JP3918230B2 - Data update monitoring server - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a communication terminal device connected via a network to a server storing specific data, connected via a network to a server storing specific data, and monitors whether the specific data is updated. A data update monitoring server for transferring information obtained as a result of monitoring to a client, an information delivery system for delivering information obtained as a result of data update monitoring to a distribution target, and a server storing specific data An information acquisition method for acquiring information from the server, a request transfer method for transferring a request to a server capable of providing a plurality of communication services, and an update of data stored in the server, A data update monitoring method for transferring information obtained as a result of the monitoring to the client and a server connected to the server via the network. It relates a recording medium recording a program used in a computer to be.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, users of communication services with added value represented by so-called personal computer communication services have increased rapidly. When receiving such a communication service, generally, a communication terminal device is used to access a server (communication host) and data communication is performed between the communication terminal device and the communication host. Will receive.
[0003]
Some communication terminal devices used at this time have a function of not only transmitting / receiving data to / from a communication host but also recording a series of transmitted / received text data (log) as a communication history.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, since the conventional communication terminal device simply records the log, in order to find out the data desired by the user, the recorded log must be reread from the beginning. In addition, since the number of such log records increases each time a communication terminal device performs data communication with a communication host, it is increasingly possible to find data requested by users from such a large number of logs. It becomes difficult.
[0005]
Therefore, conventionally, there has been proposed a communication terminal device having a function of dividing and organizing a recorded log after communication is completed. In such a communication terminal device, since the recorded logs are divided and organized, it is relatively easy to find data requested by the user. However, even if it has a function to divide and organize such logs, in the conventional communication terminal device, when the same data as the data previously transmitted from the communication host is received again Since the same data is recorded redundantly, as described above, even if the log is divided and organized, the same data remains redundant. Therefore, there has been a problem that useless data recording increases. In addition, if the same data is recorded in duplicate, it is very difficult to find the data required by the user.
[0006]
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art. Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to acquire data taken from a server such as a communication host without overlapping with already recorded data. It is to provide a communication terminal device, a data update monitoring server, etc.
[0007]
[Means for solving the problems and their functions and effects]
In order to achieve at least a part of the above object, a first communication terminal device of the present invention is a communication terminal device connected via a network to a server storing specific data,
Storage means for storing at least a part of the specific data as storage data;
Access means for accessing the server and capturing at least part of the specific data;
Difference data acquisition means for acquiring, as difference data, a portion other than the portion overlapping with the storage data stored in the storage means, of the acquired data acquired by the access means;
It is a summary to provide.
[0008]
Thus, in the first communication terminal device, the storage means stores at least a part of the specific data as stored data. The access means accesses the server and captures at least a part of the specific data. The difference data acquisition unit acquires, as difference data, a portion other than the portion overlapping the storage data stored in the storage unit, of the captured data acquired by the access unit.
[0009]
Therefore, according to the first communication terminal device, data that overlaps with already acquired storage data is not acquired, and therefore the same data is not stored repeatedly.
[0010]
In the first communication terminal device,
You may make it further provide the writing means which writes the information contained in the acquired said difference data into the said memory | storage means with the additional information relevant to this information.
[0011]
When such a writing means is further provided, additional information related to the information is written in the storage means together with the information included in the difference data, so when reading the information included in the difference data, the information is Classification can be performed using additional information.
[0012]
In the first communication terminal device,
Reading means for classifying and reading out the information written in the storage means based on the additional information related to the information;
Display means for displaying the information read out by classification;
May be further provided.
[0013]
When such reading means and display means are further provided, the information included in the difference data can be displayed in a classified state.
[0014]
In the first communication terminal device,
The writing means includes
It is preferable that when information included in the difference data is written in the storage unit, identification information adding means for adding identification information indicating that the information is new information is added to the information.
[0015]
When such identification information adding means is provided, all the information included in the newly acquired difference data can be written to the storage means after adding the identification information. Therefore, for example, even when information is newly acquired when the user is absent, the information can be easily found later.
[0016]
In the first communication terminal device,
The apparatus further comprises identification information search means for searching for information to which the identification information is added from information written in the storage means,
When the information obtained by the search is included in the information to be displayed, the display means displays the information so that the information can be identified from information to which the identification information is not added. May be.
[0017]
When configured in this way, when displaying the information stored in the storage means, the information included in the newly acquired difference data is displayed separately from the other information already acquired. Can do. Therefore, for example, even when information is newly acquired when the user is absent, it is possible to easily determine which information corresponds to the information when the information is displayed.
[0018]
In the first communication terminal device,
An input means for inputting an instruction to display new information;
Identification information search means for searching for information to which the identification information is added from information written in the storage means based on the input instruction;
And further comprising
The display means may display the information obtained by the search.
[0019]
When each means is provided, information included in the newly acquired difference data can be found and displayed from the information written in the storage means. Therefore, for example, even when information is newly acquired when the user is absent, the information that the user has not yet seen can be displayed simply by giving an instruction to display new information. You can see the information without having to find it yourself.
[0020]
In the first communication terminal device,
An update check means for checking whether or not the specific data is updated when the server is accessed by the access means;
The access means may take in at least a part of the specific data when it is determined that the specific data is updated as a result of the update check by the update check means.
[0021]
In such a configuration, since the specific data is captured only when the specific data is updated, it is possible to reduce unnecessary data capture.
[0022]
In the first communication terminal device,
The access means may access the server based on information indicating a storage location of the specific data.
[0023]
In the first communication terminal device,
The access means includes
When there is link data for the acquired difference data, the server storing the link data is accessed via the network based on the information indicating the storage location of the link data included in the difference data. Then, link data fetching means for fetching the link data from the server may be provided.
[0024]
When such a link data capturing means is provided, not only difference data but also link data linked to the difference data can be obtained.
[0025]
In the first communication terminal device,
The access means includes
When there is link data for the acquired difference data, the server storing the link data is accessed via the network based on the information indicating the storage location of the link data included in the difference data. And link data fetching means for fetching the link data from the server,
Writing means for writing the information included in the acquired difference data together with the information represented by the link data captured for the difference data to the storage means;
Display means for displaying information included in the difference data written in the storage means and information represented by the link data;
May be further provided.
[0026]
When each means is provided, when information included in the difference data is displayed, information represented by link data related to the difference data can be displayed together with the information. Therefore, the information that the user wants can be provided immediately.
[0027]
In the first communication terminal device,
Information search means for searching for information satisfying a predetermined condition from information included in the obtained difference data;
Writing means for writing the retrieved information into the storage means;
May be further provided.
[0028]
When such information retrieval means and writing means are provided, it is possible to write only necessary information satisfying a predetermined condition from the information included in the acquired difference data to the storage means. Writing can be reduced.
[0029]
In the first communication terminal device,
The difference data acquisition means includes
Whether or not the captured data is a portion overlapping with the stored data may be determined based on whether or not the captured data and attached information included in the stored data match.
[0030]
When configured in this way, it is possible to accurately and easily determine whether or not the portion overlaps the stored data.
[0031]
In the first communication terminal device,
The information included in the acquired difference data may be further classified by a predetermined standard, and further provided with a writing means for writing to the storage means.
[0032]
When such a writing means is further provided, the information included in the difference data can be written into the storage means in a classified state, so that the use of the information becomes easy.
[0033]
In the first communication terminal device,
The storage means has a directory structure corresponding to the data storage structure in the server,
The writing means may classify information included in the difference data in accordance with a data storage structure in the server, and write the classified information in a corresponding directory of the storage means.
[0034]
By configuring the writing means in this way, the information stored in the storage means becomes easy for the user to use.
[0035]
In the first communication terminal device,
The reading means includes
The information written in the storage means may be classified and read for each communication service provided by the server.
[0036]
In the first communication terminal device,
The reading means includes
The information written in the storage means may be classified and read according to the storage location of the information in the server.
[0037]
In the first information terminal device,
The reading unit may classify and read the information written in the storage unit according to at least one of the date and time when the information is acquired.
[0038]
In the first communication terminal device,
The reading unit may classify and read the information written in the storage unit according to a keyword included in the information.
[0039]
By configuring the reading means as described above, the information read from the storage means becomes easy for the user to use.
[0040]
The second communication terminal device of the present invention is a communication terminal device connected via a network to a server capable of providing a communication service,
Storage means for storing information;
Access means for accessing the server and capturing information transferred from the server;
Writing means for writing the captured information into the storage means;
An input means for inputting an instruction to receive provision of a specific communication service;
Specific communication service start request means for requesting the server to start providing the specific communication service based on the input instruction;
A specific communication service stop request for requesting the server to stop providing the specific communication service when title information related to the specific communication service transferred from the server is captured by the access means and written by the writing means Means,
Reading means for reading out the written title information from the storage means;
Display means for displaying the read title information;
It is a summary to provide.
[0041]
By adopting such a configuration, in the second communication terminal device, for example, even when trying to receive a fee-based service as a specific communication service, only the title information is acquired by receiving the fee-based service for the time being Then, immediately after the provision of the paid service is stopped, the title information about the service can be obtained without incurring much usage fee.
[0042]
In the second communication terminal device,
The specific communication service start request means includes:
For specific title information in the title information displayed on the display means, when an instruction to transfer body information corresponding to the specific title information is input from the input means, the specific information is sent to the server. Request again to start providing communication services,
When the title information related to the specific communication service transferred again from the server is captured by the access unit, the writing unit stores the title information stored in the storage unit among the captured title information. And writes the part other than the part overlapping with the storage means,
When a portion other than the overlapping portion is written in the storage means, the attached information included in the specific title information is changed, and the body information corresponding to the specific title information is transferred based on the changed attached information Text information transfer request means for requesting the server to the server
May be further provided.
[0043]
By providing each of these means, when a body information transfer request is made using the attached information of specific title information, the title information is attached between the end of the previous service provision and the start of the current service provision. Even if the information has been changed, the transfer of the text information is requested by the changed attached information, so that the information requested by the user can be obtained accurately.
[0044]
The third communication terminal device of the present invention is a communication terminal device connected via a network to a server capable of providing a plurality of communication services,
Storage means for storing a request for the server related to the communication service;
Reading means for reading the stored request from the storage means;
Organizing means for organizing the read requests so as to be organized for each communication service;
Transfer means for transferring the request organized by the organizing means to the server;
It is a summary to provide.
[0045]
In other words, in the third communication terminal device, the storage means stores a request for the server related to the communication service. Then, the organizing means arranges the stored requests so as to be collected for each communication service. The transmission means transmits the arranged request to the server.
[0046]
Therefore, according to the third communication terminal apparatus, since the requests transmitted to the server are collected for each communication service, the server can process requests for the same communication service at a time, and accordingly, Since the communication time with the server can be shortened, the communication efficiency is improved.
[0047]
In the third communication terminal device,
The organizing unit may unify the duplicated parts into one request when the requests are duplicated when the requests are arranged.
[0048]
By configuring the organizing means in this way, duplicate requests are not made to the server, so that the server does not need to perform unnecessary processing, and communication efficiency is further improved.
[0049]
A fourth communication terminal device of the present invention is a communication terminal device connected to a server via a network,
Storage means for storing information;
Access means for accessing the server and capturing information transferred from the server;
A writing unit that classifies the captured information according to a predetermined criterion during access and writes the information into the storage unit;
It is a summary to provide.
[0050]
In the fourth communication terminal apparatus, the access means accesses the server and captures information transferred from the server, and the writing means classifies the captured information according to a predetermined standard during access to the storage means. Write.
[0051]
In this way, in the fourth communication terminal device, the captured information is classified and written to the storage means according to a predetermined standard, so that the information can be stored in a classified state, and the utilization of the information becomes easy. In addition, since information is classified during access, the captured information can be used immediately after the access is completed.
[0052]
A fifth communication terminal device of the present invention is a communication terminal device connected to a server via a network,
Storage means for storing information;
Access means for accessing the server and capturing information transferred from the server;
Writing means for writing the captured information into the storage means;
A reading means for reading the written information from the storage means;
A transfer requesting unit that requests the server to transfer the corresponding information when the information to be read by the reading unit does not exist in the storage unit;
It is a summary to provide.
[0053]
By providing each of these means, a transfer request is automatically issued to the server even when the information requested by the user does not exist in the storage means. There is no need to issue.
[0054]
The first data update monitoring server of the present invention is connected to a server via a network, monitors the update of specific data stored in the server via the network, and obtains information obtained as a monitoring result from the client A data update monitoring server to be transferred to
Storage means for storing the specific data;
Access means for accessing the server based on information representing a storage location of the specific data provided from the client;
An update check means for checking whether or not the specific data is updated when the server is accessed by the access means;
As a result of the update check by the update check means, when it is determined that the specific data is updated, the updated specific data fetched from the server by the access means is stored in the storage means. Differential data acquisition means for acquiring a portion other than a portion overlapping with the specific data before being updated as differential data;
Transfer means for transferring information contained in the acquired difference data to the client;
It is a summary to provide.
[0055]
As described above, in the first data update monitoring server, the storage unit stores the specific data, and the access unit accesses the server based on the information indicating the storage location of the specific data provided from the client. . The update check means checks whether or not the specific data is updated when the access means accesses the server. The difference data acquisition means is stored in the storage means among the updated specific data fetched by the access means from the server when it is determined that the specific data is updated as a result of the update check by the update check means. A portion other than the portion overlapping with the specific data before update is acquired as difference data. The transfer means transfers information included in the acquired difference data to the client.
[0056]
Therefore, according to the first data update monitoring server, even if the client itself does not check for the update of the specific data or does not take in the specific data, the data update monitor server will do everything instead. This saves a lot of time and effort for the user who uses the network and shortens the communication time.
[0057]
In the first data update monitoring server,
The access means includes
When link data exists for the difference data, based on the information indicating the storage location of the link data included in the difference data, the server storing the link data is accessed via the network, A link data fetching unit for fetching the link data from the server;
The transfer means includes
When transferring the information included in the difference data to the client, information represented by the link data acquired for the difference data may also be transferred.
[0058]
With this configuration, not only the difference data for the specific data but also the link data linked to the difference data can be transferred to the client.
[0059]
In the first data update monitoring server,
The apparatus further comprises search means for searching for information satisfying a predetermined condition set corresponding to the client from information included in the difference data,
The transfer means may transfer the searched information to the corresponding client.
[0060]
By adopting such a configuration, of the information included in the acquired difference data, information satisfying the condition corresponding to the client is transferred to the client. Therefore, a user who uses a client can acquire information of his / her interest through the client if, for example, a field of his / her interest is set as the above condition.
[0061]
In the first data update monitoring server,
A search means for searching for information corresponding to information on a position where the client exists from information included in the difference data;
The transfer means may transfer the searched information to the corresponding client.
[0062]
By adopting such a configuration, of the information included in the acquired difference data, information corresponding to the position where the client exists is transferred to the client. Therefore, when the client is a portable information device, for example, even when the user moves with the client, the user can easily acquire information corresponding to the position.
[0063]
In the first data update monitoring server,
The transfer means includes
When transferring information included in the difference data, additional information related to the information may be added and transferred.
[0064]
By adopting such a configuration, on the client side, the information included in the difference data can be easily classified using the additional information.
[0065]
In the first data update monitoring server,
You may make it further provide the data processing means which processes the data showing the said information transferred by the said transfer means corresponding to the said client.
[0066]
As described above, the data representing the information to be transferred is subjected to processing corresponding to the transfer destination client, so that the client can save time and effort to perform predetermined processing on the data, and the burden on the client side is reduced. .
[0067]
In the first data update monitoring server,
The data processing means may process the data representing the information so as to satisfy a restriction condition regarding a display size when information is displayed on the client.
[0068]
By adopting such a configuration, the client can display information using the transferred data as it is without being aware of the restriction condition regarding the display size.
[0069]
In the first data update monitoring server,
The data processing means may process the data representing the information so as to satisfy a restriction condition related to a color system when displaying information on the client.
[0070]
By adopting such a configuration, the client can display the information using the transferred data as it is without being aware of the restriction condition regarding the color system.
[0071]
In the first data update monitoring server,
Input means for inputting information to be transferred to the client;
In addition, with
The transfer means may transfer the information input from the input means to the client separately from the information included in the acquired difference data.
[0072]
By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to transfer not only the information included in the difference data but also the information input by the input means from the data update monitoring server to the client. Therefore, for example, when there is information that the administrator of the data update monitoring server wants to distribute to the user who uses the client, the information can be distributed to each client simply by inputting the information using the input means.
[0073]
In the first data update monitoring server,
Registration means for previously registering the information representing the storage location of the specific data provided from the client
May be further provided.
[0074]
By providing such a registration means, information indicating the storage location can be managed in the data update monitoring server.
[0075]
In the first data update monitoring server,
The transfer means includes
When the difference data acquisition unit acquires the difference data, information included in the difference data may be transferred to the client.
[0076]
By adopting such a configuration, the client can obtain the information included in the difference data when the client acquires the difference data, so that the user using the client can quickly obtain the information included in the difference data. be able to.
[0077]
In the first data update monitoring server,
The transfer means includes
Information contained in the difference data may be transferred to the client when a transfer request is received from the client.
[0078]
By adopting such a configuration, the client can obtain the information included in the difference data immediately after making a request, so that the user using the client can immediately obtain the information included in the difference data when necessary. Can be obtained.
[0079]
In the data update monitoring server,
The access means may periodically access the server.
[0080]
By adopting such a configuration, the data update monitoring server can periodically check whether the data has been updated and, if updated, can acquire the difference data each time. It can always be kept.
[0081]
The second data update monitoring server of the present invention is connected to a server via a network, monitors an update of specific data stored in the server via the network, and obtains information obtained as a monitoring result as a client A data update monitoring server to be transferred to
Access means for accessing the server based on information representing a storage location of the specific data;
An update check means for checking whether or not the specific data is updated when the server is accessed by the access means;
Transfer means for transferring the result of the update check by the update check means to the client;
It is a summary to provide.
[0082]
As described above, in the second data update monitoring server, the access unit accesses the server based on the information indicating the storage location of the specific data. The update check means checks whether or not the specific data is updated when the access means accesses the server. The transfer unit transfers the result of the update check by the update check unit to the client.
[0083]
Therefore, according to the second data update monitoring server, even if the client periodically accesses the server storing the specific data and does not check whether or not the specific data is updated, the update check means can Since the result of the update check performed can be received from the transfer means, the user's trouble of using the client can be saved greatly and the communication time can be shortened.
[0084]
An information distribution system according to the present invention includes an information update monitoring server connected to a server storing specific data via a network, and a distribution device capable of accessing the data update monitoring server. A system,
The data update monitoring server includes:
Storage means for storing the specific data;
Access means for accessing the server based on information representing a storage location of the specific data;
An update check means for checking whether or not the specific data is updated when the server is accessed by the access means;
As a result of the update check by the update check means, when it is determined that the specific data is updated, the updated specific data fetched from the server by the access means is stored in the storage means. Differential data acquisition means for acquiring a portion other than a portion overlapping with the specific data before being updated as differential data;
Transfer means for transferring information contained in the acquired difference data to the distribution device by access from the distribution device;
With
The distribution device includes:
Information acquisition means for accessing the data update monitoring server and acquiring the transferred information;
Information distribution means for distributing the acquired information to a predetermined distribution target;
It is a summary to provide.
[0085]
As described above, in the information distribution system of the present invention, the data update monitoring server performs the update check of the specific data, and if the data is updated, the difference data before and after the update is acquired. The distribution device accesses the data update monitoring server, acquires information included in the difference data, and distributes the information to a predetermined distribution target.
[0086]
Therefore, according to this information distribution system, since the information included in the difference data is automatically distributed to the distribution target, the user on the distribution target side does not access the data update monitoring server to acquire the information. However, it is possible to obtain the desired information simply by waiting for delivery from the delivery device, so that the user's labor can be saved greatly.
[0087]
The first information acquisition method of the present invention is an information acquisition method for acquiring information from a server in which specific data is stored,
(A) providing a storage means storing at least a part of the specific data as storage data;
(B) accessing the server via a network and capturing at least part of the specific data;
(C) a step of acquiring, as difference data, a portion other than a portion overlapping with the storage data stored in the storage means among the captured data;
It is a summary to provide.
[0088]
By executing such an information acquisition method, the same effect as in the case of the first communication terminal apparatus described above can be obtained.
[0089]
The second information acquisition method of the present invention is an information acquisition method for acquiring information from a server capable of providing a communication service,
(A) providing a storage means for storing information;
(B) when there is an instruction to receive provision of a specific communication service, based on the instruction, requesting the server to start providing the specific communication service;
(C) a step of requesting the server to stop providing the specific communication service when the title information related to the specific communication service transferred from the server is captured and written in the storage unit;
(D) reading the written title information from the storage means and displaying it;
It is a summary to provide.
[0090]
By executing such an information acquisition method, the same effect as in the case of the second communication terminal device described above can be obtained.
[0091]
The request transfer method of the present invention is a request transfer method for transferring a request to a server capable of providing a plurality of communication services,
(A) preparing a storage means for storing a request to the server related to the communication service;
(B) reading the stored request from the storage means;
(C) arranging the read requests so as to be grouped for each communication service;
(D) transferring the organized request to the server;
It is a summary to provide.
[0092]
By executing such a transfer request method, the same effect as in the case of the third communication terminal apparatus described above can be obtained.
[0093]
A third information acquisition method of the present invention is an information acquisition method for acquiring information from a server,
(A) providing a storage means for storing information;
(B) capturing the information transferred from the server by accessing the server;
(C) classifying the fetched information according to a predetermined standard during access, and writing to the storage means;
It is a summary to provide.
[0094]
By executing such an information acquisition method, the same effect as in the case of the above-described fourth communication terminal apparatus can be obtained.
[0095]
A fourth information acquisition method of the present invention is an information acquisition method for acquiring information from a server,
(A) providing a storage means for storing information;
(B) capturing the information transferred from the server by accessing the server;
(C) writing the captured information into the storage means;
(D) reading the written information from the storage means;
(E) requesting the server to transfer the corresponding information when the information to be read in step (d) does not exist in the storage means;
It is a summary to provide.
[0096]
By executing such an information acquisition method, the same effect as in the case of the fifth communication terminal apparatus described above can be obtained.
[0097]
A first data update monitoring method of the present invention is a data update monitoring method for monitoring updates of data stored in a server and transferring information obtained as a result of the monitoring to a client.
(A) preparing a storage means for storing the specific data;
(B) accessing the server based on information representing a storage location of the specific data provided from the client;
(C) checking whether or not the specific data is updated;
(D) As a result of the update check, when it is determined that the specific data is updated, the specific data before update stored in the storage unit among the specific data after update fetched from the server Acquiring a portion other than the portion overlapping with the data as difference data;
(E) transferring information included in the acquired difference data to the client;
It is a summary to provide.
[0098]
By executing such a data update monitoring method, the same effect as that of the first data update monitoring server described above can be obtained.
[0099]
A second data update monitoring method according to the present invention is a data update monitoring method for monitoring an update of data stored in a server and transferring information obtained as a result of the monitoring to a client.
(A) accessing the server based on information representing a storage location of the specific data;
(B) checking whether the specific data is updated;
(C) transferring the result of the update check to the client;
It is a summary to provide.
[0100]
By executing such a data update monitoring method, the same effect as that of the second data update monitoring server described above can be obtained.
[0101]
The first recording medium of the present invention is used in a computer connected to a server in which specific data is stored via a network and having storage means for storing data, and for acquiring information from the server A computer-readable recording medium on which the program is recorded,
A writing function for pre-writing at least part of the specific data in the storage means as storage data;
An access function for accessing the server and capturing at least part of the specific data;
Of the captured data captured by the access function, a differential data acquisition function for acquiring, as differential data, a part other than the part overlapping with the stored data stored in the storage unit;
The gist is that a program for causing the computer to be recorded is recorded. Even when the program recorded in such a recording medium is executed by a computer, the same effect as that of the first communication terminal apparatus described above can be obtained.
[0102]
The recording medium includes a flexible disk, CD-ROM, magneto-optical disk, IC card, ROM cartridge, punch card, printed matter on which a code such as a barcode is printed, an internal storage device of a computer (memory such as RAM or ROM). ) And external storage devices can be used.
[0103]
A second recording medium of the present invention is connected to a server capable of providing a communication service via a network, and stores a storage means for storing information, a display means for displaying information, and an instruction input A computer-readable recording medium that records a program for acquiring information from the server, and is used in a computer comprising:
An access function for accessing the server and fetching information transferred from the server;
A write function for writing the information captured by the access function to the storage means;
When an instruction to receive provision of a specific communication service is input from the server from the input means, a specific communication service start request that requests the server to start providing the specific communication service based on the instruction Function and
Specific communication service stop request for requesting the server to stop providing the specific communication service when title information related to the specific communication service transferred from the server is captured by the access function and written by the write function Function and
A read function for reading the written title information from the storage means and displaying the information on the display means;
The gist is that a program for causing the computer to be recorded is recorded. Even when the program recorded in such a recording medium is executed by a computer, the same effect as in the case of the second communication terminal device described above can be obtained.
