JP2014099148A - Information processing device, terminal system, information processing program, and acquisition method for update data of application - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To effectively update an application.SOLUTION: The information processing device capable of communicating with a server through a network acquires update information from the server at a first timing and stores the acquired update information. The update information is information capable of determining existence or non-existence of an update for respective applications. The information processing device determines existence or non-existence of an update for at least one application stored in a storage unit which is accessible from the information processing device, at a second timing which is independent from the first timing on the basis of the stored update information. The information processing device acquires update data which is used to update an application for which existence of an update is determined, from the server.

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, a terminal system, an information processing program, and an update data acquisition method for acquiring application update data.

  Conventionally, there is a technique for automatically updating an application that can be executed by an information processing apparatus. For example, in the game device described in Non-Patent Document 1, application update is automatically executed at a designated time. At this time, the game device performs a series of processes including a process for checking whether or not the application needs to be updated, a process for obtaining update data when the update is necessary, and a process for updating the application using the update data. To continue.

“PlayStation (R) 3 System Software 4.20 User's Guide Automatic Update”, [online], Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. [Search October 15, 2012] , Internet <URL: http://manuals.playstation.net/document/en/ps3/current/settings/autodownload.html>

  Conventionally, since the above-described series of processing is continuously performed, there is a possibility that processing related to application update cannot be efficiently performed.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus, a terminal system, an information processing program, and an update data acquisition method that can efficiently update an application.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention employs the following configurations (1) to (15).

(1)
An example of the present invention is an information processing apparatus that can communicate with a server via a network. The information processing apparatus includes an update information acquisition unit, a first update determination unit, and a first update data acquisition unit. The update information acquisition unit acquires update information that can determine whether there is an update for each application from the server at the first timing, and stores the acquired update information. The first update determination unit stores whether or not there is an update for at least one application stored in the storage unit accessible by the information processing device at a second timing independent of the first timing. The determination is made based on the update information. The first update data acquisition unit acquires, from the server, update data used for updating the application determined to be updated by the first update determination unit.

  In the above description, “acquisition of update information from the server at the first timing” means that update information is always acquired at the first timing, and if necessary at the first timing (for example, implementation described later) This means that both the acquisition of update information (when there is new update information) as in the embodiment.

  According to the configuration of (1) above, the information processing apparatus executes the update information acquisition process and the update data acquisition process at independent timings. Thereby, the information processing apparatus can efficiently check whether or not the application is updated and acquire update data (when there is an update).

(2)
The information processing apparatus may further include a first timing determination unit and a second timing determination unit. The first timing determination unit determines whether or not the first timing is reached based on whether or not a predetermined first condition is satisfied. The second timing determination unit determines whether the second timing is reached based on whether a second condition different from the first condition is satisfied. At this time, a 1st update determination part performs determination, when it is determined by the 2nd timing determination part that it became the 2nd timing.

  According to the configuration of (2) above, by determining whether or not the second timing has been reached under conditions different from the first timing, it is possible to appropriately determine the timing for determining whether or not there is an update.

(3)
The update information acquisition unit may acquire update information that can determine whether or not there is an update for a plurality of applications from the server. The first update determination unit may determine whether there is an update for one application.

  According to the configuration of (3) above, the update information is acquired for a plurality of applications at once, whereas the presence / absence of update is individually determined for each application. According to this, the number of acquisition processes can be reduced by collectively acquiring update information, and the determination process can be efficiently performed by determining whether there is an update for each application.

(4)
The first timing may be a timing resulting from the user performing a predetermined first operation. The second timing may be a timing resulting from the user performing a predetermined second operation different from the first operation.

  According to the configuration of (4) above, the first and second timings arrive (generate) according to the user's operation. According to this, since the information processing apparatus does not have to measure the timing of regular arrival, it can easily execute processing related to updating (such as acquisition processing of update information and update data).

(5)
The first timing may be a timing from when the information processing apparatus is activated until an instruction to activate an application stored in the storage unit is issued.

  With configuration (5) above, the information processing apparatus can acquire new update information before the application is activated. As a result, the information processing apparatus can determine whether or not the application is updated before executing the application, and update the application as necessary.

(6)
The first timing may be a timing according to a process of displaying a menu image that allows the user to issue an instruction to start an application stored in the storage unit.

  According to the configuration of (6) above, update information is acquired at a timing according to the display timing of the menu image. Since the menu image is displayed at a certain frequency, the information processing apparatus can acquire the update information at an appropriate frequency. As a result, for example, the frequency of the update information acquisition process is too low, so that the latest update information is not acquired, so that the possibility that the application cannot be updated to the latest can be reduced.

(7)
The first update determination unit determines whether or not there is an update for the application instructed to start, with the timing according to the instruction to start the application stored in the storage unit being the second timing Also good.

  According to the configuration of (7) above, the information processing apparatus acquires update data when an application is activated. According to this, it is possible to efficiently acquire the update data without acquiring the update data for the application whose use (execution) is not known. Moreover, since the information processing apparatus acquires the update information in advance at the first timing before the second timing, it is not necessary to acquire the update information when the application is started. Accordingly, it is possible to shorten the period from the start instruction to the execution of the application, and it is possible to reduce the waiting time of the user until the application is started.

(8)
The first update data acquisition unit may acquire update data for an application determined to be updated before the application is activated. At this time, the information processing apparatus may further include a first application execution unit. The first application execution unit executes the application in which the update by the update data is reflected when an instruction to start the application stored in the storage unit is given.

  According to the configuration of (8) above, the information processing apparatus updates the application before executing the application. Therefore, the user can use the application with the updated new version.

