JP2011128700A - Browser system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a user to browse his or her desired browser area even if outside a communication zone when browsing his or her desired information by the portable telephone 10 by communicating with a server, and to optimize the communication traffic. <P>SOLUTION: The radio wave situations of a portable telephone 10 are determined on the basis of location information received from the portable telephone 10 (steps S21 to S23), and when the radio wave situations are not satisfactory (when it is predicted that the portable telephone enters outside a communication zone), the image of a browser area is temporarily stored as a cache in the portable telephone 10 by predicting a browser area which is browsed by a user (step S25 to S27). When the portable telephone 10 is present within the communication zone, the image of a desired browser area is obtained from the server each time a browsing request is made, and when the portable telephone 10 is present outside the communication zone, the image of the predicted browser area stored as the cache is obtained and displayed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a browser system, and more particularly to a browser system that realizes a full browser on a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone.

  Conventionally, when browsing a website on a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone or a smartphone, it has been necessary to create a site (chtml) for the mobile terminal. However, in recent years, a web page created for a personal computer (PC) is viewed. Many mobile devices that support the full browser function have been released.

  However, from mobile terminals that do not support full browsers, web pages created for PCs still cannot be viewed, full browsers have a large amount of information to be communicated, so the communication speed is slow, There is a problem that it costs communication costs. In addition, the web browser installed on the mobile terminal has a problem that the web page is displayed in a form different from that displayed on the PC due to the specific specifications depending on the model.

  In order to solve such a problem, a method has been proposed in which a browser area of a web page is rendered on the server side, the rendered page is imaged, and delivered to a mobile terminal together with link information in the image ( Patent Documents 1 and 2).

  On the other hand, services for securely browsing corporate documents, electronic bulletin boards, and the like on mobile terminals have become widespread. These services are highly favored as being very convenient, such as being able to do a little work in spare time such as travel time.

  However, many of these have a problem that they cannot be used in places where the network is not connected, such as the subway, because security is ensured by downloading and browsing the data from the network each time without storing the data on the mobile terminal. .

  In order to solve such problems, many technical developments have been made regarding data re-acquisition when network recovery is performed and prediction of network disconnection.

  In Patent Document 3, in a mobile terminal that acquires and browses data from a server, predetermined data from the server is stored in advance as cache data based on a user's prediction of use, and is browsed on the mobile terminal when the network is disconnected. There has been disclosed a communication system that updates cache by sending updated information to a mobile terminal after network recovery when there is update information related to the received information.

  In Patent Document 4, the location information of the mobile terminal is sent to the out-of-communication notification server, and the out-of-communication notification server notifies the out-of-communication notification when the mobile terminal's moving position is estimated to be out of the communication range based on its own map database. Has been disclosed.

JP 2004-220260 A JP 2006-155333 A JP 2008-199402 A JP 2004-364223 A

  However, the invention described in Patent Document 3 has a problem that information that is not used is also saved because the required information is always acquired and saved based on the prediction of the use of the user, and the amount of communication increases. In addition, the information that the user wants is not necessarily updated when the network is disconnected, and there is a security concern because the acquired cache remains on the mobile terminal.

  The invention described in Patent Document 4 predicts that the mobile terminal enters the outside of the communication range and informs the user of the fact, and is not a system for browsing the information stored in the server by the mobile terminal.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and when browsing desired information on a mobile terminal by communicating with a server, the browser area desired by the user can be browsed even outside the communication range, An object of the present invention is to provide a browser system capable of optimizing the traffic.