[0104]
A third recording medium of the present invention is used in a computer connected to a server capable of providing a communication service via a network and having a storage means for storing information, and transfers a request to the server. A computer-readable recording medium recording a program for
A write function for writing a request to the server related to the communication service in the storage means;
A read function for reading the written request from the storage means;
An organizing function for organizing the read requests so as to be collected for each communication service;
A transfer and transfer function for transferring the request arranged by the arrangement function to the server;
The gist is that a program for causing the computer to be recorded is recorded.
Even when the program recorded in such a recording medium is executed by a computer, the same effect as that of the third communication terminal device described above can be obtained.
[0105]
A fourth recording medium of the present invention is used in a computer connected to a server via a network and provided with storage means for storing information, and is a computer-readable recording program for acquiring information from the server Recording medium,
An access function for accessing the server and fetching information transferred from the server;
A writing function for classifying the captured information during access and writing it into the storage means according to a predetermined standard;
The gist is that a program for causing the computer to be recorded is recorded.
Even when the program recorded in such a recording medium is executed by a computer, the same effect as in the case of the fourth communication terminal device described above can be obtained.
[0106]
A fifth recording medium of the present invention is used in a computer that is connected to a server via a network and has a storage means for storing information, and is a computer-readable recording program for acquiring information from the server Recording medium,
An access function for accessing the server and fetching information transferred from the server;
A writing function for writing the captured information into the storage means;
A read function for reading the written information from the storage means;
A transfer request function for requesting the server to transfer corresponding information when the information to be read by the read function does not exist in the storage unit;
The gist is that a program for causing the computer to be recorded is recorded.
Even when the program recorded in such a recording medium is executed by a computer, the same effect as in the case of the fifth communication terminal apparatus described above can be obtained.
[0107]
A sixth recording medium of the present invention is used in a computer connected to a server storing specific data via a network and having a storage means for storing data, and monitors the update of the specific data. A computer-readable recording medium recording a program for transferring information obtained as a result of monitoring to the client,
A writing function for pre-writing the specific data in the storage means;
An access function for accessing the server based on information representing a storage location of the specific data provided from the client;
An update check function for checking whether or not the specific data is updated when the server is accessed by the access function;
As a result of the update check by the update check function, when it is determined that the specific data is updated, the updated specific data fetched from the server by the access function is stored in the storage unit. A difference data acquisition function for acquiring a portion other than a portion overlapping with the specific data before being updated as difference data;
A transfer function for transferring information included in the obtained difference data to the client;
The gist is that a program for causing the computer to be recorded is recorded.
Even when the program recorded in such a recording medium is executed by a computer, the same effect as that of the first data update monitoring server described above can be obtained.
[0108]
A seventh recording medium of the present invention is used in a computer connected via a network to a server in which specific data is stored, monitors the update of the specific data, and sends information obtained as a monitoring result to the client A computer-readable recording medium storing a program for transferring to
An access function for accessing the server based on information indicating a storage location of the specific data;
An update check function for checking whether or not the specific data is updated when the server is accessed by the access function;
A transfer function for transferring the result of the update check by the update check function to the client;
The gist is that a program for causing the computer to be recorded is recorded.
Even when the program recorded in such a recording medium is executed by a computer, the same effect as that of the second data update monitoring server described above can be obtained.
[0109]
Other aspects of the invention
The present invention includes other aspects as follows. In other words, the aspect is an aspect as a program supply apparatus that supplies a computer with a program for realizing the functions of the respective steps or means of the present invention via a communication path. In such an aspect, each method and each device described above can be realized by placing a program on a server on a network, etc., downloading a necessary program to a computer via a communication path, and executing the program.
[0110]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
1) Communication terminal device for personal computer communication service
Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on examples. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a communication terminal apparatus as a first embodiment of the present invention. The present embodiment is a communication terminal device for receiving a so-called personal computer communication service, and is realized by a computer as will be described later.
[0111]
Here, personal computer communication is generally placed in a personal computer communication center via a communication line using a communication terminal device realized by a personal computer (personal computer), a word processor (word processor dedicated machine), a home game computer, or the like. A communication host such as a host computer or server is accessed, and messages and data are transmitted and received using the storage / processing functions of the communication host. Such personal computer communication services provided through personal computer communication include communication services such as e-mail, electronic conference, electronic bulletin board (BBS), chat, and information providing services such as news, weather forecasts, and libraries. .
[0112]
1-1) Configuration of a computer that realizes a communication terminal device
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a computer that realizes the communication terminal apparatus of FIG.
[0113]
First, for convenience of explanation, the overall configuration of a computer that implements the communication terminal device of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
[0114]
As shown in FIG. 2, the computer 10 includes an arithmetic processing unit 20 connected to a local bus 22, a PCI bridge 30 that connects the local bus 22 to a PCI bus 32 that is one of external buses, and a PCI bus 32. The controller unit 40 that is accessed by the CPU 21 of the arithmetic processing unit 20, the I / O unit 60 connected to the ISA bus 42, which is a low-speed external bus, that controls various I / O devices, and peripheral devices And a keyboard 72, a speaker 74, a monitor (color CRT) 76, and the like.
[0115]
The arithmetic processing unit 20 includes a CPU 21 (in this embodiment, using Pentium ™ manufactured by Intel), a cache memory 23, a cache controller 24 thereof, and a main memory 25 as a central processing unit. The PCI bridge 30 is a controller having a function of controlling a high-speed PCI bus 32. The memory space handled by the CPU 21 is expanded to a logical address wider than the actual physical address by various registers prepared in the CPU 21.
[0116]
The controller unit 40 includes a graphics controller (hereinafter referred to as CRTC) 44 that controls display of an image on the monitor 76, a SCSI controller 46 that controls data transfer with a connected SCSI device, a PCI bus 32, and a lower ISA bus. It comprises a PCI-ISA bridge 48 that controls the interface. The CRTC 44 can display 640 × 480 dots and 16 colors on the monitor (color CRT) 76. A character generator that stores display fonts, a graphic controller that receives a predetermined command and draws a predetermined graphic, and a video memory that stores a drawing image are mounted on the CRTC 44. Since the configuration is well known, the illustration is omitted in FIG.
[0117]
The ISA bus 42 connected via the PCI-ISA bridge 48 is a bus for input / output control to which various I / O devices are connected, and includes a DMA controller 50, a real-time clock (RTC) 52, a composite I / O. From the port 54, the sound I / O 56, the keyboard interface 64 that manages the interface with the keyboard 72 and the two-button mouse 73, the interrupt controller 66 that performs interrupt control with priority, the timer 68 that generates various time counts and beeps, and the like It is configured. The ISA bus 42 is connected to an ISA slot 62 in which an expansion board can be mounted.
[0118]
The composite I / O port 54 is provided with ports for inputting / outputting signals for controlling the floppy disk device 82, the CD-ROM device 83, and the hard disk 84 in addition to parallel input / output and serial input / output. A printer 88 is connected to the parallel input / output via a parallel port 86, and a modem 92 is connected to the serial input / output via a serial port 90. In addition to the speaker 74 described above, a microphone 96 can be connected to the sound I / O 56.
[0119]
The hard disk 84 of the computer 10 stores DOS (Disk Operating System) and various device drivers incorporated in the DOS. The computer 10 reads the DOS at the time of start-up, and further, the contents of the file referred to by the DOS. Follow the instructions to install the necessary device drivers. Examples of the device driver include a printer driver that enables printing to the printer 88 via the composite I / O port 54.
[0120]
The hard disk 84 stores an operating system having a GUI “WINDOWS” (“WINDOWS” is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation). The computer 10 reads this operating system, and then loads an application program on the operating system. It is read on the main memory 25 and executed so as to operate.
[0121]
1-2) Configuration of communication terminal device of this embodiment
Next, the communication terminal apparatus according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. This communication terminal apparatus is realized by integrating the hardware and software in the computer 10 described above, and FIG. 1 is represented as a block diagram including a part realized by software.
[0122]
This communication terminal device is centered on the access management unit 100, and includes a user I / F (interface) unit 200, a communication control unit 300, a data management unit 400, a communication I / F unit 500, and an automatic communication processing unit 600. And.
[0123]
Among these, the user I / F unit 200 transmits various instructions from the user input via the keyboard 72 and the mouse 73 to the access management unit 100, and monitors various data input from the access management unit 100. Or display it on the 76 screen. In addition, when there is an instruction from a user such as a communication reservation or a periodic tour, which will be described later, the contents of the instructed communication reservation or a periodic tour are sent to the automatic communication processing unit 600.
[0124]
The access management unit 100 issues various requests to the communication control unit 300 and the data management unit 400 in accordance with instructions from the user transmitted via the user I / F unit 200, and communicates via the communication control unit 300. Data sent from a host (not shown) is transferred to the data management unit 400, or data read from the database 410 in the hard disk 84 via the data management unit 400 is sent to the user I / F unit 200. Or output.
[0125]
The access management unit 100 includes a writing unit 100a, a reading unit 100b, a difference data acquisition unit 100c, a new arrival mark addition unit 100d, a new arrival mark search unit 100e, a transfer request unit 100f, a specific communication service start request unit 100g, and a specific communication service stop request. Part 100h and text information transfer request part 100i.
[0126]
The data management unit 400 writes the data passed from the writing unit 100a to the database 410 according to a request from the writing unit 100a of the access management unit 100, or stores it in the database 410 according to a request from the reading unit 100b of the access management unit 100. The stored data is read out and passed to the reading unit 100b. When there is no data requested from the access management unit 100 in the database 410, an error signal is returned to the access management unit 100. Further, the data in the database 410 is sorted, searched, deleted, etc. as necessary. The database 410 in the hard disk 84 is a local database managed by the data management unit 400. As will be described later, various received data from the communication host is stored for each of various services provided by the communication host under a hierarchical structure. Organized and remembered.
[0127]
The communication control unit 300, for example, receives a request from the request units 100f to 100i of the access management unit 100 to “use the XX title of the XX menu of the XX service”. It is translated into menu numbers and commands for each service of the communication host and sent to the communication I / F unit 500. Further, when data transmitted from the communication host is received from the communication I / F unit 500, a necessary part is cut out from the data and converted into a form requested by the access management unit 100, and then accessed. It is passed to the management unit 100. Communication I / F unit 500 transmits / receives data to / from a communication host connected to the end of a communication line via modem 92.
[0128]
The automatic communication processing unit 600 writes the contents of communication reservations and periodic patrols sent from the user I / F unit 200 into the reservation file 610 and the patrol file 620 in the hard disk 84 and stores them. Then, when there is an automatic communication start instruction from a user or an automatic communication start instruction by a timer, automatic communication is performed between communication hosts according to the contents stored in the reservation file 610 and the patrol file 620.
[0129]
The automatic communication processing unit 600 includes an arrangement unit 600a and a transfer unit 600b.
[0130]
As described above, each block shown in FIG. 1 includes a part realized by hardware and a part realized by software. For example, the user I / F unit 200 has the keyboard interface 64 and the CRTC 44 shown in FIG. 2 as hardware, but actually operates only when there is software for controlling input and display. Therefore, the user I / F unit 200 in FIG. 1 includes both of them.
[0131]
Note that the software portion is stored in advance in the hard disk 84 in the form of an application program, and an activation instruction is given by the user using the keyboard 72 and the mouse 73, and the above operating system causes the hard disk 84 to store the main memory 25. 1 realizes the communication terminal apparatus shown in FIG. 1 in which hardware and software are integrated.
[0132]
When the application program is recorded on the CD-ROM 85 shown in FIG. 2, the CD-ROM 85 is inserted into the CD-ROM device 83 and the application program is read by the CD-ROM device 83. It may be transferred to the main memory 25. When the application program is recorded on the floppy disk 81 shown in FIG. 2, the floppy disk 81 is inserted into the floppy disk device 82, and the application program is read by the floppy disk device 82, whereby the main memory is recorded. 25 may be transferred. The application program may be transferred to the main memory 25 from another portable recording medium (portable recording medium) such as a magneto-optical disk.
[0133]
When the application program is stored in the program supply server 9000 shown in FIG. 2, the modem 92 accesses the program supply server 9000 via the communication line 93 and transmits the application program from the program supply server 9000. It is also possible to transfer it to the main memory 25. The communication line 93 may be a wired line such as a telephone line or a network line, or a wireless line using a communication satellite.
[0134]
1-3) Operation of the communication terminal device of this embodiment
Next, the operation of the communication terminal apparatus of the present embodiment configured as described above will be described. In the following description, a case of receiving a major personal computer communication service called NIFTY-Serve (operated by Nifty Corporation) will be described as an example.
[0135]
There are two types of communication in the communication terminal device of the present embodiment: manual communication and automatic communication. In the case of manual communication, a request is issued to the communication host by a user operating the keyboard 72 or mouse 73 directly during communication, whereas in the case of automatic communication, a request is created in advance. A request is automatically issued according to the contents of the reserved file 610 and the patrol file 620. The request for the communication host is sent to the communication host as a menu number or a command for each service.
[0136]
1-4) Use of services by manual communication
For example, in the case of manual communication, when the user operates the keyboard 72 and mouse 73 to issue an instruction to start manual communication, the access management unit 100 calls the communication host via the communication control unit 300 or the like. To start connection with the communication host. When a line is connected to the communication host, the access management unit 100 performs a series of login procedures such as transmission of a user identification number and password. Thus, when permission is obtained from the communication host, provision of the communication service by the communication host is started. As described above, even in the case of manual communication, the communication terminal device automatically performs communication operation until the provision of the communication service is started.
[0137]
When the provision of the communication service is started, a communication service menu is transmitted from the communication host. Based on the transmitted menu, the access management unit 100 creates a graphical user interface such as a list box or button, that is, a GUI menu screen that can be operated with a mouse, and displays the GUI menu screen on the monitor 76. When a button or the like in the GUI menu screen is appropriately selected by the user, the access management unit 100 displays a GUI menu screen at a lower layer on the monitor 76.
[0138]
When the user gives an instruction to display the service switching screen, the access management unit 100 creates a service switching screen as shown in FIG. 3 and displays it on the monitor 76. This service switching screen is displayed whenever the user instructs. This can be a shortcut. That is, it is possible to move directly to a desired service without following the hierarchical menu.
[0139]
When displaying the service switching screen, the access management unit 100 refers to a service list file stored in the database 410, a directory created corresponding to each service, and the like, and is provided by the communication host. A list SL of various services is displayed on the left side of the service switching screen. In addition, the service (service in a narrow sense) said here means the service which can be moved to the service directly using "GO" command, for example.
[0140]
When the service switching screen display instruction is canceled by the user, the access management unit 100 creates a GUI menu screen based on the menu transmitted from the communication host and displays the GUI menu screen on the monitor 76. Return to (Mode).
[0141]
When the service switching screen is displayed, if the user uses the keyboard 72 and the mouse 73 to instruct the service he / she wants in the service list SL (a service in a narrow sense), the access management unit 100. Transmits a “GO” command to move to the communication host via the communication control unit 300 or the like so that the instructed service can be received from the communication host. For example, when a service called “AISOFT Application Station” forum is instructed, a command “GO SAISAP” is transmitted to move to the service. Thereby, on the communication host side, the service to be provided is shifted to the instructed service (in this example, “AISOFT Application Station” forum). Thus, the user can receive the instructed service.
[0142]
Note that, in this way, the fact that the service provided on the communication host side has shifted to the state where the service instructed by the user can be received may be expressed as “entered service”.
[0143]
In addition, the access management unit 100 performs the following processing in parallel with the service provision request to the communication host. That is, the folder list index file corresponding to the instructed service is read from the database 410 by the data management unit 400, and the list FL of each folder in the instructed service is created based on the folder list index file. Displayed on the right side of the service switching screen. For example, when a service called “AISOFT Application Station” forum is instructed as described above, a list FL of folders in the “AISOFT Application Station” forum is displayed on the right side of the service switching screen as shown in FIG. To do.
[0144]
Thus, when a desired service is instructed by the user, the access management unit 100 requests the communication host to provide the service, reads out the folder list file corresponding to the service from the database 410, and A list FL of each folder in the service is displayed on the monitor 76 based on the file.
[0145]
Here, the folder refers to each service form further subdivided within one service (a service in a narrow sense), for example. For example, in the service called “AISOFT Application Station” forum described above, a bulletin board (a bulletin board in the forum), an announcement (an announcement in the forum), a library, an electronic conference, and the like are provided. Among these, a library has a plurality of library rooms, and an electronic conference has a plurality of meeting rooms. Among these, a folder refers to a bulletin board, an announcement, each library room in the library, and each meeting room in the electronic conference.
[0146]
Next, the structure in the database 410 in which various data are stored will be described. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the structure in the database 410 of FIG. The database 410 has a hierarchical structure as shown in FIG. 4, and each data file is divided and stored in several directories, and the upper and lower hierarchies are set and managed in the directories.
[0147]
The top-level directory is “nifdata”, which is a directory that collects communication data related to NIFTY-Serve. Below that, directories corresponding to various services provided by NIFTY-Serve (bulletin board, billing information) , Clipping service, forum, e-mail, news, weather forecast, and weekly announcement directories). The directory in this hierarchy is automatically created by the data management unit 400 when the communication host is accessed for the first time.
[0148]
Among these directories, when the forum (SIG: Special Interest Group) directory “forum” is opened, each forum directory appears as a lower hierarchy. Three directories (“*”, “* .lib”, “* .mes”) are provided for each forum. For example, in the case of the above-mentioned “AISOFT Application Station” forum, three directories “saisap”, “saisap.lib”, and “saisap.mes” are provided. The directory of each forum is created based on the list information obtained when the communication host first accesses the list information of forums to which the user has already joined.
[0149]
Of the three directories "saisap", "saisap.lib", and "saisap.mes" for the "AISOFT Application Station" forum, the forum-bulletin board index file "fbbsfldr.idx" is in the "saisap" directory. And a forum-notice index file “fnewfldr.idx”. The directory of “saisap.lib” is a directory dedicated to the forum-library, in which a library list index file (folder list index file) “libfldr.idx” is stored. Further, the directory of “saisap.mes” is a forum-meeting room-only directory, in which a conference room list index file (folder list index file) “mesfldr.idx” is stored.
[0150]
As shown on the right side of the service switching screen in FIG. 3, when the list FL of each folder in the service (in this case, forum) is displayed on the monitor 76, these folder list index files “* fldr” are displayed. A list FL of each folder is created and displayed based on “.idx”.
[0151]
The folder list index file of these forums is created based on the list information when the communication host sends the list information of the folders in the forum when the forum is entered for the first time.
[0152]
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the contents of a conference room list index file (folder list index file). That is, FIG. 5 shows the contents of the index file “mesfldr.idx” of the conference room list shown in FIG.
[0153]
As shown in FIG. 5, the conference room list index file (folder list index file) includes the conference room name, the number of titles registered in each conference room, the date the user visited the conference room last time, and the folder. Name, presence / absence of new mark, etc. are included. The other folder list index files such as the forum-bulletin board index file, forum-notice index file, and library list index file have substantially the same configuration.
[0154]
By the way, in the forum-library dedicated directory “saisap.lib”, two index files “lib * .idx” and two data files “lib * .dat” are stored for each library room. The directory “saisap.mes” dedicated to the forum-meeting room also stores two index files “mes * .idx” and two data files “mes * .dat” for each meeting room.
[0155]
Among these, the index files “lib * .idx” and “mes * .idx” are mainly written with data of titles registered in the library room and conference room (ie, folder). These index files “lib * .idx” and “mes * .idx” are created based on the folder list information transmitted from the communication host when the forum is entered for the first time. However, the size of the index file remains 0 unless it actually enters the conference room or library room even if it enters the forum.
[0156]
In the data files “lib * .dat” and “mes * .dat”, main text data registered in the library room and the conference room (that is, the folder) is mainly written. The data files “lib * .dat” and “mes * .dat” are not created just by entering the forum, but are created when the conference room or library room is entered for the first time.
[0157]
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, when the list FL of each folder is displayed on the right side on the service switching screen, the user can use his / her keyboard 72 and mouse 73 in the folder list FL. When the folder to be requested is designated, the access management unit 100 causes the communication host to move to the folder via the communication control unit 300 or the like so that the service for the designated folder can be received from the communication host. Send the number. As a result, on the communication host side, the service to be provided is shifted to the designated folder.
[0158]
Thus, when entering the folder designated by the user, the access management unit 100 obtains unread title data from the folder designated by the user in the communication host as a title update process as described later, and the corresponding in the database 410. After updating the title data for the index file of the folder to be displayed, each title in the folder is displayed on the monitor 76 as a folder screen based on the title data read from the index file.
[0159]
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a folder screen displayed on the monitor 76 of FIG. FIG. 6 shows a case where the “EasyConnection” conference room, which is conference room 18 in the “AISOFT Application Station” forum, is designated as the desired folder. In this folder screen, each title in the folder is displayed in the upper part. The title list TL is created and displayed based on the index file “mes * .idx” (in this case, the index file “mes18.idx”) of the corresponding conference room (in this case, conference room 18). At this time, the index file has already been updated by the title update process performed immediately after entering the conference room (moving to the conference room).
[0160]
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the contents of a conference room index file. FIG. 7 shows the contents of the index file “mes18.idx” of the conference room 18 in the “AISOFT Application Station” forum.
[0161]
As shown in FIG. 7, the index file “mes * .idx” of the conference room has the date (title name) registered in the communication host, the title name, and the position (offset) in the message text corresponding to the title. ) And the presence or absence of a new arrival mark. The index file other than the library room index file “lib * .idx” has almost the same configuration. The title list TL shown on the upper side of FIG. 6 is created and displayed based on the index file “mes18.idx” shown in FIG.
[0162]
In FIG. 6, some titles in the title list TL are marked with *. This is because text data is stored in a data file in the database 410 for the title, and the display of the text is displayed. Indicates that it is possible. Therefore, conversely, for titles not marked with *, it is indicated that text data is not stored in the data file. By displaying in this way, the user can easily determine which title the text can be read.
[0163]
Therefore, when such a title list TL is displayed, the user uses the keyboard 72 and the mouse 73 to add a * mark as a title to read the message text in the title list TL. When the title is designated, the access management unit 100 requests the data management unit 400 to read the text data corresponding to the title. Thereby, the data management unit 400 searches the data file “mes * .dat” of the conference room in the database 410, reads out the corresponding text data, and passes it to the access management unit 100. The access management unit 100 sends the received text data to the user I / F unit 200. The user I / F unit 200 displays the message text on the monitor 76 based on the text data. As a result, the instructed message text is displayed at the bottom of the folder screen as shown in FIG. FIG. 6 shows a case where the title “RE: Request for Automatic Communication” is instructed.
[0164]
That is, when the conference room 18 in the “AISOFT Application Station” forum is selected as the conference room as described above, the data file of the conference room is “mes18.dat” as shown in FIG. . Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the position of the text data corresponding to the title “RE: Request for automatic communication” is “1024”. Accordingly, the message text shown at the bottom of FIG. 6 is displayed based on the text data existing at the position “1024” in the data file “mes18.dat”.
[0165]
On the other hand, in the title list TL, when a title not marked with an asterisk (*) is designated as a title to read the message text, the corresponding text data is stored in the data file “mes * .dat” of the conference room. Therefore, the data management unit 400 returns an error signal to the access management unit 100. As a result, the transfer request unit 100f of the access management unit 100 requests the communication control unit 300 to acquire text data corresponding to the instructed title. The communication control unit 300 performs communication between communication hosts via the communication I / F unit 500 and requests the communication host to transmit the text data. Thus, when the text data is transmitted from the communication host, the communication control unit 300 receives this via the communication I / F unit 500 and outputs it to the access management unit 100. The access management unit 100 passes the acquired text data to the data management unit 400 and requests writing to the database 410. The data management unit 400 writes the received text data in the data file “mes * .dat” of the conference room in the database 410. Then, the access management unit 100 requests the data management unit 400 to read the text data corresponding to the instructed title again. This time, since the text data corresponding to the data file “mes * .dat” of the conference room is stored, the data management unit 400 reads the text data and passes it to the access management unit 100. As a result, the message text corresponding to the instructed title is finally displayed on the monitor 76.
[0166]
If the text data corresponding to the data file “mes * .dat” is not stored, the user can freely select whether or not to request the communication host to transmit the text data. May be.
[0167]
As described above, in this embodiment, by accessing the communication host, a directory is automatically created in the database 410 for each service or folder in the communication host. Also, by entering a service or folder in the communication host, an index file for storing title data and a data file for storing text data are automatically created. After that, every time data communication is performed with the communication host, the received data such as title data and text data is automatically classified and organized by service and folder, and the corresponding directory or file Is written to. Therefore, the user can save the trouble of constructing a directory structure in the database 410 or storing received data in a corresponding directory. In addition, since the received data is organized and stored, the user can easily use the received data.
[0168]
1-4-1) Title update process
Next, the title update process which is the first feature of the present embodiment will be described. This title update process varies depending on the type of service received.
[0169]
FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 are flowcharts showing the flow of the title update process performed immediately after moving to the conference room. Among these, FIG. 8 shows the flow of processing when entering the conference room for the first time, and FIG. 9 shows the flow of processing when entering the second and subsequent times.