(9)
The update information acquisition unit acquires and stores update version information representing the version of the update information together with the update information, and then acquires update version information from the server when the first timing comes, and the acquired update version It may be determined whether or not update information is acquired based on the information.

  According to the configuration of (9) above, the information processing apparatus determines whether or not to acquire update information using the update version information acquired from the server, so that update information can be acquired efficiently. .

(10)
The update information acquisition unit may acquire update information for one or more applications set in the server regardless of whether or not the application is stored in the storage unit.

  According to the configuration of (10), the server that transmits the update information does not need to determine which application the update information is to be transmitted when a request for transmission of the update information is received from the terminal system. Therefore, according to the configuration of (10) above, the processing burden on the server can be reduced.

(11)
The update information acquisition unit may acquire update information from a server that can provide at least one of an application executable by the information processing apparatus and update data to the information processing apparatus.

  According to the configuration of (11) above, the server that provides application update information provides the application update data and / or the application itself. According to this, when there is addition / change in the provided application, management in the server becomes easy.

(12)
The information processing apparatus may further include a second update determination unit and a second update data acquisition unit. Whether or not there is an update for an application that satisfies a predetermined condition among the applications stored in the storage unit, regardless of the second timing, in response to the acquisition of update information. Is determined based on the update information. The second update data acquisition unit acquires, from the server, update data used for updating the application that is determined to be updated by the second update determination unit.

  According to the configuration of (12) above, whether a predetermined application is updated is determined regardless of the second timing, and if there is an update, update data is acquired. According to this, since the information processing apparatus does not have to acquire the update data after the second timing for the predetermined application, it is possible to shorten the time from the second timing to the execution of the application.

(13)
The second update determination unit may determine an application that satisfies a predetermined condition based on an execution history of the application stored in the storage unit.

  According to the configuration of (13) above, for an application that is highly likely to be executed, update data is acquired in advance before the second timing. According to this, since it is not necessary to acquire the update data during the period from the second timing to the execution of the application, the period can be shortened.

(14)
The second update data acquisition unit may acquire the update data regardless of whether an application other than the application corresponding to the update data is being executed in the information processing apparatus.

  According to the configuration of (14) above, the information processing apparatus acquires update data even when an application other than the predetermined application corresponding to the update data is being executed. Therefore, even when update data for a predetermined application is acquired, the user can use at least another application.

(15)
The information processing apparatus further includes a second application execution unit that executes the application in which the update by the update data is reflected when an instruction to start the application determined to be updated by the second update determination unit is issued. It may be.

  According to the configuration of (15) above, the user can use the application with the updated new version for the predetermined application.

  Note that another example of the present invention may be an information processing system having functions equivalent to those of each unit in the information processing apparatuses (1) to (15) described above, and the processing in each unit may be performed by a computer of the information processing apparatus. It may be an information processing program to be executed. Another example of the present invention may be an update data acquisition method executed in the above (1) to (15).

  According to the present invention, the acquisition of update information and the acquisition of update data are executed at independent timings, thereby confirming whether or not an application has been updated, and acquiring update data (if there is an update) Can be performed efficiently.

Block diagram showing the configuration of an example of an information processing system The figure which shows an example of operation | movement in an information processing system The figure which shows an example of the operation | movement in the acquisition process of update information The figure which shows an example of the operation | movement regarding the update of a priority application The figure which shows an example of the data area set to the memory | storage part of a terminal system The flowchart which shows an example of the flow of the information processing which CPU of a control part performs

[1. Configuration of information processing system]
Hereinafter, an information processing apparatus, an information processing system, an information processing program, and an application update data acquisition method according to an example of the present embodiment will be described. First, the configuration of the information processing system will be described. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an example of an information processing system. As shown in FIG. 1, the information processing system 1 includes a server 2 and a terminal system 3. The terminal system 3 can communicate with the server 2 via the network 4. In the information processing system 1, update data (for example, a patch) for an application executed in the terminal system 3 is provided from the server 2 to the terminal system 3.

  The server 2 stores various types of information (update data 21 and update information 22) to be provided to the terminal system 3. The server 2 is composed of one or more information processing devices (server devices). For example, a server device may be provided for each update data 21 and update information 22, or a server device may be provided for each application. In these cases, the entire server device group is referred to as a server 2.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the server 2 stores (stores) update data 21. The update data 21 is data used for updating the application. The update data 21 is, for example, patch data for correcting and / or adding to the application, or additional data used in the application. In the present embodiment, the server 2 stores update data 21 for each of a plurality of applications.

  The server 2 stores update information 22. The update information 22 is information that can determine whether there is an update for each application. Although details will be described later, in the present embodiment, the update information 22 is transmitted from the server 2 to the terminal system 3. The terminal system 3 determines whether or not the application of the own device has been updated based on the update information 22 from the server 2. Then, the update data 21 is transmitted from the server 2 for the application determined to be updated, and the application is updated in the terminal system 3.

  In the present embodiment, the update information 22 is information in which application identification information (specifically, title information) is associated with information indicating the version of the application (version information) (see FIG. 1). The update information 22 may be any information that allows the terminal system 3 to determine whether there is an update for each application. For example, the update information may be flag information indicating whether or not there is an update for each application. The version information may be a number representing a version, or information representing the date and time (time stamp) of the latest update date.

  In the present embodiment, the server 2 is a server (for example, a shop server) for providing a service that provides an application related to the update information 22 and the update data 21. That is, the server 2 provides the application itself to the terminal system 3 and provides update information 22 and update data 21 related to the application to the terminal system 3. Therefore, although not shown, the server 2 stores the application itself relating to the update information 22 and the update data 21. In other embodiments, the server 2 may not store the application itself. A method for providing the application to the terminal system 3 is arbitrary, and for example, the application may be provided to the terminal system 3 by a portable storage medium.

