JP2014036410A - Mobile terminal device, program, and control method of mobile terminal device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mobile terminal device which can suppress consumption of a battery without requiring any trouble to a user.SOLUTION: A mobile phone 1 has a communication section 19 for performing data communication with other devices. Each application performs background communication in the state where the application runs in the background. The mobile phone 1 has: a determination section 21 which determines whether or not a determination condition for regarding the background communication as unnecessary is satisfied, for each application; and a setting switching section 22 which switches communication settings from ON-setting in which background communication is permitted to OFF-setting in which background communication is limited, for the application which satisfies the determination condition.

Description

  The present invention relates to a mobile terminal device such as a mobile phone, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a tablet PC (Tablet PC), and an electronic book terminal. The present invention also relates to a program and a control method suitable for use in such a mobile terminal device.

  In recent years, a mobile terminal device such as a mobile phone can simultaneously execute a plurality of application programs (hereinafter simply referred to as “applications”) (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In such a portable terminal device, the execution screen is not displayed on the display surface, and the application is executed in a state that is not the user's operation target, that is, in the application executed in the background, for data update or the like, Data communication is periodically performed with an external communication device. When the amount of data communication performed in the background (hereinafter referred to as “background communication”) increases, power consumption increases, and thus the battery of the mobile terminal device tends to be consumed.

  By turning off the background communication setting for applications that do not require data update or the like, battery consumption can be suppressed.

JP 2009-289039 A

  However, in the conventional portable terminal device, the user must manually perform an operation of switching the background communication setting from on to off for each application. Such an operation is troublesome for the user.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides a mobile terminal device, a program, and a control method for the mobile terminal device that can suppress battery consumption without requiring the user to take time and effort.

  A first aspect of the present invention relates to a mobile terminal device that includes a communication unit that performs data communication with another device, and that performs the data communication in a state where each application is executed in the background. The mobile terminal device according to this aspect includes a determination unit that determines whether or not a determination condition for considering that the data communication is unnecessary for each of the applications, and the application that satisfies the determination condition A setting switching unit that switches the communication setting from an on setting that permits the data communication to an off setting that restricts the data communication.

  In the mobile terminal device according to this aspect, the determination unit may be configured to determine that the determination condition is satisfied when the application has not been activated in the foreground for a specified period or longer.

  When it is set as such a structure, it can be set as the structure further provided with the period extension part which extends the said regulation period based on the power supply of the said portable terminal device being turned off.

  In the mobile terminal device according to this aspect, the determination unit may be configured to determine that the determination condition is satisfied when the number of activations of the application in the foreground within a specified period is less than the specified number.

  When it is set as such a structure, it can be set as the structure further provided with the period extension part which extends the said regulation period based on the power supply of the said portable terminal device being turned off.

  The mobile terminal device according to this aspect may be configured to further include a storage unit that stores exclusion information indicating that it is set as an exclusion target in association with the application set as the exclusion target. In this case, the setting switching unit switches the communication setting from the on setting to the off setting when the determination condition is satisfied for the application that is not set as an exclusion target.

  When it is set as such a structure, it may be set as the structure further provided with the exclusion setting part which sets the said application selected by the user's selection operation to the said exclusion object.

  In the mobile terminal device according to this aspect, the setting switching unit changes the communication setting from the off setting to the on setting when the application switched to the off setting based on the determination condition is started in the foreground. It can be set as the structure which switches.

  In the mobile terminal device according to this aspect, the setting switching unit starts from the off setting when the number of times the application that has been switched to the off setting based on the determination condition has been started in the foreground reaches a predetermined number of times. The communication setting may be switched to the on setting.

  In the mobile terminal device according to this aspect, the setting switching unit may be configured to switch from the off setting to the on for the application that is switched to the off setting based on the determination condition when the mobile terminal device is being charged. The configuration may be such that the communication setting is switched to the setting.

  In the mobile terminal device according to this aspect, the setting switching unit switches to the off setting based on the determination condition when the mobile terminal device is being charged and the current time is in a predetermined time zone. For the application, the communication setting may be switched from the off setting to the on setting.

  The mobile terminal device according to this aspect may be configured to further include a blocking control unit that blocks the data communication related to the advertisement information included in the application.

  A program according to a second aspect of the present invention includes a communication unit that performs data communication with another device, and each application is stored in a computer of a mobile terminal device that performs the data communication in a state of being executed in the background. A function for determining whether or not the determination condition for considering that the data communication is unnecessary is determined for each of the applications, and ON for permitting the data communication for the application that satisfies the determination condition. And a function of switching the communication setting from the setting to the off setting for restricting the data communication.

A third aspect of the present invention relates to a control method for a mobile terminal device that includes a communication unit that performs data communication with other devices, and that performs data communication in a state where each application is executed in the background. The portable terminal device according to this aspect includes, for each of the applications, determining whether or not the determination condition for considering the data communication as unnecessary is satisfied, and the application satisfying the determination condition Switching the communication setting from an on setting permitting the data communication to an off setting restricting the data communication.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a mobile terminal device, a program, and a control method for the mobile terminal device that can suppress battery consumption without requiring the user to spend time and effort.