[0170]
When entering a conference room for the first time, as described above, an index file for the conference room has already been created, but a data file has not yet been created. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, immediately after entering the conference room for the first time, a data file for the conference room is first created (step S20). That is, the access management unit 100 causes the data management unit 400 to create a conference room data file “mes * .dat” in the database 410.
[0171]
Next, a command for reading all unread titles is transmitted (step S22). That is, the access management unit 100 transmits a command for reading only unread titles among the spoken titles to the communication host via the communication control unit 300. Since the communication host stores and manages the number of unread titles (unread numbers) for each conference room, when the above command is received, all the titles corresponding to the unread numbers are transmitted to the user. . In this way, unread title data is transmitted from the communication host. Subsequently, the transmitted data is received (step S24), and the title data is acquired from the received data for each title (step S26). Then, the title data is written in the index file for the conference room (step S28). That is, when receiving the received data from the communication I / F unit 500, the communication control unit 300 extracts the title data from the received data for each title, extracts the title data, and passes it to the access management unit 100. The access management unit 100 writes the title data in the index file “mes * .idx” in the database 410 via the data management unit 400. Thus, a series of title update processing is completed.
[0172]
Next, when the conference room is entered for the second time or later, first, a command for reading all unread titles is transmitted (step S30). Since the communication host handles the already transmitted title as a read title, when the command is received, an unread title newly registered after the previous communication is transmitted to the user. Next, the transmitted data is received (step S32), and the title data is acquired from the received data for each title (step S34). Then, the acquired title data is written in the index file for the conference room after the existing title data (step S36). Thus, a series of title update processing is completed.
[0173]
In this way, in the title update process for the conference room, all the titles already transmitted by the communication host are treated as read, and are not transmitted again by a command for reading an unread title. The same title data is not written twice. Moreover, the latest title data can be seamlessly linked to the existing title data simply by writing the transmitted title data to the existing title data in the index file.
[0174]
FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for specifically explaining the title update process for such a conference room. For example, assume that a conference room is entered for the first time at 9:00 on March 2. In this case, since all title numbers are stored as unread numbers on the communication host side, as described above, when a command for reading all unread titles is transmitted to the communication host, as shown in FIG. Data of all titles registered in the conference room is sent from the communication host and written in the index file of the conference room. Note that the communication host manages the title number so that the latest title becomes the final number, and arranges each title in order from the smallest title number.
[0175]
Subsequently, the same conference room is entered at 10:00 on the same day. In this case, since the already transmitted title is handled as read on the communication host side, only the title number newly registered after the previous communication time (9:00) is stored as the unread number. Therefore, when a command for reading all unread titles is transmitted to the communication host, only the data of the newly registered title after 9:00 is sent from the communication host as shown in FIG. 10B. Will write to the index file. At this time, just by writing the title data sent this time following the title data stored in the previous communication, the title data “553” which is the latest title stored in the previous communication is stored in the index file. Following this, the title data of “554” and subsequent numbers transmitted this time are seamlessly linked.
[0176]
11 and 12 are flowcharts showing the flow of the title update process performed immediately after moving to the library room. Among these, FIG. 11 shows the flow of processing when entering the library room for the first time, and FIG. 12 shows the flow of processing when entering the second and subsequent times.
[0177]
When entering a library room for the first time, as in the case of a conference room, an index file for the library room has already been created, but a data file has not yet been created. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 11, immediately after entering the library room for the first time, the access management unit 100 creates a new data file for the library room (step S38).
[0178]
Next, the access management unit 100 sets the number of items to be read at one time (step S40), and transmits a command for reading the titles by the set number to the communication host (step S42). This is the case when entering the library room for the first time, and since it is necessary to acquire all the titles registered in the library room, the number of readings at a time is set as large as possible, such as 100. When the communication host receives the above command, it transmits the set number of titles to the user, and receives the transmitted data (step S44). In the case of a library, the communication host manages the title number so that the latest title is the final number, and arranges each title in order from the one with the largest title number (that is, the new title). Yes. Therefore, next, it is determined whether or not the data of the oldest title among the titles registered in the library room has been received (step S46). If it has not been received yet, the process returns to step S42 and again. Send a command to request the transmission of the title data for the next set number of items. Whether or not the data of the oldest title has been received depends on whether the transmitted data is exhausted and does not reach the set number of items, or the data is not sent even if the above command is transmitted. Can be determined.
[0179]
When the data of the oldest title is received, it is cut out for each title from the data received so far, and title data is acquired (step S48). Then, the title data is written in the index file for the library room (step S50). Thus, a series of title update processing is completed.
[0180]
Next, when the library room is entered for the second time or later, as shown in FIG. 12, the access management unit 100 first registers the latest title from the existing title data in the index file of the library room. A date is obtained (step S52). That is, the latest registration date is found from all the title data written in the index file last time. Then, the access management unit 100 transmits a command for reading a title after the registration date to the communication host (step S54).
[0181]
As for the library, since the communication host does not store or manage the unread number as in the case of the conference room, it is not possible to have the communication host send only unread titles. However, as long as the registration date is designated, titles after that date can be sent. Therefore, in this case, the latest registration date in the previous time is designated as the registration date.
[0182]
When the communication host receives the command, it transmits the data of the title after the designated registration date. Therefore, the communication host receives the transmitted data (step S56), cuts out each title from the received data, Title data is acquired (step S58). Thus, by acquiring title data after the latest registration date in the previous time, it is possible to acquire title data newly registered in the communication host between the previous communication and the current communication.
[0183]
However, since the title data acquired this time is the title data after the latest registration date in the previous time, it includes the title data of the most recent registration date that was already acquired last time. The title data is stored.
[0184]
Therefore, next, the difference data acquisition unit 100c of the access management unit 100 deletes data overlapping with the existing title data in the index file of the library room from the title data acquired this time (step S60). The writing unit 100a writes the acquired title data to the index file (step S62). In this way, only title data registered from the previous communication to the current communication can be written into the index file. Thus, a series of title update processing is completed.
[0185]
In this way, in the title update process for the library room, the title data after the latest registration date of the previous time is sent from the communication host, and the title data on the day of the latest registration date already stored is obtained from those title data. Since it is written in the index file after being deleted, the same title data is not duplicated in the index file in the database 410 as in the case of the conference room, and it is sent in the index file. The latest title data can be seamlessly linked to existing title data.
[0186]
FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram for specifically explaining the title update process for such a library room. For example, it is assumed that a library room is entered for the first time in the middle of January. In this case, the communication host is requested to transmit all of the title data registered in the library room by a predetermined number. Then, the title data as shown in FIG. 13A sent in accordance with this request is received and written in the index file of the library room.
[0187]
Among the title data acquired at this time, the registration date of the latest title is December 14, 1995 with the title number “56”. In the case of a library, as described above, the communication host manages the title number so that the latest title becomes the final number, and the titles are arranged in order from the largest title number. In the communication host, the library data may be deleted. In this case, the title number is merely missing, and subsequent title numbers are not shifted.
[0188]
Then enter the same library room in mid-February. In this case, the communication host is requested to transmit all the title data after the latest registration date of the latest title (December 14, 1995). In accordance with this request, title data after December 14, 1995 as shown in FIG. 13B is sent from the communication host. Looking at the title data, it can be seen that the title data of number 56, which is the latest latest title, has not been deleted in the communication host.
[0189]
However, since this title data has already been written in the index file in the previous time, if this title data is directly written in the index file, the data will be duplicated. Therefore, only the title data of “56” is deleted from the write data. Accordingly, the title data after the “57” is written in the index file.
[0190]
As a result, in the index file, the latest title data stored in the previous communication, “56”, is sequentially connected to the title data from “57” that has been transmitted this time. .
[0191]
14 and 15 are flowcharts showing the flow of the title update process performed immediately after the transition to the news service. 14 shows the flow of processing when entering the news service for the first time, and FIG. 15 shows the flow of processing when entering the second time or later.
[0192]
Note that the processing contents when entering the news service for the first time are the same as in the case of the library shown in FIG.
[0193]
In the case of news, as in the case of the library, since the unread number is not stored or managed by the communication host, it is not possible to send only unread titles from the communication host. In addition, in the case of news, the registration data in the communication host is updated rapidly, and the number of data registered during the day is enormous. It is difficult to acquire the newly registered title data between this time and this communication. Therefore, in the case of news, title update processing is performed as follows.
[0194]
That is, when the news service is entered for the second time or later, as shown in FIG. 15, first, the number of items to be read at one time is set (step S78), and a command for reading the titles by the set number is sent to the communication host. It transmits to (step S80).
[0195]
When you first enter the news service, you need to get all the title data, so set the number of settings to a large value such as 100 as described above. If the number of settings is set to a very large value, the already acquired title data is received again due to overrun, which is useless. Therefore, the number is set to a relatively small value such as 10 to 20. However, when the date and time has passed considerably since the previous communication, the number of settings may be increased to a large value (for example, 100, etc.) accordingly.
[0196]
When the communication host receives the above command, it transmits the set number of titles to the user, and receives the transmitted data (step S82).
[0197]
Next, the access management unit 100 compares the received title data with the existing title data in the index file (step S84), and the received title and its provision date and time are the latest title in the index file and its title. It is determined whether or not it matches the provision date and time (step S86).
[0198]
As mentioned above, in the case of news, since the number of data registered during the day is enormous, it is determined using the registration date whether the received title is the same as the latest title in the previous time. It is difficult to do.
[0199]
In the case of news, since the communication host manages the title so that the latest title is always “1”, the following number increases by “1” each time a new title is registered. . Each title is arranged in order from the smallest title number (that is, the latest one). Therefore, it is impossible to determine whether or not the received title is the same as the latest title in the previous time based on the title number.
[0200]
Therefore, in this embodiment, the determination is made based on the title itself and the date and time (provided date and time) when the news of the title is registered in the communication host. In the case of news, the communication host manages data registration not only for the date but also for the time, so even if a large number of data is registered on the same day, if the comparison is made up to the registered time, It is possible to determine to some extent. However, a plurality of data may be registered at the same time on the same day. In this case, the determination is made based on the difference in title. As for the title itself, in the case of news, the title is not changed, and it is rare that the same title is given.
[0201]
In the case of news, the data registered in the communication host is deleted in order from the oldest one, but the intermediate data is not deleted beyond that order.
[0202]
If the title and date match as a result of the determination, the process proceeds to step S90, where the title data is obtained by cutting out the title from the received data. In this way, after confirming that the data of the same title as the latest title in the previous time has been received, by acquiring all the title data received so far, between the previous communication and the current communication, Title data newly registered in the communication host can also be acquired.
[0203]
However, among the title data acquired this time, the title data that matches the latest title data in the previous time, and the title data past the date and time of provision are already written in the index file, so they are written in the index file as they are. If this happens, the title data is stored redundantly. Therefore, next, the difference data acquisition unit 100c deletes data overlapping with the existing title data in the index file from the title data acquired this time (step S92), and the writing unit 100a then deletes the index file. The acquired title data is written in (Step S96). In this way, only title data registered from the previous communication to the current communication can be written into the index file.
[0204]
On the other hand, as a result of the determination in step S86, if the title and date / time do not match, the process proceeds to step S88, and it is determined whether or not the data of the oldest title among the titles registered as news has been received. If the oldest title data has not been received yet, the process returns to step S80, and the command is transmitted again to request transmission of the next set number of title data.
[0205]
When the data of the oldest title is received despite the fact that it does not match the latest title and the provided date and time in the index file, the title data is obtained by cutting out the data for each title from the data received so far (step S94). ). As described above, the fact that the data of the oldest title has been received although it does not match the latest title and the provision date / time in the index file means that the data of all the titles registered in the communication host for the news service. Means that none of the received title data matches the previously received title data. That is, this is a case where all the old titles including the latest title in the previous time are deleted in the communication host between the previous communication time and the current communication time (missing state).
[0206]
Therefore, in the case of such a hollow state, data up to the oldest title is received and data of all titles currently registered in the communication host is acquired. In addition, in services such as news and bulletin boards where the update of registered data is intense, if a few days are left open, it will often be in a hollow state.
[0207]
In the case of such an omission state, all the acquired title data is data newly registered from the previous communication, and therefore does not overlap with existing title data in the index file. Therefore, all the acquired title data is written in the index file (step S96). Thus, a series of title update processing is completed.
[0208]
In this way, in the title update process for the news service, the title data is sent from the communication host by a predetermined number of times until it matches the latest title in the previous time, and the existing title data is deleted from the title data. In the index file, the same title data is not written repeatedly in the index file in the database 410, and the latest title data sent in the index file is converted into the existing title data. Seamlessly connect.
[0209]
FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram for specifically explaining the title update process for such a news service. For example, assume that a news service is entered for the first time at 9:00 on March 1st. In this case, the communication host is requested to transmit all of the registered title data by a predetermined number. Then, the title data as shown in FIG. 16A sent in accordance with this request is received and written into the index file of the news. Among the title data acquired at this time, the latest title is “10 patients died in Hospital A”, and the provision date is 8:53 on March 1.
[0210]
Next, assume that the same news service was entered at 9:30 on the same day. In this case, the communication host is requested to transmit the title data at a predetermined number, for example, six. In accordance with this request, data of six titles are sent from the communication host as shown in FIG.
[0211]
Looking at these title data, it is the title data with the title number “4” that matches the latest title and provision date and time in the previous time, and the three title data with the title number smaller than the “4” number are the previous time. Title data newly registered between the time of communication (9:00) and the current communication time (9:30). Therefore, by newly registering these three title data, the title numbers of the latest latest title and the subsequent two titles are increased by three.
[0212]
However, since the title data after the previous latest title (that is, the title data of “4” to “6”) has already been written in the index file in the previous time, it is deleted from the written data as duplicate data. Accordingly, only the title data “1” to “3” are written in the index file. As a result, in the index file, the title data Nos. “1” to “3” transmitted this time are seamlessly linked to the latest title data stored in the previous communication.
[0213]
17 and 18 are flowcharts showing the flow of the title update process performed immediately after the transition to the bulletin board service. Of these, FIG. 17 shows the flow of processing when entering the service of the bulletin board for the first time, and FIG. 18 shows the flow of processing when entering the second and subsequent times.
[0214]
Note that the processing contents when entering the bulletin board service for the first time are the same as in the case of the library shown in FIG. 11 and the news shown in FIG.
[0215]
As described above, in the case of news, data registered in the communication host is deleted in order from old data. Also in the bulletin board, since the maximum number of data that can be registered in the communication host is limited to 512, old data exceeding that number is deleted in order. Therefore, in any case, there is a possibility that the title data stored in the index file has already been deleted from the registered data in the communication host. At this time, in the case of news, the title data can be stored as it is, but it can be reused as past news information later. However, in the case of a bulletin board, the title data is stored as it is. However, if the registration data is deleted in the communication host, there is no utility value. Therefore, in this embodiment, the title update process is performed as follows.
[0216]
That is, when the news service is entered after the second time, as shown in FIG. 18, data of all titles registered in the communication host is acquired as in the first time (steps S112 to S112). Step S120). When all the title data is acquired, the acquired title data is overwritten in the index file for the bulletin board in the database 410 (step S122). As a result, all the title data in the index file is rewritten with the title data acquired from the communication host. Thus, a series of title update processing is completed.
[0217]
In this way, in the title update process for the bulletin board, all the title data registered from the communication host is sent each time, and the title data stored in the index file in the database 410 is obtained by the title data. Rewrite everything. Therefore, the same title data is not duplicated in the index file in the database 410.
[0218]
By the way, the update process described above is an update process for each title in the folder. However, each folder in the service is occasionally added, changed, or deleted on the communication host side. Therefore, in order to cope with such a case, each folder in the service may be similarly updated.
[0219]
That is, when the user uses the keyboard 72 and the mouse 73 to instruct the service he / she wants (a service in a narrow sense), the access management unit 100 sends the service to the communication host via the communication control unit 300 or the like. Send a “GO” command to move. Thereby, on the communication host side, the service to be provided is shifted to the instructed service. Thus, when entering the service instructed by the user, the access management unit 100 requests the communication host to transmit folder list information. When receiving the list information from the communication host via the communication control unit 300 or the like, the access management unit 100 reads the folder list index file in the database 410 via the data management unit 400 and receives the received list information. Compare with When there are additions, changes, deletions, etc. to the folders in the service, the folder list index file is updated based on the received list information.
[0220]
Thereafter, the access management unit 100 creates a list FL of each folder in the instructed service based on the updated folder list index file and displays it on the monitor 76.
[0221]
As described above, folder update processing can be performed.
[0222]
1-4-2) Billing saving process
By the way, among the communication services provided by the communication host, the above-described news and the like are paid services that require an additional fee in addition to the basic fee. When such an advantageous service is received, generally, a charge is made for the total time of using the paid service, so the time for entering the paid service (that is, the time for using the paid service) ) Should be as short as possible. However, when such a paid service is received by manual communication, the user takes a lot of time for operation and judgment, and the time spent in the service becomes long, so there is a problem that the cost is increased. there were.
[0223]
Therefore, in the present embodiment, the following charging saving process is performed when a paid service is received by manual communication. Now, the accounting saving process which is the second feature of the present embodiment will be described.
[0224]
FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing a flow of a billing saving process performed when a paid service is received. On the communication service provided by the communication host, it is assumed that the user is now at the position of the service top menu of a paid service such as news. In this service top menu, how to use the paid service is provided to the user as information, and there is no additional charge as long as the user is in the menu.
[0225]
Therefore, when the user gives an instruction to enter the paid service using the keyboard 72 and the mouse 73, the processing routine shown in FIG. 19 is started, and the specific communication service start request unit 100g of the access management unit 100 performs communication. The instructed pay service menu number is transmitted to the communication host via the control unit 300, and the pay service is entered from the service top menu (step S132). When entering the paid service, the communication host starts counting the usage time and charges according to the usage time.
[0226]
Next, the access management unit 100 performs the title update process as described above until it is linked with the latest title data stored in the index file or until the registered data in the communication host runs out. Title data for the paid service is acquired and written into the index file in the database 410 via the data management unit 400 (step S134).
[0227]
Thereafter, the access management unit 100 reads out the title data acquired from the index file in the database 410 and displays it on the folder screen on the monitor 76 via the user I / F unit 200 (step S136). Thus, a list of pay service titles is displayed on the monitor 76.
[0228]
At the same time, the specific communication service cancellation request unit 100h of the access management unit 100 transmits a command for canceling the paid service to the communication host via the communication control unit 300, and a free service top menu is displayed from the paid service. (Step S138). As a result, the usage time count is stopped at the communication host, and charging according to the usage time is also stopped. In this state, the access management unit 100 waits until there is a title instruction for reading the text from the user (step S140). Accordingly, during this time, the user can slowly select the title he / she wants while looking at the title list displayed on the folder screen of the monitor 76 without any additional charge.
[0229]
Next, when the user uses the keyboard 72 and the mouse 73 to instruct a title for text reading from the folder screen, the specific communication service start request unit 100g of the access management unit 100 again performs the communication control unit 300. The pay service menu number is transmitted to the communication host through the service host, and the pay service is entered from the service top menu (step S142). When entering the paid service, the communication host starts counting the usage time again, and charges are made according to the usage time.
[0230]
Subsequently, the access management unit 100 performs the title update process again, acquires the latest title data, and writes it in the index file in the database 410 (step S134). As a result, even if a new title is registered between the previous paid service and the current paid service, it is possible to cope with it. However, since the time taken away from the paid service is usually short, new titles are rarely registered and the title update process is also short.
[0231]
By the way, when this paid service is news, as described above, the communication host manages the title so that the latest title is always “1”, and when a new title is registered, Each time, the following number increases by “1”. Therefore, if a new title is registered while evacuating from a paid service, the number of titles in the communication host is increased by the number of newly registered titles. Therefore, even if the title number instructed by the user is transmitted to the communication host as it is, the text data of the title requested by the user cannot be acquired.
[0232]
Therefore, the text information transfer request unit 100i of the access management unit 100 adds the number of titles newly acquired by the title update process to the title number designated by the user (that is, the title newly registered in the communication host). Number) is added (step S146), and a command for reading the text of the title number is transmitted to the communication host (step S148). Accordingly, it is possible to accurately request the communication host to transmit body data corresponding to the title originally requested by the user.
[0233]
Thus, since the text data requested by the user is transmitted from the communication host, the access management unit 100 acquires the text data via the communication control unit 300 and stores the text data in the database 410 via the data management unit 400. Is written into the data file (step S150).
[0234]
Thereafter, the access management unit 100 reads the body data acquired from the data file in the database 410 and displays it on the folder screen on the monitor 76 via the user I / F unit 200 (step S152). As a result, the text corresponding to the title requested by the user is displayed on the monitor 76.
[0235]
At the same time, a command for canceling the paid service is transmitted to the communication host via the communication control unit 300, and the pay service is saved to the free service top menu (step S154). As a result, the usage time count is stopped at the communication host, and charging according to the usage time is also stopped. Thus, a series of billing saving processes is completed.
[0236]
By the way, in the above description, the case where the fee is charged for the total usage time of the paid service has been described as an example, but in addition, a fixed fee is charged per unit time such as 100 yen / minute, In addition, a new charge may be made each time a paid service is entered. In such a case, for example, if the time since entering the paid service exceeds 1 minute, for example, even 1 second, it is calculated as rounded up to 2 minutes, but it is a fixed fee unless it exceeds 2 minutes. Therefore, the same charge is sufficient for 1 minute 1 second and 1 minute 59 seconds. Therefore, in this example, after waiting for 1 minute 59 seconds, it is evacuated from the paid service. By doing so, the access management unit 100 can be sufficiently prepared for the next operation such as an instruction to read the text.
[0237]
Further, the access management unit 100 may measure the elapsed time since entering the paid service and display it on the monitor 76 via the user I / F unit 200. If the calculation method of the additional fee is known in advance, the charged fee may be actually calculated and displayed on the monitor 76. By doing in this way, the user can immediately know the time and cost required while entering the paid service.
[0238]
As described above, the charge saving process shown in FIG. 19 makes it possible to shorten the time spent in the paid service as much as possible even when receiving the paid service through manual communication. In addition, since the access management unit 100 performs the operation of evacuating from the paid service at the optimal timing on behalf of the user, the burden on the user can be reduced. However, there is no problem even if the user can issue the evacuation instruction from the paid service as needed.
[0239]
1-4-3) Offline operation
Now, the operation during the data communication with the communication host by the manual communication, that is, the online operation has been described. However, the communication terminal device of this embodiment does not perform the data communication with the communication host. In this case, that is, in the offline case, the same operation as in the online case can be performed.
[0240]
In other words, in this embodiment, the data received from the communication host is stored in the database 410 according to the hierarchical structure, so that the same operation as in the online mode can be performed based on the stored data. .
[0241]
For example, when the service switching screen as shown in FIG. 3 is displayed, the user uses the keyboard 72 and mouse 73 to select the service he / she wants in the service list SL (a service in a narrow sense). When instructed, the access management unit 100 causes the data management unit 400 to read out the folder list file corresponding to the instructed service from the database 410, and on the basis of the folder list file, each access list in the instructed service. Create and display a folder list FL.
[0242]
Thereafter, when the folder list FL is displayed, if the user uses the keyboard 72 and the mouse 73 to designate the folder desired by the user in the folder list FL, the access management unit 100 is instructed. The index file of the folder is read from the database 410 by the data management unit 400, and each title in the designated folder is displayed on the folder screen shown in FIG. 6 based on the index file.
[0243]
Further, when the title list TL is displayed, if the user designates a title whose text is to be read in the title list TL using the keyboard 72 and the mouse 73, the access management unit 100 instructs If the text data corresponding to the title is stored in the data file in the database 410, the data management unit 400 reads the text data, and the text is displayed on the folder screen shown in FIG. To display.
[0244]
In this way, the same operation as in the online mode can be performed even when offline. Therefore, even if the user does not actually perform data communication with the communication host, the user displays the received data on the monitor 76 with the same feeling as when performing data communication with the communication host. Can be used.
[0245]
In the case of such offline, when the user instructs reading of the text, if the corresponding text data is not stored in the data file in the database 410, the folder screen of the monitor 76 prompts the user. The text is not displayed. Therefore, such a case can be dealt with by a communication reservation as will be described later, but can also be processed as follows.
[0246]
That is, when the transfer request unit 100f of the access management unit 100 receives an error signal from the data management unit 400 on the assumption that there is no body data to be stored in the database 410, the transfer request unit 100f immediately passes through the communication control unit 300 to The communication host is called to establish a connection with the communication host, and when the communication host starts providing the communication service, the communication host is requested to transmit the requested text data.
[0247]
As a result, the text data required from the communication host can be acquired and written to the data file in the database 410, and further, the text can be displayed on the monitor 76.
[0248]
1-5) Use of services by automatic communication
So far, the case where the communication service is used mainly by manual communication has been described. Next, a case where a communication service is used by automatic communication will be described.
[0249]
In the present embodiment, there are a method for setting a circulation destination and a processing content at a circulation destination for automatic communication in advance, a method for setting by periodic circulation designation, and a method for setting by communication reservation. Among these, the periodic patrol designation is used when the user desires to acquire periodic data for a specific service (folder) that he / she desires, and the communication reservation is used for each individual that the user is interested in. Used when data acquisition is desired.