  The terminal system 3 is an information processing apparatus (information processing system) that can execute an application. The terminal system 3 is composed of one or more information processing devices. The terminal system 3 may be configured by one information processing device (for example, a game device), or includes a main information processing device that performs main information processing, and a terminal device that includes an input unit and a display unit. There may be. In another embodiment, at least a part of information processing executed in the terminal system 3 may be executed in a distributed manner by a plurality of devices that can communicate with each other via a network (wide area network and / or local network). .

  The terminal system 3 includes a communication unit 11. The communication unit 11 exchanges data with the server 2 via the network 4. The terminal system 3 includes an input unit 12. The input unit 12 is an arbitrary input device that accepts input from a user, such as a button (key), a touch panel, and / or a mouse. The terminal system 3 includes a display unit 13. The display unit 13 displays an image generated by information processing in the terminal system 3.

  The terminal system 3 includes a control unit 14. The control unit 14 executes various types of information processing to be executed in the terminal system 3. Specifically, the control unit 14 includes a CPU (and a memory), and the above-described various information processing is executed by the CPU executing a predetermined information processing program.

  The terminal system 3 includes a storage unit 15. The storage unit 15 is an arbitrary storage device (storage medium) that can be accessed by the information processing apparatus (here, the control unit 14) of the terminal system 3. The storage unit 15 may be a storage device built in the information processing device, a storage device that is detachable from the information processing device, or may be configured by both of these storage devices.

  In the present embodiment, the storage unit 15 stores the application 24. The application 24 is software that can be executed by the control unit 14. The application 24 may be of any type such as a game application. As described above, the application 24 may be provided from the server 2 to the terminal system 3 or may be provided by another method. In addition, the storage unit 15 stores update information 25. The update information 25 is acquired from the server 2 and stored in the storage unit 15.

  In the present embodiment, the storage unit 15 stores update data 26. The update data 26 is acquired from the server 2 and stored in the storage unit 15. When an application is executed in the present embodiment, the terminal system 3 uses the application 24 before update and the update data 26. When the updated application is stored in the storage unit 15 instead of the pre-update application, the update data need not be saved.

[2. Overview of operation]
Next, an outline of the operation in the information processing system 1 will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the operation in the information processing system 1. As shown in FIG. 2, in the information processing system 1, update information acquisition processing and update data acquisition processing (and application update) are executed at different timings (independent timing).

(2-1: Flow from update information acquisition to application update)
As shown in FIG. 2, first, the control unit 14 of the terminal system 3 executes an update information acquisition process at a first timing. That is, in the update information acquisition process, the terminal system 3 acquires the update information from the server, and stores the acquired update information in the storage unit 15. Although details will be described later, in the present embodiment, the first timing is a timing according to the menu image being displayed on the display unit 13 in accordance with the first operation by the user (step S1). That is, the control unit 14 determines whether or not the first timing is reached based on whether or not a predetermined first condition (a menu image is displayed) is satisfied.

  Next, the terminal system 3 determines whether or not there is an update for one application stored in the storage unit 15 at a second timing independent of the first timing (step S2 shown in FIG. 2). . That is, the terminal system 3 determines whether or not the second timing is reached based on whether or not a second condition different from the first condition is satisfied. The terminal system 3 determines whether or not there is an update when it is determined that the second timing has come. In the present embodiment, the second condition is that an instruction for starting an application has been issued, and the second timing is a timing in accordance with an instruction for starting an application. That is, when the user performs the second operation for starting the application, the terminal system 3 determines whether or not there is an update for the application instructed to start.

  The determination of whether or not there is an update is performed based on the update information acquired by the update information acquisition process executed previously. As a result of this determination, if it is determined that there is an update, update data acquisition processing is executed (see FIG. 2). That is, the terminal system 3 acquires update data used for updating the application that is determined to be updated from the server 2.

  When the update data is acquired, the terminal system 3 updates the application (step S3). That is, the terminal system 3 updates the application stored in the storage unit 15 using the update data. Further, in the present embodiment, the terminal system 3 executes an application in which the update by the update data is reflected (Step S4). As a result, the user can use the application with the new version after update (ideally, the latest version).

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the terminal system 3 executes the update information acquisition process and the update data acquisition process at different timings. As a result, the terminal system 3 can efficiently check whether there is an update for the application and acquire the update data (if there is an update). Although details will be described later, for example, by appropriately setting the first and second timings, it is possible to prevent the acquisition of update data for an application that does not need to be updated immediately.

(2-2: First and second timing)
Hereinafter, the first timing at which the update information acquisition process is executed and the second timing at which the update data acquisition process is executed will be described in detail. The first timing is independent of the second timing at which the update data acquisition process is executed. Here, “the first timing and the second timing are independent” means that the arrival timing of the second timing does not depend on the arrival timing of the first timing (not the timing determined by the first timing). ) Means. Also, the second timing does not always occur due to the occurrence of the first timing. Since the first timing and the second timing are independent, as described above, it is possible to efficiently check whether the application has been updated and acquire update data.

  As described above, the first timing in the present embodiment is a timing according to the menu image being displayed on the display unit 13. Here, the menu image is an image that allows the user to give an instruction to start an application (at least some of them) stored in the storage unit 15. For example, the menu image includes an icon of the application, and the execution of the application is started when the user performs an input specifying the icon. In the present embodiment, the menu image is displayed according to the first operation of the user (see FIG. 2). Specifically, the terminal system 3 is activated in response to a first operation (activation operation) by the user. When the terminal system 3 is activated, the menu image is displayed on the display unit 13.

