JP5566182B2 - Contention management device, contention management method and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to access control when a plurality of execution environments use the same device (hardware device).

  If multiple execution environments try to use the same device, a conflict may occur. Here, the conflicting state is a state in which a plurality of execution environments (or applications executed in the execution environment) are simultaneously requesting to use the same device. Patent Document 1 describes a technique for managing competition between applications using a database created in advance.

International Publication No. 2006/059786

One method is to switch the execution environment that can use the device to be alternative in order to avoid that the device becomes in a conflict and cannot be used. If the switching of the execution environment is accompanied by a screen display when the operation of the execution environment involves a screen display, it can be said that a natural impression can be given to the user. However, if the execution environment or the like is switched simultaneously with the switching of the screen, the user's usability may be impaired.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to make the timing at which the execution environment using the device changes depending on the situation.

The contention management apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention is a determination unit that determines a use status of the other device by the plurality of execution environments in an information processing apparatus including a display device and other devices used by the plurality of execution environments. And when the execution environment for displaying the screen on the display device is switched from the first execution environment to the second execution environment, the second device determines the second device according to the usage status of the other device determined by the determination unit. A management unit that changes the timing at which the other devices can be used in the execution environment, and the display device hierarchically displays a plurality of screens each corresponding to a predetermined execution environment or application, management unit, the execution environment or application corresponding to each of the screen, the priority set for each hierarchy the screen is being displayed There has a configuration that determines the timing.

In a preferred aspect, the management unit stores, as setting information, a combination of the execution environments that may cause a conflict for each of the other devices, and determines the timing using the setting information.
In another preferred aspect, the contention management device includes a confirmation unit for confirming whether each of the plurality of execution environments can use the other device, and the confirmation unit includes the plurality of execution environments, It is possible to check whether or not the execution environment can be used, and limit the use of other execution environments other than the execution environment.
In another preferable aspect, the management unit stores the combination for each application executed by the plurality of execution environments as the setting information.
In another preferable aspect, the management unit varies the timing depending on whether or not display switching by the display device is performed by a user operation.
In another preferable aspect, the conflict management apparatus includes a setting unit that changes the predetermined priority according to a user operation.
In another preferable aspect, the setting unit allows the change in a predetermined execution environment and restricts the change from being performed in an execution environment other than the execution environment.
In another preferred aspect, the conflict management device includes a selection unit that allows the user to select whether or not the setting unit can be changed, and the setting unit is configured to perform the change in advance when the change is permitted by the selection unit. The change is prioritized over a predetermined priority.

The conflict management method according to another aspect of the present invention provides a display device that is used by a plurality of execution environments and an information processing apparatus that includes the other devices, and determines a use status of the other devices by the plurality of execution environments. And when the execution environment for displaying a screen on the display device is switched from the first execution environment to the second execution environment, according to the usage status of the other device determined in the first step. A second step of making the second execution environment available to the other device at a different timing, and the display device has a plurality of screens each corresponding to a predetermined execution environment or application. hierarchically displays the in the second step, the execution environment or application corresponding to each of the screen, is the screen Determining the timing by using the priority set for each the indicated hierarchy.

A program according to another aspect of the present invention is configured to determine, on a computer of an information processing apparatus including a display device used by a plurality of execution environments and another device, a use status of the other devices by the plurality of execution environments. And when the execution environment for displaying a screen on the display device is switched from the first execution environment to the second execution environment, according to the usage status of the other device determined in the first step. And the second step of making the second execution environment different in timing for making the other device available, and the display device has a plurality of screens each corresponding to a predetermined execution environment or application. the hierarchical view is, in the second step, the execution environment or application corresponding to each of the screen, It is used to determine the timing with the priority set for each hierarchy that said screen is displayed.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it becomes possible to change the timing which the execution environment using a device switches according to a condition.

Block diagram showing hardware configuration of information processing apparatus Functional block diagram showing the functional configuration of the control unit Figure showing an example of a monitoring file Figure showing an example of a conflict management file A flowchart showing processing executed by the execution environment control unit A flowchart showing processing executed by the execution environment control unit

[Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the information processing apparatus 100 is a wireless communication terminal capable of voice call and data communication, and is assumed to be a mobile phone or a smartphone, for example. As shown in FIG. 1, the information processing apparatus 100 includes a control unit 200, a display device 300, a communication device 400, a storage device 500, an input device 600, a camera device 700, an audio device 800, a one-segment device 900, and the like. Hardware device.

Here, the hardware device refers to a hardware resource for causing the information processing apparatus 10 to realize a specific function. The hardware device may have a configuration that is originally provided in the main body of the information processing apparatus 10, or is connected by wire or wirelessly via a cable or the like like a so-called external peripheral device (peripheral). It may be a configuration.
In the following, the hardware device is also simply referred to as “device”. In addition, among the hardware devices included in the information processing apparatus 100, those excluding the display device 300 are collectively referred to as “other devices”.

  The display device 300 is a device for displaying an image. The display device 300 includes, for example, a liquid crystal panel, a driving circuit thereof, a light source, and the like. The display device 300 is not limited to the liquid crystal, and may display an image using another display element such as an organic EL (electroluminescence) element. The display device 300 displays a screen (window) corresponding to the execution environment (or application). In addition to such a screen, the display device 300 can display so-called wallpaper, icons, battery remaining amount display, and the like as images (still images or moving images).