[0250]
1-5-1) Regular patrol designation
First, the periodic patrol designation will be described. FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a regular patrol designation screen displayed on the monitor 76 of FIG. When the periodic tour is designated, the user issues an instruction for the regular tour using the keyboard 72 and the mouse 73, so that, for example, a screen as shown in FIG. Is done. The screen shown in FIG. 20 is a regular patrol designation screen for the bulletin board service.
[0251]
When a desired folder name is designated from the folder list FLB displayed on the left side of the screen using the mouse 73, various settings can be made for the folder. Therefore, when the item “Periodic visit” on the right side of the screen is checked, the folder is registered as a target of the regular visit. Next, in the “Interval:” item, specify the time interval (cyclic interval) for performing periodic patrols for the folder in days, and in the “Reading method” item below it, “Read title only” or “Text” "Read also". If it is desired to limit the number of data to be read in one round, check the “limit by number of items” item and specify the number of data to be read. In this periodic patrol designation screen, the data to be read is limited by the number of cases, but may be limited by a date such as a registration date or a provision date.
[0252]
In this way, it is possible to specify a periodic visit for each service (folder) for which a periodic visit is desired. The contents designated by the periodic patrol designation are stored in the patrol file 620 in the hard disk 84 shown in FIG.
[0253]
FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of designated contents stored in the traveling file 620 of FIG. In the circulation file 620, as shown in FIG. 21, in addition to the folder name to be periodically circulated for each service, the specified reading method (whether only the title or the text is read), the circulation interval (number of days), and further reading Restriction conditions (number and date) are stored. In FIG. 21, the description of the read restriction condition is omitted. In the case of periodic patrol designation, since only one process can be designated for one folder, two or more of the same service name and the same folder name are not saved.
[0254]
The contents stored in the patrol file 620 are immediately sorted and organized by the automatic communication processing unit 600. That is, as shown in FIG. 21, the service names are sorted in order of service names so that the same service names are grouped. As will be described later, the stored contents of the cyclic file 620 are sorted and arranged together with the stored contents of the reserved file 610 when automatic communication is performed. However, as described above, the cyclic file 620 does not store two or more files with the same service name and the same folder name, and the designated content is fixed in the case of periodic patrol designation. Regarding the stored contents of the cyclic file 620, sorting at the time of regular patrol designation can save time waste compared to sorting each time during automatic communication.
[0255]
Next, a specific operation procedure of automatic communication based on such a cyclic file will be described. 22 and 23 are flowcharts showing the operation procedure of automatic communication based on the cyclic file.
[0256]
In automatic communication, when the user gives an instruction to start automatic communication by operating the keyboard 72 and mouse 73, or the automatic communication start time is set in the timer 68 in advance, and the timer 68 becomes the start time. It is started when it is detected.
[0257]
When the automatic communication process is started, the automatic communication processing unit 600 calls the communication host via the access management unit 100, the communication control unit 300, and the like to establish a connection with the communication host. Start the indicated processing routine. First, the automatic communication processing unit 600 acquires today's date TD from the RTC 52 that manages the date and time (step S156). Next, the patrol file 620 is read from the hard disk 84, and the service name and folder name as the patrol destination are acquired from the patrol file 620 (step S158). Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the service name and folder name have been acquired (step S160). If acquired, the process proceeds to step S162.
[0258]
In step S162, the automatic communication processing unit 600 reads the folder list index file corresponding to the acquired service name from the database 410 from the database 410 via the data management unit 400, and the folder list index file (see FIG. 5). ) To acquire the previous tour date BD stored for the acquired folder name. Further, the automatic communication processing unit 600 obtains the cyclic interval ND stored for the folder name from the cyclic file 620 read out in step S158 (step S164), and whether the cyclic interval ND is 0 days. It is determined whether or not (step S166). The fact that the circulation interval is 0 days means that the folder is set to be visited every time automatic communication is performed. Therefore, if the circulation interval is 0 day, the process proceeds to step S170 in FIG.
[0259]
If the tour interval is not 0 days, for the folder, the tour interval ND acquired in step S164 is added to the previous tour date BD acquired in step S162, and the date (BD + ND) obtained thereby is today's date. It is determined whether it is later than TD or before today's date TD (step S168). In other words, if the date obtained by the addition is later than today's date, the number of days of the tour interval has not yet passed from the previous tour date to today, so that folder is automatically There is no need to go around by communication. Therefore, the process returns to step S158 without performing the patrol process. Conversely, if the date obtained by addition is earlier than today's date, the number of days in the tour interval has already passed between the previous tour date and today, so that folder will be Since it is necessary to make a patrol by communication, the process proceeds to step S170 in FIG. 23 so as to perform a patrol process.
[0260]
As shown in FIG. 23, in step S170, the transfer unit 600b of the automatic communication processing unit 600 shifts to a folder that is a circulation target for the communication host via the access management unit 100, the communication control unit 300, and the like. Send commands for That is, first, in order to enter the service to which the folder to be visited belongs, a command for shifting to the service is transmitted. As a result, on the communication host side, the service to be provided is shifted to the designated service. When entering the service, in order to enter the folder to be visited, a menu number for transferring to the folder is transmitted. Thereby, on the communication host side, the service to be provided is further transferred to the folder to be visited.
[0261]
Thus, when entering the designated folder, the automatic communication processing unit 600 obtains the reading method and the read restriction condition stored for the folder name from the cyclic file 620 read in step S158 (step S172). A data transmission request is issued to the communication host according to the method and the read restriction condition (step S174). As a result, when the requested data is transmitted from the communication host, the automatic communication processing unit 600 receives the data via the communication control unit 300 or the like, and writes it in the database 410 by the data management unit 400 (step S176). . In this way, the automatic communication processing unit 600 reads a series of data from the communication host.
[0262]
For example, when reading only the title is designated as the reading method, the data to be read from the communication host is only the title data, so the data is written in the index file. When the reading of the text is specified, the data read from the communication host is the title data and the text data, so the title data is written in the index file, and the text data is written in the data file. If a read restriction condition is specified, data of an unread title (or title and text) registered in the communication host is read until the restriction condition is satisfied. At this time, the read data is linked to the latest data already stored in the index file (or index file and data file), or the data registered in the communication host (registered for the folder). When all of the data is read, the reading process is terminated.
[0263]
Next, the automatic communication processing unit 600 newly writes today's date TD as the previous tour date BD corresponding to the folder in the folder list index file read in step S162 (step S178). As a result, the previous tour date is updated.
[0264]
Thus, when the patrol process is completed for one folder, the process returns to step S158, the service name and folder name that are the next patrol destination are acquired from the patrol file 620, and the same process as the previous one is repeated.
[0265]
As described above, automatic communication based on the cyclic file 620 is performed.
[0266]
1-5-2) Communication reservation
Next, communication reservation will be described. The communication reservation is made whenever necessary, while the user is viewing the display screen while the data stored in the database 410 is displayed on the monitor 76 in the offline state as described above. Like that. For example, when a user has an interesting title in the list of titles displayed on the monitor 76 and the user tries to read the text, the data of the text is not stored in the database 410 In addition, a communication reservation is made for reading the text data. In addition, when a user is reading text data in a conference room, if he / she wants to write some comment text in the text and speak to the conference room on the communication host, he / she will make a communication reservation for uploading the comment text To do.
[0267]
FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a comment statement screen displayed on the monitor 76 of FIG. That is, for example, in the title list on the upper side of the folder screen shown in FIG. 6, the user uses the mouse 73 to specify the bottom title “There is such a way” and the “Comment” button CB in the screen. When is pressed, a comment message screen as shown in FIG. 24 is displayed, and the text about the title is displayed on the upper side of the screen. Therefore, when a comment text for the text is created at the bottom of the screen and the “speak reservation” button SB at the top right of the screen is pressed, the created comment text is written in the reserved file 610 in the hard disk 84 together with the reservation information. Then, a reservation is added as shown in FIG.
[0268]
FIG. 26 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of reservation contents stored in the reservation file 610 of FIG. In the reservation file 610, as shown in FIG. 26, reservation contents are stored in the reserved order. Each reservation content stores reservation information such as a service name, a folder name, and a reservation item, as well as a corresponding title number and a comment content such as the above-mentioned comment sentence, if necessary.
[0269]
In this manner, the reservation file 610 stores the contents of the reservation made while the user is looking at the folders and the like in the offline state in the reservation order. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 26, both the service name and the folder name remain in a random order. As for the reservation file 610, the stored contents are not particularly sorted at the time of communication reservation as in the case of the traveling file 620, but may be sorted.
[0270]
Next, the automatic communication operation based on such a reservation file will be briefly described. The operation up to the connection with the communication host is the same as that in the case of the above-mentioned periodic patrol. Thereafter, for example, if the reservation content is reading of a text about a conference room or library, the automatic communication processing unit 600 first moves to the conference room or library room by automatic communication, and then the text The title number to be read is sent to the communication host, and the transmission of the text data of the title number is requested. In the case of a conference room or library, since the title number once assigned does not deviate thereafter in the communication host, it is possible to request transmission of body data using the title number stored in the reservation file 610 as it is. .
[0271]
When the corresponding text data is transmitted from the communication host, the automatic communication processing unit 600 receives the text data and writes it in the data file in the database 410. In this way, reserved text data is acquired and written into the database 410. After that, if the title of the conference room or library needs to be updated, the title update process described above is also performed.
[0272]
If the reservation content is the reading of the text for the news or bulletin board, first, the service shifts to the news or bulletin board service, and then the number of the title whose text is to be read is sent to the communication host.
[0273]
However, in the case of news and bulletin boards, as described above, when a new title is registered in the communication host, the number of the title registered before that is incremented by “1”. As in the case of a conference room or library, it is not possible to request transmission of text data using the title number stored in the reservation file 610 as it is.
[0274]
Therefore, in the case of news and bulletin boards, processing is performed as follows. That is, in the case of news, when entering the news service, firstly, the communication host is requested to transmit title data, the title data is acquired for about 10 cases, and the title data stored in the index file of the database 410 is acquired. And in order. Then, from the obtained title data, the title data corresponding to the title corresponding to the title number stored in the reservation file 610 and the provided date and time are found. Then, the title number of the title data is sent to the communication host to request transmission of body data.
[0275]
For example, the reservation file 610 stores the title number “2” shown in FIG. 16A (title “Traffic accident on highway”, provision date “8:41 on March 1”) as reservation contents. If the title data as shown in FIG. 16B is transmitted from the communication host, the title data with the title number “5” among the title data is the reserved title number “2”. Therefore, the title number “5” is sent to the communication host to request transmission of body data.
[0276]
Further, as described above, in the case of news, data registered in the communication host is deleted in order from the oldest, but intermediate data is not deleted beyond that order. Therefore, when reading the text for a plurality of titles, if the title number is determined for one title by the above-described processing, the other titles are stored in the reserved title numbers stored in the reserved file 610 as the reserved contents. The title number to be sent to the communication host can be obtained simply by adding the offset.
[0277]
For example, in the reservation file 610, as the reservation content, the title number “2” shown in FIG. 16A (title “Traffic accident on expressway”, provision date “March 1, 8:41”) In the case where the title number “4” (the title “C team victory in soccer” is stored), as described above, the title number “2” is shifted to the title number “5” in the communication host. The offset representing the deviation is “3” (= 5-2), so if the offset “3” is added to the reserved title number “4” on the communication host for the title number “4”. Therefore, by sending this title number “7” to the communication host, it is possible to make a transmission request for the requested body data.
[0278]
On the other hand, in the case of a bulletin board, when the bulletin board service is entered, first, the communication host is requested to transmit title data, and title data for about 10 cases is acquired and stored in the index file of the database 410. Compare with title data in order. The title data corresponding to the title number stored in the reservation file 610 and the title data matching the registrant identification number (registrant ID) are found from the acquired title data, and the title number of the title data is communicated. Send to the host and request transmission of body data.
[0279]
FIG. 27 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the text reading process for the bulletin board service. In FIG. 27, (a) shows the title data already stored in the index file for the bulletin board, and (b) and (c) show the title data transmitted from the communication host for the bulletin board.
[0280]
As described above, in the case of news, whether or not the title data transmitted from the communication host matches the title data stored in the index file is determined based on the title and the provision date and time. However, in the case of a bulletin board, the communication host manages data registration only by date and not by time, so it cannot be determined by registration time. Also, in the case of bulletin boards, as in the case of news, the registration data on the communication host is renewed violently, and the number of data registered during the day is enormous. It is also difficult to judge based on
[0281]
Therefore, in this embodiment, as described above, the determination is made based on the registrant identification number (registrant ID) and the title. In the case of a bulletin board, neither the registrant ID nor the title itself is changed after registration, and the same title is not assigned to the same ID.
[0282]
For example, the reservation file 610 stores the title number “6” (title “ISDN-TA sale”, registrant ID “FFF66666”) shown in FIG. From 10 title data as shown in FIG. 27B has been transmitted. Looking at these ten title data, no title data corresponding to the reserved title number “6” and title data matching the registrant ID are found in the ten title data. Then, next, 10 title data as shown in FIG. 27C are sent. Looking at these ten title data, the title data corresponding to the reserved title number “6” and the registrant ID are found. Therefore, the title number “17” of this title data is sent to the communication host to request transmission of the text data.
[0283]
By the way, in the case of news, in the communication host, the old data is not deleted except for the old data, but in the case of the bulletin board, the data is freely deleted by the registrant. obtain. Therefore, when the text is read for a plurality of titles, just because the title number is determined for one title, the title numbers are not determined for the other titles. Therefore, in the case of a bulletin board, it is necessary to obtain the correct title number to be sent to the communication host by performing the above processing for each reserved title number.
[0284]
In the case of a bulletin board, in addition to requesting transmission of text data by the above-described processing, it is also possible to request transmission of text data directly from a communication host by using a search command. That is, if a search command is used, it is possible to search and transmit the text data in the communication host by using the title and the registrant ID as search conditions.
[0285]
As described above, automatic communication based on the reservation file 610 is performed.
[0286]
1-5-3) Efficiency improvement of automatic communication
As described above, automatic communication is performed based on the contents stored in the reservation file 610 and the patrol file 620. However, when performing a round according to the contents of one file and performing a round according to the contents of the other file in one automatic communication, for example, both files have the same folder name as the circulation destination. If it is stored, the folder is visited, then another folder is visited, and then the same folder is visited again. Therefore, it takes time to communicate. The same can be said for each of the reserved file 610 and the patrol file 620. That is, if the patrol is performed in the order stored in the file, for example, when the contents of the reserved file 610 are the contents shown in FIG. 26, the service “AISOFT station” stored third is patroled. After visiting the fourth stored service “bulletin board”, the third service “AISOFT station” must be visited again as the fifth stored service. It will take time to communicate.
[0287]
That is, there are cases where the same service name and the same folder name are repeatedly stored as the circulation destination in the reservation file 610 and the circulation file 620. In such a case, one automatic communication is performed. If the same service or the same folder is visited many times, the efficiency of communication will be extremely reduced. Therefore, in this embodiment, in order to improve the efficiency of automatic communication, if the same service name and the same folder name are stored in the reservation file 610 and the circulation file 620, the stored contents are stored. For such overlapping services and folders, all the processes to be performed in the services and folders can be completed in one round.
[0288]
In other words, in this embodiment, when executing automatic communication, the following cyclic order efficiency process is performed. FIG. 28 is a flowchart showing the flow of the cyclic order efficiency process performed during automatic communication. When performing automatic communication using both the reservation file 610 and the cyclic file 620, the automatic communication processing unit 600 first reads out the stored contents from the reservation file 610 and the cyclic file 620 as shown in FIG. 28 (step S180). ). Next, the organizing unit 600a of the automatic communication processing unit 600 arranges the contents read from the circulation file 620 after the contents read from the reserved file 610, and collects the contents of both (Step S182). As described above, by arranging the contents of the circulating file 620 to come after the contents of the reserved file 610, the contents of the reserved file 610 always precedes the contents of the circulating file 620 even if sorting is performed as described later. Therefore, at the same patrol destination (the same service name and the same folder name), the processing according to the contents of the reserved file 610 is always performed before the processing according to the contents of the patrol file 620.
[0289]
Thereafter, the organizing unit 600a sorts and organizes the collected contents. That is, first, in order to minimize the number of times of movement from service to service using the “GO command”, sorting is performed in order of service name (step S184). Next, in order to minimize the number of times of moving from folder to folder (re-entering the menu) within the service, sorting is performed in the order of folders (step S186). In this way, when the contents obtained from the circulation file 620 and the reservation file 610 are sorted, the process is terminated.
[0290]
The automatic communication processing unit 600 also performs the following processing in addition to the above sorting. That is, as for the contents read from the circulation file 620, the previous circulation date for each folder name is checked from the folder list index file in the database 410 for each service name, and the number of days of the circulation interval designated in advance is not yet determined. If there is a folder name that has not elapsed, the folder is excluded from the designation of the circulation destination in the current automatic communication. In addition, when the circulation destination is the same between the contents of the reserved file 610 and the contents of the circulation file 620 (when the service name and the file name are the same), the processing content of the reservation file 610 at the circulation destination is the title update. If the processing content of the cyclic file 620 is “read title” or the like, the same processing is performed twice. The processing content for the patrol file 620 is omitted.
[0291]
FIG. 29 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of tour contents sorted according to the tour order efficiency process shown in FIG. In FIG. 29, the symbol ◎ indicates the content to be executed in the current automatic communication out of the contents read from the reservation file 610, and the symbol ○ indicates the content in the content read from the cyclic file 620 in the current automatic communication. Indicates what is executed. Further, <indicates the content read from the cyclic file 620, since the cyclic interval has not passed, and indicates the content that is excluded from the designation of the circulation destination, and × indicates the content read from the cyclic file 620. Since the contents of the reservation file 610 and the processing contents overlap, the omitted contents are shown.
[0292]
FIG. 30 is an explanatory diagram showing a communication history during automatic communication performed in accordance with the contents of the tour shown in FIG. Automatic communication is started by the login procedure, and then each service is circulated by “GO command”. Each folder is circulated by “menu number” in the service, and predetermined processing contents are executed at each circulation destination. The automatic communication is terminated by the last logout process.
[0293]
Note that not only when the title is updated according to the processing content of the circulating file 620 but also when the processing accompanied by the title update such as “reading of the text” is performed according to the processing content of the reserved file 610. In addition, the previous patrol date for the corresponding folder name in the folder list index file is rewritten to the date when this automatic communication was performed. By doing this, for example, even if the “Read Title” process is specified as a periodic patrol designation for the folder name, the number of days of the patrol interval must be passed from the date of this automatic communication. Since the next regular tour is not performed, useless regular tours can be eliminated.
[0294]
1-5-4) Adding and displaying new arrival marks
By the way, in the case of manual communication, since communication is performed while the user directly looks at the communication screen displayed on the monitor 76 and issues an instruction, it is acquired from the communication host and written in the database 410 during manual communication. It can be said that the data is the data that the user has seen once. On the other hand, in the case of automatic communication, the user does not always look at the screen of the monitor 76 during communication, for example, when automatic communication is started using a timer in the absence of the user. . For example, even if the user gives an instruction to start automatic communication while viewing the screen of the monitor 76 and automatic communication is started, the data acquired from the communication host during communication is displayed on the screen of the monitor 76 during communication. It is difficult to see above. Therefore, it can be said that the data acquired from the communication host and written in the database 410 during automatic communication is data that the user has not yet seen.
[0295]
However, even if new data is acquired from the communication host during automatic communication, once data is written in the database 410, it is possible to identify which data is newly obtained by this automatic communication. difficult. For this reason, even if the user tries to view the newly obtained data on the screen of the monitor 76 after the automatic communication is finished, the user can obtain new data for which service, which folder, and which title. I can not know what was obtained.
[0296]
Therefore, in this embodiment, when new data is acquired from the communication host during automatic communication, the new arrival mark adding unit 100d of the access management unit 100 indicates that the data is new data in a folder or a title. Is added to the database 410 via the data management unit 400. Specifically, for a folder, as shown in FIG. 5, a new arrival mark (+) is added to the corresponding folder in the folder list index file. As for the title, as shown in FIG. 7, the corresponding title new arrival mark (+) in the index file is added.
[0297]
As a result, data newly written in the database 410 can be distinguished from other data already stored. Therefore, if this new arrival mark is used, even when the newly obtained data is viewed on the screen of the monitor 76, the user can determine which service, which folder, and which title has new data obtained. It becomes possible to know.
[0298]
Note that how to add a new arrival mark differs depending on the processing contents during automatic communication. That is, for example, when the processing content at the time of automatic communication is “read text”, a new arrival folder mark is attached to the corresponding folder itself, and a new arrival title mark is also attached to a newly obtained title. Yes.
[0299]
On the other hand, if the processing content during automatic communication is “Read title only”, just add the new folder mark to the corresponding folder itself, and do not add the new title mark to the acquired title. Yes. This is because if a new title mark is added to a title acquired in the case of “only reading titles”, the progress of the tour is delayed when a new tour described later is performed. However, depending on the service and folder, there are cases where there are few titles to be acquired and there is a possibility that there will be no trouble in the way of the new arrival tour. Also good.
[0300]
Next, how to notify the user that new data has been acquired from the communication host using such a new arrival mark will be described.
[0301]
When displaying the screen on the monitor 76 for the first time after the automatic communication is finished, the main menu screen, service switching screen and folder screen are used to inform the user that new data has been acquired during automatic communication. It is displayed as follows.
[0302]
In the case of the main menu screen, first, the new arrival mark search unit 100e of the access management unit 100 uses the data management unit 400 to attach a new arrival folder mark from all the folders stored in the database 410. Search for a folder. Specifically, a folder with a new arrival mark (+) is searched from all folder list index files. When a folder with a new folder mark is found, the access management unit 100 uses the user I / F unit 200 to display the main menu screen on the monitor 76, and sets the service name including the folder to the service name including the folder. Underline with a prominent color (for example, yellow).
[0303]
FIG. 31 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a main menu screen displayed on the monitor 76. In the main menu screen shown in FIG. 31, main menus provided by the communication terminal device of this embodiment are displayed as picture menus. Among these, the service name from which new data is acquired by automatic communication (in the case of FIG. 31, “weather forecast” service indicated by an umbrella picture) is underlined with a conspicuous color.
[0304]
Also in the case of the service switching screen, first, the access management unit 100 searches for a folder with a new arrival folder mark from all folders stored in the database 410. When a folder with a new arrival folder mark is found, the access management unit 100 displays the found folder for the service list SL on the left side of the screen as shown in FIG. 3 when displaying the service switching screen. Display the services that are included with a + sign. Further, the folder list FL on the right side of the screen is displayed with a + mark attached to the folder.
[0305]
Further, in the case of a folder screen, first, the access management unit 100 searches for a title with a new title mark from all titles stored in the database 410. Specifically, the title with the new arrival mark (+) is searched from the index file related to the folder with the new arrival folder mark. When a title with a new title mark is found, the access management unit 100 displays the folder screen with a “+” mark when displaying the folder screen on the monitor 76.
[0306]
Thus, when the user views the screen of the monitor 76 for the first time after the end of automatic communication, the user can easily determine which service, which folder, and what title has obtained new data during automatic communication. Can know.
[0307]
1-5-5) New arrival tour processing
Next, the new arrival tour process will be described. The new arrival tour is an offline state after the end of automatic communication, in which data newly acquired at the time of automatic communication and not yet viewed by the user (that is, new arrival data) are displayed in order on the screen of the monitor 76, and new arrival data This is a function that automatically patrols and shows only.
[0308]
FIG. 32 is a flowchart showing the flow of new arrival tour processing. When the user operates the keyboard 72 and the mouse 73 to instruct the start of a new arrival tour, the access management unit 100 starts the process shown in FIG. The new arrival tour is performed only for a service including a folder marked with a new arrival folder mark in the order in which the new arrival tour is listed in the service list SL on the left side of the service switching screen shown in FIG.
[0309]
First, the access management unit 100 reads a folder list index file stored in the database 410 for a service including a folder with a new arrival folder mark, and a folder with a new arrival folder mark is included in the file. It is determined whether or not there is (step S188). If there is a folder with a new arrival folder mark, a folder screen for the folder is displayed on the monitor 76 (step S190). Then, the index file stored in the database 410 is read for the folder, and it is determined whether or not there is a title with a new title mark in the file (step S192).
[0310]
If there is a title with a new title mark, the cursor is moved to the title position on the folder screen displayed on the monitor 76 (step S194). Thereby, the user can know what the title of newly arrived data is. At this time, if the display of the text for the title is instructed, the text is displayed on the screen for the text data that has also been acquired during automatic communication.
[0311]
Then, the access management unit 100 waits as it is until there is an instruction from the user to move to the title position of the next new arrival data (step S196). Thereafter, when there is a movement instruction from the user, the new arrival title mark attached to the title in the index file is removed (step S198), and the process returns to step S192 again, and the next new arrival title for the folder is obtained. It is determined whether or not there is a mark.
