, the operation of the operation mode control unit 111 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 11 is an operation flowchart showing an operation mode switching operation procedure of the operation mode control unit 111. The operation policy management unit 112 in the operation mode control unit 111 creates an operation policy from the external data describing the timing for switching the operation mode of the own device (S401), and stores the created operation policy in the communication device 11 (not shown). (S402).

  Next, the operation policy management unit 112 determines a setting condition for switching the operation mode of the own device based on the operation policy (S403). The setting conditions are determined by assigning priorities according to the operation policy to a plurality of conditions in which the timing for switching the operation mode of the communication device 11 is described, and the priority is the highest condition. Is a setting condition.

  Next, the operation mode switching unit 113 performs switching control of the operation mode of the own device based on the determined setting condition (S404), and notifies the transmission / reception control unit 102 of the current operation mode of the own device (S405). As a result, the communication device 11 communicates with the server device 20 in the operation mode switched by the operation mode switching unit 113.

  As described above, the communication device 11 that manages the operation policy adapted to the plurality of external data describing the switching timing of the own device can perform the operation mode switching operation flexibly corresponding to the situation of the own device. Therefore, it becomes possible to perform the push notification by switching between the polling method and the request hold method more flexibly, and it is possible to more efficiently realize both the real-time property of the push notification and the power saving of the communication device.

[Fourth Embodiment]
Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The communication system according to the present embodiment is a communication system including a plurality of application server devices, a proxy server device, and a communication device connected to a network, and a polling method and a request between the communication device and the proxy server device. This is a communication system that performs push notification by switching the hold method and always performs transmission / reception by the request hold method between the proxy server device and the application server device.
FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an outline of the communication system according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 12, the communication device 11 is connected to the network 1, the proxy server device 21, and a plurality of application server devices 22-1 to 22-n. Note that the communication device 11 according to the present embodiment has the same configuration and function as those of the communication device 11 described in the second embodiment, and corresponding elements are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof is omitted. Omitted.

The proxy server device 21 issues and transmits a request suspension method request to the plurality of application server devices 22-1 to 22-n, and responses transmitted from the plurality of application server devices 22-1 to 22-n. A proxy server that receives a request transmitted from the communication device 11 and performs a response transmission process in accordance with either a polling method or a request hold method in the received request. A transmission / reception control unit 211 is provided.
The application server devices that constitute the plurality of application server devices 22-1 to 22-n receive the request suspension type HTTP request transmitted from the proxy server device 21, and send a response corresponding to the received HTTP request to the proxy server device. An AP server transmission / reception control unit 221 that transmits to the terminal 21 is provided.
These constituent elements are the computers of the communication device 11, the proxy server device 21, and the application server devices 22-1 to 22-n by installing a computer program in a computer having a CPU, a memory, and an interface. Hardware resources and software are realized in cooperation.

  Next, the operation of the communication system according to the present embodiment will be described while focusing on the operations of the proxy server device 21 and the application server device 22.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an operation flow of the proxy server device 21. The proxy server transmission / reception control unit 211 in the proxy server device 21 receives the second HTTP request transmitted from the communication device 11. The second HTTP request received here is encapsulated in the first HTTP request of the request hold method, and the transmission / reception control unit 21 releases the encapsulation of the second HTTP request, and sends the first HTTP request. Take out (S601). Here, the first HTTP request extracted from the second HTTP request is a reception request for desired information that the communication apparatus 11 should receive from the application server apparatuses 22-1 to 22-n, that is, the present embodiment. Is a reception request for a plurality of pieces of information transmitted from a plurality of application server apparatuses 22-1 to 22-n.
The proxy server transmission / reception control unit 211 transmits the corresponding first HTTP request to the application server apparatus corresponding to the first HTTP request of the request suspension method that is taken out by releasing the encapsulation (S602), and Then, an HTTP response corresponding to the second HTTP request is transmitted to the communication device 11 to notify that the registration of the push notification is completed (S603).
The proxy server transmission / reception control unit 211 enters a standby state for the third HTTP request from the communication device 11 (S604).

  Here, the operation of the communication device 11 will be briefly described. In the communication system according to the present embodiment, the operation of the communication device 11 is the same as the operation of the communication device 11 in the third embodiment, and thus the description thereof is omitted. However, the communication device 11 in the present embodiment performs a request and response transmission / reception operation with the proxy server device 21, and is described in the operation procedure of the communication device 11 in the third embodiment. The “server device 20” is replaced with “proxy server device 21”.

  Next, the proxy server transmission / reception control unit 211 enters a reception waiting state for responses corresponding to all the first HTTP requests transmitted to the plurality of application server devices 22-1 to 22-n (S605). HTTP responses corresponding to the first HTTP requests transmitted from the application server devices 22-1 to 22-n are received (S606).