  In order to achieve the object, the invention according to claim 1 is a browser system comprising a server and a portable terminal that communicates with the server and browses desired information, and the server receives a URL (Uniform) from the portable terminal. A first receiving means for receiving information indicating a designated browser area of a page designated by (Resource Locator), an out-of-communication prediction means for predicting that the mobile terminal is out of communication range, and the out-of-communication prediction means If the mobile terminal is predicted to be out of the communication range, the browser area predicting means for predicting the browser area that the user will view thereafter, and the corresponding browser based on the received information indicating the browser area Distributing means for converting an area into an image and distributing it to the portable terminal, wherein the portable terminal is out of communication range by the out-of-communication prediction means A browser region predicted by the browser region prediction unit, and a distribution unit that distributes the image to the mobile terminal. The mobile terminal receives the browser region from the distribution unit. Second receiving means for receiving the image, temporary saving means for temporarily storing the image of the browser area distributed by the distributing means as a cache, and designation of the browser area of the page specified by the URL An input unit; a transmission unit that transmits information indicating the browser area input by the input unit to the server; and the mobile terminal, when the mobile terminal is in a communication area, based on the input information indicating the browser area When an image of browser area information is acquired from the server and the mobile terminal is out of communication range, the input browser area is indicated. Image acquisition means for acquiring an image of the browser area information from the temporary storage means based on information, and display means for displaying the image of the browser area acquired by the image acquisition means. One or a plurality of areas obtained by dividing the entire page including the browser area into a plurality of areas, and the distribution unit converts the specified browser area into an image and distributes the image. When the predicting means predicts that the portable terminal is out of the communication range, the browser area in the vicinity of the designated browser area is converted into an image and distributed.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the mobile terminal is predicted to enter the outside of the communication range, the browser area that the user will browse is predicted and temporarily stored in the mobile terminal as a cache. When the mobile terminal is in the communication area, the image of the desired browser area is acquired from the server each time. When the mobile terminal is out of the communication area, the image is acquired from the predicted browser area image stored as a cache. indicate. Thus, the browser area desired by the user can be browsed continuously even in places where the communication state is unstable, such as a subway. In addition, when the mobile terminal is in the communication range, only the image of the minimum browser area that is currently being browsed is acquired, so the amount of communication can be reduced and the communication time until display is shortened. I get out. Furthermore, a full browser can be realized even with a mobile terminal that does not support the full browser function.

  As shown in claim 2, in the browser system according to claim 1, the mobile terminal includes a position information acquisition unit that acquires a position of the mobile terminal, and the transmission unit stores the acquired position information in the browser system. The location information of the mobile terminal that is transmitted to the server, wherein the out-of-communication prediction means of the server has map information storage means for storing map information indicating an out-of-communication area, and received via the first receiving means The mobile terminal is predicted to be out of the communication range based on the history and the map information stored in the map information storage means.

  As the position information acquisition means, a GPS device (Global Positioning System) mounted on a portable terminal can be applied. It can be predicted that the mobile terminal will enter the outside of the communication area after a predetermined time from the history of the position information of the portable terminal obtained by the position information acquisition means and the map information indicating the area outside the communication area.

  As shown in claim 3, in the browser system according to claim 1 or 2, the out-of-communication prediction means of the server includes a history of position information of the mobile terminal, map information stored in the map information storage means, Based on the browser, the browser region prediction means stores the cache as a cache in the temporary holding means according to the predicted stay time outside the communication range The image amount of the area is determined, and the image amount of the image of the browser area to be predicted is predicted to be the determined image amount.

  As a result, an image in the browser area having an appropriate image amount can be stored as a cache, and the cache area can be efficiently used and the communication amount can be optimized.

  As shown in claim 4, in the browser system according to claim 1, the out-of-communication-area prediction means includes base station position acquisition means for acquiring a position of a base station used when the mobile terminal communicates with the server. And the mobile terminal is predicted to be out of communication range based on the position of the base station acquired by the base station position acquisition means. The position (location) of the mobile terminal can be detected from the position of the base station with which the mobile terminal is communicating. For example, when the mobile terminal is communicating with a base station installed at a subway station, it can be predicted that the mobile terminal will be out of the communication range in the future.

  As shown in claim 5, in the browser system according to claim 1, the out-of-communication-area predicting means is configured such that the radio field intensity during communication between the mobile terminal and the server falls below a preset threshold value, or The mobile terminal is predicted to be out of the communication range when the time when the radio wave intensity falls below a preset threshold exceeds a certain time.

  6. The browser system according to claim 1, wherein after the predicted image of the browser area is stored in the temporary storage unit, the mobile terminal is in a communication area, and the communication When the mobile terminal is not predicted to be out of the communication range by the out-of-service prediction means, the mobile terminal is provided with a deletion means for deleting the image of the predicted browser area stored in the temporary storage means. Thereby, the image of the browser area to be browsed is not left on the portable terminal, and a high security level is secured.

  7. The browser system according to claim 1, wherein an image size of one divided area obtained by dividing the entire page into a plurality of areas is a display size of display means of the mobile terminal. It is the size corresponding to.

  The browser system according to claim 7, wherein the image of one divided area obtained by dividing the entire page into a plurality of areas is set as one cache image, and the out-of-communication prediction unit includes the page When the user is browsing at the maximum magnification, the browser that the user will browse the predetermined number of cache images acquired in the order of scanning from the currently viewed divided area toward the lower left divided area of the page It is characterized by predicting as a region.

  The browser system according to claim 7, wherein the image of one divided area obtained by dividing the entire page into a plurality of areas is defined as one cache image, and the out-of-communication prediction unit includes the page When a user is browsing at a low magnification, the user browses a predetermined number of cache images acquired in the order of scanning from the upper left divided area to the lower left divided area among the currently browsed divided areas. It is characterized by predicting as a browser area.