[0312]
As a result of the determination in step S192, when all of the new title marks are removed from the index file of the folder and there is no title with the new title mark, the folder in the folder list file described above. Is removed (step S200), the process returns to step S188, and it is determined whether there is a folder with the next new arrival folder mark.
[0313]
In this way, when all the folders with the new arrival folder mark disappear for all the services including the folder with the new arrival folder mark, the access management unit 100 notifies the end of the new arrival tour on the screen of the monitor 76. It is displayed (step S202), and the user is notified that all new arrival tours have been completed. In this way, the new arrival tour process shown in FIG. 32 ends.
[0314]
As described above, when new arrival data is obtained at the time of automatic communication, the new arrival tour processing is performed, so that the user does not search the database 410 for data that has not been seen yet on the screen of the monitor 76 automatically. Therefore, convenience is improved.
[0315]
In the above embodiment, the case of receiving a personal computer communication service has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when receiving another VAN (value added communication network) service such as videotex. It is possible to apply.
[0316]
2) Communication terminal device for Internet communication service
In the above embodiment, the communication terminal device for receiving the personal computer communication service has been described. However, the present invention can also be applied to a communication terminal device for receiving the recently popular Internet communication service. Communication services provided by the Internet include information providing services such as e-mail, net news (NetNews), FTP (File Transfer Protocol), Telnet, and WWW (World Wide Web).
[0317]
2-1) When receiving Internet news service
Among these, first, the case where the communication terminal device of the present invention receives a network news communication service will be described. Internet news means mutual communication with unspecified number of people using an electronic bulletin board on the Internet, and a group centering on this net news is called a news group. In other words, a news group is equivalent to a forum (SIG) in a personal computer communication service, and there are 10,000 or more news groups on the Internet.
[0318]
When receiving such a Net Nice communication service, the configuration shown in FIG. 1 can be used as it is as the configuration of the communication terminal device, and the operation when receiving the above-described personal computer communication service is also possible as the operation of the communication terminal device. The same operation is performed. However, when receiving a Net Nice communication service, the following points are different.
[0319]
Internet news is divided into news groups with multiple hierarchical structures. For example, as shown in FIG. 33 (a), if there are News groups "aisoft.general", "aisoft.comp.pc98", and "aisoft.comp.dosv", these are all news "aisoft". Included in the group. Among them, there are “general” and “comp” groups, and the “comp” group is further divided into “pc98” and “dosv” groups.
[0320]
As described above, when receiving a service called a forum in a personal computer communication service, as shown in FIG. 4, a directory “forum” is provided in the database 410, and a directory is provided for each forum in a lower hierarchy. The data obtained from each forum was classified and managed. On the other hand, in the case of newsgroups on the Internet, as described above, the hierarchical structure is deep, so that the directory structure in the database 410 is also deepened to correspond to it, so that the newsgroups are similarly structured. The acquired data can be classified and managed. Specifically, for example, the news group shown in FIG. 33A can be dealt with by constructing a directory structure shown in FIG. 33B in the database 410.
[0321]
In each directory, for example, instead of an index file for managing titles in forums in the personal computer communication service as described above, an index file for managing net news articles may be created and stored. good.
[0322]
2-2) When receiving WWW services
Next, the case where the communication terminal apparatus of the present invention receives a WWW communication service on the Internet will be described. WWW refers to a service that allows information such as characters and graphics on the Internet to be viewed in a hypertext format that is organically linked with keywords.
[0323]
When receiving such a WWW communication service, the configuration shown in FIG. 1 can be used almost as it is as the configuration of the communication terminal device. The operation of the communication terminal device is basically the above-described personal computer communication service. The same operation as that for receiving is performed. However, depending on the unique characteristics of the WWW itself, there may be cases where an operation mode different from that for receiving a personal computer communication service is adopted.
[0324]
Data on the WWW is basically composed of hypertext data described in a language called HTML (Hyper-Text Markup Language). Hypertext data is composed of units of “pages”, and one “page” constitutes one file. Each of these hypertext data is stored as a file in a WWW server connected to the Internet. In addition to hypertext data, the WWW server stores image data (still images, moving images, etc.), audio data, and various program data.
[0325]
The communication terminal device can acquire hypertext data stored in the WWW server by accessing the WWW server via the Internet. These hypertext data can be displayed on the screen of the monitor 76 by a function using software called a browser in the communication terminal device. In the hypertext data, special information called “link” is put in a page, and the keyword can be associated with another page by this link. Using this link function, for example, the user can immediately view the associated page by simply clicking the keyword in the page displayed on the screen of the monitor 76 with the mouse 73.
[0326]
By the way, every object (for example, a data file) on the Internet can uniquely represent a place where the object is placed by a URL (Uniform Resource Locator). Therefore, for example, when the URL is “http://www.epson.co.jp/index.htm”, it is called “index.htm” in the WWW server “www.epson.co.jp”. Indicates that the file exists. “Http” is a protocol designation, and is a protocol name generally used in the WWW.
[0327]
In the hypertext data described in HTML, a portion enclosed in <> is called a tag, and for example, a character attribute such as underline, an image display method, a link, or the like is designated by this tag.
[0328]
FIG. 34 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of hypertext data described in HTML. A link specifying method will be described with reference to FIG. It is assumed that the hypertext data shown in FIG. 34 is stored in the above-mentioned WWW server “www.epson.co.jp”.
[0329]
In line m of FIG. <A> ”and“ A portion surrounded by “</A>” is a link designation (referred to as an anchor in HTML). "HREF =" / epson / index / index.htm "" indicates the link destination, and "If clicked, display the contents of the file" /epson/index/index.htm "" ing. “/Epson/index/index.htm” is a path designation in the WWW server, and indicates the position of the file “www.epson.co.jp” in the WWW server.
[0330]
Also,"<IMG SRC = "/ epson / image / haruj.gif">"is a specification for displaying an image in that part. Here, the image file" /epson/image/haruj.gif " Indicates that the contents are displayed. In addition, "“<P>” is a line feed specification.
[0331]
The link can be specified not only in the WWW server but also in another server. In the n-th line in FIG. 34, the external link is designated in the part of “HREF =“ http://www.aisoft.co.jp/index.htm ””. This is a designation of “connect to the WWW server“ www.aisoft.co.jp ”and display the contents of the file“ index.htm ””.
[0332]
2-2-1) Acquisition of hypertext data, etc.
Now, in this embodiment, an operation when acquiring hypertext data stored in a WWW server will be described. In general, in order for a normal user to access a WWW server, it is necessary to connect to a previously registered line provider via a public line using a modem 92 and to connect to the Internet via the provider.
[0333]
First, when the user instructs to connect to the Internet using the keyboard 72 and the mouse 73, the access management unit 100 calls the line provider via the communication control unit 300 and the like, and connects to the Internet via the provider. Connect. Thereafter, when the user instructs acquisition of hypertext data or the like stored in a desired WWW server, the access management unit 100 requests the WWW server to transmit data via the communication control unit 300.
[0334]
At this time, as the designation of data to be acquired, an address where the data to be acquired is placed, a data link level, a data type, or the like can be specified. Among these, in the address designation, it is possible to designate a WWW server such as “http://www.aisoft.co.jp” or a specific page within it. In addition, in specifying the link level, it is possible to specify to what level the links in the page are traced. For example, it is possible to specify a numerical value such as how many levels the link follows, or to specify a level within a specified WWW server. Further, the following designation can be made in the designation of the type. That is, in the page, not only a link to the next page but also image data and audio data can be pasted. Also included is a reference for transferring the file itself such as FTP. It is possible to specify whether or not to acquire the data for each type of data. Furthermore, it is possible to acquire only small data by setting an upper limit of the size.
[0335]
When hypertext data or the like designated as described above is transmitted from the WWW server, the access management unit 100 acquires the data via the communication control unit 300 or the like, and stores the data in the database 410 via the data management unit 400. To remember. At this time, the access management unit 100 classifies and arranges the acquired data as will be described later, and writes it in the database 410.
[0336]
Thus, when hypertext data is acquired from a desired WWW server and writing into the database 410 is completed, the access management unit 100 disconnects from the Internet via the communication control unit 300 or the like. Thereafter, in an offline state, the access management unit 100 reads data from the database 410 via the data management unit 400 and displays it on the screen of the monitor 76 via the user I / F unit 200 using the browser function. indicate. As a result, the user can browse data just as when connected to the Internet.
[0337]
The biggest advantage in this case is that the communication time is almost equal to the data transfer time, so that the communication line can be used to the maximum, and the connection charge with the line provider and the communication charge for the public line are also reduced. It is.
[0338]
In addition, the data stored in the database 410 can be stored and browsed on another personal computer that is not connected to the communication line, so the contents of the data can be stored where there is no communication line (for example, in a commuter train). You can also see it.
[0339]
By the way, as in the case of receiving the personal computer communication service described above, automatic communication can be performed when receiving the WWW service. For example, at the time designated in advance by the timer 68, it automatically connects to the Internet and acquires desired data.
[0340]
In general, the price of the connection area and communication charge varies with time, and in many cases, it becomes cheaper especially at midnight. Therefore, when acquiring data, the charge is cheaper at midnight than at the daytime. Furthermore, since the degree of congestion of the line also fluctuates, it may be easier to connect to the line provider at midnight. At this time, by setting to perform automatic communication at a specific time in the middle of the night, desired data can be automatically acquired from the WWW server without user intervention.
[0341]
In addition, for scheduling automatic communication execution, in addition to specifying a specific date and time, “daily X hour” and “every Monday X hour” can also be specified. Further, different designations can be made for each connected WWW server.
[0342]
2-2-2) Storage of acquired data in database and display of stored data
By the way, when the hypertext data acquired from the WWW server is written in the database 410, the access management unit 100 classifies, organizes, and writes the hypertext data and the like as follows while considering the link relationship of each page. .
[0343]
For example, if each page has a link relationship as shown in FIG. 35 (a), the home page first links to pages such as A and B, and then links to pages such as A-1 and B-1. Then, further links to pages such as A-3, D, etc.
[0344]
Then, it is assumed that the file of each page is stored in the WWW server so as to reflect such a link relationship. In other words, it is assumed that the following pages of “A” are stored in the WWW server as shown in FIG.
[0345]
In such a case, the access management unit 100 detects the URL attached to each page of the data acquired from the WWW server, and based on the URL, the access management unit 100 shows the URL shown in FIG. 35 (b) in the WWW server. The acquired data is written into the database 410 while maintaining the directory structure.
[0346]
In addition to the method of writing into the database 410 while maintaining the directory structure in the WWW server as described above, data can be written into the database 410 in a flat state irrespective of such a directory structure. That is, as shown in FIG. 35C, for example, all acquired data is stored in a directory “\ LOCAL”. However, at this time, there is a possibility that the same file name exists in another directory in the WWW server. In such a case, one file name is changed. For example, in FIG. 35B, the pages A-2 and A-3 have the same file name “A-2.html” as shown in FIG. 35D. Then, the file name to be written later is changed to “A-2_00.html” and stored.
[0347]
By the way, when the hypertext data acquired from the WWW server is written in the database 410 as described above, it is necessary to pay attention to the following points. That is, in the obtained hypertext data, as described above, in many cases, a link is specified, and the link destination indicates the storage location of the linked file on the Internet. It remains. Therefore, when writing to the database 410, it is necessary to rewrite all such link destinations so as to represent the writing location in the database 410 of the linked file.
[0348]
As the URL representing the link destination, a file on the local hard disk can be designated, and this is used. For example, when the hard disk 84 in which the database 410 is stored is the “C” drive, the file “\ Epson \ index.htm” written therein is “file: /// C | / Epson / index.htm ".
[0349]
Therefore, for example, when the hypertext data shown in FIG. 34 is written in the database 410, the “HREF” portion is changed to the writing location of the linked file as shown in FIG. 36, and all link destinations are rewritten. Thus, all link relationships can be stored in the database 410. At this time, a link to a server that is not acquired may be included, but this is stored and not changed.
[0350]
As described above, the hypertext data or the like written in the database 410 as described above is read from the database 410 via the data management unit 400 by the access management unit 100 and functions of the browser. Is displayed on the screen of the monitor 76 via the user I / F unit 200. In this case, as in the online state, the user can view each page in order according to the link. For example, in the example of FIG. 35 (a), the home page is displayed first, then the pages A, B, etc. are moved, and the subsequent pages are sequentially viewed. Links to servers that you don't get remain, so you can go online. As a result, the user can view the contents without being aware of the position of the data.
[0351]
In the present embodiment, in addition to such a display method as a normal browsing screen, a display method that represents the entire structure of the stored data in the database 410 can also be performed. In such a case, it may be displayed according to the directory structure in the database 410, but normally it is displayed according to the actual link relationship.
[0352]
FIG. 37 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a display screen when the stored data in the database 410 is displayed on the monitor 76 in a tree format. In the screen shown in FIG. 37 (a), there is a homepage “AISOFT Home Page” at the top, and a page “AISOFT English Home Page” is linked from there. Also, the image and audio data embedded in each page can be displayed in the same way as in “aisoft / image / title / gif” shown in FIG. You can also display whether data is included.
[0353]
In the figure, the symbol “−” indicates a page that has no further link destination, and the symbol “+” indicates a page that still has a link destination. Therefore, when the user clicks the page names with the “+” symbol in turn using the mouse 73, the page names of the link destinations can be displayed one after another.
[0354]
When there is a page that the user wants to browse, the page is designated on the screen of the monitor 76 by using the browsing function by designating the page with the mouse 73 and instructing the browsing. Is displayed. Furthermore, it is also possible to search for a page including a specific character string or data, so that more efficient browsing can be performed. In addition, it is possible to add a comment or memo such as a memorandum to the open part on the left side of the screen shown in FIG. 37, and it is possible to manage the access date and time.
[0355]
As described above, by displaying the link relationship of each page stored in the database 410 in a tree format, the overall structure can be easily grasped, and browsing in an offline state can be efficiently performed. It becomes possible.
[0356]
Further, instead of adopting the tree format as shown in FIG. 37, it is also possible to display on the screen in a flat state as shown in FIG. FIG. 38 shows a screen displayed on the monitor 76 using the browser function. In FIG. 38, the underlined portion is a portion in which a link is embedded, and clicking here with the mouse 73 moves to a linked page.
[0357]
In FIG. 38A, “AISOFT English Home Page” shown in FIG. 37 is used as the title name, and the page names one level below are listed and displayed. In this way, instead of listing and displaying only the page names one level below, a plurality of levels may be listed in a flat manner so that the entire page name is displayed at once.
[0358]
In addition, when a user is interested in a specific page stored in a lower hierarchy in a specific WWW server, the data of the page written in the database 410 is easily accessed and displayed. In order to make it possible, the content displayed on the screen of the monitor 76 may be customized as shown in FIG. In FIG. 38 (b), only preset page names are displayed as a list so that those pages can be easily opened.
[0359]
By the way, the content of a page (hypertext data) provided in a WWW server such as a newspaper company is updated every day according to the news that occurred at that time. Accordingly, when hypertext data or the like is acquired from a WWW server such as a newspaper company every day and written in the database 410, the hypertext data written in the past is overwritten one after another by the updated hypertext data. It disappears and does not remain. However, depending on the user, there are cases where pages for one week are collected and the contents are to be viewed later or the contents are to be saved. In such a case, it is convenient if data written in the past can be stored together with newly written data without erasing.
[0360]
Therefore, a method of realizing a function for storing and managing such new and old hypertext data together will be described. Such storage of new and old hypertext data is realized by making separate directories to be stored when writing these data in the database 410.
[0361]
FIG. 39 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a directory structure in the database 410. For example, as shown in FIG. 39A, a directory is created for each date in the database 410, and the acquired hypertext data and the like are stored in a directory corresponding to the date every day.
[0362]
At this time, if the contents of most of the pages stored in the WWW server change every day, all necessary pages in the WWW server are stored in the directory of that day or a directory below it. Also, if only some of the pages stored in the WWW server change every day, compared to the previous day's data, if the linked page is not changed, the linked page Can be stored after changing the link destination to a page that has already been written before.
[0363]
In addition to the methods described above, not only pages acquired from a specific WWW server, but only pages containing keywords that have been set in advance are classified by date, etc. Can also be stored.
[0364]
As shown in FIG. 39 (b), a directory for each keyword can be created as a classification by keyword instead of a date classification, and a page including the keyword can be stored in the corresponding directory. In such a case, it is possible to browse the contents related to a specific topic in time order.
[0365]
In addition, as described above, when the hypertext data obtained from the WWW server is classified and organized by date or keyword and written in the database 410, the page is provided as an index in which a link to each date or keyword is embedded. That is, by creating hypertext data separately (for example, “index.html” in FIGS. 39A and 39B) and displaying the index page on the monitor 76 by the browser function, the user can A page corresponding to each date and time or a page corresponding to each keyword can be easily accessed.
[0366]
By the way, as described above, the method of classifying and organizing the acquired data by date and time or by keyword and writing it into the database 410 and the display of the index screen that enables reading of these classification files are the Internet communication services. The present invention can be similarly applied to the case of receiving the above-described personal computer communication service. That is, the received data acquired from the communication host is not only classified and arranged for each communication service provided by the communication host, but also classified and arranged for each date / time or each keyword and written into the database 410. An index screen composed of a list of dates and times or a list of keywords is displayed on the monitor 76. When the user indicates desired data from the index screen, the data is read from the database 410 and displayed on the monitor 76. To do.
[0367]
2-2-3) Monitoring of data update for WWW server
By the way, when there is a WWW server that publishes information on which the user has special interest on the Internet, the user can add or change the contents of the information that is disclosed to the WWW server. In some cases, you may want to obtain the information as soon as possible (for example, new product information published by a company).
[0368]
However, in such a case, the user periodically accesses the WWW server periodically by manual communication, actually sees the published information, and determines whether there is a change in the content of the information. It was very time-consuming. Moreover, as the number of WWW servers that disclose interesting information increases, the work becomes very large, and it takes too much time and is virtually impossible.
[0369]
Therefore, in this embodiment, information that is disclosed to a specific WWW server is monitored for changes by automatic communication. That is, the periodic patrol function used when receiving the personal computer communication service described above is used.
[0370]
The automatic communication processing unit 600 registers in advance the WWW server to be monitored designated by the user in the hard disk 84 in advance. Then, the automatic communication processing unit 600 periodically accesses the registered WWW server by automatic communication, and checks whether or not the data (that is, information) stored in the WWW server has changed.
[0371]
Whether the stored data has changed is checked as follows. That is, according to the HTML protocol, information such as update date and time associated with the data can be acquired without taking out the main data such as hypertext data stored from the WWW server, and this is used. Since the last update date and time of the file is recommended as this update date and time, this update date and time is acquired as the last update date and compared with the last access date and time stored in advance in the automatic communication processing unit 600 side. By doing this, it can be determined whether or not the data stored in the WWW server has been changed.
[0372]
For data that does not support update date and time as described above, when hypertext data is acquired from a WWW server, a checksum is calculated from the data and the value is stored on the automatic communication processing unit 600 side. To do. Then, by accessing the WWW server again, the data is acquired, the checksum is calculated, and the stored data is compared with the stored value, so that it can be determined whether the stored data has been changed.
[0373]
Checking whether there is a change in stored data as described above is usually performed on a page-by-page basis, but it also includes changes in a specific part of the page and changes in the data linked from the page. You may make it check.
[0374]
Note that the communication terminal device capable of monitoring whether or not the stored data has been changed with respect to the WWW server as described above will be described in detail later as another embodiment.
[0375]
3) Data update monitoring server
As described above, it is possible to monitor whether or not the stored data in the WWW server has been changed by the communication terminal device. However, the data update monitoring server as described below is connected to the Internet and used exclusively. It can also be done.
[0376]
3-1) Configuration of data update monitoring server
FIG. 40 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a data update monitoring server as a second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 40, the data update monitoring server 1000 is connected to the Internet 3000 in the same manner as the other WWW servers 4000 and 5000. A client 2000 including a communication terminal device is connected to the Internet 3000 via a provider server 6000. Therefore, the data update monitoring server 1000 and the client 2000 are connected to each other via the Internet.
[0377]
The data update monitoring server 1000 mainly includes a monitoring unit 1100 that monitors whether the stored data 4100 and 5100 stored in the WWW servers 4000 and 5000 are updated, and a storage location (that is, URL) of data to be monitored. The registration management unit 1200 for performing registration and the like, the communication unit 1300 for performing data communication with the client 2000 and the WWW servers 4000 and 5000 via the Internet 3000, information on the registered storage location, And a storage unit 1400 for storing data acquired from the WWW servers 4000 and 5000. The WWW servers 4000 and 5000 store hypertext data as stored data 4100 and 5100, respectively.
[0378]
The data update monitoring server 1000 is configured by a computer as shown in FIG. 2, and each block in the data update monitoring server 1000 shown in FIG. 40 is realized by a portion realized by hardware and software. And include parts.
[0379]
Note that the software portion is stored in advance in the hard disk 84 shown in FIG. 2 in the form of an application program, and is activated from the hard disk 84 by the operating system and read into the main memory 25 by the operating system. The data update monitoring server 1000 shown in FIG. 40 in which hardware and software are integrated is realized.
[0380]
When the application program is recorded on the CD-ROM 85 shown in FIG. 2, the CD-ROM 85 is inserted into the CD-ROM device 83 and the application program is read by the CD-ROM device 83. It may be transferred to the main memory 25. When the application program is recorded on the floppy disk 81 shown in FIG. 2, the floppy disk 81 is inserted into the floppy disk device 82, and the application program is read by the floppy disk device 82, whereby the main memory is recorded. 25 may be transferred. The application program may be transferred to the main memory 25 from another portable recording medium such as a magneto-optical disk.
[0381]
When the application program is stored in the program supply server 9000 shown in FIG. 2, the modem 92 accesses the program supply server 9000 via the communication line 93 and transmits the application program from the program supply server 9000. It is also possible to transfer it to the main memory 25. The communication line 93 may be a wired line such as a telephone line or a network line, or a wireless line using a communication satellite.
[0382]
3-2) Operation of the data update monitoring server
The operation of this embodiment will be briefly described.
[0383]
First, the user instructs the data update monitoring server 1000 to register a user using the client 2000. The instruction is transmitted to the data update monitoring server 1000 via the provider server 6000 and the Internet 3000, and is input to the registration management unit 1200 via the communication unit 1300 in the data update monitoring server 1000. The registration management unit 1200 performs user registration in accordance with an instruction from the user.
[0384]
Next, the user instructs the data update monitoring server 1000 via the client 2000 to register a location where data to be monitored, that is, a URL (hereinafter referred to as a monitoring URL) is registered. Thereby, the registration management unit 1200 registers the monitoring URL according to the instruction from the user. The registered information is written in the storage unit 1400.
[0385]
When the monitoring URL is registered in this way, the communication unit 1300 accesses the WWW server indicated by the monitoring URL via the Internet 3000 based on the monitoring URL. For example, when the data to be monitored is the stored data 4100, the communication unit 1300 accesses the WWW server 4000 according to the monitoring URL. Next, the monitoring unit 1100 checks whether or not the stored data 4100 in the WWW server 4000 has been updated, and stores the update check result in the storage unit 1400. The monitoring unit 1100 periodically performs such an update check for all registered monitoring URLs.
[0386]
On the other hand, when the user wants to know whether or not the stored data has been updated, the user uses the client 2000 to inquire the data update monitoring server 1000 about whether or not the data has been updated. On the other hand, the registration management unit 1200 reads the update check result for the data stored in the monitoring URL registered by the user from the storage unit 1400, transfers it to the client 2000, and notifies the user. At this time, the registration management unit 1200 grasps the last access date and time when the client 2000 accessed the WWW server to be monitored and acquired the stored data, and the result of the latest check after that date is displayed on the client. Transfer to 2000.
[0387]
Therefore, when the user confirms that the stored data has been updated from the result of the update check, the user connects the client 2000 to the Internet 3000 via the provider server 6000 as necessary, and A WWW server in which data is stored is accessed via the Internet 3000. Then, desired data is acquired from the WWW server.
[0388]
Therefore, since the user can know whether or not the stored data has been updated simply by accessing the data update monitoring server 1000, it is possible to save time and trouble of investigating whether or not the stored data has been updated. More efficient storage data monitoring can be performed.
[0389]
Note that the registration management unit 1200 can transfer the result of the update check of the stored data not only when the user accesses the data update monitoring server 1000 but also to the user using e-mail. Alternatively, the data update monitoring server itself may access and transfer the client 2000 via a public line or the like.
[0390]
Further, as described above, since the monitoring unit 1100 periodically checks whether or not the stored data is updated, the latest check result is stored in the storage unit 1400. Therefore, when there is an inquiry from the user, the latest update check result can be transferred immediately without accessing the monitored WWW server.
[0390]
Although only one client is shown in FIG. 40, in reality, there are a large number of clients, so the data update monitoring server 1000 is used by a large number of users. Therefore, it is expected that a plurality of users desire to monitor data stored in the same WWW server. In such a case, the monitoring unit 1100 can check whether or not there is an update for a plurality of users with only one access to the WWW server, which is very efficient.
