JP2013003736A - Information processing device, information processing method and information processing program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information processing device etc. capable of acquiring an application suitable for a user by performing analysis of an activation history of basic function applications, while reducing a server load.SOLUTION: An information processing device comprises: an application activation history DB 23 for storing information including activation information of basic function applications; an application retrieval key generation part 27 for generating a retrieval key for retrieving a recommendation application on the basis of the information about the basic function applications stored in the application activation history DB 23; an application retrieval part 28 for retrieving the recommendation application from an external server 200 on the basis of the retrieval key generated by the application retrieval key generation part 27; a display operation part 25 for presenting the recommendation application retrieved by the application retrieval part 28; and an application activation part 21 for activating the application.

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, and more particularly to a technique for presenting an available application program to a user.

  In recent devices such as mobile phone terminals and portable information terminals, various types of application programs are stored in advance in a storage device inside the device. Therefore, the function of the application can be realized by executing the designated application program by the computer inside the terminal. In the case of a terminal that can communicate with a network such as the Internet, an application program stored on the server side existing on the network may be activated on the server, and the terminal may operate as a client.

  By the way, generally, a plurality of types of application programs are preinstalled in a portable terminal in a state where they can be activated as basic function applications. Also, various application programs stored in a predetermined server on the network can be used on the terminal as an external application by downloading from the server to the terminal side.

  However, in order to use an external application required by the user, the user usually has to perform various search operations by repeating trial and error, find the target application on the network, and download it.

  As conventional techniques related to the present invention, techniques of Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 are known. Patent Document 1 proposes a technique for analyzing user operations on content in an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer and presenting content information suitable for the user's preference at a timing and method suitable for the user. Yes.

  Patent Document 2 proposes that business operators acquire and use customer information of users in order to provide better services and applications to various users. Specifically, the server extracts appropriate history information from the terminal on the user side via the history extraction agent, and provides services and applications that were not assumed by the user.

JP 2005-338932 A JP 2004-355376 A

  However, even when the prior arts of Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 are applied, it is not possible to provide an external application required by the user without a special search operation.

  In other words, the technique of Patent Document 1 does not consider the user characteristics for each application, but merely presents content information at a timing and method suitable for the user. I couldn't.

  Further, in the technique of Patent Document 2, since information analysis and search are all performed on the server side, the server load is large. In addition, the basic function application information of the mobile terminal cannot be fully utilized.

  The present invention provides an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and an information processing program capable of analyzing an activation history using a basic function application and acquiring an application suitable for a user while reducing a server load. The purpose is to do.

  An information processing apparatus according to the present invention includes an application information storage unit that stores information including activation information of preset basic function applications, and a new information based on the basic function application information stored by the application information storage unit. A search key generation unit that generates a search key for searching for an application, an application search unit that searches for the new application from an external server based on the search key generated by the search key generation unit, and the application search A presentation unit that presents the new application searched by the unit, and an application activation unit that activates the application.

  According to this configuration, based on the basic function application activation information preset in the information processing apparatus, the information processing apparatus performs appropriate search processing to acquire information on a new target application, and this information is acquired by the user. Can be presented. In other words, since the activation history for each basic function application can be used, for example, a new application related to a specific basic function application frequently used by the user can be found. As described above, it is possible to analyze the activation history using the basic function application while reducing the server load, and obtain an application suitable for the user.

  The information processing method of the present invention is an information processing method in the information processing apparatus, and information on the basic function application stored by an application information storage unit that stores information including activation information of preset basic function applications. A search key for searching for a new application based on the search key, a search for an application search unit for the new application from an external server based on the generated search key, and the search A step of presenting the new application by the presenting unit, and a step of starting the application.

  According to this method, based on the basic function application activation information preset in the information processing apparatus, the information processing apparatus performs appropriate search processing to acquire information on a new target application, and this information is acquired by the user. Can be presented. In other words, since the activation history for each basic function application can be used, for example, a new application related to a specific basic function application frequently used by the user can be found. As described above, it is possible to analyze the activation history using the basic function application while reducing the server load, and obtain an application suitable for the user.