On the other hand, the proxy server transmission / reception control unit 211 receives the third HTTP request transmitted from the communication device 11 (S607) and determines whether the push notification method in the HTTP request is a polling method or a request hold method. It is determined whether or not (S608).
When the determination result is the polling method (the polling method in S608), the proxy server transmission / reception control unit 211 receives all the first HTTP requests transmitted to the plurality of application server devices 22-1 to 22-n. Check if there is a response received. That is, the presence / absence of all push notifications for information that the communication device 11 requests to receive is confirmed (S609).
The proxy server transmission / reception control unit 211 confirms the presence / absence of all push notifications with respect to the communication device 11, and then information on the presence / absence of all push notifications and the HTTP corresponding to the first HTTP request with the push notifications. An HTTP response corresponding to the third HTTP request encapsulating the response is transmitted to the communication device 11 (S610). Here, as shown in FIG. 5, the HTTP response transmitted by the proxy server transmission / reception device 211 corresponds to the first HTTP request in which all the data regarding the presence / absence of the push notification and the push notification exist in the body part of the HTTP response. The HTTP response is encapsulated.

When the push notification method in the third HTTP request is the request hold method (“request hold method” in S608), the proxy server transmission / reception control unit 211 generates a push notification to a certain communication device 11, that is, When an HTTP response corresponding to a certain first HTTP request is received from the application server device 22-n, immediately responding to a third HTTP request encapsulating the HTTP response corresponding to the first HTTP request. The HTTP response is issued, and the encapsulated HTTP response is transmitted to the communication device 11 (S611). Here, as shown in FIG. 5, the HTTP response transmitted by the transmission / reception device 21 is encapsulated by including the HTTP response corresponding to the first HTTP request in the body portion of the HTTP response.
The proxy server transmission / reception control unit 211 repeats the above-described operation until receiving an HTTP response corresponding to all the first HTTP requests transmitted to the application server devices 22-1 to 22-n (S612).

  The proxy server communication control unit 21 again enters a standby state for requests transmitted from the communication device 11.

Next, the operation of the application server device 22-n will be described.
FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing an operation flow of the application server device 22-n. The AP server transmission / reception control unit 221 in the application server device 22 receives the first HTTP request of the request suspension method transmitted from the proxy server device 211 (S701). The AP server transmission / reception control unit 221 immediately transmits an HTTP response corresponding to the first HTTP request to the proxy server device 21 when an event corresponding to the received first HTTP request of the request suspension method occurs. (S702), a request pending type request from the proxy server is awaited (S703).

FIG. 15 is a sequence diagram illustrating an operation sequence of the communication system according to the present embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 15, in order for the communication device 11 to receive desired information from the plurality of application server devices 22-1 to 22-n, the communication device 11 is a reception request for the desired information by the request hold method. A second HTTP request which is a push notification start request encapsulating one HTTP request is issued (S11). Next, the communication device 11 transmits the issued second HTTP request to the proxy server device 21, and performs push registration, which is registration for starting reception of the push notification from the proxy server device 21 (S12).

The proxy server device 21 that has received the second HTTP request that is the push notification start request transmitted from the communication device 11 releases the encapsulation of the second HTTP request, extracts the first HTTP request, and extracts the first HTTP request. While transmitting the first HTTP request to the application server devices 22-1 to 22-n corresponding to the first HTTP request, registration for starting the push notification requested from the communication device 11 is completed. This is notified to the communication device 11 (S13).
The proxy server device 21 notifies the communication device 11 that the registration for starting the push notification is completed, and then transmits the third HTTP request transmitted from the communication device 11 and the application server device. The HTTP response reception standby state corresponding to the HTTP request 1 is entered (S14).

  The communication device 11 that has received the completion of the registration of the push notification start transmitted from the proxy server device 21 switches to either the polling method or the request hold method according to the operation mode of the own device. Then, a third HTTP request, which is a push notification reception request, is issued, and this third HTTP request is transmitted to the proxy server device 21 (S15).

The application server device 22-n receives the first HTTP request of the request suspension method transmitted from the proxy server device 21 (S16), and enters an event generation standby state according to the first HTTP request (S17). ).
When an event corresponding to the first HTTP request occurs, the application server device 22-n immediately transmits an HTTP response corresponding to the HTTP request to the proxy server device 21 (S18).

While the proxy server device 21 receives the third HTTP request transmitted from the communication device 11, the proxy server device 21 receives an HTTP response corresponding to the first HTTP request transmitted from the application server device 22-n.
The proxy server device 21 issues an HTTP response corresponding to the received third HTTP request in a state where the HTTP response corresponding to the received first HTTP request is encapsulated. A push notification is executed by transmitting the HTTP response to the communication device 11 (S19).