[0392]
Further, when accessing the WWW server, the monitoring unit 1100 may acquire the storage data itself being monitored and store the data in the storage unit 1400. In this case, if there is a data transmission request from the user via the client 2000, the registration management unit 1200 may transmit the stored data to the client 2000 according to the request. By doing so, the user can easily acquire the data stored in the WWW server via the data update monitoring server 1000.
[0393]
In addition, when the storage unit 1100 acquires the stored data itself from the WWW server as described above, the monitoring unit 1100 classifies and organizes the acquired data by date and time or by keyword as shown in FIG. At the same time, the registration management unit 1200 creates an index page in which each date and time or a link to each keyword is embedded. If there is a data transmission request from the user, the classified and organized data and index are requested according to the request. The page may be transmitted to the client 2000. Alternatively, only the index page may be transmitted first, and when a user requests further data using the index page, the requested data may be transmitted from the classified and organized data. .
[0394]
Further, the registration management unit 1200 may edit the stored data into a desired format and transmit data in a format according to a request from the user. Here, editing to a desired format means, for example, developing linked data into character and image information to enable flat display. Specifically, for example, news breaking news can be obtained from each WWW server and edited and displayed as a single so-called “electronic newspaper” on a specific date, in a specific field, etc. become. Thereby, the user does not need to look around each WWW server, and can simply read the desired information in a display form simply by connecting to the data update monitoring server 1000. If data retrieval conditions and display formats are prepared for individual users, the convenience will be further increased.
[0395]
As described above, when the data is transmitted from the data update monitoring server 1000 to the client 2000, the data can also be transmitted using electronic mail. In particular, when the line capability is small, such as a portable computer connected to a network wirelessly, an e-mail with little transfer data is effective. Furthermore, it is also preferable to prepare an edit form for the portable computer that omits image data and reduces the amount of transmission data. Further, it is possible to access the client 2000 from the data update monitoring server 1000, start a printer connected to the client 2000, and print out data from the printer. Further, the data update monitoring server 1000 can directly call the user via a public line or the like and send the data by facsimile or the like.
[0396]
Further, in the case where the data acquired from the WWW server is stored in the storage unit 1400, when the monitoring unit 1100 confirms that the stored data has been updated, the monitoring unit 1100 acquires the updated data from the WWW server, The data before update stored in the storage unit 1400 may be rewritten with data after update. In this way, when the user requests data transmission, the latest data can be transmitted to the user.
[0397]
Further, in the case where the data acquired from the WWW server is stored in the storage unit 1400, when the monitoring unit 1100 confirms that the stored data has been updated, the monitoring unit 1100 acquires the updated data from the WWW server, Compared with the pre-update data stored in the storage unit 1400, an updated location in the data may be detected, and the detection result may be stored in the storage unit 1400. Furthermore, when there is an update location inquiry from the user, the registration management unit 1200 may read the detection result from the storage unit 1400 and notify the client 2000 of the detection result.
[0398]
By the way, in the present embodiment, there are the following two cases depending on the difference in the data management form.
[0399]
(1) When the monitoring URL for each user is managed by the data update monitoring server
In this case, the monitoring URL for each user is managed by the data update monitoring server 1000 and is not managed by the client 2000. Therefore, the client 2000 does not need to save the monitoring URL instructed by the user, but instead, the data update monitoring server 1000 saves the data, so that the data capacity stored in the data update monitoring server 1000 is stored. Will increase. However, it is possible to provide a service such as notification by e-mail to notify whether the stored data has been updated.
[0400]
(2) When the monitoring URL for each user is managed by each client
In the data update monitoring server 1000, only management of users and management of monitoring URLs are performed, and it is not managed which user each monitoring URL belongs to. Therefore, each user stores the monitoring URL in the local database (local DB) in the client 2000, and when inquiring whether the stored data is updated to the data update monitoring server 1000, the user updates the stored monitoring URL. The monitoring server 1000 is notified and inquired. Since the data stored in the client 2000 can be shared with the management data used when the client 2000 acquires the stored data of the WWW server, the capacity of the stored data does not increase. In addition, the data update monitoring server 1000 requires less management data.
[0401]
In each case, an overview of management data and an overview of transactions between the data monitoring server and the client will be described.
[0402]
First, the case of (1) will be described. FIG. 41 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of each management data when the monitoring URL for each user is managed by the data update monitoring server.
[0403]
The data update monitoring server 1000 has two user management tables and monitoring URL data as shown in FIG. Among these, the user management table A stores the user ID and password as shown in FIG. Further, as shown in FIG. 41B, the user management table B stores the user ID, the monitoring URL of the user, the attribute, and the last access date and time when the client accessed the monitoring target WWW server. Yes. Here, as the attribute, auxiliary information such as whether only data stored in the monitoring URL is monitored or data linked from the data is also monitored is stored.
[0404]
Further, as shown in FIG. 41 (c), the monitoring URL data includes the URL where the data to be monitored is stored, the last check date and time when it was checked whether the data update monitoring server was last updated, Includes status indicating the current state (states where stored data has been changed, deleted, error retrying, etc.), number of errors, and last update date and time of stored data being monitored It is. Here, the number of errors is the number of times that access was attempted for monitoring, but access was not possible. When access is attempted at a fixed time interval and the access cannot be made more than a fixed number of times, the target URL is deleted. It is used to determine that it has been done.
[0405]
One monitoring URL data exists for each registered monitoring URL.
[0406]
FIG. 42 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of a transaction between the data monitoring server and the client when the monitoring URL for each user is managed by the data update monitoring server. 42, (a) shows a transaction at the time of user registration, (b) shows a transaction at the time of registration of a monitoring URL, and (c) shows a transaction at the time of inquiring whether to update stored data. In each figure, time progresses from top to bottom.
[0407]
As shown in FIG. 42A, at the time of user registration, when a user name, registration password, serial number or the like is sent from the client 2000, the data update monitoring server 1000 authenticates the serial number and the like, and a user ID and password Issue. The registered password and serial number are used to provide services only to limited users. Therefore, there is no need to provide it to unspecified persons.
[0408]
As shown in FIG. 42B, when the monitoring URL is registered, when the user name, password, and monitoring URL are sent from the client 2000, the data update monitoring server 1000 performs registration processing and returns a status.
[0409]
As shown in FIG. 42 (c), at the time of an update inquiry, a user ID and password are sent from the client 2000 to inquire whether the stored data is updated. The data update monitoring server 1000 acquires the registered monitoring URL and the last access date and time from the user ID. Then, the data stored in the monitoring URL is checked for the presence / absence of update after the last access date from the already stored investigation result, and the result of the presence / absence of update is sent to the client 2000 as an update URL list. The client 2000 stores the updated URL list.
[0410]
Thereafter, the client 2000 accesses the WWW server and obtains updated storage data. Then, to the data update monitoring server 1000, together with the user ID and password, the monitoring URL of the acquired data (that is, information indicating which monitoring URL has acquired the data) and the date and time when the data was acquired are sent. The data update monitoring server 1000 updates the user data.
[0411]
Next, the case of (2) will be described. 43 and 44 are explanatory diagrams showing an outline of each management data when the monitoring URL for each user is managed by each client. 43 shows management data managed by the data update monitoring server 1000, and FIG. 44 shows management data managed by the client 2000, respectively.
[0412]
The data update monitoring server 1000 has a user management table and monitoring URL data as shown in FIG. Among these, the user management table stores the user ID and password as shown in FIG. 43A, as in the user management table A described above. Further, as shown in FIG. 43 (b), the monitoring URL data includes the same URL as in FIG. 41 (c), the last check date / time, the status, the number of errors, and the last update date / time. Yes.
[0413]
On the other hand, the client 2000 has monitoring URL data as shown in FIG. Basically, the configuration is the same as the monitoring URL data managed by the data update monitoring server 1000. However, the “number of errors” indicating the status during the monitoring check disappears, and the client 2000 last accessed the “last access”. Holds "date and time". In addition, when acquiring storage data from a WWW server, this data can be used in common at the time of an update inquiry and at the time of storage data acquisition.
[0414]
FIG. 45 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of the transaction between the data monitoring server and the client when the monitoring URL for each user is managed by each client. In FIG. 45, (a) shows a transaction at the time of registering a monitoring URL, and (c) shows a transaction at the time of inquiring whether to update stored data. In each figure, time progresses from top to bottom. Since the transaction at the time of user registration is the same as that shown in FIG.
[0415]
As shown in FIG. 45A, when the monitoring URL is registered, if the user name, password, and monitoring URL are sent from the client 2000, the data update monitoring server 1000 performs registration processing and returns a status. The client 2000 also saves the registration in the local DB.
[0416]
As shown in FIG. 45B, at the time of an update inquiry, in addition to the user ID and password, a list of monitoring URLs and a list of the last access date and time are sent from the client 2000 to inquire whether the stored data is updated. This is because the data update monitoring server 1000 does not manage the monitoring URL and the last access date and time for each user. The data update monitoring server 1000 checks whether or not the data stored in the monitoring URL is updated after the last access date based on the already stored investigation result, and the update presence / absence result is sent to the client 2000 as an update URL list. send. The client 2000 stores the updated URL list in the local DB and keeps it strictly. Thereafter, the client 2000 accesses the WWW server and obtains updated storage data.
[0417]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, by setting up the data update monitoring server 1000 on the Internet 3000, the user simply accesses the data update monitoring server 1000 using the client 2000, and the stored data is stored. Since it is possible to know whether or not it has been updated, it is possible to monitor stored data more efficiently.
[0418]
Note that the data update monitoring server capable of monitoring whether or not the stored data has been changed with respect to the WWW server as described above will be described in detail later as another embodiment.
[0419]
In the above-described embodiments, the case where the communication service on the Internet is received has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the case where the service is received not only on the Internet but also on a network such as WAN or LAN. Is also applicable.
[0420]
4) Another embodiment of a communication terminal device capable of monitoring data update
46 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a communication terminal apparatus as a third embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 47 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the agent execution unit 702 of FIG. A communication terminal device 700 according to the present embodiment is a communication terminal device suitable for receiving a WWW service in an Internet communication service, and in particular, a communication terminal device capable of monitoring whether there is a change in stored data for a WWW server. It is.
[0421]
4-1) Configuration of communication terminal device of this embodiment
As shown in FIG. 46, this communication terminal device 700 is centered on an agent execution unit 702, a data management unit 704, a new arrival information database 706, a comparison target data storage unit 708, an agent management unit 710, and a user I. / F unit 712, monitor 713, schedule management unit 714, keyboard 715, network access unit 716, mouse 717, server access unit 718, and Internet via provider server 750 It is connected to the. A plurality of WWW servers including the WWW server 900 are connected to the Internet. In addition, a data update monitoring server 800 is connected to the Internet via a WWW server 850.
[0422]
Note that the communication terminal apparatus 700 of this embodiment is configured by a computer as shown in FIG. 2, and each block in the communication terminal apparatus 700 shown in FIG. 46 is realized by hardware and software. And the part realized by.
[0423]
Note that the software portion is stored in advance in the hard disk 84 shown in FIG. 2 in the form of an application program, and is activated from the hard disk 84 by the operating system and read into the main memory 25 by the operating system. The communication terminal device 700 shown in FIG. 46 in which hardware and software are integrated is realized.
[0424]
When the application program is recorded on the CD-ROM 85 shown in FIG. 2, the CD-ROM 85 is inserted into the CD-ROM device 83 and the application program is read by the CD-ROM device 83. It may be transferred to the main memory 25. When the application program is recorded on the floppy disk 81 shown in FIG. 2, the floppy disk 81 is inserted into the floppy disk device 82, and the application program is read by the floppy disk device 82, whereby the main memory is recorded. 25 may be transferred. The application program may be transferred to the main memory 25 from another portable recording medium such as a magneto-optical disk.
[0425]
When the application program is stored in the program supply server 9000 shown in FIG. 2, the modem 92 accesses the program supply server 9000 via the communication line 93 and transmits the application program from the program supply server 9000. It is also possible to transfer it to the main memory 25. The communication line 93 may be a wired line such as a telephone line or a network line, or a wireless line using a communication satellite.
[0426]
In the communication terminal device 700, the agent execution unit 702 executes a predetermined agent among a plurality of agents registered in advance. Here, an agent is a kind of man-machine interface, which is an object added with judgment and execution based on situation recognition and value criteria. The data management unit 704 writes and reads data to the new arrival information database 706 and the comparison target data storage unit 708. The new arrival information database 706 stores agent data, URL data, and the like in addition to new arrival information described later. The comparison target data storage unit 708 stores comparison target data described later. In the agent management unit 710, in addition to registering agents and changing setting contents, the agent management unit 710 reads agent data via the data management unit 704. The user I / F unit 712 receives an instruction from the user via the keyboard 715, the mouse 717, or the like, or displays new arrival information described later on the screen of the monitor 713. The schedule management unit 714 performs time management when, for example, a data update monitoring operation described later is periodically executed. A network access unit 716 accesses a WWW server or the like via the Internet. The server access unit 718 accesses the data update monitoring server 800 via the network access unit 716 when the data update monitoring server 800 performs a data update monitoring operation as described later.
[0427]
47, the agent execution unit 702 includes an agent execution management unit 720, a WWW server access unit 722, an update detection unit 724, a difference analysis engine 726, an HTML analysis engine 728, and a clipping engine 730. And.
[0428]
Among these, the agent execution management unit 720 controls the execution of other components in the agent execution unit 702. The agent execution management unit 720 includes a writing unit 720a and a reading unit 720b. The WWW server access unit 722 accesses the WWW server and acquires content data, which will be described later. The WWW server access unit 722 includes a link destination content data acquisition unit 722a. The update detection unit 724 checks whether update monitoring target data described later has been updated. The difference analysis engine 726 compares update monitoring target data, which will be described later, with comparison target data, and derives difference data between the two. The HTML analysis engine 728 analyzes the difference data and cuts out header information and link information described later. The clipping engine 730 performs a clipping process described later.
[0429]
4-2) New arrival information
As described above, among various information disclosed on the WWW server on the Internet (that is, information accessible by the communication terminal device), there is information that the user has a special interest. For such information, there is a demand to regularly monitor whether data has been updated in order to quickly know the addition or change of the contents. Information that such users are interested in includes new arrival information such as “What'new” published by companies.
[0430]
Therefore, the new arrival information and the characteristics of the data will be described. In general, the new arrival information is composed of heading information indicating the heading of the new arrival information and content information indicating the detailed content of the new arrival information. The header information and the corresponding content information are linked by link information. The heading information is usually listed in bullets in the index page. The content information is usually described by one page for each information (however, depending on newly arrived information, a plurality of content information may be described on one page). The index page in which a plurality of heading information is listed is stored in the WWW server as index page data composed of HTML data. Each page describing the content information is also stored in the WWW server as content data composed of HTML data.
[0431]
FIG. 48 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an index page listing a plurality of heading information. The image shown in FIG. 48 is obtained by displaying index page data, which is HTML data, on a screen by a browser in a general communication terminal device. In the example shown in FIG. 48, a plurality of header information is listed together with the transmission date of each information in the index page.
[0432]
FIG. 49 is an explanatory diagram showing the contents of the HTML data (index page data) of the index page shown in FIG. In the index page data shown in FIG. 49, each heading data representing heading information includes link information indicating a storage location (that is, URL) of content data linked to the heading information. For example, in the headline data indicated by the underline in FIG. 49, “HREF =" ../ ainews / news / dxplorer.htm indicating the storage location of the content data for the headline information “announced“ DiskXplorer for Windows ”” Therefore, it can be seen that the content data is stored as HTML data with the file name “dxplorer.htm” in the WWW server.
[0433]
When an image such as that shown in FIG. 48 is displayed on the screen in a general communication terminal device, for example, click the heading information “Announcing“ DiskXplorer for Windows ”” indicated by an underline with a mouse or the like. Then, content data is acquired from the storage location indicated by the link information in the WWW server, and the content information is displayed on the screen based on the content data.
[0434]
Fig. 50 is an explanatory diagram showing a page describing content information linked to the heading information "announces" DiskXplorer for Windows "" in Fig. 48. The image shown in Fig. 50 is a browser that displays content data as HTML data. Is displayed on the screen.
[0435]
FIG. 51 shows the relationship between each data and each information described above in the drawing. FIG. 51 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between index page data stored in the WWW server and a plurality of content data. Of the data stored in the WWW server, the index page data WNP includes a plurality of heading data αa, βb,... As shown in FIG. 51, and each heading data includes heading information and link information. (For example, the heading data αa includes heading information α and link information a). Accordingly, each heading information is linked to the content data indicated by the corresponding link information (for example, the heading information α is linked to the content data A indicated by the link information a).
[0436]
4-3) Overview of operation of communication terminal device in this embodiment
Based on the above, an outline of the operation of the present embodiment will be described. Now, the user wants to monitor data update for new arrival information as shown in FIG. 48 and the like, and the index page data WNP and contents data A, B,... Shown in FIG. Are stored in the WWW server 900 shown in FIG.
[0437]
4-3-1) When acquiring new arrival information for the first time
Therefore, when acquiring newly arrived information published to the WWW server 900 for the first time, the communication terminal device 700 operates as follows. First, in the communication terminal device 700, the URL of the index page data WNP that is data (that is, update monitoring target data) to be monitored by the user (hereinafter, the URL of the update monitoring target data is referred to as a target URL). Is given.) Communication terminal device 700 then accesses WWW server 900 based on the target URL and requests transmission of index page data WNP stored therein.
[0438]
Thereafter, when the communication terminal device 700 receives the index page data WNP from the WWW server 900, the communication terminal device 700 checks when the header information in each header data is published on the WWW server 900 in the index page data WNP, and the user desires Only new headline information after the date to be searched is obtained. As shown in FIG. 49, when the transmission date of the header information is included in the header data, the publication date of the header information may be obtained by referring to the transmission date. If there is no such information in the data, the content data linked to the heading information is obtained by the link information in the same heading data, and the update date of the content data (including the creation date) ), Etc., so that the date of publication of the header information is obtained.
[0439]
Then, the communication terminal device 700 acquires the header information after the desired date, the link information corresponding to each header information, and the content data obtained based on each link information, and will be described later. After performing the clipping process, the information is stored in the new arrival information database 706 shown in FIG. 46 as new arrival information data for the target URL. Therefore, for example, in FIG. 51, among the plurality of heading information included in the index page data WNP, the heading information α to δ is released after the desired date, and all the heading information ε and later are released before that. In the new arrival information database 706, the headline information α to δ, the corresponding link information a to d, and the content data A to D linked to them are stored in the target URL. Is stored as new arrival information data WN, and all other information is discarded.
[0440]
FIG. 52 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of new arrival information data stored in the new arrival information database 706 of FIG. As shown in FIG. 52, the target newly arrived information data WN is arranged in order for each set of heading information, link information, content data, and the like, and further, an old set of date of publication as an information ID. Numbers are assigned in order. FIG. 52 conceptually shows the new arrival information data, which is different from the actual one.
[0441]
When the communication terminal device 700 stores the new arrival information data WN in the new arrival information database 706, the index page data WNP shown in FIG. 51 is also stored in the comparison target data storage unit 708 as comparison target data.
[0442]
4-3-2) When acquiring new arrival information for the second time or later
Subsequently, when new arrival information is acquired after the second time, the following operation is performed. First, the communication terminal device 700 accesses the WWW server 900 based on the target URL and checks whether or not the index page data WNP stored therein has been updated. Index page data WNP is fetched from the WWW server 900.
[0443]
Then, the communication terminal device 700 compares the captured index page data WNP with the comparison target data stored in the comparison target data storage unit 708 (that is, the index page data WNP acquired last time). Then, a portion other than the portion overlapping with the comparison target data is acquired as difference data.
[0444]
FIG. 53 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the relationship between updated index page data and content data stored in the WWW server. For example, as shown in FIG. 53, when the index page data WNP is updated since the headline data ωz is newly added from the previous time when the new arrival information was acquired, the index page data WNP is converted into the comparison target data storage unit. Compared with the index page data WNP (that is, comparison target data) shown in FIG. 51 stored in 708, since the portion other than the overlapping portion is the newly added heading data ωz, the heading data ωz. Is obtained as difference data.
[0445]
Next, the communication terminal device 700 analyzes the header data ωz obtained as the difference data, and the content obtained based on the header information ω shown in FIG. 53, the corresponding link information z, and the link information z. Data Z is acquired, and after performing clipping processing described later, the information is stored in the new arrival information database 706 shown in FIG.
[0446]
FIG. 54 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of updated new arrival information data stored in the new arrival information database 706 of FIG. When the above-described information is stored in the new arrival information database 706, the new arrival information data WN for the target URL includes information that includes header information ω, link information z, and content data Z as a set, as shown in FIG. Is newly added, and a new number “5” is added to the set as an information ID. FIG. 54 conceptually shows the new arrival information data, which is different from the actual one.
[0447]
Further, when the communication terminal device 700 stores the above information in the new arrival information database 706, the index page data WNP shown in FIG. 53 is also stored in the comparison target data storage unit 708 as the next comparison target data. .
[0448]
As described above, in the present embodiment, for new arrival information published by the WWW server, data update is monitored, and if the data has been updated, the difference data is acquired and newly updated. To get the right information.
[0449]
4-4) Agent data
In the communication terminal device 700 according to the present embodiment, an agent is registered for each target URL. The agent execution unit 702 in FIG. 46 executes the agent for each target URL to store the target URL. The update monitoring of the data being performed is performed. Further, agent data as setting information of each agent has contents as shown in FIG. 55 and is stored in the new arrival information database 706. The agent management unit 710 performs registration of each agent, setting information change, and the like via the data management unit 704.
[0450]
FIG. 55 is an explanatory diagram showing the contents of agent data used in the third embodiment. In FIG. 55, the first column indicates database attributes, the second column indicates names, and the third column indicates meanings. In the first column, I indicates that an index is to be created, and P indicates that it is a primary key.
[0451]
Then, the content of the item of each line is demonstrated.
The agent ID is a number uniquely determined for the agent.
The invalid flag is a flag indicating whether or not to execute the data update monitoring operation. The agent name is a name given to the agent.
The CS type indicates whether the communication terminal device 700 that is a local (client) performs data update monitoring by itself or the data update monitoring server 800 described later.
The monitoring type indicates whether data update monitoring is performed until new arrival information is acquired or only update check is performed.
The check frequency ID represents the frequency of performing the data update monitoring operation. For example, 0: every hour (once every hour), 1: every day (once a day), 2: every week (once a week) ) 3: Monthly (once a month).
-The check frequency (day, week, month) represents information on the day of the week and the day.
The check frequency (for display) is a character string of the contents of the above check frequency for displaying properties and the like.
-The last check date and time is the date and time when the agent was last executed.
The final status indicates the state when the agent was last executed. For example, in the update check, an error such as an error or a timeout may occur. In such a case, the error information is written.
URL-ID is an ID attached to the target URL.
The URL character string is a character string (http: // .....) of the target URL.
[0452]
4-5) About URL data
Information related to the target URL is also stored in the new arrival information database 706 as URL data. Each URL data has contents as shown in FIG. In this embodiment, since the target URL corresponds to the agent on a one-to-one basis, the URL data also corresponds to the agent on a one-to-one basis.
[0453]
FIG. 56 is an explanatory diagram showing the contents of URL data used in the third embodiment. In FIG. 56, each column field is the same as each column field shown in FIG.
[0454]
Now, the contents of the items in each line in FIG. 56 will be described. Note that the same items as those shown in FIG. 55 have the same contents, and thus the description thereof is omitted.
[0455]
The last update date / time is the date / time when the update monitoring target data was last updated. The date and time obtained from the WWW server by the HTTP protocol is described instead of the date and time when the target data is actually acquired by the communication terminal device 700. When the WWW server does not provide the update date / time of the target data, the update monitoring target data is set as the date / time at which the communication terminal device 700 acquired.
The latest information ID is the latest information ID acquired by the communication terminal device 700. As will be described later, this is used when the data update monitoring server 800 monitors data update.
The user name and password are used when accessing the WWW server. This is because, depending on the WWW server, a user name and a password may be required to acquire update monitoring target data and the like.
The content path name is a path name to the comparison target data stored in the comparison target data storage unit 708. The comparison target data is stored in a special directory, and the path name includes a path from the reference directory to the special directory and a file name of the comparison target data.
Analysis information is information used to analyze update monitoring target data and extract each heading data from the target data.
[0456]
4-6) New arrival information table
Also, the newly arrived information data as shown in FIGS. 52 and 54 is stored in the newly arrived information table having the contents as shown in FIG. 57 in the newly arrived information database 706.
[0457]
FIG. 57 is an explanatory diagram showing the contents of a new arrival information table used in the third embodiment. In FIG. 57, each column field is the same as each column field shown in FIG.
[0458]
Now, the contents of the items in each line in FIG. 57 will be described.
The latest information ID is a unique ID for each new arrival information (one set of heading information and content information).
The acquisition date / time is the date / time when the new arrival information was acquired.
Agent ID is the ID of the agent that executed the new arrival information acquisition process.
The agent name is the name of the agent that executed the new arrival information acquisition process. The agent name can be acquired from the agent ID, but holds a character string for speeding up.