  Moreover, the information processing program of this invention is a program for making a computer perform each step of the said information processing method.

  According to this information processing program, the information processing device performs appropriate search processing based on the basic function application activation information preset in the information processing device to obtain information on the desired new application. Can be presented to the user. In other words, since the activation history for each basic function application can be used, for example, a new application related to a specific basic function application frequently used by the user can be found. As described above, it is possible to analyze the activation history using the basic function application while reducing the server load, and obtain an application suitable for the user.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to analyze an activation history using a basic function application and obtain an application suitable for the user while reducing the server load.

The block diagram which shows the structural example of the information processing apparatus in embodiment of this invention The figure which shows the structural example of application starting log | history DB in embodiment of this invention The flowchart which shows the operation example of the application log | history management part in embodiment of this invention. The schematic diagram which shows the example of a display of the display screen in embodiment of this invention The flowchart which shows the 1st operation example of the information processing apparatus at the time of the search start condition establishment in embodiment of this invention The flowchart which shows the 2nd example of operation | movement of the information processing apparatus at the time of search start condition establishment in embodiment of this invention The flowchart which shows the 3rd operation example of the information processing apparatus at the time of the search start condition establishment in embodiment of this invention The flowchart which shows the 4th operation example of the information processing apparatus at the time of the search start condition establishment in embodiment of this invention The schematic diagram which shows the example of a state transition of the display screen in embodiment of this invention The schematic diagram which shows the structural example of the operation menu in embodiment of this invention

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

  An example of the functional configuration of the information processing apparatus 100 in the present embodiment is shown in FIG. Note that the information processing apparatus 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 is used as a portable terminal such as a portable information terminal or a cellular phone terminal. That is, the mobile terminal is an example of the information processing apparatus 100. The entity of the information processing apparatus 100 is assumed to be configured by hardware such as a microcomputer (not shown) mounted on the information processing apparatus 100 and a program prepared in advance that can be executed by the microcomputer. The

  As shown in FIG. 1, the information processing apparatus 100 includes an application storage unit 10, an application activation unit 21, an application history management unit 22, an application activation history DB (database) 23, an application selection menu unit 24, a display operation unit 25, A timer 26, an application search key generation unit 27, an application search unit 28, and a recommended application information storage unit 30 are provided.

  In this specification, the notation “application” has the same meaning as “application”. That is, the “application” or “application” is configured by software that can be used to realize a specific function, generally a program that can be executed by a computer, and data associated therewith. The main body of each “application” or “application” may be executed on the information processing apparatus 100 or may be executed on the external server side, but according to an instruction on the information processing apparatus 100 side. It is activated.

  The application storage unit 10 of the information processing apparatus 100 is configured by a nonvolatile storage device, and includes a preset application storage area 11 and an external application storage area 12 as illustrated in FIG.

  The preset application storage area 11 holds software (preset applications) of various applications that are pre-installed (preset) on the information processing apparatus 100 as basic function applications. As specific examples of such basic function applications, a voice call function (TEL), a still image or moving image shooting function (camera), a WEB browsing function, an alarm function, a scheduler function, a calculator function, and the like are assumed.

  The external application storage area 12 holds external application software incorporated in the information processing apparatus 100 as needed after the information processing apparatus 100 acquires the application. That is, since there is an external server 200 capable of providing various external application software on a network such as the Internet, the communication unit of the information processing apparatus 100 accesses the external server 200 to access the external application (new Application). However, since there are usually many external applications on the network, it is usually necessary to perform a search operation in order to acquire a specific external application that is actually required.

  Thus, the communication unit has a function as an application acquisition unit that acquires an application. This communication unit is, for example, a part of the application search unit.

  The application activation unit 21 activates an application (a preset application or an external application) specified from among various applications stored in the application storage unit 10 according to a user input operation or by satisfying a predetermined condition. To do.

  The application history management unit 22 constantly monitors the state of the application activation unit 21 and manages information representing the activation status and usage status history of each application held in the application storage unit 10. The history information managed by the application history management unit 22 is accumulated in the application activation history DB 23.