  Note that the first timing and the display timing of the menu image do not need to be exactly the same. The update information acquisition process may be executed at a timing corresponding to the timing at which the menu image is displayed. In the present embodiment, the update information acquisition process is started during the execution of the preparation process for displaying the menu image. Therefore, the update information acquisition process may already be completed when the menu image is displayed, or the update information acquisition process may be completed slightly after the menu image is displayed.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the first timing is the timing according to the menu image display process. In general, the menu image is an image that is displayed at a certain frequency when the terminal system 3 is used. Therefore, by executing the update information acquisition process at the timing of the menu image display process, the acquisition process can be executed at an appropriate frequency. According to this, since the frequency of the update information acquisition process is too low, the possibility that the application cannot be updated to the latest as a result of not acquiring the latest update information can be reduced. Furthermore, when the menu image is displayed in response to the activation of the terminal system 3 as in the present embodiment, the update information acquisition process can be executed at least once for each activation. The acquisition process can be executed at an appropriate frequency.

  In addition, when displaying the menu image, various types of information processing (for example, initial processing when the terminal system 3 is activated) may be executed in the terminal system 3. In this case, since the update information acquisition process is executed during the waiting time until the menu image is displayed, the update information can be acquired without making the user aware of the update information acquisition process. According to this, since the user does not recognize the waiting time due to the update information acquisition process, the use of the terminal system 3 becomes more comfortable for the user.

  In the present embodiment, a menu image is displayed in response to the activation of the terminal system 3, and the user is instructed to execute the application while the menu image is displayed. Therefore, it can be said that the first timing is the timing from the start of the terminal system 3 to the instruction for starting the application. According to this, the update information can be updated before the application is executed. At this time, for example, by determining (confirming) whether or not there is an update before starting the application and acquiring the update data, the application can be updated to a new version at the time of starting.

  The first timing may be an arbitrary timing independent of the second timing. In another embodiment, the first timing may be, for example, a timing according to activation of the terminal system 3 (regardless of whether or not a menu image is displayed). Further, for example, the first timing may be a timing at which an application acquisition application (so-called shop application) for acquiring an application by accessing a server that provides the application is activated. Further, for example, the first timing may be a timing when a predetermined time is reached. That is, the terminal system 3 may execute an update information acquisition process at a timing when a predetermined time comes. Even when the first timing is set to these timings, the update information acquisition process can be executed at an appropriate frequency.

  In the present embodiment, the second timing is a timing in response to an instruction to start an application stored in the storage unit 15 as described above. That is, when the application is used, the terminal system 3 acquires update data for the application. According to this, the update data can be efficiently acquired without acquiring the update data for an application whose use is not known. In the present embodiment, since the terminal system 3 acquires the update information in advance at the first timing before the second timing, it is not necessary to acquire the update information when the application is activated. As a result, the period from the start instruction to the execution of the application can be shortened, and the waiting time of the user until the application is started can be shortened. In other embodiments, the second timing may be any timing independent of the first timing.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the first timing is a timing resulting from the user performing a predetermined first operation (a startup operation of the terminal system 3). The second timing is a timing resulting from the user performing a predetermined second operation different from the first operation. Thus, since each terminal system 3 does not have to measure the timing of regular arrival by setting each timing in accordance with the user's operation, processing related to updating (acquisition processing of update information and update data) Etc.) can be executed easily.

(2-3: Update information acquisition process)
Next, update information acquisition processing will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation in the update information acquisition process. Here, in this embodiment, the terminal system 3 uses the update version information to determine whether or not the update information 25 stored in the terminal system 3 matches the (latest) update information 22 in the server 2. Use. The update version information represents the version of the update information. For example, the update version information may be a version number or an update date and time (time stamp).

  As shown in FIG. 3, in the update information acquisition process, first, the terminal system 3 requests the server 2 to transmit update version information. In response to this request, the server 2 transmits update version information corresponding to the latest update information to the terminal system 3. Next, the terminal system 3 determines whether or not it is necessary to acquire update information from the server 2. That is, the terminal system 3 compares the update version information received from the server 2 with its current update version information. “Own current update version information” is update version information corresponding to the update information 25 currently stored in itself. “Own current update version information” is acquired in the previous update information acquisition process and stored in the storage unit 15. As a result of the comparison of the two update version information, if the two are different, the terminal system 3 determines that the update information needs to be acquired. Then, the terminal system 3 requests the server 2 to transmit update information. In response to this request, the server 2 transmits the latest update information to the terminal system 3. The terminal system 3 receives the update information from the server 2 and stores it in the storage unit 15. On the other hand, if the two pieces of update version information are the same as a result of comparison, it is determined that there is no need to acquire update information. In this case, the terminal system 3 does not acquire update information.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the terminal system 3 acquires and stores update version information together with update information. Then, when the first timing comes next, the terminal system 3 acquires update version information from the server, and determines whether or not to acquire update information based on the acquired update version information. According to this, since the terminal system 3 does not acquire the same update information as that stored by itself, the update information can be efficiently acquired.

  In another embodiment, the terminal system 3 first transmits its current update version information to the server 2, and the server 2 transmits update information based on the update version information received from the terminal system 3. You may make it determine whether to do. This also makes it possible to efficiently acquire update information as in the present embodiment. In another embodiment, the terminal system 3 may always acquire update information at the first timing without acquiring update version information.