  The communication device 11 receives an HTTP response that is a push notification transmitted from the proxy server device 21 (S20), and performs a reception process of extracting desired information from the received HTTP response (S21).

As described above, according to the communication system according to the present embodiment, when receiving information from a plurality of application server devices in the communication device, the push notification method is not specified for each application server device. It becomes possible to receive a plurality of push notifications in parallel by switching the polling method and the request hold method according to the situation.
Further, when receiving information from a plurality of application server apparatuses as in the communication system according to the present embodiment, the communication path used by the communication apparatus is only between the proxy server apparatus and the traffic in the communication network There are also merits in terms.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be applied to uses such as pushing information to a client from a server with reduced power consumption in a network service that requires real-time performance, such as notification of arrival of Internet mail via a network.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the communication apparatus concerning the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the communication system concerning the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement procedure of a transmission / reception control part. It is a conceptual diagram which illustrates notionally the encapsulation in an HTTP request structure. It is a conceptual diagram which illustrates notionally the encapsulation in an HTTP response structure. It is a flowchart which shows the transmission / reception procedure when switching of the operation mode generate | occur | produces in the communication apparatus in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the transmission / reception procedure of the server apparatus in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows an example of operation | movement of the communication system concerning the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the communication system concerning the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of an operation policy. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement procedure of an operation mode control part. It is a figure which shows the structure of the communication system concerning the 4th Embodiment of this invention. It is the flowchart which showed the operation | movement procedure of the proxy server apparatus. It is the flowchart which showed the operation | movement procedure of the application server apparatus. It is a sequence diagram which shows an example of operation | movement of the communication system concerning the 4th Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

    DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Network, 10, 11 ... Communication apparatus, 20 ... Server apparatus, 21 ... Proxy server apparatus, 22-1-22-n ... Application server apparatus, 101, 111 ... Operation mode control part, 112 ... Operation policy management part, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 113 ... Operation mode switching part, 102 ... Transmission / reception control part (communication apparatus), 201 ... Transmission / reception control part (server apparatus), 211 ... Proxy server transmission / reception control part, 221 ... AP server transmission / reception control part.

Claims (6)

In a communication device that transmits a request to a server device connected to a network and receives a response corresponding to the request,
A polling operation mode that periodically issues an inquiry to the server device and receives a response from the server device based on a predetermined setting condition of the operation mode of the own device, and a response to be notified by the server device are generated An operation mode control means for switching to one of the request hold operation modes for receiving the response transmitted when
A communication apparatus comprising: a transmission / reception control unit configured to perform request transmission control and response reception control according to an operation mode of the server apparatus with respect to the server apparatus. The communication device according to claim 1,
The operation mode control means includes an operation policy management means for storing an operation policy which is a criterion for determining the setting condition;
An operation mode switching means for switching an operation mode of the own apparatus to either the polling operation mode or the request hold operation mode based on a setting condition determined in accordance with the operation policy. In a transmission / reception control method of a communication device that transmits a request to a server device connected to a network and receives a response corresponding to the request,
A polling operation mode for periodically issuing a request to the server device and receiving a response from the server device, and a response to be notified by the server device, based on a predetermined setting condition of the operation mode of the own device An operation mode switching step for switching to one of the request hold operation modes for receiving the response transmitted at the time,
A transmission / reception control method for a portable terminal device, comprising: a transmission / reception control step for performing transmission control of a request and response reception control according to an operation mode of the own device with respect to the server device. To a computer installed in a communication device that sends a request to a server device connected to the network and receives a response corresponding to this request,
A polling operation mode for periodically issuing a request to the server device and receiving a response from the server device, and a response to be notified by the server device, based on a predetermined setting condition of the operation mode of the own device An operation mode switching step for switching to one of the request hold operation modes for receiving the response transmitted at the time,
A transmission / reception control program for a portable terminal device, which causes the server device to execute a transmission / reception control step for performing transmission control of a request and reception control of a response according to an operation mode of the own device. In a communication system comprising a server device connected to a network and a communication device that transmits a request to the server device and receives a response corresponding to the request,
The communication device is the communication device according to claim 1 or claim 2,
The server device includes a transmission / reception control means for receiving a request transmitted from the communication device and transmitting a response corresponding to the received request. In a communication system in which a communication device connected to a network, a proxy server device, and a plurality of application server devices communicate with each other,
The communication device is the communication device according to claim 1 or claim 2,
The proxy server device receives and transmits a request transmitted from the communication device, transmits and receives a response according to the received request, and communicates with the plurality of application server devices by a request hold method. A request hold communication means to perform,
The application server device comprises a request hold communication means for communicating with the proxy server device by a request hold method.

Images