  The application selection menu unit 24 provides the user with various operation menus related to selection of an application to be activated, and executes a specified function in accordance with a user input operation via the display operation unit 25. For example, according to an input operation to the display operation unit 25, a recommended application displayed on the display operation unit 25 is selected, or an application to be activated by the application activation unit 21 is selected.

The display operation unit 25 includes a display unit configured by a liquid crystal display panel and the like, and a touch panel arranged on the display screen of the display unit. For example, the display device unit 25 graphically displays various icons and menu items that can accept input operations according to the situation on the display screen of the display unit. Then, the operated icon or menu item is specified from the correspondence between the operation position on the touch panel and the display position of each icon. That is, the display operation unit 25 provides an interface function between the information processing apparatus 100 and the user.
The operation for specifying an icon or menu item may be an operation provided in the information processing apparatus 100 for moving the pointer using a key and specifying the key and the pointer.

  The timer 26 always counts time and outputs information on the current time. The time information output by the timer 26 is used by the application history management unit 22 and the application search key generation unit 27.

  The application search key generation unit 27 generates information on a search key (search condition) necessary for searching for an appropriate external application. In the present embodiment, since the search key is generated using the information accumulated in the application activation history DB 23, it is possible to search for an external application suitable for the user who uses the information processing apparatus 100. As described above, the application search key generation unit 27 generates a search key for searching for a new application based on the basic function application information stored in the application activation history DB 23.

  The application search unit 28 accesses a predetermined external server 200 and searches for an external application. In other words, the application search unit 28 includes a function for the information processing apparatus 100 to connect to a network such as the Internet, a function to communicate with the external server 200 existing as a specific site, a function to execute an application search, and the like. ing. In the present embodiment, the application search unit 28 performs a search using the search key generated by the application search key generation unit 27. As described above, the application search unit 28 searches for a new application from the external server 200 based on the search key generated by the application search key generation unit 27.

  The recommended application information storage unit 30 holds information regarding external applications that should be presented to the user as recommended applications. The recommended application information stored in the recommended application information storage unit 30 represents the search result of the application search unit 28 based on the search key generated by the application search key generation unit 27 or the result of further narrowing down the search result. is there.

Next, details of the application activation history DB 23 will be described.
A specific configuration example regarding the contents of the application activation history DB 23 is shown in FIG. In the example shown in FIG. 2, for each of various applications, an area for holding information on an application name, an application type, the number of activations, a usage time, and an activation time is provided.

  Here, “application name” represents a name assigned in advance to the corresponding application. The “application type” represents a type assigned in advance to the corresponding application. The “application type” includes “call”, “photo / camera”, “Internet”, “time management”, “diary”, “calculation”, and the like.

  The “number of activations” represents the number of times the corresponding application has been activated so far (in the past). “Usage time” represents a cumulative value of the length of time the corresponding application has been operating in the past.

  “Startup time” represents the time when the corresponding application is started. Also, when each application is started multiple times, information on the number of startups at each time is accumulated, and based on the result, the time with the highest number of startups is set as the final "startup time" to start the application You may hold | maintain in log | history DB23.

  Note that the activation history registered in the application activation history DB 23 is not limited to the activation history of the basic function application, and the activation history of the external application is similarly accumulated. That is, when a usable external application downloaded from the external server 200 to the information processing apparatus 100 and stored in the external application storage area 12 of the application storage unit 10 is activated, the activation history of the external application is displayed as the application activation. Added to the history DB 23.

  As described above, the application activation history DB 23 as the application storage unit stores information including activation information of basic function applications preset in the information processing apparatus 100. In addition, the basic function application information and the acquired application information are stored. By using information on the activation history of basic function applications, it is possible to easily search for external applications to be recommended. Further, since the search key itself is created by the information processing apparatus 100 and activation information is not transmitted to the external server 200, personal activation information as personal information can be protected without leakage.

  Next, an operation example of the application history management unit 22 will be described.