  The effects and significance of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of embodiments. However, the following embodiment is merely an example when the present invention is implemented, and the present invention is not limited to what is described in the following embodiment.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the mobile telephone based on Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the whole structure of the mobile telephone based on Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the communication setting database based on embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the automatic removal process and automatic restart process of background communication based on embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the temporary restart process of background communication based on Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the communication setting database based on the example 1 of a change. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the automatic removal process and automatic restart process of background communication based on the example 1 of a change. 10 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a mobile phone according to a modification example 2. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the OFF time memory | storage process based on the example 2 of a change, and a regulation period extension process. 12 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a mobile phone according to a modification example 3. FIG. It is a figure which shows the process sequence of the exclusion setting process based on the example 3, and a figure which shows an example of the exclusion object setting screen displayed on a display surface in an exclusion setting process. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of background communication temporary restart processing according to a modification example 4; It is a figure which shows an example of the notification window displayed on a display surface based on the example 4 of a change. 10 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a mobile phone according to Modification Example 5. FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the advertisement block process based on the example 5 of a change. It is a figure which shows the structure of the communication setting database based on the other example of a change. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the automatic cancellation | release process of background communication based on the other example of a change.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of the mobile phone 1. FIGS. 1A and 1B are a front view and a rear view of the mobile phone 1, respectively.

  Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, as shown in FIG. 1, the longitudinal direction of the cabinet 2 is defined as the up-down direction, and the short direction of the cabinet 2 is defined as the left-right direction.

  The mobile phone 1 includes a cabinet 2, a display surface 3, a microphone 4, a call speaker 5, a key operation unit 6, a power key 7, and an external speaker 8.

  The cabinet 2 has a substantially rectangular shape when viewed from the front. A display surface 3 of a display unit 13 to be described later is arranged on the front surface of the cabinet 2. Various images (screens) are displayed on the display surface 3.

  Inside the cabinet 2, a microphone 4 is disposed at the lower end, and a call speaker 5 is disposed at the upper end. Audio is input to the microphone 4 through a microphone hole 4 a formed in the front of the cabinet 2. The microphone 4 generates an electrical signal corresponding to the input sound. Voice is output from the call speaker 5. The output sound is emitted to the outside through an output hole 5a formed in the front of the cabinet 2.

  A key operation unit 6 and a power key 7 are provided on the front surface of the cabinet 2. The key operation unit 6 includes a plurality of operation keys. Each operation key is assigned various functions for operating the program being executed. When the power key 7 is pressed while the mobile phone 1 is turned off, the mobile phone 1 is turned on. If the power key 7 is kept pressed for a predetermined time or more while the power of the mobile phone 1 is on, the power of the mobile phone 1 is turned off.

  An external speaker 8 is disposed inside the cabinet 2. An output hole 8 a corresponding to the external speaker 8 is formed on the back surface of the cabinet 2. Sound (sound, notification sound, etc.) output from the external speaker 8 is released to the outside through the output hole 8a.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the mobile phone 1. The mobile phone 1 includes a control unit 11, a storage unit 12, a display unit 13, a touch detection unit 14, a voice input unit 15, a voice output unit 16, a voice processing unit 17, a key input unit 18, A communication unit 19 and a power supply unit 20 are provided.

  The storage unit 12 includes a ROM, a RAM, an external memory, and the like. The storage unit 12 stores various programs. The program stored in the storage unit 12 includes various applications (for example, telephone, e-mail, map, game, schedule management, etc.) in addition to a control program for controlling each unit of the mobile phone 1. The program is stored in the storage unit 12 by the manufacturer when the mobile phone 1 is manufactured, and is also stored in the storage unit 12 by the user via a communication network or a storage medium.

  The storage unit 12 also includes a working area that stores data that is temporarily used or generated when the program is executed.

  The control unit 11 includes a CPU and the like. In accordance with the program, the control unit 11 is configured according to each program (storage unit 12, display unit 13, touch detection unit 14, voice input unit 15, voice output unit 16, voice processing unit 17, key input unit 18, communication unit, communication). Part 19 etc.).

  The display unit 13 includes a liquid crystal display or the like. The display unit 13 displays an image (screen) on the display surface 3 based on the control signal and the image signal from the control unit 11. The display unit 13 is not limited to a liquid crystal display, and may be composed of other display devices such as an organic EL display.

The touch detection unit 14 includes a touch panel that detects contact of a finger with the display surface 3. The touch panel is formed in a transparent sheet shape, covers the display surface 3, and is disposed in front of the cabinet 2. The touch panel may be a touch panel of various types such as a capacitance type, an ultrasonic type, a pressure sensitive type, a resistance film type, and a light detection type.

  The touch detection unit 14 detects a user touch on the display surface 3. That is, the touch detection unit 14 detects a position on the display surface 3 touched by the finger as an input position, and outputs a position signal corresponding to the detected input position to the control unit 11.