The URL character string is a character string (http: // .....) of the target URL. The URL character string can be acquired from the URL-ID, but is provided for speeding up.
-The URL title is the page (eg, index page) stored in the target URL. <TITLE>.
Folder ID is the ID of the folder into which the new arrival information is classified.
-Folder name is the name of the folder. The folder name can be acquired from the folder ID, but a character string is held for speeding up.
-A headline is a headline of newly arrived information. That is, the acquired heading information is stored.
The link destination URL is a URL linked to the headline of newly arrived information. That is, the link information acquired together with the heading information is stored. If there is no link information, it is set to NULL.
The read flag is a flag indicating whether or not the user has seen the contents of the newly arrived information, or is 0: read (see contents), 1: unread (not seen). When new arrival information is acquired, it is set to 1 and reset to 0 when the user sees the contents.
The CS type indicates whether the new arrival information is acquired by the local (client) communication terminal device 700 itself or is acquired by the data update monitoring server.
The information ID is an ID that is sequentially added to the new arrival information in the new arrival information data for each target URL. That is, for example, as shown in FIG. 52 or FIG. 54, in the new arrival information data for a certain target URL, each new arrival information (a set of heading information and content information) is attached in order from the oldest date of publication. It is a number to be. As will be described later, this is used when the data update monitoring server 800 monitors data update.
-Information content is the content of new arrival information. That is, the acquired content data (HTML data) is stored. Depending on the type of newly arrived information, the content data may not be acquired. In such a case, the URL of the content data (ie, link information) is stored instead.
[0459]
The new arrival information database 706 also stores a folder table in addition to the agent data, URL data, and new arrival information table. This folder table stores the name and ID of the folder used in the clipping process, and search conditions (clipping conditions) such as keywords set for each folder. Each agent is normally designated with a folder for clipping processing.
[0460]
5-7) Details of operation of communication terminal device in this embodiment
Now, the operation of this embodiment will be described in more detail. FIG. 58 is a flowchart showing a main processing procedure in communication terminal apparatus 700 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 58, first, the agent management unit 710 reads one agent data to be processed from the agent data stored in the new arrival information database 706 via the data management unit 704 (step S220), and passes to the agent execution unit 702. Next, the agent execution management unit 720 in the agent execution unit 702 extracts the check frequency information from the passed agent data, checks whether it is time to execute the data update monitoring operation, and performs the data update monitoring operation. It is determined whether it is necessary to execute (step S222). If the execution time has not yet been reached, the data update monitoring operation is not executed, and the process proceeds to step S234. If the execution time has come, the process proceeds to step S224 to execute the data update monitoring operation.
[0461]
In step S224, CS type information is extracted from the agent data, and based on the information, the data update monitoring operation is performed by the local (ie, client) communication terminal device 700 or by the data update monitoring server 800. Judgment is made. When the data update monitoring server 800 performs the processing, a data monitoring server corresponding process (step S232) described later is executed. When the communication terminal device 700 performs the processing itself, the processing proceeds to step S226.
[0462]
In step S226, monitoring type information is extracted from the agent data, and based on the information, it is determined whether new information is acquired as a data update monitoring operation or only an update check is performed. When performing an update check, the update detection unit 724 in the agent execution unit 702 executes an update check process (step S230) described later, and when acquiring new arrival information, The configuration unit executes a new arrival information acquisition process (step S228) described later.
[0463]
Finally, the agent management unit 710 determines whether or not there is agent data to be processed in the new arrival information database 706 (step S234). If there is no agent data, the series of processing ends, and if there is, the processing returns to step S220. Return and repeat the same process.
[0464]
4-7-1) About new arrival information acquisition processing
FIG. 59 is a flowchart showing a specific processing procedure of the new arrival information acquisition processing in FIG. When the processing routine shown in FIG. 59 is started, the agent execution management unit 720 in the agent execution unit 702 first executes the execution of URL data stored in the new arrival information database 706 via the data management unit 704. The URL data for the target URL corresponding to the agent inside is read. Then, the information of the last update date and time of the update monitoring target data and the path name information to the comparison target data are extracted from the URL data, and the comparison target data storage unit 708 is accessed and stored based on the path name information. The comparison target data is read (step S240).
[0465]
At this time, if the comparison target data is not stored in the comparison target data storage unit 708, the process proceeds to step S262. The case where such comparison target data is not stored corresponds to, for example, the case where new arrival information is acquired for the first time as described above.
[0466]
Next, the network access unit 716 accesses the WWW server based on the target URL, and the update detection unit 724 in the agent execution unit 702 updates the update monitoring target data in the WWW server via the network access unit 716. It is checked whether it has been done (step S244). Specifically, the GET method is issued to the WWW server with the last update date and time as the IF-Modified-Since header. If the update monitoring target data has been updated, the updated update monitoring target data is automatically acquired from the WWW server by the network access unit 716 (step S246). If not updated, the update monitoring target data is not acquired, and the process routine shown in FIG. 59 is exited.
[0467]
If the last update date / time information cannot be obtained from the header information, the update monitoring target data is acquired from the WWW server, and the content of the update monitoring target data is compared with the content of the comparison target data and changed to the content. If there is, it is considered that the data has been updated. The last update date and time at this time is the date and time when the comparison process is executed.
[0468]
Next, the agent execution management unit 720 extracts analysis information from the previously read URL data for the target URL (step S248), and provides it to the HTML analysis engine 728 and the like.
[0469]
Next, the difference analysis engine 726 includes update monitoring target data that is HTML data acquired from the WWW server and comparison target data that is HTML data read from the comparison target data storage unit 708 (comparison target data for the target URL). Then, a portion other than the portion overlapping the comparison target data in the update monitoring target data is derived as difference data (step S250). That is, the difference data corresponds to the updated part of the data.
[0470]
For example, the difference analysis engine 726 first deletes the IMG tag portion indicating the link from the HTML data to the image data in order to exclude the image data portion in accordance with the difference analysis instruction, The difference of the HTML data is taken, and then the content of the difference is output.
[0471]
Such a difference analysis instruction is defined in advance for each target URL and stored in the new arrival information database 706. Also, depending on the target URL, such a command may not be defined, and in such a case, the differential data is derived using a command that can be used universally for all HTML data.
[0472]
Subsequently, the HTML analysis engine 728 analyzes the derived difference data based on the analysis information, and cuts out headline information and link information (link destination URL) of newly arrived information from the difference data (step S252). Depending on the target URL, there may be no analysis information. In such a case, analysis is performed using information that can be used for all HTML data.
[0473]
Next, the link destination content data acquisition unit 722a of the WWW server access unit 722 accesses the WWW server based on the extracted link information via the network access unit 716, and the content data ( HTML data) is acquired (step S254). At this time, when a plurality of content data is included in the HTML data stored in the URL of the link destination, only the necessary content data is cut out and acquired based on the analysis information. To do.
[0474]
If the link destination is not in the WWW server in which the update monitoring target data is stored, but in another WWW server, the link destination is accessed again to obtain the content data of the link destination. Since the necessity arises, in such a case, the content data may not be acquired.
[0475]
Next, the clipping engine 730 performs a clipping process for each folder designated for the agent being executed (step S256). That is, for each designated folder, a search condition (clipping condition) set for the folder is extracted from the folder table of the new arrival information database 706 via the data management unit 704, and the acquired new arrival information (that is, heading information). Each of the information sets) is checked whether or not the search condition is met (step S256). For example, when the search condition set for a certain folder is “Internet and Intranet”, “Internet”, “Content” in the header information or content information (content data) for each new arrival information. A search is performed to determine whether both keywords of “intranet” are included.
[0476]
When there is new arrival information that matches the search condition, the writing unit 720a of the agent execution management unit 720 uses the new arrival information data as the new arrival information data 706 via the data management unit 704. In the new arrival information table (step S258). At that time, it is assumed that all the new arrival information that matches the search condition belongs to the folder corresponding to the search condition, and the writing unit 720a adds to the new arrival information as additional information as shown in FIG. Add the corresponding folder name.
[0477]
Note that when performing such clipping processing, a thesaurus search may be performed in which not only a search for matching with a keyword but also a match with a keyword synonym is performed.
[0478]
Next, the writing unit 720a of the agent execution management unit 720 deletes the old comparison target data for the target URL stored in the comparison target data storage unit 708 via the data management unit 704, and acquires it in step S246. The updated monitoring target data is stored as new comparison target data (step S260). When the above processing is completed, the processing routine shown in FIG. 59 is exited.
[0479]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, when data is updated in the update monitoring target data, the difference data corresponding to the update portion is acquired, and further, the content data as the link data is also acquired. can do.
[0480]
In this embodiment, the information acquired as new arrival information and stored in the new arrival information database 706 is only text data. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and image data, audio data, scripts, programs, and the like are also included. Alternatively, it may be acquired as new arrival information.
[0481]
In this embodiment, link data (content data) linked by link information included in the difference data is acquired. However, when link information is further included in the link data, the link information is used. Link data to be linked may also be acquired. In addition, when there are several levels of links, link data up to a predetermined level may be acquired together.
[0482]
In the present embodiment, the target URL and the agent are associated one-to-one. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a plurality of agents may be associated with one target URL. A plurality of target URLs may be associated with one agent.
[0483]
In this embodiment, the communication terminal device 700 as a client is connected to the Internet via the provider server 750. However, the communication terminal device 700 may be directly connected to the Internet without using the provider server. good.
[0484]
Incidentally, in step S240 shown in FIG. 59, if the comparison target data for the target URL corresponding to the agent being executed is not stored in the comparison target data storage unit 708 and the process proceeds to step S262, the WWW server The access unit 722 accesses the WWW server based on the target URL via the network access unit 716, and acquires update monitoring target data (step S262).
[0485]
Next, the agent execution management unit 720 reads the URL data for the target URL stored in the new arrival information database 706 via the data management unit 704, extracts analysis information from the URL data (step S264), and It gives to HTML analysis engine 728 and the like.
[0486]
Next, the HTML analysis engine 728 analyzes the acquired update monitoring target data based on the analysis information, and cuts out the header information and link information of newly arrived information from the update monitoring target data (step S266). Subsequently, the link destination content data acquisition unit 722a of the WWW server access unit 722 accesses the WWW server based on the extracted link information via the network access unit 716, and acquires the content data of newly arrived information from the URL of the link destination. Obtain (step S268). At this time, as the new arrival information, only the information after the release date desired by the user is acquired as described above.
[0487]
Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S256, and each process after the clipping process is sequentially performed.
[0488]
4-7-2) Display of new arrival information
When the series of processing shown in FIGS. 58 and 59 is completed as described above, the latest arrival information is stored in the arrival information database 706 as arrival information data for each target URL. . Therefore, when the user I / F unit 712 receives an instruction from the user via the keyboard 715, the mouse 717, or the like to display newly arrived information about a certain target URL, the reading unit 720b of the agent execution management unit 720 is displayed. Reads the new arrival information data for the target URL from the new arrival information database 706 via the data management unit 704 and displays the new arrival information on the screen of the monitor 713 via the user I / F unit 712. As a display form, for example, first, the reading unit 720b reads a plurality of heading information from the new arrival information database 706 while classifying them, and displays only the heading information on the screen of the monitor 713 in a tree shape. Next, when the user selects the heading information that he / she wants to see from among the plurality of displayed heading information by clicking with the mouse 717 or the like, the reading unit 720b displays the link information attached to the selected heading information. The content data corresponding to the selected heading information is read from the new arrival information database 706, and the content information is displayed on the screen of the monitor 713 by the content data.
[0489]
FIG. 60 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of newly arrived information displayed on the screen of the monitor 713 in FIG. In the area on the left side of the screen, a plurality of heading information is classified in stages for each category by the reading unit 720b and displayed in a tree shape. In the right area of the screen, the content information about the heading information “announced“ DiskXplorer for Windows ”” selected by the user is displayed. Examples include “date and time”, “URL”, “URL title”, “folder” and the like as described in the new arrival information table of FIG.
[0490]
FIG. 61 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example when a plurality of heading information is displayed in a tree shape. In FIG. 61, the first level of the tree is classified by “date” (1996/11/14, 1996/11/15, etc.), the second level is classified by “folder” (Internet, multimedia, etc.), Three levels are classified according to “URL title” (XXX home page, XXX home page, etc.). In such a case, for example, the heading information A and B shown in FIG. 61 are classified and displayed on the screen by the following refinement search. That is, the reading unit 720b extracts the headline information whose “date” is “11/15/1996” from all the headline information stored in the new arrival information table in the new arrival information database 706 by searching, From the obtained heading information, heading information whose “folder” is “Internet” is extracted, and from the obtained heading information, heading information whose “URL title” is “XXX home page” is extracted. Extracted and displayed on the screen of the monitor 713. It should be noted that the category in which each level of the tree is classified can be freely set from the above categories.
[0491]
4-7-3) Update check processing
FIG. 62 is a flowchart showing a specific processing procedure of the update check processing in FIG. When the processing routine shown in FIG. 62 is started, the agent execution management unit 720 first corresponds to the agent being executed out of the URL data stored in the new arrival information database 706 via the data management unit 704. The URL data for the target URL is read, and the information about the last update date / time of the update monitoring target data is extracted from the URL data. Then, the network access unit 716 accesses the WWW server based on the target URL, and the update detection unit 724 determines whether the update monitoring target data in the WWW server has been updated based on the extracted information on the last update date / time. Is checked (step S270).
[0492]
Then, if the update monitoring target data has been updated, the update detection unit 724 acquires the update date / time from the WWW server, and the URL for the target URL in the new arrival information database 706 via the data management unit 704. The last update date / time in the data is changed (step S272). Further, information indicating that the update monitoring target data has been updated is created (step S274), and the information is stored as new heading information in the new arrival information database table in the new arrival information database 706 (step S276). If the update monitoring target data has not been updated, the process routine shown in FIG.
[0493]
Thus, when only the update check is performed instead of the acquisition of new arrival information, the last update date and time for the update monitoring target data is changed, and new heading information indicating that the update monitoring target data is updated Is added to the new arrival information data. Therefore, when a plurality of heading information is displayed as new arrival information on the screen of the monitor 713 based on the new arrival information data, the heading information indicating that the update monitoring target data is updated is displayed together with other heading information. become.
[0494]
Further, when the update monitoring target data is updated, the new arrival information data table in the new arrival information database 706 not only stores heading information indicating that the update monitoring target data has been updated, but also Information may also be stored. That is, not only the update date / time of the update monitoring target data is acquired from the WWW server, but also the updated update monitoring target data itself is acquired, and then the new arrival information data table in the new arrival information database 706 includes Information indicating that the update monitoring target data has been updated is stored as heading information, and the acquired update monitoring target data is also stored as content data. At this time, link information is also stored in order to link the content data to the heading information. In this way, when new information is displayed on the screen of the monitor 713, when the user selects heading information indicating that the update monitoring target data has been updated, as the content information about the heading information, The contents (index page) of the update monitoring target data itself are displayed.
[0495]
5) Another embodiment of the data update monitoring server
FIG. 63 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the data update monitoring server as the fourth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 64 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the agent execution unit 802 of FIG. The data update monitoring server 800 of the present embodiment is a server that can monitor whether there is a change in stored data for a desired WWW server on the Internet. That is, in this embodiment, the data update monitoring server 800 performs the data update monitoring operation in place of the communication terminal device that is the client.
[0496]
5-1) Configuration of the data update monitoring server of this embodiment
As shown in FIG. 63, this data update monitoring server 800 is centered on an agent execution unit 802, a data management unit 804, a new arrival information database 806, a comparison target data storage unit 808, an agent management unit 810, a user An I / F unit 812, a monitor 813, a schedule management unit 814, a keyboard 815, a network access unit 816, a mouse 817, a request processing unit 818, a clipping engine 830, and a data processing engine 840 are provided. Of these, the request processing unit 818 is connected to the Internet via the WWW server 850, and the network access unit 816 is directly connected to the Internet. In FIG. 63, the same components as those shown in FIG. 46 are denoted by the same reference numerals. Therefore, the client 700 shown in FIG. 63 corresponds to the communication terminal device 700 shown in FIG.
[0497]
As shown in FIG. 64, the agent execution unit 802 includes an agent execution management unit 820, a WWW server access unit 822, an update detection unit 824, a difference analysis engine 826, and an HTML analysis engine 828. Yes. Among these, the agent execution management unit 820 includes a writing unit 820a and a reading unit 820b. The WWW server access unit 822 includes a link destination content data acquisition unit 822a.
[0498]
The data update monitoring server 800 of the present embodiment is configured by a computer as shown in FIG. 2, and each block in the data update monitoring server 800 shown in FIG. 63 includes a portion realized by hardware and software. And the part realized by.
[0499]
The software portion is stored in advance in the hard disk 84 shown in FIG. 2 in the form of an application program. When the user issues a start instruction and is read from the hard disk 84 onto the main memory 25 by the operating system, The data update monitoring server 800 shown in FIG. 63 in which hardware and software are integrated is realized.
[0500]
When the application program is recorded on the CD-ROM 85 shown in FIG. 2, the CD-ROM 85 is inserted into the CD-ROM device 83 and the application program is read by the CD-ROM device 83. It may be transferred to the main memory 25. When the application program is recorded on the floppy disk 81 shown in FIG. 2, the floppy disk 81 is inserted into the floppy disk device 82, and the application program is read by the floppy disk device 82, whereby the main memory is recorded. 25 may be transferred. The application program may be transferred to the main memory 25 from another portable recording medium such as a magneto-optical disk.
[0501]
When the application program is stored in the program supply server 9000 shown in FIG. 2, the modem 92 accesses the program supply server 9000 via the communication line 93 and transmits the application program from the program supply server 9000. It is also possible to transfer it to the main memory 25. The communication line 93 may be a wired line such as a telephone line or a network line, or a wireless line using a communication satellite.
[0502]
As shown in FIGS. 63 and 64, the data update monitoring server 800 of the present embodiment has almost the same configuration as the communication terminal device 700 shown in FIGS. 46 and 47, but a request instead of the server access unit 718. A point that the processing unit 818 is provided, a point that the clipping engine 830 is not disposed inside the agent execution unit, but between the agent execution unit 802 and the request processing unit 818, and a data processing engine 840 are newly provided. The difference is that it is arranged between the agent execution unit 802 and the request processing unit 818.
[0503]
Now, an operation when data update monitoring is performed by the data update monitoring server 800 shown in FIG. 63 in place of the communication terminal device 700 as the client shown in FIG. 46 will be described.
[0504]
5-2) Operation on communication terminal device side as client
FIG. 65 is a flowchart showing a specific processing procedure of the processing corresponding to the data monitoring server in FIG. As described above, in the communication terminal device 700 shown in FIG. 46, when the CS type information extracted from the agent data indicates execution of the data update monitoring operation by the data update monitoring server (step S224 in FIG. 58). As the data monitoring server handling process (step S232), the processing routine shown in FIG. 65 is started.
[0505]
First, the agent execution management unit 720 creates request data and passes it to the server access unit 718. The server access unit 718 uses the network access unit 716 as an HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) request. To the data update monitoring server 800 (step S280).
[0506]
FIG. 66 is an explanatory diagram showing the contents of request data transmitted from the communication terminal device as a client to the data update monitoring server. In FIG. 66, the first column indicates the name in HTTP, the second column indicates the name, and the third column indicates the meaning.
[0507]
Then, the content of the item of each line is demonstrated.
The user ID and password are a user identification ID and password given to each user for accessing the data update monitoring server 800. These are registered in advance in the data update monitoring server 800.
The URL to be checked is a character string of a target URL that the user desires to monitor data update.
The process type indicates the type of process (new arrival information acquisition or update check) to be executed by the data update monitoring server 800.
The last acquisition information ID is the ID of the newest new arrival information among the new arrival information in the new arrival information data acquired for the target URL.
The last acquisition date / time is the date / time when new arrival information was last acquired for the target URL.
The last check date and time is the date and time when the target URL was last checked.
The number of folders is the number of folders specified for the running agent.
Folder information is the ID and keyword (ie, search condition) of each folder.
As will be described later, when the communication terminal device 700 as a client is not a personal computer but a personal digital assistant (PDA) or printer having a communication function, the type of client is the PDA or printer. Information indicating the model and version.
Processing information 1 is information such as the size, quality, and orientation of the printing paper used in the printer when the client is a printer.
Processing information 2 is an instruction content for color correction processing performed by the data update monitoring server 800 when the client is a printer.
The processing information 3 is an instruction content for the binarization process performed by the data update monitoring server 800 when the client is a printer.
The location information is information on a location where the PDA exists when the client is a PDA. Specifically, for example, it is information indicating in which city or town the user carries the PDA.
[0508]
When the client is a printer or PDA, in addition to the above information, information such as the image resolution and the number of color surface colors may be included.
[0509]
Therefore, to summarize the contents of the request data described above, “Target URL is XXX. We have already acquired new information up to information ID XXX number (ie, last acquired information ID). There are xxx folders, folder information (ie, search conditions) for the first folder is xxx, and folder information (ie, search conditions) for the second folder is xxx. × .... The client type is XXX and the processing information is XXX .... ”
[0510]
5-3) Data update monitoring server operation
The request data transmitted from the communication terminal device 700 as a client is received by the data update monitoring server 800 via the WWW server 850 connected to the Internet. The WWW server 850 is a general WWW server and can accept request data from a client. Specifically, it is determined that the access to the specific URL in the WWW server 850 is a request to the data update monitoring server 800, and the request in the data update monitoring server 800 is determined by the request. The processing unit 818 is activated.
[0511]
FIG. 67 is a flowchart showing a main processing procedure in the data update monitoring server 800 shown in FIG. In the data update monitoring server 800, when request data transmitted from the communication terminal device 700 is received, the request processing unit 818 processes the request data and notifies the agent execution unit 802 of the contents of the request data. As shown in FIG. 67, first, each processing unit in the agent execution unit 802 is based on the request data as in the case of the communication terminal device 700 described above (as shown in FIG. 59). New arrival information acquisition processing is performed according to the processing procedure (step S290). However, in the case of the data update monitoring server 800, when new arrival information is stored in the new arrival information database, clipping processing is not performed and all new arrival information is stored in the new arrival information database 806. This is because the search conditions for performing the clipping process are different for each client (that is, for each user). Therefore, in the data update monitoring server 800, clipping processing is performed when new arrival information is transmitted to each client as will be described later.
[0512]
In this way, when the update monitoring target data of the target URL is updated by performing the new arrival information acquisition process for the target URL, the new arrival information obtained by the update is stored in the new arrival information database 806, and the data update contents Is also reflected in the new arrival information database 806.
[0513]
Next, the agent execution management unit 820 of the agent execution unit 802 obtains the final acquisition information ID from the received request data, and acquires the final acquisition from the new arrival information data about the target URL stored in the new arrival information database 806. One new arrival information having an information ID with a number larger than the information ID is read (step S292). The communication terminal device 700 as a client already owns new arrival information having a number equal to or smaller than the last acquired information ID, and only wants new arrival information other than those newly owned yet. It is. Note that the order of reading newly arrived information is from the smallest information ID number.
[0514]
Next, the request processing unit 818 obtains folder information from the received request data, and passes it to the clipping engine 830. The clipping engine 830 performs a clipping process on the read new arrival information based on the received folder information. This is performed (step S294). That is, it is checked whether or not the new arrival information matches a search condition (clipping condition) included in the folder information. If the search condition is not met, the new arrival information does not need to be transmitted to the communication terminal device 700, and the process proceeds to step S298.
[0515]
On the other hand, when the new arrival information matches the search condition, the request processing unit 818 converts the new arrival information into HTML data and transmits it to the communication terminal device 700 as the client via the WWW server 850 (step S296). .
[0516]
Then, the agent execution management unit 820 of the agent execution unit 802 determines whether there is new arrival information having an information ID with a number larger than the last acquired information ID in the new arrival information data for the target URL in the new arrival information database 806. (Step S298), if there is, return to Step S290 again and repeat the same process. If not, the series of processing ends. Of the newly arrived information read in order, the information ID of the newly arrived information read last is the final check ID described later.
[0517]
FIG. 68 is an explanatory diagram showing the contents of newly arrived information transmission data transmitted from the data update monitoring server to the communication terminal device as a client. In FIG. 68, the first column indicates the name, and the second column indicates the meaning.
[0518]
Then, the content of the item of each line is demonstrated.
The status indicates the status of the execution result when the data update monitoring server executes the update monitoring operation.
The last update date / time is the date / time when the update monitoring target data of the target URL was last updated.
As described above, the last check information ID is the information ID of the latest information read last from the new arrival information database 806 for the target URL.
-Acquisition information ID is information ID of the acquired new arrival information.
The information type indicates whether the new arrival information is obtained from difference data or page data.
The title is heading information included in the new arrival information. Specifically, it is heading data (HTML data) including link information in addition to heading information.
The folder ID is the ID of the folder that matches the search condition for the new arrival information.
-Link destination content is content information included in new arrival information. When there is no content information, link information indicating the storage location of the content information is transmitted.
[0519]
Of the above items, the items after the “last update date and time” are transmitted only when the status is data updated. Each item after “acquired information ID” is repeated for each acquired new arrival information.