  According to the inventions according to claims 8 and 9, the image of the browser area can be stored as a cache in the direction of sequentially browsing the page, and when the image (cache image) of a certain browser area is being browsed, Even when the terminal is out of the communication range, the cache image in the browser area subsequent to the cache image can be browsed continuously.

  The browser system according to claim 7, wherein an image of one divided region obtained by dividing the entire page into a plurality of regions is set as one cache image, and the out-of-communication prediction unit includes the page A predetermined number of cache images acquired from the divided areas excluding the already viewed divided areas are predicted as browser areas that the user will browse. Thereby, the browser area | region which the user has not browsed yet can be acquired preferentially.

  The browser system according to claim 7, wherein the image of one divided region obtained by dividing the entire page into a plurality of regions is used as one cache image, and the out-of-communication prediction unit includes the page Predicting a predetermined number of cache images obtained from a divided area excluding the currently viewed divided area and a page having a large number of accesses from the page as a browser area that the user will browse It is a feature. Thereby, the browser area | region which many users are browsing can be preserve | saved preferentially as a cache.

  According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the browser system according to the third aspect, when the image amount of the browser area to be stored as a cache in the temporary storage means exceeds a predetermined threshold, It is characterized in that an image in a browser area with a high image compression rate or a reduced number of colors is distributed. As a result, even if the number of cache images in the browser area stored as a cache increases, the communication amount and the image size can be prevented from becoming excessive.

  According to the present invention, when the mobile terminal is predicted to enter the outside of the communication range, the browser area that the user will browse is predicted and temporarily stored as a cache in the mobile terminal. When the mobile terminal is within the communication range, the browser area image can be sequentially acquired from the server. When the mobile terminal is outside the communication range, the predicted browser area image stored as a cache can be acquired. As a result, the browser area desired by the user can be browsed even outside the communication area, and when the mobile terminal is within the communication area, only the information necessary for browsing the browser area is obtained, thereby minimizing the amount of communication. Can be.

It is a figure which shows the image which is browsing the web page using the display part of a mobile telephone similarly to the case where a web page is browsed using the display part of PC. It is a system configuration figure showing an embodiment of a browser system concerning the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the internal structure of the mobile telephone and processing server which comprise the said browser system. It is a flowchart which shows the basic operation | movement of the browser system which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence in the case of preserve | saving the image of a browser area | region as cache to the cache memory of a mobile telephone. (A)-(C) is a figure which shows the whole screen, respectively, and the web page divided into 4 parts and 16 parts. It is a figure which shows the example 1 of the order which acquires a cache image from a web page. It is a figure which shows Example 2 of the acquisition order of the cache image acquired from a web page. It is a figure which shows Example 3 of the acquisition order of the cache image acquired from a web page. It is a figure which shows Example 4 of the acquisition order of the cache image acquired from a web page. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence in the case of preserve | saving the image of a browser area | region as cache to the cache memory of a mobile telephone.

  FIG. 1 shows an image of browsing a web page using the display unit 13 of the mobile terminal (mobile phone in this embodiment) 10 as in the case of browsing the web page using the display unit 2 of the PC 1. FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the mobile phone 10 can realize a full browser, like the PC 1.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a browser system according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

〔System configuration〕
FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a browser system according to the present invention.

  This browser system mainly includes a mobile phone 10, a processing server 20 connected to the Internet 50, and an external Web server 30. The mobile phone 10 and the processing server 20 include a base station 42, a mobile phone network 40, It is possible to communicate with each other via a mobile carrier (not shown) and the Internet 50.

  The processing server 20 is not limited to the Internet 50, but may be one connected to another network such as an intranet within a company, or may be one that also serves as the Web server 30. Further, the present system is applicable not only to the mobile phone 10 but also to other mobile terminals such as smart phones, PHS, and personal digital assistants (PDAs), and is not limited to the mobile phone network 40 and performs communication via a wireless LAN. It can also be applied to cases.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the mobile phone 10, the processing server 20, and the Web server 30.

<Mobile phone>
As shown in FIG. 3, the mobile phone 10 mainly includes a communication unit 11, a processing unit 12, a display unit 13, an input unit 14, a position information acquisition unit 15, a ROM 16 and a cache memory 17. Note that a microphone, a speaker, and the like for functioning as a normal mobile phone are also provided, but are omitted in FIG.

  The processing unit 12 is a part that performs overall control of the entire mobile phone 10 in accordance with a predetermined control program based on an operation signal input from the input unit 14, and a CPU or the like is conceivable. The ROM 16 stores a control program for operating the mobile phone 10 and application software for a browser according to the present invention. The processing unit 12 performs necessary calculations according to the control program and application software and stores each unit. Control. Note that the ROM 16 can be constituted by, for example, a flash ROM.