  The user can perform various touch operations by touching the display surface 3 with a finger. Examples of the touch operation include a tap operation, a flick operation, and a slide operation. The tap operation is an operation in which a finger is brought into contact with the display surface 3 and then released within a short time. The flick operation is an operation of flipping the display surface 3 with a finger in an arbitrary direction. The slide operation is an operation for moving the display screen 3 in an arbitrary direction while keeping a finger in contact with the display surface 3.

  The touch operation will be described more specifically. For example, after the input position on the display surface 3 is detected by the touch detection unit 14, when the input position is not detected within a predetermined first time, it is determined that the tap operation has been performed by the control unit 11. When the input position with respect to the display surface 3 is detected by the touch detection unit 14 and the input position is not detected after the input position is moved by a predetermined first distance within a predetermined second time, the control unit 11 It is determined that a flick operation has been performed. On the other hand, after the input position with respect to the display surface 3 is detected by the touch detection unit 14, when the input position moves by a predetermined second distance or more, it is determined that the slide operation has been performed by the control unit 11.

  The voice input unit 15 includes a microphone 4 and the like. The voice input unit 15 outputs an electrical signal from the microphone 4 to the voice processing unit 17.

  The audio output unit 16 includes a call speaker 5, an external speaker 8, and the like. The sound output unit 16 receives an electrical signal from the sound processing unit 17 and outputs sound (sound, notification sound, etc.) from the call speaker 5 or the external speaker 8.

  The audio processing unit 17 performs A / D conversion or the like on the electrical signal from the audio input unit 15 and outputs the converted digital audio signal to the control unit 11. The audio processing unit 17 performs decoding processing, D / A conversion, and the like on the digital audio signal from the control unit 11, and outputs the converted electric signal to the audio output unit 16.

  The key input unit 18 outputs a signal corresponding to the pressed operation key to the control unit 11 when each operation key of the key operation unit 6 is pressed.

  The communication unit 19 includes a circuit for converting a signal, an antenna for transmitting and receiving radio waves, and the like for performing communication and communication. The communication unit 19 converts a call or communication signal input from the control unit 11 into a radio signal, and transmits the converted radio signal to a communication destination such as a base station or another communication device via an antenna. To do. Further, the communication unit 19 converts the radio signal received via the antenna into a signal in a format that can be processed by the control unit 11, and outputs the converted signal to the control unit 11.

  The power supply unit 20 includes a battery and supplies power to the control unit 11 and the like. Furthermore, the power supply unit 20 includes a voltage detection unit that detects the voltage of the battery, and the voltage detected by the voltage detection unit is output to the control unit 11. The control unit 11 detects the remaining battery level based on the detected voltage.

  The storage unit 12 stores a communication setting database 12a used for an automatic cancellation process and an automatic restart process of background communication described later.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the communication setting database 12a. In the communication setting database 12a, for each application installed in the mobile phone 1, each of the application name, the last date and time started in the foreground (hereinafter referred to as “last date and time”), the communication setting flag, and the exclusion setting flag Data is stored.

  The communication setting flag is a flag for setting whether to perform background communication. The communication setting flag is set to ON or OFF in the automatic release process and the automatic restart process.

  The exclusion setting flag is a flag for setting whether or not to exclude the corresponding application from the subject of the background communication automatic cancellation processing. In the present embodiment, the exclusion setting flag is set on or off in advance by the manufacturer at the time of manufacturing. An application whose exclusion flag is set to ON may be easily limited in background communication, such as an application that acquires and notifies emergency information by periodically communicating with a site that provides emergency information. This is an undesirable application.

  The communication setting database 12a is created by the control unit 11 when the mobile phone 1 is first activated. When a new application is added to the mobile phone 1, the above-described data is added to the communication setting database 12a for the added application.

  In the mobile phone 1, a plurality of applications can be executed simultaneously. The application to be operated is executed in the foreground, and the execution screen (operation screen) is displayed on the display surface 3. The remaining applications are executed in the background without displaying the execution screen on the display surface 3.

  The control unit 11 periodically executes an application that is executed in the background and for which background communication is set to ON, that is, an application for which the setting flag of the communication setting database 12a is set to ON. Executes background communication and updates data related to the application.

  The control unit 11 executes an automatic release process and an automatic restart process for automatically setting on / off of background communication according to the activation status of the application in the foreground. Further, the control unit 11 executes a temporary restart process for temporarily restarting the background communication of the application for which the background communication is turned off during the charging period of the mobile phone 1.

  The control unit 11 includes a determination unit 21 and a setting switching unit 22. In the automatic cancellation process, the determination unit 21 determines whether or not the application has been activated in the foreground for a predetermined period or longer based on the last activation date and time stored in the communication setting database 12a.

  The setting switching unit 22 switches communication settings related to background communication between an on setting and an off setting. The setting switching unit 22 communicates from the on setting to the off setting for an application that is determined not to be activated in the foreground for a predetermined period or more by the determination unit 21 in the automatic cancellation process and is not set as an exclusion target. Switch settings. In addition, the setting switching unit 22 switches the communication setting from the off setting to the on setting when the application switched to the off setting is started in the foreground in the automatic restart process. Further, the setting switching unit 22 switches the communication setting from the off setting to the on setting for the application switched to the off setting when the mobile phone 1 is being charged in the temporary restart process.