  Further, as described above, the server 2 in the present embodiment is a server (for example, a shop server) for providing a service that provides an application. Here, the server 2 transmits update information regarding all applications that can be provided by the server 2 to the terminal system 3. That is, in this embodiment, the update information includes identification information (title) and version information for all the applications. In the present embodiment, even when there are a plurality of terminal systems capable of communicating with the server 2, the server 2 transmits one type of update information to each terminal system.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the terminal system 3 acquires update information for one or more applications set in the server 2 regardless of the applications stored in the storage unit 15. According to this, when there is a request for transmission of update information from the terminal system, the server 2 does not need to determine which application the update information is to be transmitted. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the processing burden on the server 2 can be reduced.

  In the present embodiment, the server 2 that provides update information to the terminal system 3 can provide the terminal system 3 with an application that can be executed by the terminal system 3 and update data. This facilitates management in the server 2 when there is an addition / change in the provided application. Note that providing at least two of the application, update data, and update information from the server to the terminal system 3 can facilitate management when the application is added or changed.

(2-4: Determination of presence / absence of application update)
Next, a process for determining whether an application has been updated will be described. In the present embodiment, whether or not there is an update is determined based on the version information included in the update information acquired from the server 2 and the current version information of the application (to be determined). Specifically, the terminal system 3 compares the current version information of the application to be activated with the version information of the application included in the update information. As a result of the comparison, if the version information of both is different, the terminal system 3 determines that there is an update, and if the version information of both is the same, the terminal system 3 determines that there is no update. The application and update data provided to the terminal system 3 are assumed to have their own version information. The terminal system 3 performs the above comparison by storing the latest version information attached to the provided application or update data as the “current version information”. In other embodiments, the specific method of the determination may be any method. For example, if the update information is flag information indicating whether or not there is an update for each application, the terminal system 3 can make the above determination using the flag information.

  In the present embodiment, whether or not there is an update is determined for an application whose activation is instructed by the user. That is, the determination of whether or not there is an update is performed for one application. Therefore, in the present embodiment, update information is acquired for a plurality of applications at a time, whereas the presence / absence of update is individually determined for each application. According to this, the number of acquisition processes can be reduced by collectively acquiring update information, and the determination process can be efficiently performed by determining whether there is an update for each application.

(2-5: Update data acquisition process)
Next, update data acquisition processing will be described. In the present embodiment, in the update data acquisition process, the terminal system 3 first makes an update data acquisition request to the server 2 using the communication unit 11. Specifically, the terminal system 3 transmits information representing the acquisition request including the identification information (title etc.) of the application to the server 2. When this acquisition request is received from the terminal system 3, the server 2 specifies an application corresponding to the acquisition request and transmits update data corresponding to the application to the terminal system 3. The terminal system 3 receives (acquires) update data transmitted from the server 2 and stores it in the storage unit 15.

  In this embodiment, since the determination of whether or not there is an update is performed for each individual application, update data is also acquired for each individual application. Therefore, the update data acquisition process can be performed efficiently.

  In the present embodiment, when the update data is transmitted to the terminal system 3, the server 2 may transmit the latest update data regardless of the version information of the application in the terminal system 3. Here, when new update data is generated in the server 2 between the first timing and the second timing, the update information in the terminal system 3 does not correspond to the new update data. However, when the server 2 transmits the latest update data, the application can be updated to the latest in the terminal system 3 even in the above case.

  The terminal system 3 may confirm whether or not to update before executing the update data acquisition process. For example, the terminal system 3 displays a message such as “There is an update. Do you want to update?” On the display unit 13. When the user gives an instruction to update, the terminal system 3 executes an update data acquisition process to update the application, and when the user gives an instruction not to update, the terminal system 3 The system 3 may not execute the update data acquisition process.

(2-6: Application update)
Next, update of an application using update data will be described. When the update data is acquired for a certain application, the terminal system 3 updates the certain application using the acquired update data. Here, “application update” in this specification means that both the actual change of the original application program itself and the execution of the application with the updated contents are included. It is. In the former case, the terminal system 3 may update the original application using the update data, and store the updated application in the storage unit 15. In the latter case, the terminal system 3 may store the application and the update data separately in the storage unit 15 and execute the application using the original application and the update data when starting the application. In the latter case, the terminal system 3 may execute a process of updating the application using the update data when the application is activated every time the application is activated.

  The timing at which the application is updated may be any timing after the update data acquisition processing. In the present embodiment, the application is updated following the update data acquisition process. However, in other embodiments, the acquisition of the update data and the update of the application may not be performed continuously.

  In the present embodiment, the application is updated before the application is executed (see FIG. 2). That is, when the update of the application is completed, the terminal system 3 executes the updated application. As described above, in the present embodiment, the terminal system 3 acquires update data for an application that has been determined to be updated before starting the application, and executes the application in which the update by the update data is reflected. To do. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, since the application in which the update is reflected is executed, the user can use the application with a new version after update (ideally, the latest version).

(2-7: Processing for acquiring update data at other timing)
As described above, in the present embodiment, whether or not an application is updated is basically determined at a second timing different from the first timing. However, in the present embodiment, for a predetermined application (hereinafter referred to as a “priority application”) among the applications stored in the storage unit 15, whether or not there is an update is determined following the first timing (update Executed (following the acquisition of information). When it is determined that there is an update, the update data acquisition process is continued. That is, in the present embodiment, the terminal system 3 acquires the update data for the priority application in advance before activation, thereby reducing the time required for activation. The details of the operation related to the priority application update will be described below.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation related to the update of the priority application. In FIG. 4, the update information acquisition process is the same as in FIG. When the update information acquisition process is completed, the terminal system 3 determines whether or not there is an update for one or more priority applications (step S7). The method for determining whether or not there is an update is the same as in the case of an application other than the priority application. When there are a plurality of priority applications, the terminal system 3 determines whether or not each priority application is updated.