  The cache memory 17 is used as a temporary storage area for calculation work areas by the processing unit 12 and information (images) of a browser area to be browsed by the mobile phone 10, and is configured by, for example, a volatile memory.

  The input unit 14 includes a numeric keypad, a multi-function cross key, an execution key, a cancel key, or a touch panel.

  The position information acquisition unit 15 is configured by, for example, a GPS device (Global Positioning System), measures the current position of the mobile phone 10, and acquires GPS information of the current position (latitude, longitude, altitude) and time. . The acquired GPS information is used as information indicating the current position of the user on the application software.

  The display unit 13 is composed of a color liquid crystal display, and is used as a user interface for performing various setting operations and as a display for displaying information to be browsed such as text and images.

  The communication unit 11 communicates with another mobile phone or the processing server 20 on the Internet 50 by performing wireless communication via the base station 42.

<Processing server>
The processing server 20 is a relay server for enabling a full browser of the Web site of the external Web server 30 using the mobile phone 10, and mainly includes a communication unit 21, a processing unit 22, an image conversion unit 23, and a user interface (UI). It comprises an analysis unit 24, a database (DB) 25, a portable model determination unit 26, a radio wave status determination unit 27, and the like.

  The processing unit 22 is a part where a program such as information distribution that operates on the server operates, and a CPU that performs overall control of the entire server 20 can be considered.

  In response to a browsing request from the mobile phone 10, the image conversion unit 23 converts Web contents in various formats including Web pages described in HTML or the like acquired from the Web server 30 via the communication unit 21 into various types. This is a part that is converted into an image (for example, an image in a bitmap format) that can be viewed on a mobile phone.

  The UI information analysis unit 24 is a part that analyzes the acquired Web content, acquires UI information such as a link and a form, and converts it into metadata. Details of this will be described later.

  The DB 25 records and manages the browsing status of the Web content (Web page) browsed by the user and the usage status (viewing count, etc.) of Web pages used in the past.

  The portable model determining unit 26 is a part that determines the model of a cellular phone that uses this system based on information received from a communicating cellular phone. The information of the portable model determined here is the function of the cellular phone. It is used for providing services according to (for example, display screen size, communication speed, cache memory capacity, etc.).

  The radio wave status determination unit 27 includes a storage unit that stores map information indicating an area outside the communication range of the mobile phone in accordance with a mobile phone carrier or the like, and receives GPS information received from the mobile phone 10, the map information, The mobile phone 10 that is currently communicating based on the above functions as out-of-communication prediction means for predicting whether or not the mobile phone 10 is out of the communication range. For example, when the position of the mobile phone 10 is approaching a region outside the communication range, it may be predicted that the mobile phone 10 will be out of the communication range because there is a possibility that the mobile phone 10 will be out of the communication range after a certain period of time. Further, the moving speed and the moving direction may be obtained from the history of GPS information, and it may be predicted whether or not the communication area is out of the communication range based on the predicted movement position after a predetermined time has elapsed from the current position. In this case, it is possible to predict outside the communication range with higher accuracy.

  The communication unit 21 is means for performing communication such as information exchange between the communication unit 11 of the mobile phone 10 and the communication unit 31 of the Web server 30.

[Operation of this system]
Next, the basic operation of this system will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  The main premise of the processing according to the present invention is browsing of information by the user. The information browsed by the user is Web content stored in the external Web server 30, but is not limited to this, and various documents on the server in the company, electronic bulletin boards, and the like are conceivable.

  First, a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) indicating the location of desired Web content (Web page in this embodiment) on the Web server 30 is transmitted from the mobile phone 10 to the processing server 20 (step S1).

  When receiving the URL from the mobile phone 10 (step S2), the processing server 20 transmits this URL to the web server 30 (step S3). When receiving the URL from the processing server 20 (step S4), the Web server 30 transmits Web content corresponding to the received URL to the processing server 20 (step S5).

  When the processing server 20 receives the Web content from the Web server 30 (Step S6), the processing server 20 analyzes the received Web content (Step S7), generates UI metadata, and creates an image file obtained by imaging the Web content. . The method of analyzing the Web content here is not particularly limited, and a known method such as parsing and extracting tags may be used.

  For example, when the Web content is an HTML file, UI information such as a link tag, a text input field tag, a radio button tag, and a button tag and an input form is extracted from the HTML file, and the position coordinates of each UI information are calculated. The The position coordinates of each UI information are the XY coordinate values (coordinate values corresponding to the upper left and lower right) of the UI information on the image when browsing the HTML file. The coordinate value acquisition method is not particularly limited, and for example, a method such as storage during image rendering or acquisition from a browser may be used. Each UI information extracted in this way and its position information are associated with each UI information ID, and are stored as UI metadata in a storage unit (not shown) of the processing server 20.