[0520]
Therefore, the contents of the new arrival information transmission data described above are summarized as follows: “The result of executing the data update monitoring operation is XXX. This time, the new information until the information ID XXX number (ie, the final check information ID). There are ○○○ new arrival information that matches the search condition of the folder.The first new arrival information is ○○○ that matches the search condition of the folder ID ○○○. The new arrival information is XXX that matches the search condition of the folder ID XXX.
[0521]
5-4) Operation on communication terminal device side as client
New arrival information transmission data transmitted from the data update monitoring server 800 is received by the communication terminal device 700 as a client via the provider server 750 connected to the Internet.
[0522]
In communication terminal device 700, as shown in FIG. 65, when new arrival information transmission data transmitted from data update monitoring server 800 is received (step S282), agent execution unit 702 extracts new arrival information from the new arrival information transmission data. The new arrival information database 706 is stored through the data management unit 704 (step S284). Thereafter, the processing routine shown in FIG. 65 is exited.
[0523]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, the data update monitoring server can perform the data update monitoring operation instead of the communication terminal device that is the client. Therefore, even if the client itself does not check whether the update monitoring target data is updated or acquire new arrival information, the data update monitoring server acts as a proxy, greatly reducing the time and labor of the user who uses the client. The communication time is short.
[0524]
In this embodiment, as the new arrival information, in addition to the header information, the content information is also transmitted to the client. However, only the header information may be provided to the client and the content information may not be transmitted. .
[0525]
In the present embodiment, the folder information (that is, the search condition) used when performing the clipping process in the data update monitoring server 800 is sent to the request data by the communication terminal device 700 as a client for each user. However, it may be registered in advance in the data update monitoring server 800 for each user and read out as necessary.
[0526]
5-5) Data update monitoring operation execution timing
In this embodiment, when the data update monitoring server 800 receives request data from a client, the data update monitoring server 800 performs a data update monitoring operation such as obtaining new arrival information for the target URL. However, regardless of whether or not request data is transmitted from the client, the data update monitoring operation may be performed for all target URLs in a batch process when a predetermined time comes. For example, if such a data update monitoring operation is performed at midnight when the network line is available, the data update monitoring operation can be performed very efficiently. Note that the regular execution of such data update monitoring operation is managed by the schedule management unit 814.
[0527]
6) Use of the data update monitoring server on the intranet
In the embodiment described above, the data update monitoring server 800 is used on the Internet as shown in FIG. However, as shown in FIG. 69, it may be used in an intranet constructed in a WAN or LAN.
[0528]
FIG. 69 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a connection form when the data update monitoring server is used on an intranet. In the example shown in FIG. 69, an intranet is constructed in the in-house LAN. The intranet is connected to in-house clients 1700 and 1710 and to an in-house WWW server 1900. The intranet is connected to the Internet via a firewall 2100.
[0529]
When the data update monitoring server 1800 having the configuration shown in FIG. 63 is connected to the in-house intranet as described above, the following merits are obtained.
[0530]
● Traffic to the outside of the intranet can be reduced.
That is, when the data update monitoring server 1800 is not provided in the company intranet, each client 1700, 1710 in the company accesses the WWW server 2200, 2210 on the Internet where update monitoring target data is stored for each client. Therefore, it is necessary to check whether there is data update, the number of accesses to the outside of the intranet increases, and traffic to the outside increases accordingly. However, by providing a data update monitoring server 1800 in the in-house intranet and using it, it can be determined whether there is new arrival information for the update monitoring target data by simply accessing the server 1800 in the intranet. Traffic to can be reduced.
[0531]
● It is also possible to monitor and update the in-house data in the in-house WWW server.
That is, by setting in-house data in the in-house WWW server 1900 as an object of data update monitoring, newly arrived information can be provided to each in-house client.
[0532]
● It can be used as an information distribution infrastructure.
By registering information to be distributed in-house as new arrival information directly in the data update monitoring server 1800 by an in-house intranet network administrator or the like, the information can be automatically distributed in-house. A distribution system can be constructed. Specifically, the information to be distributed input by the keyboard 815, the mouse 817, or the like is registered as new arrival information by the writing unit 820a of the agent execution management unit 820 being written in the new arrival information database 806, and then agent execution management is performed. The reading unit 820b of the unit 820 reads the information to be distributed registered as the new arrival information, and the request processing unit 818 transfers the information to each client 1700, 1710 in the company via the company intranet.
[0533]
Each of the above merits is not limited to an in-house intranet, but can be obtained in a general intranet as well.
[0534]
7) Data processing in the data update monitoring server
Incidentally, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 63, the communication terminal device 700 as a client is constituted by a personal computer or the like. However, as described above, it is constituted by a PDA or printer having a communication function. You may do it.
[0535]
FIG. 70 is an explanatory diagram showing a connection example when a PDA or printer is used as a client to the data update monitoring server 800 shown in FIG. In FIG. 70, a printer 1850 and a PDA 1910 each have a communication function for connecting to the Internet. In this example, the printer 1850 is directly connected to the Internet, and the PDA 1910 is connected to the Internet via the provider server 1950.
[0536]
As shown in FIG. 70, when a PDA 1910 or a printer 1850 is used as a client, request data transmitted from the client to the data update monitoring server 800 includes “client type” and “processing information” as described in FIG. Etc. "is included. Therefore, in the data update monitoring server 800, when the transmitted request data is received, the request processing unit 818 obtains each information described above from the request data and passes it to the data processing engine 840. The data processing engine 840 When the new arrival information transmission data is transmitted to the client, the new arrival information transmission data is subjected to predetermined processing according to the type of the client based on the information received from the request processing unit.
[0537]
Of the information necessary for processing in the data processing engine 840, information that is not transmitted from the client is possessed by the request processing unit 818 in advance and is passed to the data processing engine 840 as necessary. ing.
[0538]
71 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the data processing engine 840 in FIG. As shown in FIG. 71, the data processing engine 840 includes a processing management unit 842, a printer driver unit 844, and a PDA driver unit 846. Among these, the printer driver unit 844 includes a rendering unit 844a, a color correction processing unit 844b, a color conversion processing unit 844c, a binarization processing unit 844d, and a data compression processing unit 844e. The PDA driver unit 846 includes a color reduction processing / thinning processing unit 846a, a format conversion processing unit 846b, and a data compression processing unit 846c.
[0539]
In FIG. 71, the data processing engine 840 includes only one printer driver unit 844 and one PDA driver unit 846. However, each data processing engine 840 is provided for each model so as to correspond to each model of a printer or PDA that can be a client. In addition, a printer driver unit and a PDA driver unit may be provided.
[0540]
For example, when the client is the PDA 1910, when the processing management unit 842 of the data processing engine 840 recognizes that the client is a PDA based on the “client type” information received from the request processing unit 818, the PDA driver unit 846. Start up.
[0541]
In the PDA driver unit 846, the subtractive color processing / thinning processing unit 846a performs color reduction processing, pixel information thinning processing, and the like on the image data among the new arrival information transmission data to be transmitted, and transmits the image data to the PDA 1910. Reduce the amount of data.
[0542]
Next, the format conversion processing unit 846b performs the following format conversion processing on the new arrival information transmission data to be transmitted. That is, since the display screen of the PDA 1910 is generally small, the data is shaped so that the number of digits in the horizontal direction of the screen can be displayed without scrolling horizontally on the PDA 1910, so that the user can easily see even on a small screen. Like that. In general, since the PDA 1910 has a small storage capacity and inferior processing capability, the data is processed so that only a summary is sent as the transmission contents so that a large amount of data need not be transmitted to the PDA 1910.
[0543]
Next, the data compression processing unit 846c performs data compression processing on the new arrival information transmission data to be transmitted, and compresses the data itself (for example, HTML data itself). Note that the processing by the data compression processing unit 846c may be performed only when necessary.
[0544]
On the other hand, for example, when the client is the printer 1850, when the processing management unit 842 of the data processing engine 840 recognizes that the client is a printer based on the “client type” information, the printer driver unit 844 is activated.
[0545]
In the printer driver unit 844, first, the rendering unit 844a expands the new arrival information transmission data to be transmitted into bitmap image data of R (red), G (green), and B (blue), and data as necessary. Perform decimation processing and interpolation processing. At this time, processing such as format conversion is also performed based on “processing information 1” received from the request processing unit 818 (that is, information such as the size of the printing paper).
[0546]
Next, the color correction processing unit 844b performs γ correction on the bitmap image data from the rendering unit 844a based on the “processing information 2” received from the request processing unit 818 (that is, the instruction content for the color correction processing). Perform color correction processing. The processing by the color correction processing unit 844b may be performed only when necessary.
[0547]
Next, based on the “client type” information, the color conversion processing unit 844c performs the following color conversion processing according to the printer type. That is, when the printer 1850 is a color printer, the color image data of R, G, B is converted into C (cyan), M (magenta), Y (yellow), K (black), C (cyan), M ( Magenta) and Y (yellow) color image data, and when the printer 1850 is a monochrome printer, the R, G, B color image data is converted to monochrome image data.
[0548]
Next, the binarization processing unit 844d uses the multi-value obtained from the color conversion processing unit 844c based on the “processing information 3” received from the request processing unit 818 (that is, the instruction content for the binarization processing). Binarization processing such as dither processing and error diffusion processing is performed on the image data to obtain binary image data.
[0549]
Next, the data compression processing unit 844e performs data compression processing on the obtained binary image data to compress the data itself. Note that the processing by the data compression processing unit 844e may be performed only when necessary.
[0550]
Note that the printer driver unit 844 may perform a process of inserting a page break so that the page is not cut off in the middle of the information, if necessary.
[0551]
As described above, when the client is the printer 1850, the amount of data transmitted from the data update monitoring server 800 to the printer 1850 is greatly increased by performing the color conversion processing, binarization processing, and data compression processing as described above. Can be reduced. Since complicated processing such as color conversion processing and binarization processing is performed in a data update monitoring server with high processing capability, the CPU used in the printer 1850 is sufficient even if the CPU has low processing capability. Further, since the image memory for storing the image data may be a memory for two lines, for example, the configuration is simplified and the cost is low.
[0552]
The request processing unit 818 of the data update monitoring server 800 sends the new arrival information transmission data processed as described above to the Internet via the WWW server 850, and the printer 1850 or the PDA 1910 directly receives it. Among these, the printer 1850 passes the received new arrival information transmission data as it is to the printer engine, and prints display characters and images on printing paper. The PDA 1910 displays information on the screen based on the received new arrival information transmission data.
[0553]
As described above, the data update monitoring server 800 may directly transmit the processed new arrival information transmission data directly to the printer 1850 or the PDA 1910 via the Internet, but via the WWW servers 1650 and 1750 to the Internet. May be sent to the printer dedicated server 1600 and the PDA dedicated server 1720 connected to the printer 1850 and the PDA 1910 which are clients from the dedicated servers 1600 and 1720 via the Internet.
[0554]
Incidentally, as described with reference to FIG. 66, when a PDA is used as a client, the request data transmitted from the client includes “position information”. As described above, this position information represents the position information of the client PDA. Therefore, the data update monitoring server 800 may perform the following processing in the clipping engine 830 using the position information of the PDA.
[0555]
First, when the request processing unit 818 obtains the above-described position information from the request data transmitted from the client, it passes the information to the clipping engine 830. When the clipping engine 830 receives such position information, the clipping engine 830 searches the new arrival information read from the new arrival information database 806 for information related to the position information, and passes the information to the request processing unit 818. The request processing unit 818 transmits the received information to the PDA 1910 that is the client via the WWW server 850.
[0556]
At this time, as information related to the position information, for example, information such as news obtained from a WWW server such as a newspaper company can be considered. That is, assuming that the new arrival information database 806 stores new arrival information acquired from the WWW servers of newspaper companies nationwide including local newspaper publishers, when a PDA user goes out to a certain district, When the PDA sends the local location information as request data to the data update monitoring server 800, the data update monitoring server 800 transmits the local news acquired from the WWW server of the local newspaper company, and the local news Can know immediately.
[0557]
8) Mail delivery system
FIG. 72 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a mail delivery system using a data update monitoring server as a fifth embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 72, the mail delivery system of this embodiment includes a data update monitoring server 800 and a mail delivery server 1500. Among these, the data update monitoring server 800 is the data update monitoring server shown in FIG. On the other hand, the mail distribution server 1500 is a server capable of distributing electronic mail via the Internet.
[0558]
72, the mail distribution server 1500 includes a user management unit 1502, a distribution control unit 1504, a mail distribution unit 1506, a request processing unit 1508, a new arrival information acquisition unit 1510, a user data storage unit 1512, and a schedule management. Among these, the request processing unit 1508 is connected to the Internet via the WWW server 1550, and the mail distribution unit 1506 and the new arrival information acquisition unit 1510 are directly connected to the Internet.
[0559]
In FIG. 72, the user data storage unit 1512 in the mail distribution server 1500 stores information on each user who uses this mail distribution system. The user information includes, for example, the user ID of each user, a password, an e-mail address, a target URL for which each user's data update monitoring is desired, folder information used for clipping processing, and the like. The user management unit 1502 performs user management, acquisition of new arrival information, mail delivery, and the like using the information.
[0560]
When the user changes the registered target URL or folder information, the user accesses the mail distribution server 1500 using the communication terminal device 700 or the like connected to the Internet, and transmits a request. In the mail delivery server 1500, when a request from the client 700 is received, the request processing unit 1508 processes it and notifies the user management unit 1502 of the content of the request. The user management unit 1502 changes the user information stored in the user data storage unit 1512 in response to the request.
[0561]
In the mail delivery server 1500, the new arrival information acquisition unit 1510 periodically accesses the data update monitoring server 800 under the time management by the schedule management unit 1514. Then, new arrival information for each target URL registered in the user data storage unit 1512 is acquired from the data update monitoring server 800. At this time, the data update monitoring server 800 converts the new arrival information from HTML data to text data and passes it to the mail delivery server 1500.
[0562]
Then, the mail distribution unit 1506 distributes the acquired new arrival information to each client such as the client 700 periodically using an email under the control of the distribution control unit 1504. In addition, when distributing new arrival information, the distribution control unit 1504 may distribute new arrival information after performing clipping processing corresponding to each user of the distribution destination.
[0563]
With the configuration described above, since the new arrival information of the target URL that the user desires to monitor for update is regularly distributed to the user, the user himself accesses the data update monitoring server 800. This saves you the trouble of acquiring new information.
[0564]
In this embodiment, the new arrival information is distributed using e-mail. However, it may be performed using a telephone or a facsimile, or may be performed using a cable broadcast or a satellite broadcast. Also good.
[0565]
The present invention is not limited to the above-described examples and embodiments, and can be implemented in various modes without departing from the gist thereof.
[0566]
For example, in the third to fifth embodiments described above, the new arrival information such as “What'new” has been described as an example of the information to be monitored for data update. The present invention is not limited to this, and various information can be targeted.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a communication terminal apparatus as a first embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a computer that realizes the communication terminal device of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a service switching screen displayed on the monitor 76 of FIG. 1;
4 is an explanatory diagram showing a structure in the database 410 of FIG. 1. FIG.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of contents of a conference room list index file (folder list index file);
6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a folder screen displayed on the monitor 76 of FIG. 1. FIG.
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the contents of a conference room index file.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the flow of a title update process performed immediately after moving to a conference room.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a flow of a title update process performed immediately after moving to a conference room.
FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for specifically explaining a title update process for a conference room;
FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the flow of a title update process performed immediately after moving to the library room.
FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the flow of a title update process performed immediately after moving to the library room.
FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram for specifically explaining a title update process for a library room;
FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a flow of a title update process performed immediately after shifting to a news service.
FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a flow of a title update process performed immediately after shifting to a news service.
FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram for specifically explaining a title update process for a news service;
FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a flow of a title update process performed immediately after shifting to a bulletin board service.
FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing a flow of a title update process performed immediately after shifting to a bulletin board service.
FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing a flow of a billing saving process performed when a paid service is received.
20 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a regular patrol designation screen displayed on the monitor 76 of FIG. 1. FIG.
FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of designated contents stored in a traveling file 620 in FIG. 1;
FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of automatic communication based on a cyclic file.
FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of automatic communication based on a cyclic file.
24 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a comment utterance screen displayed on the monitor 76 of FIG. 1. FIG.
FIG. 25 is an explanatory diagram showing how reservation contents are added.
26 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of reservation contents stored in the reservation file 610 of FIG. 1; FIG.
FIG. 27 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a text reading process for a bulletin board service;
FIG. 28 is a flowchart showing the flow of a cyclic order efficiency process performed during automatic communication.
FIG. 29 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of tour contents sorted according to the tour order efficiency improvement process shown in FIG. 28;
30 is an explanatory diagram showing a communication history at the time of automatic communication performed according to the contents of the tour shown in FIG. 29. FIG.
31 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a main menu screen displayed on the monitor 76 of FIG. 1. FIG.
FIG. 32 is a flowchart showing the flow of new arrival tour processing.
FIG. 33 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a hierarchical structure of news groups.
FIG. 34 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of hypertext data described in HTML.
FIG. 35 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a link relationship of pages and a file structure by hypertext data;
FIG. 36 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of hypertext data rewritten when writing to the database 410;
FIG. 37 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a display screen when the storage data in the database 410 is displayed on the monitor 76 in a tree format.
FIG. 38 is an explanatory diagram showing an example in which each page name is displayed on the screen in a flat state.
FIG. 39 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a directory structure in the database 410;
FIG. 40 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a data update monitoring server as a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 41 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of each management data when a monitoring URL for each user is managed by the data update monitoring server.
FIG. 42 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of a transaction between a data monitoring server and a client when a monitoring URL for each user is managed by a data update monitoring server.
FIG. 43 is an explanatory diagram showing an overview of each management data when managing a monitoring URL for each user by each client;
FIG. 44 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of each management data when a monitoring URL for each user is managed by each client;
FIG. 45 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of a transaction between a data monitoring server and a client when a monitoring URL for each user is managed by each client.
FIG. 46 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a communication terminal apparatus as a third embodiment of the present invention.
47 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an agent execution unit 702 in FIG. 46. FIG.
FIG. 48 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an index page listing a plurality of heading information.
49 is an explanatory diagram showing the contents of HTML data (index page data) of the index page shown in FIG. 48. FIG.
FIG. 50 is an explanatory diagram showing a page on which content information linked to the heading information “Announce“ DiskXplorer for Windows ”” in FIG. 48 is described;
FIG. 51 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between index page data stored in a WWW server and a plurality of content data.
52 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of new arrival information data stored in the new arrival information database 706 in FIG. 46. FIG.
FIG. 53 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a relationship between updated index page data and content data stored in a WWW server.
54 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of updated new arrival information data stored in the new arrival information database 706 of FIG. 46. FIG.
FIG. 55 is an explanatory diagram showing the contents of agent data used in the third embodiment;
FIG. 56 is an explanatory diagram showing the contents of URL data used in the third embodiment.
FIG. 57 is an explanatory diagram showing the contents of a new arrival information table used in the third embodiment.
58 is a flowchart showing a main processing procedure in communication terminal apparatus 700 shown in FIG. 46. FIG.
59 is a flowchart showing a specific processing procedure of new arrival information acquisition processing in FIG. 58;
60 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of newly arrived information displayed on the screen of the monitor 713 in FIG. 46. FIG.
FIG. 61 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a display example when a plurality of heading information is displayed in a tree shape;
FIG. 62 is a flowchart showing a specific processing procedure of update check processing in FIG. 58;
FIG. 63 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a data update monitoring server as a fourth example of the present invention;
64 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an agent execution unit 802 in FIG. 63. FIG.
65 is a flowchart showing a specific processing procedure of the data monitoring server corresponding processing in FIG. 58. FIG.
FIG. 66 is an explanatory diagram showing the contents of request data transmitted from the communication terminal device, which is a client, to the data update monitoring server.
67 is a flowchart showing main processing procedures in the data update monitoring server 800 shown in FIG. 63. FIG.
FIG. 68 is an explanatory diagram showing contents of newly arrived information transmission data transmitted from the data update monitoring server to a communication terminal device as a client;
FIG. 69 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a connection form when a data update monitoring server is used on an intranet.
70 is an explanatory diagram showing a connection example when a PDA or a printer is used as a client to the data update monitoring server 800 shown in FIG. 63. FIG.
71 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a data processing engine 840 in FIG. 63. FIG.
FIG. 72 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a mail delivery system using a data update monitoring server as a fifth embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
10 ... Computer
20 ... arithmetic processing unit
21 ... CPU
22 ... Local bus
23 ... Cache memory
24 ... Cash controller
25 ... Main memory
30 ... PCI bridge
32 ... PCI bus
40: Controller section
42 ... ISA bus
44 ... CRTC
46 ... SCSI controller
48 ... ISA bridge
50 ... DMA controller
52 ... RTC
54 ... Composite I / O port
56 ... Sound I / O
60 ... I / O section
62 ... ISA slot
64 ... Keyboard interface
66: Interrupt controller
68 ... Timer
72 ... Keyboard
73 ... Mouse
74 ... Speaker
76 ... Monitor
81 ... floppy disk
82 ... Floppy disk device
83 ... CD-ROM device
84: Hard disk
85 ... CD-ROM
86 ... Parallel port
88 ... Printer
90 ... Serial port
92 Modem
93 ... Communication line
96 ... Microphone
100 ... Access management section
100a ... writing unit
100b ... Reading unit
100c ... Difference data acquisition unit
100d ... New mark adding part
100e ... New mark search part
100f: Transfer request part
100g ... specific communication service start request part
100h: Specific communication service cancellation request section
100i ... Text information transfer request part
200 ... User I / F part
300: Communication control unit
400: Data management unit
410 ... Database
500 ... Communication I / F part
600 ... Automatic communication processing unit
600a ... Organization Department
600b ... transfer section
610 ... Reservation file
620 ... patrol file
700 ... Client
702: Agent execution unit
704 ... Data management unit
706 ... New arrival information database
708 ... Comparison target data storage unit
710: Agent management unit
712 User I / F section
713 ... monitor
714 ... schedule management department
715 ... Keyboard
716 ... Network access unit
717 ... mouse
718 ... Server access section
720 ... Agent execution management unit
720a ... writing unit
720b ... Reading unit
722 ... WWW server access unit
722a ... Link content data acquisition unit
724 ... Update detection unit
726 ... Difference analysis engine
728 ... HTML analysis engine
730 ... Clipping engine
750 ... provider server
800 ... Data update monitoring server
802 ... Agent execution unit
804: Data management unit
806 ... New arrival information database
808 ... Data storage unit for comparison
810: Agent management unit
812 ... User I / F section
813: Monitor
814 ... Schedule management department
815 ... Keyboard
816 ... Network access unit
817 ... Mouse
818 ... Request processing section
820 ... Agent execution management unit
820a ... writing unit
820b ... Reading unit
822 ... WWW server access unit
822a ... Link destination content data acquisition unit
824 ... Update detection unit
826 ... Difference analysis engine
828 ... HTML analysis engine
830 ... Clipping engine
840 ... Data processing engine
842 ... Machining management department
844 ... Printer driver section
844a ... Rendering unit
844b ... Color correction processing unit
844c ... Color conversion processing unit
844d: binarization processing unit
844e ... Data compression processing unit
846 ... PDA driver section
846a: Color reduction processing / thinning processing unit
846b ... Format conversion processing unit
846c: Data compression processing unit
850 ... WWW server
900 ... WWW server
1000: Data update monitoring server
1100: Monitoring unit
1200 ... registration management department
1300: Communication unit
1400: Storage unit
1500 ... Mail delivery server
1502 ... User management section
1504 ... Distribution control unit
1506: Mail delivery department
1508: Request processing unit
1510 ... New arrival information acquisition unit
1512: User data storage unit
1514 ... Schedule management department
1550 ... WWW server
1600: Printer dedicated server
1650, 1750 ... WWW server
1700, 1710 ... Client
1720 ... PDA dedicated server
1800: Data update monitoring server
1850: Printer
1900: WWW server for internal use
1910 ... PDA
1950: Provider server
2000 ... Client
2100 ... Firewall
2200, 2210 ... WWW server
3000 ... Internet
4000, 5000 ... WWW server
4100, 5100 ... Stored data
6000 ... Server for provider
9000 ... Program supply server

Claims (1)

A data update monitoring server connected to a server via a network, monitoring the update of specific data stored in the server via the network, and transferring information obtained as a monitoring result to a client,
Storage means for storing the specific data;
Access means for accessing the server based on information representing a storage location of the specific data provided from the client;
An update check means for checking whether or not the specific data is updated when the server is accessed by the access means;
As a result of the update check by the update check means, when it is determined that the specific data is updated, the updated specific data fetched from the server by the access means is stored in the storage means. Differential data acquisition means for acquiring a portion other than a portion overlapping with the specific data before being updated as differential data;
Transfer means for transferring information contained in the acquired difference data to the client;
Search means for searching for information corresponding to information on the location of the client from information included in the difference data;
With
The data update monitoring server, wherein the transfer means transfers the searched information to the corresponding client.

Images