  As a result of the determination, if it is determined that there is an update for the priority application, the terminal system 3 executes update data acquisition processing following the determination processing (see FIG. 4). The specific operation of the update data acquisition process is the same as that of other applications other than the priority application. If it is determined that there is an update for a plurality of priority applications, the terminal system 3 executes an update data acquisition process for each priority application.

  Note that the update data acquisition process for the priority application may be performed in the background. That is, after the menu image is displayed on the display unit 13, when another application is executed in the terminal system 3, the terminal system 3 executes update data acquisition processing while the other application is being executed. Also good. Thus, in this embodiment, the terminal system 3 acquires the update data regardless of whether or not an application other than the priority application corresponding to the update data is being executed. According to this, even when the update data for the priority application is acquired, the user can use another application immediately after displaying the menu image.

  Further, the update data acquisition process for the priority application may be executed in the background even during execution of the priority application. That is, the terminal system 3 may acquire update data regardless of whether an application (including an application for which update data is being acquired) is being executed in the information processing apparatus. In addition, when the acquisition process of update data is performed during execution of the priority application corresponding to the update data, the terminal system 3 updates the acquired update data after the priority application being executed ends. You may make it carry out. For example, the update using the acquired update data may be performed at the next timing when the priority application is activated.

  Also, as shown in FIG. 4, when the second timing has arrived for the priority application, the terminal system 3 updates the priority application (step S8). That is, when the second operation for starting the priority application is performed by the user, the terminal system 3 updates the priority application using the update data. The specific method of updating is the same as that for other applications than the priority application.

  After updating the priority application, the terminal system 3 executes the updated priority application (step S9). That is, when an instruction to activate a priority application that has been determined to be updated is issued, the terminal system 3 executes an application in which the update by the update data is reflected. Therefore, the user can use the application with the new version after update (ideally, the latest version) as for the priority application as with other applications.

  The priority application may be determined in any way, but in the present embodiment, an application that is likely to be executed (in the future) is determined as the priority application. That is, in the present embodiment, the terminal system 3 acquires update data in advance before an activation instruction is issued for an application that is highly likely to be executed. According to this, since it is not necessary to acquire the update data during the period from the start instruction to the execution of the application, the period can be shortened.

  Specifically, in the present embodiment, the priority application is a predetermined number of applications from the newest start date and time. That is, a predetermined number of recently activated applications become priority applications. This is because it can be estimated that a recently started application is likely to be executed in the future. In other embodiments, for example, an application executed within the past predetermined period (for example, within one week) may be selected as the priority application. For example, an application registered as a favorite by the user may be selected as the priority application. Further, for example, a predetermined number of applications in descending order of the number of executions, or a predetermined number of applications in order from the longest (total) execution time may be selected as the priority application.

  In the present embodiment, the priority application is determined based on the execution history of each application stored in the storage unit 15. Specifically, in the present embodiment, the terminal system 3 stores the date and time when the application was activated as the execution history, and a list (priority list) indicating a predetermined number of applications in order from the newest date and time. create. This priority list is updated each time an application is executed. When determining whether or not the priority application is updated, the terminal system 3 determines the priority application based on the priority list.

  The priority application may be determined based on another method (condition) regardless of the determination method based on the execution history. For example, in another embodiment, the terminal system 3 may determine an application designated by the user as a priority application. For example, the application designated by the server 2 may be determined as the priority application. That is, the server 2 may determine the priority application according to the urgency or importance of the update data.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the terminal system 3 determines whether or not the predetermined condition among the applications stored in the storage unit 15 regardless of the second timing in response to the update information being acquired. It is determined based on the update information whether there is an update for an application that satisfies the condition (priority application). Then, the terminal system 3 acquires from the server 2 update data used for updating the application that has been determined to be updated (regardless of whether the second timing has arrived). For the priority application, the terminal system 3 may not acquire the update data after the activation instruction is given by the user. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to shorten the time from the start instruction to execution of the priority application.

  Further, in the present embodiment, an application that is highly likely to be executed is set as a priority application. Therefore, update data acquired before the second timing arrives (because the application is not started) remains unused. Is unlikely. That is, in this embodiment, the update data can be acquired efficiently.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the terminal system 3 may be configured to always execute the application in a state in which the latest update is reflected for some of the applications stored in the storage unit 15. Good. That is, the terminal system 3 may acquire update information at the time of activation for the above-mentioned some applications, or may always acquire update data at the time of activation. The several applications may be specified by the server 2, for example.

[3. Details of processing in information processing system]
(3-1) Data Used for Information Processing Hereinafter, an example of specific processing executed in the information processing system 1 (terminal system 3) in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data area set in the storage unit 15 of the terminal system 3 in the present embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 5, the storage unit 15 of the terminal system 3 includes a program storage area 31 and a processing data storage area 33. In addition to the data shown in FIG. 5, the storage unit 15 stores an image to be output to the display unit 13, image data used to generate the image, and the like.

  An information processing program 32 is stored in the program storage area 31. The information processing program 32 is a program for causing the computer (control unit 14) of the terminal system 3 to execute. In the present embodiment, the information processing program 32 is stored in a program storage (such as a storage device or a storage medium) that can be accessed by the control unit 14 and provided inside or outside the terminal system 3. Part or all of the information processing program 32 stored in the program storage unit is read at an appropriate timing, stored in the memory of the control unit 14, and executed by the CPU. A part or all of the information processing program 32 may be stored in advance in the information processing apparatus having the control unit 14.

  The program storage area 31 stores an application 24 that can be executed in the terminal system 3. Although only one application is shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, one or more applications may be stored in the program storage area 31.