  The processing server 20 transmits the created UI metadata and image file as described above to the mobile phone 10 (step S9).

  The mobile phone 10 receives the UI metadata and the image file (step S10), decompresses the image file, and displays it on the display unit 13 as an image in the browser area (step S11).

  That is, when the mobile phone 10 receives the UI metadata and the image file via the communication unit 11, the processing unit 12 displays the position coordinates of each UI information included in the received UI metadata and the display unit 13. The position coordinates of the cursor are compared, and an image of the browser area and UI information are displayed on the display unit 13 based on the comparison result. For example, when the position coordinate of the cursor overlaps with the position coordinate of the UI information, a mark is attached to the position of the corresponding UI information, and the user is made aware that the UI information can be selected. Also, it may be underlined or surrounded by a square. Here, when the cursor is positioned within a rectangular range whose diagonal is the XY coordinate value of each UI information recorded in the UI metadata, the UI information position coordinate and the cursor position coordinate overlap. It is considered to be. Further, such display may always be performed on the position of the displayed UI information on the image, not when they overlap.

  Here, when a user operation is performed by the input unit 14, the display of the display unit 13 is changed according to the operation content. For example, when an up / down / left / right movement operation using a cross key or the like is performed, the cursor or the image can be moved in accordance with the up / down / left / right movement operation.

  That is, when a user operation of moving the screen up / down / left / right or an enlargement ratio is performed by the input unit 14, an image with a coarse resolution is displayed locally (in the mobile phone) in response to the operation, and then the user operation is confirmed. Operation information corresponding to the operation (display area coordinates and enlargement ratio) is transmitted from the mobile phone 10 to the processing server 20. The processing server 20 transfers metadata and image files (images in the browser area) corresponding to the received operation information to the mobile phone 10, whereby a high-resolution image corresponding to the user operation is displayed on the display unit 13 of the mobile phone 10. Is displayed.

  Also, when the cursor moves over the UI information position on the screen in response to a user operation, the UI information position is underlined, and the cursor shape is changed and displayed. By doing so, the link destination associated with the position of the UI information can be displayed.

<Embodiment of Acquisition of Cache Image>
Next, a description will be given of a first embodiment in which an image in the browser area is stored in the cache memory 17 of the mobile phone 10 as a cache according to the communication status between the mobile phone 10 and the processing server 20.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure when an image in the browser area is stored in the cache memory 17 of the mobile phone 10 as a cache.

  In FIG. 5, the cellular phone 10 periodically transmits its own location information (GPS information) to the processing server 20 (step S20). As a method for transmitting the position information, for example, a method of placing it on an HTTP request header is conceivable.

  The processing server 20 receives the position information from the mobile phone 10 (step S21), and predicts the traveling direction of the user based on the received position information (step S22). The prediction of the user's direction of travel is performed based on the location information history of the mobile phone 10 that is periodically received. Since the user moves along the railway or the road, the traveling direction along the railway or the road can be detected by using the map information.

  Subsequently, the radio wave condition in the traveling direction of the user is acquired (step S23). That is, it is predicted whether or not it will be out of the communication range after a predetermined time (whether the radio wave condition will deteriorate) from the traveling direction, moving speed and current position of the user detected in step S22 and the map information indicating the region outside the communication range. To do. The predetermined time is about the time required for exchanging necessary information with the mobile phone 10.

  When it is determined that the mobile phone is out of the communication range after a predetermined time (the radio wave condition is deteriorated), a browser area that the user will browse is predicted, and an image (cache image) and UI metadata of the predicted browser area are predicted. Is generated (step S25). Note that the cache image or the like is not generated when the mobile phone does not enter the communication range after a predetermined time (when the radio wave condition does not deteriorate).

  The processing server 20 distributes the cache image generated in step S25 to the mobile phone 10 (step S26), and the mobile phone 10 receives the distributed cache image and stores it in the cache memory 17 (step S27). ).

  When the radio wave condition is deteriorated and the desired browsing information cannot be acquired from the processing server 20, the mobile phone 10 switches to browse the cache image stored locally. Further, when the radio wave condition is improved, the mode is again switched to the mode for inquiring the processing server 20.

  Next, a cache image generation method will be described.

  6A to 6C show Web pages divided into four parts and 16 parts on the entire screen.

  In this embodiment, an image of each divided area divided into 16 screens becomes one cache image. Therefore, this Web page is composed of 16 cache images. In addition, one cache image has an image size of the maximum magnification displayed on the display unit 13 of the mobile phone 10.