  FIGS. 4A and 4B are flowcharts illustrating the processing procedure of the automatic removal process and the automatic restart process of the background communication, respectively.

  First, the automatic release process will be described with reference to FIG. The automatic release process is repeatedly executed at regular intervals (for example, several minutes to several tens of minutes).

  The control unit 11 selects an application to be referred to from the communication setting database 12a (S101). The control unit 11 determines whether or not the selected application is an exclusion target by checking an exclusion setting flag (S102). If the exclusion setting flag is off and the selected application is not an exclusion target (S102: NO), the control unit 11 (determination unit 21) determines that the application is in the foreground based on the last activation date and time and the current date and time. In step S103, it is determined whether a period in which the system is not activated (hereinafter referred to as “non-activation period”) is longer than a specified period (for example, one week). The last activation date and time is updated in an automatic restart process described later every time the application is activated in the foreground.

  When the inactive period of the selected application is equal to or longer than the specified period (S103: YES), the control unit 11 determines whether the background communication is set to ON by checking the communication setting flag. (S104). If the communication setting flag is ON and the background communication is set to ON (S104: YES), the control unit 11 (setting switching unit 22) sets the communication setting flag to OFF, thereby setting the background communication. Is set to OFF (S105).

  The control unit 11 determines whether or not all applications registered in the communication setting database 12a have been referenced (S106). When the selected application is an exclusion target (S102: YES), when the inactive period of the selected application is less than the specified period (S103: NO), and even when the inactive period is equal to or longer than the specified period If the background communication is already set to OFF (S104: NO), the process proceeds to step S106 without switching the communication setting of the background communication.

  When the control unit 11 determines that all applications are not referred to (S106: NO), the control unit 11 returns to the process of step S101 and selects the application to be referred to next. The control unit 11 executes the processing from step S102 to S105 for the selected application. When the control unit 11 finishes referring to all the applications (S106: YES), the control unit 11 ends the process.

  In this way, by executing the automatic release processing, the background communication is automatically switched from the on setting to the off setting for an application that has not been activated in the foreground for a predetermined period or longer. After that, the background communication is not performed for the application whose background communication is switched to the off setting.

  Next, the automatic restart process will be described with reference to FIG.

  The control unit 11 determines whether any application is activated in the foreground (S201). When an application that is being terminated is activated, the application is activated in the foreground. When a predetermined operation is performed to start an application running in the background in the foreground, the application is started in the foreground.

  When any application is activated in the foreground (S201: YES), the control unit 11 determines whether background communication is set to off for the application (S202). If the background communication is set to OFF (S202: YES), the control unit 11 (setting switching unit 22) sets the communication setting flag to ON to perform background communication of the application started in the foreground. Set to ON (S203).

  For an application for which background communication is switched to the off setting, the background communication is resumed when the application is switched from the foreground to the background.

  Further, the control unit 11 updates the last activation date / time of the application activated in the foreground in the communication setting database 12a to the activation date / time (S204), and ends the process. Immediately thereafter, the automatic restart process is executed again, and the activation of the application in the foreground is monitored (S201).

  Note that the specified period may be arbitrarily set by a user setting operation.

  When the application is activated in the foreground, data is updated, etc., so that the control unit 11 performs data communication with a predetermined device such as a server in the foreground.

  Some applications generate a large amount of communication data when data communication is performed in the foreground after the background communication is interrupted. For example, in an application related to SNS (Social Networking Service), synchronous communication is performed in order to match the data states of the server and the mobile phone 1. For this reason, a large amount of communication data is likely to occur when data communication is resumed in the foreground. Due to such synchronous communication, the battery may be consumed rapidly.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the control unit 11 performs a background communication temporary restart process. During the charging period when there is no need to worry about battery consumption, the background communication off setting is temporarily canceled (changed to the on setting), and background communication becomes possible.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of a temporary restart process of background communication.

  The control unit 11 monitors whether or not charging of the mobile phone 1 is started (S301), and when the start of charging is detected (S301: YES), the execution of the automatic release processing described above is interrupted (S302). As a result, the background communication does not switch from the on setting to the off setting during charging.

  Next, the control unit 11 (setting switching unit 22) switches the communication setting from the off setting to the on setting for the application for which background communication is set to off (S303). Thereby, the background communication of the application switched to the on setting is resumed.

The control unit 11 monitors whether charging is completed, that is, whether the mobile phone 1 is disconnected from the commercial power supply (S304). When charging is completed (S304: YES), the control unit 11 (setting switching unit 22) returns the communication setting from the on setting to the off setting for the application switched to the on setting (S305). Thereby, the background communication of the application returned to the off setting is restricted again.

  The control unit 11 resumes the execution of the automatic release process (S306) and ends the process. Immediately thereafter, the temporary restart process is executed again, and the start of charging is monitored (S301).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to automatically set background communication of an application that is not used by the user to be off. Therefore, since the power consumption of the mobile phone 1 can be suppressed, battery consumption can be suppressed.

  Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to automatically set the background communication of an application started in the foreground again after the background communication is set to off. Thereby, the background communication of the application that has been used by the user can be promptly restarted.

  Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, background communication is not restricted for applications set as exclusion targets regardless of the usage status of the user. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the background communication from being restricted for an application for which it is not desirable to restrict the background communication.

  Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, the background communication off setting is temporarily canceled during the charging period, and background communication becomes possible. Thereby, when communication is performed in the foreground after the background communication is interrupted, it is possible to prevent a large amount of communication data from being generated.

<Modification 1>
In the above embodiment, when the application has not been started in the foreground for a predetermined period or longer, it is considered that the application is not used by the user and background communication is unnecessary, and background communication is performed for the corresponding application. The communication setting is switched from the on setting to the off setting.

  In this modified example, if the number of times the application is started in the foreground within the specified period is less than the specified number, it is considered that background communication is not required, and the background communication setting is turned on for the corresponding application. Switch from setting to off setting.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of the communication setting database 12a according to the present modification example. As shown in FIG. 6, the communication setting database 12a stores the number of times the application is started in the foreground, instead of the last start date and time.

  FIGS. 7A and 7B are flowcharts illustrating the processing procedure of the background communication automatic cancellation processing and automatic restart processing, respectively, according to this modification example.

  First, with reference to FIG. 4A, the automatic release processing of this modification example will be described. The automatic release process is executed every time a specified period (for example, one week) elapses.

The control unit 11 selects a reference application from the communication setting database 12a (S401), and determines whether the selected application is an exclusion target (S402). If the selected application is not an exclusion target (S402: NO), the control unit 11 (determination unit 21) determines whether the number of activations is less than a prescribed number (for example, two times) (S403).

  When the number of activations of the selected application is less than the specified number (S403: YES), the control unit 11 determines whether background communication is set to ON (S404). If the background communication is set to ON (S404: YES), the control unit 11 (setting switching unit 22) sets the background communication to OFF (S405).

  The control unit 11 determines whether or not all applications registered in the communication setting database 12a have been referenced (S406). If the selected application is an exclusion target (S402: YES), the selected application is activated more than the specified number of times (S403: NO), and even if the activation number is less than the specified number, it is already backed When the ground communication is set to OFF (S404: NO), the process proceeds to step S406 without switching the background communication setting.

  If the control unit 11 determines that all the applications are not referred to (S406: NO), the control unit 11 returns to the process of step S401 and selects the application to be referred to next. The control unit 11 executes the processes from step S402 to S405 for the selected application. When the control unit 11 finishes referring to all the applications (S406: YES), the control unit 11 clears the activation count for all the applications in the communication setting database 12a (S407), and ends the process.

  In this way, by executing the automatic release processing, the background communication is automatically switched from the on setting to the off setting for the application whose activation count is less than the specified count in the foreground within the specified period. After that, the background communication is not performed for the application whose background communication is switched to the off setting.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 7B, the automatic restart process of this modification example will be described.

  When any application is activated in the foreground (S501: YES), the control unit 11 updates the activation count of the corresponding application (S502). That is, the control unit 11 increases the number of activations by one.

  Next, the control unit 11 determines whether or not the number of activations has reached a specified number (corresponding to the predetermined number of times of the present invention) (S503), and if it has reached (S503: YES), It is determined whether background communication is set to off (S504). If the background communication is set to OFF (S504: YES), the control unit 11 (setting switching unit 22) sets the background communication of the application started in the foreground to ON (S505). Thus, the automatic restart process ends.

  According to this modified example, the same effects as those of the above embodiment can be achieved.

  Note that at least one of the specified period and the specified number of times may be arbitrarily set by a user setting operation.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, instead of the automatic restart process shown in FIG. 4B, the automatic restart process shown in FIG. 7B of this modified example may be executed. In this case, the number of activations is stored in the communication setting database 12a of FIG. Further, following the process of step S105 in FIG. 4A, a process for clearing the number of activations of the target application is executed. Further, following the process of step S505 of FIG. 7B, the process of step S204 of FIG. 4B is executed to update the last activation date and time.

  Furthermore, in this modified example, instead of the automatic restart process shown in FIG. 7B, the automatic restart process shown in FIG. 4B of the above embodiment may be executed. In this case, the process of step S204 in FIG. 4B is omitted.

<Modification 2>
In this modified example, the specified period compared with the non-activation period in the automatic release process of FIG. 4B is extended based on the power supply of the mobile phone 1 being turned off.

  FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the mobile phone 1 according to this modification. In the present modification, the control unit 11 includes a period extension unit 23 in addition to the determination unit 21 and the setting switching unit 22. The period extension unit 23 executes an off time storage process and a specified period extension process. Other configurations are the same as those in the above embodiment.

  FIGS. 9A and 9B are flowcharts showing the processing procedures of the off time storage process and the specified period extension process, respectively.

  As shown in FIG. 9A, the period extension unit 23 performs an operation for turning off the power of the mobile phone 1, that is, an operation for keeping the power key 7 pressed for a predetermined time or longer (S601: YES). Is stored in the storage unit 12 (S602).

  9B is executed when the mobile phone 1 is turned on and the mobile phone 1 is activated.