  An outline of the operation of the application history management unit 22 is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, in step S <b> 11, the application history management unit 22 constantly monitors the application activation unit 21 for activation instructions. In step S12, when the application history management unit 22 recognizes the occurrence of the start instruction, the process proceeds to step S13.

  In step S <b> 13, the application history management unit 22 identifies an application whose activation is instructed by the display operation unit 25 or the like, manages information regarding the identified application, and registers the result in the application activation history DB 23. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, information such as the number of activations, usage time, and activation time is managed in association with the application name of the corresponding application.

  The start time information is acquired as the current time output by the timer 26 when a start instruction is generated. For example, the activation time is managed as information of one hour unit.

  The usage time information is calculated by adding the length of the operation time from the start time of the corresponding application until the end instruction is generated to the previous (previous) start time. Instead of this accumulated value, a value of usage time per fixed period (one week, one day, etc.) may be registered in the application activation history DB 23.

  Next, a screen display example of the display operation unit 25 will be described.

  A specific display example on the display screen of the display operation unit 25 is shown in FIG. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the display screen is divided into three areas A1, A2, and A3.

  In the area A1 in the display screen of FIG. 4, nine icons IC11 to IC19 associated with each of nine independent basic function applications are arranged and displayed at equal intervals. In this example, the basic function application of the voice call function (TEL) is assigned to “application 1” corresponding to the first icon IC11. Further, a basic function application of a still image or video shooting function (camera) is assigned to “application 2” corresponding to the second icon IC12. Also, a basic function application of the WEB browsing function is assigned to “application 3” corresponding to the third icon IC13. Further, a basic function application of the alarm function is assigned to “application 4” corresponding to the fourth icon IC14. Further, a basic function application of the scheduler function is assigned to “application 5” corresponding to the fifth icon IC15. Further, a basic function application of the calculator function is assigned to “application 6” corresponding to the sixth icon IC16. The number of icons and the arrangement method are not limited to this.

  Therefore, for example, when the position of the pointer P1 displayed on this display screen is moved by the display operation unit 25 and the pointer P1 is superimposed on the icon IC12 as shown in FIG. The basic function application (application 2) can be started.

  In the area A2 on the display screen of FIG. 4, three icons IC21 to IC23 corresponding to each of the three external applications are displayed at equal intervals. The three external applications displayed as icons IC21 to IC23 in this area A2 correspond to, for example, recommended applications obtained as a result of the search in step S27 of FIG. The number of icons and the arrangement method are not limited to this.

  Further, in the area A3 in the display screen of FIG. 4, the icon IC31 of the “pointer narrowing ON / OFF” button, the icon IC32 of the “free application priority ON / OFF” button, and the icon IC33 of the “application recommendation area OFF” button And are displayed.

  The “pointer narrowing ON / OFF” button is used to switch on / off a “pointer narrowing mode” that preferentially presents an application corresponding to an icon pointed to by a pointer with a recommended application. The “free application priority ON / OFF” button is used to switch to a “free application priority mode” that preferentially presents external applications that can be used free of charge. The “application recommendation area OFF” button is used for switching on / off the display of the recommended application in the area A2.

  As described above, the display operation unit 25 presents an icon as information for setting the priority when the search key is generated by the application search key generation unit 27 or when the recommended application is presented by the display operation unit 25. . As a result, the user can switch the condition of the application with the high priority that he needs.

  Next, an operation example of the information processing apparatus 100 when the application search start condition is satisfied will be described.

  FIG. 5 shows a first operation example of the information processing apparatus 100 when the search start condition is satisfied.

  When a predetermined application search start condition is satisfied, the process proceeds to step S21 in FIG. For example, when an input operation for starting an application search is performed by the display operation unit 25, an application search start condition is satisfied every time a predetermined time elapses or at a specified time.

  In step S21, the application search key generation unit 27 identifies whether or not the “pointer narrowing mode” is on. If it is on, the process proceeds to step S24, and if it is off, the process proceeds to step S22.