  For example, when the screen size of the display unit 13 of the mobile phone 10 is VGA size (640 dots × 480 dots), the image size of the cache image is VGA size, and the screen size of the display unit 13 is QVGA size (320 dots × 320 dots). In the case of 240 dots), the image size of the cache image is also set to the QVGA size. Note that the screen size of the display unit 13 of the mobile phone 10 can be obtained from the mobile phone model determined by the mobile model determination unit 26. Further, the number of divisions for dividing a Web page into a plurality of cache images is determined by the size of the Web page created for the PC and the screen size of the display unit of the mobile phone.

  By predicting a browser area (an area in the vicinity of the area currently being browsed) that the user will browse, and by causing the cache memory 17 to hold images (a plurality of cache images) of the predicted browser area, Even if the situation becomes worse and information cannot be acquired from the processing server 20, the cache image stored in the cache memory 17 can be read and viewed. Further, when the cache image stored in the cache memory 17 is read and browsed, the Web page can be browsed at the maximum magnification, and the display image can be moved in the vertical and horizontal directions by the user operation on the input unit 14. it can.

  If the desired cache image is not stored in the cache memory 17, the area is not displayed. Further, in the case of displaying at a low magnification, as shown in FIG. 6B, a cache image can be combined and a low-magnification image can be created and displayed on the mobile phone 10 side.

<Cache image acquisition order>
Next, the acquisition order of cache images will be described.

[Example 1]
As shown in FIG. 7, when browsing a browser area (area (1) in FIG. 7) with a Web page at the maximum magnification, the processing server 20 displays the cache image of the area (1) currently being browsed. The nine cache images (1) to (9) are sequentially distributed in the numerical order shown in FIG. 7 with the cache image in the upper left image and the cache image in the area (9) of the Web page as the lower right image. The images (1) to (9) are stored in the cache memory 17.

  According to this, even when the radio wave condition deteriorates and information cannot be acquired from the processing server 20, for example, it is possible to continue browsing web pages in the order indicated by the arrows shown in FIG.

  Needless to say, the browsing order is not limited to the order indicated by the arrows shown in FIG. 7 and can be viewed vertically and horizontally in the range of cache images (1) to (9). In addition, the cache image is not limited to be displayed by switching, and can be displayed by scrolling in the vertical and horizontal directions.

[Example 2]
As shown in FIG. 8A, when browsing the upper right browser area of the Web page at a low magnification, the processing server 20 displays the upper right area in the current browsing area as shown in FIG. The image of (1) is used as a reference image, and 10 cache images (1) to (10) are sequentially distributed from the reference image (cache image (1)) in the numerical order shown in FIG. Stores these cache images (1) to (10) in the cache memory 17.

  According to this, even when the radio wave condition deteriorates and information cannot be acquired from the processing server 20, the screen can be browsed in a low magnification state, and the display can be switched to the maximum magnification. It is possible to cope with the case. When browsing at a low magnification, it is possible to generate and display a low-magnification image by combining a plurality of cache images and thinning out the pixels of the combined image.

[Example 3]
As shown in FIG. 9A, when the left half of the web page has already been browsed and the browser area in the upper right is currently being viewed at a low magnification, the processing server 20 The cache image in the unviewed area is distributed with priority. That is, as shown in FIG. 9B, cache images (1) to (4) in the current browsing area and cache images (5) to (8) in the unviewed area are distributed. Cache images (1) to (8) are stored in the cache memory 17.

  According to this, even when the radio wave condition deteriorates and information cannot be acquired from the processing server 20, the current browsing area and unviewed area of the web page can be browsed at a low magnification or a maximum magnification. .

  In this case, the processing server 20 needs to manage which area of the Web page has already been browsed by the DB 25 for each user's mobile phone.

[Example 4]
As shown in FIG. 10A, when the browser area at the upper right of the Web page is being viewed at a low magnification, the processing server 20 is an area (attention area) that many users are browsing on the same Web page. The cache image is distributed with priority. That is, as shown in FIG. 10B, cache images (1) to (4) of the current viewing area and cache images (5) to (8) of the attention area are distributed, and the mobile phone 10 Cache images (1) to (8) are stored in the cache memory 17.

  According to this, even when the radio wave condition deteriorates and information cannot be acquired from the processing server 20, the current browsing area and attention area of the Web page can be browsed at a low magnification or a maximum magnification.

  In this case, the processing server 20 needs to manage in DB 25 which area of the Web page is being viewed by many users.