  The period extension unit 23 acquires the current date and time from the clock unit provided in the control unit 11 (S611), reads the off date and time from the storage unit 12 (S612), and turns off the power from the current date and time and the off date and time. The period is calculated (S613). The control unit 11 extends the specified period by the power-off period (S614). For example, when the specified period is one week, if the power of the mobile phone 1 is turned off for one week, and then the power is turned on, the specified period is extended to two weeks.

  When the current automatic cancellation process for the extended specified period ends (S615: YES), the period extension unit 23 returns the extended specified period to the original (S616) and ends the process.

  According to this modified example, it is possible to determine the usage status of the application and automatically turn off the background communication without being affected by the period when the power of the mobile phone 1 is turned off.

  The configuration of the present modification example can also be applied to the configuration of the modification example 1. In this case, in the process of step S514 of the specified period extension process, the period extension unit 23 extends the specified period in which the automatic restart process in FIG. 7B is repeated.

  In the above example, when the off period occurs, the specified period is always extended by the off period. However, when the off period exceeds a predetermined period, the specified period may be extended by the off period.

<Modification 3>
In the above embodiment, the application to be excluded is preset by the manufacturer. In this modification example, the user can set an application to be excluded.

  FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the mobile phone 1 according to this modification. In the present modification, the control unit 11 includes an exclusion setting unit 24 in addition to the determination unit 21 and the setting switching unit 22. The exclusion setting unit 24 executes an exclusion setting process. Other configurations are the same as those in the above embodiment.

  FIG. 11A is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the exclusion setting process. FIG. 11B is a diagram illustrating an example of an exclusion target setting screen displayed on the display surface 3 in the exclusion setting process.

  When the user performs a predetermined operation to set an application to be excluded, an exclusion setting process is started. The exclusion setting unit 24 displays an exclusion target setting screen on the display surface 3 (S701). For example, as shown in FIG. 11B, on the exclusion target setting screen, a list of applications registered in the communication setting database 12a is displayed in the list display area R. When a flick operation is performed upward or downward with respect to the list display area R, the screen scrolls and applications that have not been displayed are displayed in the list display area R.

  In the display area 101 of each application, two check boxes, a communication setting box 102 and an exclusion setting box 103, are provided next to the name of the application. A check mark is displayed in the communication setting box 102 of an application for which background communication is currently set to off. In addition, a check mark is displayed in the exclusion setting box 103 of the application currently set as an exclusion target. Furthermore, a completion button 104 is arranged above the list display area R on the exclusion target setting screen.

  When an application that is not set as an exclusion target is to be excluded, the user touches the desired application exclusion setting box 103. In the exclusion setting box 103, no check mark is initially displayed. Further, when removing an application set as an exclusion target from the exclusion target, the user touches the desired application exclusion setting box 103. In the exclusion setting box 103, a check mark is initially displayed.

  When the exclusion setting box 103 of any application is touched (S702: YES), the exclusion setting unit 24 determines whether a check mark is displayed in the touched exclusion setting box 103 (S703). The exclusion setting unit 24 displays a check mark if a check mark is not displayed in the exclusion setting box 103 (S703: NO), and displays a check mark (S703). If a check mark is displayed in the exclusion setting box 103 (S703: YES), the check mark is deleted (S705).

  The exclusion setting unit 24 repeatedly executes the processing from step S702 to step S705 until the completion button 104 is touched (S706: NO). When the completion button 104 is touched (S706: YES), the exclusion setting unit 24 turns on the exclusion setting flag in the communication setting database 12a for the application for which the check mark is displayed in the exclusion setting box 103. The application is set as an exclusion target (S707). Thereafter, the exclusion setting unit 24 closes the exclusion target setting screen and ends the process.

  According to this modification, the user can set a desired application that does not want to automatically turn off background communication as an application to be excluded.

The exclusion target setting screen does not list all applications registered in the communication setting database 12a, but lists applications for which background communication has been performed in the past predetermined period (for example, one month). May be displayed.

  Further, when the user touches the communication setting box 102 with a check mark, the communication setting of the background application of the touched application is switched from the off setting to the on setting, and the user does not have the check mark. A configuration may be adopted in which the communication setting for background communication of the touched application is switched from the on setting to the off setting by touching the communication setting box 102.

  Further, when a check mark is added to the exclusion setting box 103 and the corresponding application is switched to the exclusion target, when the communication setting of the background communication is the off setting, the configuration is automatically switched to the on setting. May be. In this case, the check mark attached to the communication setting box 102 is automatically deleted.

  Further, when a new application is installed, the communication setting for background communication may be set to OFF or may be set as an exclusion target in advance. In this case, it is preferable to adopt a configuration in which a check mark is automatically added to the communication setting box 102 and the exclusion setting box 103 when a new application is added to the exclusion target setting screen.

<Modification 4>
FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of background communication temporary restart processing according to this modification.

  In the above embodiment, when the mobile phone 1 is being charged, the background communication off setting is temporarily canceled. On the other hand, in this modified example, when the mobile phone 1 is being charged and in the midnight time zone, the background communication OFF setting is temporarily canceled.