  Note that the “pointer narrowing mode” can be switched on and off alternately by the user operating the icon IC31 of the pong narrowing ON / OFF button in the display screen shown in FIG. 4 via the touch panel.

  In step S22, the application search key generation unit 27 refers to the contents of the application activation history DB 23 via the application history management unit 22, and identifies an application type with a high activation frequency among a plurality of applications. Here, the high activation frequency means that the activation frequency is greater than or equal to a predetermined value or the maximum, and the usage time stored in the application activation history DB 23 is longer or longer than the predetermined time, or the activation frequency is greater than the predetermined frequency. Is also the most or most.

  For example, the application search key generation unit 27 has one application with the longest “usage time” and one with the largest “number of activations” among the applications existing in the preset application storage area 11 and the external application storage area 12. Identify the application. Then, the application search key generation unit 27 includes information on “application type” assigned to the application having the longest “usage time”, information on “application type” assigned to the application having the largest “number of activations”, and Is identified. Note that only one of the application type of the application with the longest use time and the application type of the application with the largest number of activations may be specified.

  In step S23, the application search key generation unit 27 adds the “application type” specified in step S22 to the search condition. That is, a search key including the “application type” specified in step S22 is generated as a search key for searching the external server 200 for a specific external application that is likely to be useful to the user of the information processing apparatus 100.

  In other words, it is considered that this application is likely to be used for the application of the same type as the application with the highest “number of activations” or the application with the longest “usage time”. .

  In step S24, the application search key generation unit 27 acquires information indicating the current position (coordinates) of the pointer displayed on the display screen, and identifies one application assigned to this position. As shown in FIG. 4, since a plurality of icons associated with each of a plurality of applications are displayed on the display screen of the display operation unit 25, the position of the pointer is moved on the display screen by the display operation unit 25. Can point to any one icon and select it. That is, the specific application corresponding to the icon selected by the user is determined in step S24.

  In step S25, the application search key generation unit 27 refers to the data registered in the application activation history DB 23 by the application history management unit 22, and acquires the “application type” information of the application specified in step S24.

  In step S26, the application search key generation unit 27 adds the “application type” specified in step S25 to the search condition. That is, a search key including the “application type” of the application corresponding to the position of the pointer is used as a search key for searching the external server 200 for a specific external application that is likely to be useful to the user of the information processing apparatus 100. Generate.

  In other words, the external application of the same type as the application last started by the user or the application specified by the user's input operation is considered to be highly likely to be used by this user. And

  In step S27, the application search key generation unit 27 sends the search key information generated in step S23 or S26 to the application search unit 28, and the application search unit 28 executes a search process. That is, the application search unit 28 accesses an external server 200 existing on the Internet or the like via a predetermined network, and uses a specific application (recommended application) from a number of external applications using the search key. Send instructions to search for. This instruction includes search key information.

  The external server 200 performs a search based on the search key generated by the information processing apparatus 100 from among a large number of external apps stored in the external server 200, and processes information of recommended apps that represent the results. Notify the device 100. The recommended application information storage unit 30 of the information processing apparatus 100 stores information on recommended applications that are search results of the application search unit 28. Further, the display operation unit 25 displays information on the recommended application.

  In step S <b> 28, the display operation unit 25 displays the recommended application information held in the recommended application information storage unit 30 as a search result on the display screen together with the basic function application information. As described above, the display operation unit 25 presents a new application shown as the recommended application searched by the application search unit 28. Note that the display of basic function application information in the present embodiment corresponds to displaying information stored in the application storage unit 10, so that the basic function application and an external application that has already been acquired are displayed. Including.

  In the operation example shown in FIG. 5, the operation of the pointer narrowing mode is realized by the application search key generation unit 27. However, the same operation may be realized by the application selection menu unit 24 and the display operation unit 25. . That is, the search may be performed without considering the application type corresponding to the icon corresponding to the pointer position at the time of search, and may be narrowed down according to the pointer position when displayed as a recommended application on the display screen.