  In the processing data storage area 33, various data used in information processing (information processing shown in FIG. 6) executed in the terminal system 3 is stored. The processing data storage area 33 stores update information 25 and update data 26 shown in FIG. Only the latest update information 25 (information acquired last from the server 2) may be stored. The update data 26 may store only data necessary for executing the application for each application.

  Further, the above-described update version information 34 is stored in the processing data storage area 33. Only the latest update version information 34 (the one acquired last from the server 2) may be stored. Further, priority list data 35 is stored in the processing data storage area 33. The priority list data 35 is data representing the priority list indicating one or more priority applications.

(3-2) Specific Example of Information Processing Next, a detailed flow of information processing in the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a flow of information processing executed by the CPU of the control unit 14 in the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, when the terminal system 3 is activated, the CPU of the control unit 14 initializes the memory and the like, and reads the information processing program 32 from the program storage unit into the memory. Then, execution of the information processing program 32 is started by the CPU.

  Note that the processing of each step in the flowchart shown in FIG. 6 is merely an example, and if the same result is obtained, the processing order of each step may be changed, and in addition to the processing of each step ( Alternatively, another process may be performed. In the present embodiment, the processing of each step in the flowchart is described as being executed by the CPU of the control unit 14, but the processing of some steps in the flowchart is executed by a processor or a dedicated circuit other than the CPU. You may do it.

  In the present embodiment, first, in step S11, the control unit 14 starts a menu image display process. In the present embodiment, the menu image display process started in step S11 may be completed before the process of step S15 described later.

  In step S12, the control unit 14 executes an update information acquisition process. The update information acquisition process may be performed by the method described above in “(2-3: Update information acquisition process)”. As a specific process, the control unit 14 stores the update information 25 acquired from the server 2 via the communication unit 11 in the storage unit 15.

  In step S13, the control unit 14 determines whether or not the priority application is updated. In the present embodiment, the control unit 14 reads the priority list data 35 stored in the storage unit 15 and refers to it to identify the priority application. Then, for the identified priority application, the presence / absence of update is determined by the method described in “(2-4: Determination of presence / absence of update of application)”, for example. If the determination result of step S13 is affirmative, the process of step S14 is executed. On the other hand, if the determination result of step S13 is negative, the process of step S14 is skipped and the process of step S15 is executed.

  In step S <b> 14, the control unit 14 starts an update data acquisition process for the priority application that is determined to be updated. Note that the acquisition process started in step S14 may be executed in the background even after the process of step S15 if the priority application itself is not activated. In another embodiment, even when the priority application itself is activated during the update data acquisition process, the update data acquisition process may be executed in the background after the process of step S15. At this time, for example, the update using the acquired update data is performed at the timing when the priority application is started after the acquisition of the update data is completed.

  In step S15, the control unit 14 determines whether or not an application activation instruction has been issued. The process of step S15 is a process for determining whether or not the second timing has been reached. For example, when the menu image is displayed on the display unit 13 by the process of step S1 and an operation (second operation) for designating an application icon included in the menu image is performed, the control unit 14 instructs the application to start Is determined to have been performed. If the determination result of step S15 is affirmative, the process of step S16 is executed. On the other hand, when the determination result of step S15 is negative, the process of step S15 is executed again. That is, the control unit 14 repeatedly executes step S15 until an application activation instruction is issued.

  In step S16, the control unit 14 determines whether or not the application for which the activation instruction has been issued is a priority application. Note that the determination in step S16 can be performed by reading and referring to the priority list data 35 stored in the storage unit 15. If the determination result of step S16 is negative, the process of step S17 is executed. On the other hand, if the determination result of step S16 is affirmative, the process of step S20 described later is executed.

  In step S <b> 17, the control unit 14 determines whether or not there is an update for the application for which the activation instruction has been issued. That is, the control unit 14 determines whether or not there is an update for the application for which an activation instruction has been issued, for example, by the method described in “(2-4: Determination of whether or not an application is updated)”. If the determination result of step S17 is affirmative, the process of step S18 is executed. On the other hand, if the determination result of step S17 is negative, the processes of steps S18 and S19 are skipped and the process of step S22 described later is executed.

  In step S18, the control unit 14 acquires update data for the application for which the activation instruction has been issued. The control unit 14 acquires the update data from the server 2 by the method described in “(2-5: Update data acquisition process)”, for example. The acquired update data 26 is stored in the storage unit 15.

  In step S19, the control unit 14 updates the application for which the activation instruction has been issued. For example, the control unit 14 performs the update by the method described in “(2-6: Update of application)”. After step S19, the control unit 14 executes a process of step S22 described later.

  On the other hand, in step S20, the control unit 14 determines whether update data has been acquired for the application for which the activation instruction has been issued. This determination is made based on whether there is update data that is not used for updating for the application for which the activation instruction has been issued. Specifically, the control unit 14 determines whether update data has been acquired in the immediately preceding step S14. If the determination result of step S20 is affirmative, the process of step S21 is executed. On the other hand, when the determination result of step S20 is negative, the process of step S21 is skipped and the process of step S22 is executed.

  In step S21, the control unit 14 updates the application for which the activation instruction has been issued. The process of step S21 is the same as the process of step S19. Following step S21, the control unit 14 executes the process of step S22.

  In step S22, the control unit 14 executes the application for which the activation instruction has been issued. In the present embodiment, the application is updated as necessary by the process of step S19 or S21, so the application is executed with the new version after the update. When the application is executed in step S22, the control unit 14 updates the execution history (specifically, the start date / time) for the application. Further, the control unit 14 updates the contents of the priority list data 35 as necessary.