  The control unit 11 monitors whether or not charging of the mobile phone 1 is started in the midnight time zone (S311). For example, a time zone from 0:00 am to 5:00 am is set as the midnight time zone. When the control unit 11 detects that charging has started in the midnight time zone (S311: YES), the control unit 11 interrupts execution of the automatic release processing (S312). Next, the control unit 11 (setting switching unit 22) switches the communication setting from the off setting to the on setting for an application for which background communication is set to off (S313).

  The control unit 11 monitors whether or not the charging is finished and whether or not it is out of the midnight time zone (S314). If charging ends or is out of the midnight time zone (S314: YES), the control unit 11 (setting switching unit 22) returns the communication setting to the off setting for the application temporarily switched to the on setting (S315). ). The control unit 11 resumes the execution of the automatic release process (S316) and ends the process.

  When the background communication off setting is temporarily canceled and the background communication is resumed, the communication volume is likely to increase because the communication has not been performed. Therefore, when the user is performing data communication related to another application, the communication speed related to the data communication is temporarily reduced due to a temporary increase in traffic, which causes inconvenience to the user. There is a fear.

According to this modified example, the background communication OFF setting is temporarily canceled during the midnight time period when the user uses the mobile phone 1 less frequently, so that it is possible to suppress inconvenience to the user.

  In the configuration of the above embodiment and this modified example, when background communication is temporarily resumed, as shown in FIG. 13, the data communication speed may be temporarily reduced. The notification window 105 to be displayed may be popped up on the display surface 3 by the control unit 11. In this way, the user can recognize that the data communication speed may decrease.

<Modification 5>
Depending on the application, such as a game application, various advertising information is posted on the execution screen. While the application is running in the background, the advertising information is updated by background communication. Such updating of advertisement information is often unnecessary for the user.

  Therefore, the mobile phone 1 according to the present modification includes an advertisement block function that blocks data communication when the background communication is related to advertisement information.

  FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the mobile phone 1 according to this modification. In this modification, the control unit 11 includes a cutoff control unit 25 in addition to the determination unit 21 and the setting switching unit 22. The blocking control unit 25 executes an advertisement block process. The storage unit 12 stores an advertisement URL database 12b used for advertisement block processing. Other configurations are the same as those in the above embodiment.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining the advertisement block process. FIG. 15A is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the advertisement block processing, and FIG. 15B is a diagram showing the configuration of the advertisement URL database 12b.

  The advertisement block process is executed when the user sets the advertisement blocking mode in advance using a predetermined setting screen.

  The blocking control unit 25 monitors whether background communication is started (S801), and when background communication is started (S801: YES), acquires the URL of the communication destination (S802).

  As shown in FIG. 15B, the advertisement URL database 12b registers the URL of the advertisement site that is communicated for updating the advertisement information. The URL of the advertisement site is periodically acquired from a predetermined site that manages advertisements. Thereby, the data in the advertisement URL database 12b is updated.

  The blocking control unit 25 compares the acquired URL with the URL registered in the advertisement URL database 12b to determine whether the acquired URL is the URL of the advertisement site (S803).

  When the acquired URL is the URL of the advertisement site (S803: YES), the blocking control unit 25 blocks background communication to the acquired URL (S804). Thereby, the background communication to the acquired URL is not performed by the control unit 11.

  On the other hand, when the acquired URL is the URL of the advertisement site (S803: NO), the blocking control unit 25 permits background communication to the acquired URL (S805). Thereby, the background communication to the acquired URL is performed by the control unit 11.

  According to this modified example, the background communication related to the advertisement information can be blocked, so that the battery consumption of the mobile phone 1 can be further suppressed.

<Others>
Although the embodiment and modification examples of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment and the like, and various modifications other than the above can be made in the embodiment of the present invention. is there.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, a configuration is adopted in which an application that has not been activated in the foreground for a specified period or longer is detected by detecting the state of the application at regular intervals, and background communication of the application is set to OFF. ing.

  However, the following configuration may be adopted in order to detect an application that has not been activated in the foreground for a predetermined period or more and to turn off background communication.

  As shown in FIG. 16, the communication setting database 12a does not store the last activation date and time. Instead, the control unit 11 is provided with a plurality of timers used for automatic release processing. The timer times a specified period (for example, one week).

  FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of background communication automatic cancellation processing according to the present modification.

  When the power is turned on and the mobile phone 1 is activated, the control unit 11 activates a timer already assigned to the application (S901). Next, the control unit 11 monitors whether any application is activated in the foreground (S902).

  When any application is started in the foreground (S902: YES), the control unit 11 determines whether a timer has already been assigned to the corresponding application when the corresponding application is not an application to be excluded (S903: NO). It is determined whether or not (S904).

  If a timer has not yet been assigned (S904: NO), the control unit 11 assigns a timer to the corresponding application and causes the timer to start measuring time (S905). If a timer has already been assigned to the corresponding application (S904: YES), the control unit 11 resets the timer and causes the timer to start counting again (S906).

  The control unit 11 (determination unit 21) determines whether any timer has expired (S907). When a predetermined period elapses without any application being activated in the foreground, the timer assigned to that application expires.