  As described above, the information processing apparatus 100 includes the touch panel arranged in the display operation unit 25 as a presentation unit, and at least one of the application search key generation unit 27 and the display operation unit 25 is when the pointer narrowing mode is on. Based on the type of specific application associated with the touched area on the touch panel, the search target or presentation target application is limited.

  Thereby, the external application displayed on the display screen as the recommended application can be easily narrowed down according to the user's instruction. For example, only the basic function application last used by the user or the same type of application as the basic function application currently in use can be extracted preferentially from a number of external applications and presented as a recommended application.

  In addition, at least one of the application search key generation unit 27 and the display operation unit 25 is a search target or a presentation target based on the type of application having a start frequency of a predetermined value or higher among the applications stored in the application start history DB 23. Limit applications.

  Thereby, it is possible to preferentially search or present only an external application of the same type as an application that is frequently started by the user or an application that has been used for a long time.

  Next, a second operation example of the information processing apparatus 100 when the search start condition is satisfied is shown in FIG. The contents of steps S21 to S27 shown in FIG. 6 are the same as steps S21 to S27 of FIG.

  After the process of step S27 of FIG. 6, in step S29, the display operation unit 25 identifies ON / OFF of the “free application priority mode”. If the “free application priority mode” is on, the process proceeds to step S30, and if it is off, the process proceeds to step S28.

  As for the “free application priority mode”, for example, when the user operates the icon IC 32 of the “free application priority ON / OFF” button in the display screen shown in FIG. be able to.

  In step S <b> 30, the application selection menu unit 24 distinguishes between paid / free attributes of the attributes of each external application that are search results of the application search unit 28 held in the recommended application information storage unit 30. Then, the recommended application information storage unit 30 holds only free applications excluding paid applications as recommended applications.

  In other words, when the “free application priority mode” is on, only the free application is a recommended application, and when it is off, all search results are recommended applications regardless of whether paid or free. Accordingly, the content displayed on the display screen of the display operation unit 25 in step S28 of FIG. 6 is switched according to the on / off of the “free application priority mode”. That is, when the “free application priority mode” is on, a paid external application is not displayed, and only the free application is preferentially displayed as a recommended application.

  In the operation example shown in FIG. 6, the process according to the on / off state of the “free application priority mode” is applied to the search result in step S27. However, the process can be applied when executing the search. is there. In other words, the search key generated by the application search key generation unit 27 may include information for distinguishing between pay / free. Thereby, since the number of applications to be acquired is reduced, the network load can be reduced.

  As described above, at least one of the application search key generation unit 27 and the display operation unit 25 distinguishes between an application having a free attribute and an application having a paid attribute, and an application having a free attribute is searched or presented. Limited as an application. Thereby, the user can acquire and use a required external application without worrying about the usage fee of the application.

  Next, FIG. 7 shows a third operation example of the information processing apparatus 100 when the search start condition is satisfied. FIG. 9 shows an example of the state transition of the display screen when the operation of FIG. 7 is performed. The contents of steps S21 to S27 shown in FIG. 7 are the same as steps S21 to S27 of FIG.

  In a state where the operation menu such as the display screen V0 shown in FIG. 9 is displayed, the user switches the display mode included in the “application recommendation function” by the application selection menu unit 24 via the display operation unit 25. That is, the application selection menu unit 24 designates any one of “application recommendation display area display ON”, “application recommendation display area display OFF”, “recommended application list”, and the like, which exist as selection items of “application recommendation function”. To do.

  After the process of step S27 of FIG. 7, in step S31, the application selection menu unit 24 identifies whether or not the “recommended application list” display mode is specified, and “recommended application list” is specified. Advances to step S32, and if not specified, advances to step S33.

  In step S32, the display operation unit 25 uses an almost entire area of the display screen as in the display screen V3 shown in FIG. 9, for example, and a group of icons each of which includes a list of recommended apps associated with each recommended app. Is displayed.

  In step S33, the application selection menu unit 24 identifies whether “application recommendation display area display ON” is designated or “application recommendation display area display OFF” is designated. If “application recommendation display area display ON” is designated, the process proceeds to step S28, and if “application recommendation display area display OFF” is designated, the process proceeds to step S34.