<Other mobile phones for acquiring cache images>
Next, a second embodiment in which an image in the browser area is stored as a cache in the cache memory 17 of the mobile phone 10 in accordance with the communication status between the mobile phone 10 and the processing server 20 will be described.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure when an image in the browser area is stored in the cache memory 17 of the mobile phone 10 as a cache. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the part which is common in 1st Embodiment shown in FIG. 5, and the detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

  The second embodiment shown in FIG. 11 is different from the first embodiment shown in FIG. 5 in that the process of step S30 is mainly added.

  That is, in step S30 in FIG. 11, the time during which the user is in a place where radio waves are bad (the time during which the mobile phone 10 is outside the communication range) is predicted. This prediction calculates the moving direction and moving speed from the history of GPS information received when communication with the mobile phone 10 is possible, and based on the moving direction and moving speed and map information indicating an area outside the communication range, This is done by obtaining the time required to pass outside the communication range from the point when communication is disabled after entering the outside of the communication range. For example, in the case of a mountainous area, it can be predicted that the radio wave condition around the traveling direction is poor, and in that case, radio wave interruption is likely to continue for a long time. When moving on the subway, the radio wave condition is intermittently deteriorated, so it can be predicted that it is a short interruption.

  Step S25 ′ predicts the browser area that the user will browse when the mobile phone 10 enters out of the communication range, and generates an image (cache image) and UI metadata of the predicted browser area. An appropriate amount of cache image is generated in accordance with the time predicted by the user in step S30 when the user is in a place with poor radio waves.

  [Table 1] below shows the relationship between the predicted communication interruption time and the cache size (number of cache images).

[Table 1] assumes an average of 20 bytes (VGA) per cache image.

  As described above, since the radio wave interruption time is predicted and the cache size (cache image) corresponding to the predicted time is distributed to the mobile phone 10, efficient use of the cache area and optimization of the communication amount can be achieved. it can.

  According to the second embodiment, if it is predicted that the radio wave interruption time will be long, it is necessary to distribute a large amount of cache images in advance. In this case, the amount of communication and the communication time become large, and there may be a case where a large amount of cache images cannot be held in the cache memory depending on the mobile phone model.

  Therefore, when the image amount of the cache image to be stored as the cache exceeds a predetermined threshold, the cache image with a reduced file size is distributed by increasing the compression rate of the cache image or decreasing the number of colors. Note that the predetermined threshold value may be set to an appropriate value according to the model of the mobile phone and the communication area.

[Others]
In this embodiment, the outside of the communication range is predicted based on the GPS information obtained from the GPS device of the mobile phone 10. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a mobile phone 10 or a public wireless LAN base station is installed. It may be possible to predict whether it will be out of the communication range in the future using the existing position. Specifically, when communicating with a base station installed at a subway station, a method of predicting that it may be out of the communication range in the future can be considered.

  Further, the present invention is not limited to the case where out-of-communication prediction is performed based on the position of the mobile phone itself or the position information of the base station or the like, but simply using the radio wave intensity in communication between the mobile phone 10 and the base station, It is predicted that it will be out of range when it falls below. At this time, it may be predicted that when the time when the radio wave intensity falls below the threshold exceeds a certain time, the communication area is out of service area.

  On the other hand, after the cache image is stored in the cache memory 17, if the mobile phone 10 is in the communication range and is not predicted to be out of the communication range, or if the user does not continue browsing the browser area, the cache Delete the image. Thereby, since the information acquired via the processing server 20 does not remain on the mobile phone 10, the risk of information leaking in the event of loss is reduced.

  In this embodiment, the case of browsing the Web page of the external Web server 30 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to the case of browsing information on a data server on an intranet in a company. In this case, the processing server and the data server may be the same.

  Needless to say, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Mobile phone, 11, 21, 31 ... Communication part, 12, 22 ... Processing part, 14 ... Input part, 15 ... Location information acquisition part, 16 ... ROM, 17 ... Cache memory, 20 ... Processing server, 23 ... Image Conversion unit, 24 ... UI information analysis unit, 25 ... Database, 26 ... Mobile information determination unit, 27 ... Radio wave status determination unit, 30 ... Web server, 40 ... Mobile phone network, 42 ... Base station, 50 ... Internet

Claims (12)