  When any one of the timers has expired (S907: YES), the control unit 11 (setting switching unit 22) sets the background communication to off for the application to which the timer is assigned (S908). Further, the control unit 11 cancels the timer assignment for the application that has been set to OFF (S909).

While the operation for turning off the power of the mobile phone 1 is not performed (S910: NO), that is, while the mobile phone 1 is operating, the processes of steps S902 to S909 are repeated. Thereby, the communication setting of the background communication is switched from the on setting to the off setting for an application that has not been activated in the foreground for a specified period and the assigned timer has timed out.

  When an operation to turn off the mobile phone 1 is performed (S910: YES), the control unit 11 stops the timer assigned to the application (S911). The time that was being measured remains stored in the timer. When the cellular phone 1 is activated again, the timer starts counting from the subsequent time again in the process of step S901.

  Also in this modified example, when the automatic restart process similar to FIG. 4B is executed and an application with background communication set to off is started in the foreground, background communication is set to on for the application. Is done. However, in the present modification example, the process of step S204 for updating the last activation date / time is not executed in the automatic restart process.

  In the above-described embodiment, when background communication is resumed when charging of the mobile phone 1 is started, prioritization of applications that perform background communication may be performed. In this case, for example, it may be configured such that background communication is preferentially performed for an application with a large communication amount. Or it may be set as the structure where background communication is preferentially performed as an application with high use frequency. Alternatively, the background communication may be configured so that the time when the communication setting of the background communication is turned off is given priority from a new application. With such a configuration, necessary background communication can be efficiently performed while charging is performed.

  The configurations of Modification Examples 1 to 5 can be combined as appropriate.

  The present invention is not limited to a mobile phone, and can be applied to various mobile terminal devices such as a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a tablet PC (Tablet PC), and an electronic book terminal.

  In addition, the embodiment of the present invention can be variously modified as appropriate within the scope of the technical idea shown in the claims.

11 Control unit
12 Storage unit
19 Communication Department
21 judgment part
22 Setting switching part
23 period extension
24 Exclusion setting section
25 Shutdown controller

Claims (14)

In a portable terminal device that includes a communication unit that performs data communication with other devices, and that performs the data communication in a state where each application is executed in the background,
For each of the applications, a determination unit that determines whether the determination condition for considering the data communication as unnecessary is satisfied,
A setting switching unit that switches communication settings from an on setting that permits the data communication to an off setting that restricts the data communication for the application that satisfies the determination condition;
A portable terminal device. The mobile terminal device according to claim 1,
The determination unit determines that the determination condition is satisfied when the application has not been activated in the foreground for a predetermined period or longer.
A portable terminal device. The mobile terminal device according to claim 2,
A period extension unit for extending the specified period based on power-off of the mobile terminal device;
A portable terminal device. The mobile terminal device according to claim 1,
The determination unit determines that the determination condition is satisfied when the number of activations in the foreground of the application within a specified period is less than the specified number of times,
A portable terminal device. The mobile terminal device according to claim 4,
A period extension unit for extending the specified period based on power-off of the mobile terminal device;
A portable terminal device. In the portable terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
A storage unit that stores exclusion information indicating that it is set as an exclusion target in association with the application set as an exclusion target;
The setting switching unit switches the communication setting from the on setting to the off setting when the determination condition is satisfied for the application that is not set as an exclusion target.
A portable terminal device. The mobile terminal device according to claim 6,
An exclusion setting unit configured to set the application selected by a user selection operation as the exclusion target;
A portable terminal device. In the portable terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
The setting switching unit switches the communication setting from the off setting to the on setting when the application that has been switched to the off setting based on the determination condition is started in the foreground.
A portable terminal device. In the portable terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
The setting switching unit switches the communication setting from the off setting to the on setting when the number of times the application that has been switched to the off setting based on the determination condition is started in the foreground reaches a predetermined number of times.
A portable terminal device. The mobile terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 9,
The setting switching unit switches the communication setting from the off setting to the on setting for the application that is switched to the off setting based on the determination condition when the mobile terminal device is being charged.
A portable terminal device. The mobile terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 9,
When the terminal device is being charged and the current time is in a predetermined time zone, the setting switching unit starts from the off setting for the application that has been switched to the off setting based on the determination condition. Switch the communication setting to the ON setting,
A portable terminal device. The mobile terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 11,
A block control unit that blocks the data communication related to the advertisement information included in the application;
A portable terminal device. Provided with a communication unit that performs data communication with other devices, each application is executed in the background in a computer of a mobile terminal device that performs the data communication,
For each of the applications, a function of determining whether or not a determination condition for considering that the data communication is unnecessary is satisfied,
For the application that satisfies the determination condition, a function of switching communication settings from an on setting that permits the data communication to an off setting that restricts the data communication;
A program that grants. A communication unit that performs data communication with other devices, each application is a method for controlling a mobile terminal device that performs the data communication in a state of being executed in the background,
For each of the applications, determining whether or not the determination condition for considering the data communication as unnecessary is satisfied,
For the application that satisfies the determination condition, switching communication settings from an on setting that permits the data communication to an off setting that restricts the data communication; and
Control method.

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