  In step S28, the display operation unit 25 displays both an icon group for starting the basic function application and an icon group representing the recommended application of the search result, as in the display screen V1 shown in FIG. If there is an acquired external application, the acquired external application is also displayed together with the basic function application.

  In step S34, the display operation unit 25 does not display the area for displaying the recommended application (corresponding to the area A2 in FIG. 5) like the display screen V2 shown in FIG. The area A2 for displaying the icon of the external application is expanded and displayed. That is, the recommended application is not displayed, and only the application held by the information processing apparatus 100 is displayed on the display screen. If there is an acquired external application, the acquired external application is also displayed together with the basic function application.

  That is, the display operation unit 25 displays the first display mode for displaying at least one of the basic function application and the acquired application and the recommended application as the display mode for displaying the application, the basic function application, and the acquired application. A second display mode for displaying only on at least one of the applications; and a third display mode for displaying only on the recommended application. Thereby, the user can display the basic function application and the recommended application in a desired form.

  Next, FIG. 8 shows a fourth operation example of the information processing apparatus 100 when the search start condition is satisfied. The contents of steps S21 to S27 shown in FIG. 8 are the same as the operation of FIG. 5 already described.

  After the process of step S27 in FIG. 8, in step S41, the application search key generation unit 27 acquires information on the current time from the timer 26.

  In step S42, the application search key generation unit 27 reflects the current time acquired in step S41 for the application with high activation frequency searched from the application activation history DB 23. That is, the application search key generation unit 27 selects an application whose “start time” stored in the application start history DB 23 belongs to a predetermined time zone including the current time as a candidate. For example, if the current time is “9:35”, the application search key generation unit 27 selects an application whose “startup time” belongs to the time zone “8:00 to 10:00” including the current time. Choose as. Then, among the candidate applications, the application with the longest “usage time” (the length of time is a predetermined time or more) and the application with the largest “number of start times” (a predetermined time or more) are identified as the applications with the high start frequency To do. Then, the application search key generation unit 27 specifies the “application type” information assigned to the application with a high activation frequency.

  Therefore, for example, when the time zone of “8:00 to 10:00” is used as the time zone to which the current time belongs, and the application activation history DB 23 has the contents shown in FIG. 2, the following processing is performed. . That is, an application with the application name “WEB” has a “launch time” of “9:00” and an “usage time” of “10000”, and the activation frequency is high. Specify “Internet” as “type”. In addition, the application having the application name “scheduler” is “10:00” in the “start time” and “70” in the “number of activations”, and the activation frequency is high. “Diary” that is “type” is specified. Further, the application search key generation unit 27 may give top priority to an application with a long usage time, or give top priority to an application with a large number of activations.

  In step S23 of FIG. 8, the application search key generation unit 27 adds the “application type” specified in step S42 to the search condition, and generates a search key according to the search condition. Accordingly, the search key can be determined so that an external application of the same application type as an application having a high activation frequency in the time zone to which the current time belongs is to be searched.

  In the example of operation shown in FIG. 8, the process according to the current time is applied to the search in step S42, but can be applied after the search is executed. That is, the display operation unit 25 may limit the applications presented based on the current time with respect to the search results searched by the application search unit 28 without considering the current time.

  As described above, the information processing apparatus 100 includes the timer 26 that measures the current time, and at least one of the application search key generation unit 27 and the display operation unit 25 is timed by the timer 26 that is stored in the application activation history DB 23. The application to be searched or presented is limited based on the type of application whose activation frequency at a time approximate to the current time is equal to or higher than a predetermined frequency. This makes it possible to present only a more appropriate type of recommended app to the user in consideration of the time zone of the current time.

  Note that the information processing apparatus 100 may perform an operation combining the above first to fourth operation examples.

  Next, the timing for searching for recommended applications will be described.