In a browser system comprising a server and a portable terminal that communicates with the server and browses desired information,
The server
First receiving means for receiving information indicating a designated browser area of a page designated by a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) from the portable terminal;
Out-of-range prediction means for predicting that the mobile terminal is out of communication range;
When the mobile terminal is predicted to be out of communication range by the out-of-communication prediction means, a browser area prediction means for predicting a browser area that the user will browse afterwards,
A distribution unit that converts a corresponding browser area into an image based on the received information indicating the browser area and distributes the image to the mobile terminal, wherein the mobile terminal is predicted to be out of the communication range by the out-of-communication prediction unit The browser area predicted by the browser area prediction means is converted into an image, and delivery means for delivering the image to the mobile terminal,
The portable terminal is
Second receiving means for receiving an image of the browser area from the distribution means;
Temporary storage means for temporarily storing an image of the browser area distributed by the distribution means as a cache;
Input means for accepting designation of the browser area of the page designated by the URL;
Transmitting means for transmitting information indicating the browser area input by the input means to the server;
When the mobile terminal is in a communication area, an image of the browser area information is acquired from the server based on the input information indicating the browser area, and when the mobile terminal is out of a communication area, the input Image acquisition means for acquiring an image of the browser area information from the temporary storage means based on the information indicating the browser area,
Display means for displaying an image of the browser area acquired by the image acquisition means,
The browser area is one or a plurality of areas of divided areas obtained by dividing the entire page including the browser area into a plurality of areas,
The distribution means converts the designated browser area into an image for distribution, and when the out-of-communication-area predicting means predicts that the mobile terminal is out of the communication area, a browser in the vicinity of the designated browser area A browser system characterized by converting an area into an image and delivering it. The portable terminal has position information acquisition means for acquiring the position of the portable terminal, and the transmission means transmits the acquired position information to the server,
The out-of-communication prediction means of the server has map information storage means for storing map information indicating an out-of-communication area, and a history of the location information of the mobile terminal received through the first receiving means, The browser system according to claim 1, wherein the mobile terminal is predicted to be out of communication range based on map information stored in a map information storage unit. The out-of-communication prediction means of the server has means for predicting a time during which the mobile terminal stays outside the communication area based on a history of position information of the mobile terminal and map information stored in the map information storage means. And
The browser area prediction unit determines an image amount of a browser area to be stored as a cache in the temporary holding unit according to the predicted stay time outside the communication range, and the image amount of the browser area image to be predicted is The browser system according to claim 1, wherein prediction is performed so that the determined image amount is obtained.   The out-of-communication-prediction means has base station position acquisition means for acquiring the position of a base station used when the mobile terminal communicates with the server, and the position of the base station acquired by the base station position acquisition means The browser system according to claim 1, wherein the mobile terminal is predicted to be out of a communication range based on the above.   The out-of-communication-prediction means is configured such that when the radio wave intensity during communication between the portable terminal and the server falls below a preset threshold value, or the time when the radio wave intensity falls below the preset threshold value exceeds a certain time. The browser system according to claim 1, wherein the mobile terminal predicts that the mobile terminal is out of a communication range when the mobile terminal is disconnected.   After the predicted image of the browser area is stored in the temporary storage unit, if the mobile terminal is in the communication range and the mobile terminal is not predicted to be out of the communication range by the out-of-communication range prediction unit, 6. The browser system according to claim 1, further comprising a deletion unit that deletes the image of the predicted browser area stored in the storage unit.   The image size of one divided area obtained by dividing the entire page into a plurality of areas is a size corresponding to a display size of a display unit of the mobile terminal. Browser system. An image of one divided area obtained by dividing the entire page into a plurality of areas is set as one cache image,
The out-of-communicating prediction means obtains a predetermined number of cache images acquired in the scanning order from the currently viewed divided area toward the lower left divided area when the page is being viewed at the maximum magnification. The browser system according to claim 7, wherein the browser area is predicted as a browser area that the user will browse. An image of one divided area obtained by dividing the entire page into a plurality of areas is set as one cache image,
The out-of-communicating-area predicting unit obtains a predetermined number of sheets acquired in the order of scanning from the upper left divided area to the lower left divided area among the currently read divided areas when the page is being viewed at a low magnification. The browser system according to claim 7, wherein the cache image is predicted as a browser area that the user will browse. An image of one divided area obtained by dividing the entire page into a plurality of areas is set as one cache image,
The out-of-communication-area predicting unit predicts a predetermined number of cache images acquired from the divided areas other than the already viewed divided areas in the page as browser areas that the user will browse. Item 8. The browser system according to Item 7. An image of one divided area obtained by dividing the entire page into a plurality of areas is set as one cache image,
The out-of-communicating-area predicting unit is configured as a browser area in which a user will browse a predetermined number of cache images acquired from a currently viewed divided area in the page and a page having a large number of accesses from the page. The browser system according to claim 7, wherein prediction is performed.   When the image amount of the browser area to be stored as a cache in the temporary storage means exceeds a predetermined threshold, the distribution unit increases the image compression ratio of the browser area or reduces the number of colors The browser system according to claim 3, wherein the image is distributed.