  When the application ends in step S22, the process of step S11 is executed. That is, when the application ends, the menu image is displayed again on the display unit 13. Then, the process of step S12 is executed again. Therefore, in the present embodiment, update information is acquired when the menu image is displayed immediately after the terminal system 3 is activated and when the menu image is displayed after the application is terminated. In other embodiments, the terminal system 3 may acquire update information only in one of the two cases. Above, description of the process shown in FIG. 6 is complete | finished.

  Note that the information processing shown in FIG. 6 is terminated in response to a predetermined instruction from the user. For example, an end instruction may be given when a menu image is displayed. At this time, for example, when the terminal system 3 is in communication with the server 2 (for example, during acquisition of update information or update data), the terminal system 3 ends the information processing shown in FIG. 6 after the communication ends. You may make it do.

  As described above, the above embodiment can be used for, for example, an information processing apparatus or a terminal system that executes an application for the purpose of efficiently executing an application update.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Information processing system 2 Server 3 Terminal system 4 Network 11 Communication part 12 Input part 13 Display part 14 Control part 15 Memory | storage part 21,26 Update data 22,25 Update information 24 Application 32 Information processing program

Claims (18)

An information processing apparatus capable of communicating with a server via a network,
An update information acquisition unit that acquires update information that can be determined for each application from the server at a first timing and stores the acquired update information;
Based on the stored update information, whether or not there is an update for at least one application stored in a storage unit accessible by the information processing apparatus at a second timing independent of the first timing. A first update determination unit for determining
An information processing apparatus comprising: a first update data acquisition unit that acquires, from the server, update data used for update for an application that is determined to be updated by the first update determination unit. A first timing determination unit that determines whether or not the first timing is reached based on whether or not a predetermined first condition is satisfied;
A second timing determination unit that determines whether the second timing is reached based on whether a second condition different from the first condition is satisfied;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first update determination unit performs determination when the second timing determination unit determines that the second timing is reached. The update information acquisition unit acquires update information that can determine whether or not there is an update for a plurality of applications from the server,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first update determination unit determines whether there is an update for one application. The first timing is a timing resulting from the user performing a predetermined first operation,
The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the second timing is a timing resulting from a user performing a predetermined second operation different from the first operation. .   5. The first timing according to claim 1, wherein the first timing is a timing from an activation of the information processing apparatus to an instruction to activate an application stored in the storage unit. Information processing device.   The said 1st timing is a timing according to the process according to the process which displays the menu image which can perform the instruction | indication which starts the application memorize | stored in the said memory | storage part for a user. The information processing apparatus according to item 1.   The first update determination unit determines whether or not there is an update for an application instructed to start, with the timing corresponding to the instruction to start the application stored in the storage unit being the second timing. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the information is determined. The first update data acquisition unit acquires update data for an application that has been determined to be updated before starting the application,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising: a first application execution unit that executes an application in which an update by update data is reflected when an instruction to start an application stored in the storage unit is issued.   The update information acquisition unit acquires and stores update version information indicating the version of the update information together with the update information, and acquires the update version information from the server when the first timing comes next. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein whether or not to acquire the update information is determined based on the acquired update version information.   The update information acquisition unit acquires update information for one or more applications set in the server regardless of whether or not the application is stored in the storage unit. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims.   The update information acquisition unit acquires the update information from the server that can provide the information processing apparatus with at least one of an application executable by the information processing apparatus and the update data. The information processing apparatus according to claim 10. In response to the acquisition of the update information, whether or not there is an update for an application that satisfies a predetermined condition among the applications stored in the storage unit, regardless of the second timing. A second update determination unit for determining based on
Any one of Claims 1-11 further provided with the 2nd update data acquisition part which acquires the update data used for update about the application with which it was determined by the said 2nd update determination part that there exists an update. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the second update determination unit determines an application that satisfies the predetermined condition based on an execution history of the application stored in the storage unit.   The second update data acquisition unit acquires the update data regardless of whether or not an application other than the application corresponding to the update data is executed in the information processing apparatus. 13. The information processing apparatus according to 13.   The system further comprises a second application execution unit that executes an application in which an update by the update data is reflected when an instruction to start an application determined to be updated by the second update determination unit is given. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 12 to 14. A terminal system capable of communicating with a server via a network,
An update information acquisition unit that acquires update information that can be determined for each application from the server at a first timing and stores the acquired update information;
Based on the stored update information, whether or not there is an update for at least one application stored in a storage unit accessible by the information processing apparatus at a second timing independent of the first timing. A determination unit for determining
A terminal system comprising: an update data acquisition unit that acquires, from the server, update data used for update for an application that is determined to be updated by the determination unit. An information processing program executed on a computer of an information processing apparatus capable of communicating with a server via a network,
Update information acquisition means for acquiring update information that can be determined for each application from the server at a first timing and storing the acquired update information;
Based on the stored update information, whether or not there is an update for at least one application stored in a storage unit accessible by the information processing apparatus at a second timing independent of the first timing. Determination means for determining
An information processing program for causing the computer to function as update data acquisition means for acquiring update data used for update for an application determined to be updated by the determination means from the server. An application update data acquisition method executed in a terminal system capable of communicating with a server via a network,
An update information acquisition step of acquiring update information that can be determined for each application from the server at a first timing, and storing the acquired update information;
Based on the stored update information, whether or not there is an update for at least one application stored in a storage unit accessible by the information processing apparatus at a second timing independent of the first timing. A determination step for determining
An update data acquisition method comprising: an update data acquisition step of acquiring update data used for update for an application determined to be updated in the determination step.

Images