  A configuration example of the display screen and the operation menu of the information processing apparatus 100 is shown in FIG. Among the items (submenu items) that can be selected in the “application recommendation function” included in the operation menu shown in the display screen V10 of FIG. 10, an “application recommendation search designation” menu is included. In addition, the sub-menu of “application recommendation search designation” includes “search once a day (8:00)”, “search once a day (16:00)”, “search twice a day (8:00) , 16:00) ”,“ search once a week (Monday, 8:00) ”,...,“ Instant search ”, and the like. Therefore, by operating this menu via the display operation unit 25, the application selection menu unit 24 can designate any one search method as necessary.

  For example, if “twice a day search (8:00, 16:00)” is designated, the search start condition is satisfied every day at the predesignated times (8:00 and 16:00), The information processing apparatus 100 performs operations as shown in FIGS. 5, 6, 7, and 8. When “immediate search” is designated, the search start condition is satisfied immediately after that, and the information processing apparatus 100 immediately starts the operations shown in FIGS. 5, 6, 7, and 8.

  As described above, the information processing apparatus 100 includes the application selection menu unit 24 as a timing setting unit that sets the timing for searching for a recommended application. As a result, a search can be started at a pre-specified time, and a recommended app can be searched as a background process regardless of the user's operation, and a recommended app can be presented to the user. become.

  Note that the recommended application presented to the user can be downloaded from the external server 200 by operating the icon corresponding to the recommended application from the display operation unit 25 and executed by the application activation unit 21.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Application memory | storage part 11 Preset application memory area 12 External application memory area 21 Application starting part 22 Application history management part 23 Application starting history DB
24 application selection menu unit 25 display operation unit 26 timer 27 application search key generation unit 28 application search unit 30 recommended application information storage unit 100 information processing device 200 external server

Claims (11)

An application information storage unit that stores information including activation information of preset basic function applications;
A search key generation unit that generates a search key for searching for a new application based on the information of the basic function application stored by the application information storage unit;
An application search unit for searching for the new application from an external server based on the search key generated by the search key generation unit;
A presentation unit for presenting the new application searched by the application search unit;
An application launcher that launches the application;
An information processing apparatus comprising: The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:
It has an application acquisition unit that acquires applications,
The application information storage unit stores information on the application acquired by the application acquisition unit together with information on the basic function application. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:
A touch panel disposed on the display unit as the presentation unit,
An information processing apparatus in which at least one of the search key generation unit and the presentation unit limits a search target or a presentation target application based on a specific application type associated with the touched area on the touch panel. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
At least one of the search key generation unit and the presentation unit limits the application to be searched or presented based on the type of the application whose activation frequency is greater than or equal to a predetermined value among the applications stored in the application information storage unit Information processing apparatus. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising:
It has a timer to keep the current time,
At least one of the search key generation unit and the presentation unit is set to an application type stored in the application information storage unit and whose activation frequency at a time approximate to the current time measured by the timer is equal to or higher than a predetermined frequency. An information processing apparatus that limits applications to be searched or presented based on the information. An information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The presenting unit is an information processing apparatus that presents information for setting a priority when the search key generating unit generates the search key or when the presenting unit presents the new application. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6,
Information in which at least one of the search key generation unit and the presentation unit distinguishes between an application having a free attribute and an application having a paid attribute and limiting an application having a free attribute as an application to be searched or presented Processing equipment. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The display unit displays, as a display mode for displaying an application, a first display mode for displaying at least one of the basic function application and the acquired application and the recommended application, the basic function application, and the acquired application An information processing apparatus comprising: a second display mode for displaying only at least one of the applications; and a third display mode for displaying only for the recommended application. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:
An information processing apparatus comprising a search timing setting unit for setting a timing for searching for the new application. An information processing method in an information processing apparatus,
Generating a search key for searching for a new application based on the basic function application information stored by the application information storage unit that stores information including activation information of preset basic function applications;
Searching the new application from an external server by an application search unit based on the generated search key;
Presenting the retrieved new application by a presentation unit;
Launching the application; and
An information processing method comprising:   An information processing program for causing a computer to execute each step of the information processing method according to claim 10.

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