It is assumed that the display device 300 of this embodiment can display a window by a multi-window method. Here, the multi-window method refers to a window display method for displaying windows hierarchically. In the multi-window method, when a plurality of windows overlap, a hierarchical relationship of “front” or “back” occurs in these windows. Here, the front window refers to a window that is perceived to exist on the side closest to the user viewing the display device 300, and displays the entire screen. On the other hand, the rear window means a window other than the front window, and when it overlaps, at least a part of the screen overlaps with the front window and is not visible. When there are a plurality of windows on the back, the hierarchy may be different depending on whether or not they are closer to the front.
Note that the display device 300 can display a plurality of windows without overlapping each other, or can display only one window. If multiple windows are displayed without overlapping, these windows may be considered to be in the same hierarchy.

The communication device 400 is a device for connecting to a mobile communication network and performing communication (voice call and data communication). The communication device 400 includes an antenna, a wireless communication circuit for controlling wireless communication, and the like.
The storage device 500 is a device for storing and reading data. The storage device 500 is, for example, a hard disk drive. The storage device 500 may read / write data from / to a removable storage means such as a so-called memory card.
The input device 600 is a device that is operated by a user to input information and instructions. The input device 600 includes buttons (keys) and switches, and supplies an operation signal representing a user operation to the control unit 200. The input device 600 may include a touch screen (touch panel) provided so as to overlap the display device 300.

The camera device 700 is a device for taking a still image or a moving image. The camera device 700 includes an image sensor using an image sensor such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device), an image processing circuit that converts an electrical signal obtained from the image sensor into still image data or moving image data, and the like.
The audio device 800 is a device for inputting and outputting sound. The audio device 800 includes a microphone and a speaker, and an audio processing circuit connected to these.
The one-segment device 900 is a device for viewing digital terrestrial television broadcasting. The one-segment device 900 includes a tuner for receiving digital broadcasting. Here, “One Seg” is a standard for digital terrestrial television broadcasting. Therefore, the one-segment device 900 may be replaced with a device for viewing digital broadcasts of other standards. Other standards here include, for example, DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting-Handheld).

  The control unit 200 is means for controlling the overall operation of the information processing apparatus 100. In the present embodiment, the function corresponding to the contention management device according to the present invention is realized by the control unit 200. More specifically, the control unit 200 includes an arithmetic processing device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a memory corresponding to a main storage device, and the like, and accesses each device described above by executing a predetermined program. These operations are controlled.

  Further, the control unit 200 realizes a plurality of different execution environments. Here, the execution environment refers to a group of programs having a predetermined set necessary for executing an application. The execution environment is distinguished, for example, in units of OS (Operating System), but is not necessarily an OS. The execution environment may be realized as a guest OS (that is, a virtual execution environment) for the host OS by virtualization.

  FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing a functional configuration of the control unit 200. The control unit 200 implements the execution environments 211, 212, and 213 and the execution environment control unit 220 shown in FIG. 2 by executing a plurality of programs. It is configured to use the device. Note that the number of execution environments that can be realized by the control unit 200 is “3” for convenience here, but may be more or less than this. Further, a plurality of execution environments 211, 212, and 213 may be executed simultaneously.

  The execution environments 211, 212, and 213 each have a device driver corresponding to an available device, and access each device via the device driver. The execution environments 211, 212, and 213 do not need to have device drivers for all devices. If there are devices that are not used by the execution environment, the execution environments 211, 212, and 213 need to have device drivers corresponding to the devices. There is no. The execution environments 211, 212, and 213 do not directly access each device, but access each device via the execution environment control unit 220.

  The execution environment control unit 220 implements a function corresponding to the contention management apparatus according to the present invention, and controls the use of devices by the execution environments 211, 212, and 213. In more detail, the execution environment control unit 220 includes a determination unit 221, a management unit 222, a confirmation unit 223, a setting unit 224, and a selection unit 225.

  The determination unit 221 determines the usage status of other devices by the execution environments 211, 212, and 213. The determination unit 221 stores the monitoring file as data, and uses this monitoring file to determine the usage status of other devices by the execution environments 211, 212, and 213.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a monitoring file. The monitoring file is data indicating in which execution environment each of the other devices is used at that time, and is a file in which the device name and the usage status thereof are described in association with each other as shown in FIG. When a device having a certain execution environment is used, the name of each device and the execution environment is described in the monitoring file in association with each other. On the other hand, when a certain device is not used by any execution environment, the monitoring file does not describe the name of the execution environment corresponding to the device, and a predetermined value indicating that the device is not being used (“−” in the figure). ") Is described. In FIG. 3 (and FIG. 4), for convenience of explanation, names of devices and execution environments are expressed by reference numerals in the embodiments.

  When the execution environment using a certain device is switched, the determination unit 221 rewrites and updates the monitoring file. In other words, the determination unit 221 can easily determine at any time which device is used (or not used) by which execution environment by referring to the monitoring file.

  The management unit 222 manages the mode of use of other devices by the execution environments 211, 212, and 213. Specifically, the management unit 222 manages the timing for switching the execution environment using another device based on the usage status determined by the determination unit 221. The management unit 222 stores the conflict management file as data, and determines the execution environment switching timing using the conflict management file.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a conflict management file. The conflict management file is a file describing which execution environment (or application) is given priority when a conflict occurs in the use of a device. It can be said that the conflict management file is a file describing a combination of execution environments (or applications) that may cause a conflict. The conflict management file is set in advance in the information processing apparatus 100, and corresponds to an example of setting information according to the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the conflict management file is assigned to a combination of a device name, an execution environment name, and an application name (abbreviated as “app name” in FIG. 4), and each of the combinations. Is a file describing the specified priority. In the example of FIG. 4, different values can be assigned to the priority levels when the window corresponding to each application is displayed on the front side and when the window is displayed on the back side (however, the same value is used). May be.) When the priority is different between the front side and the back side, it is desirable that the front side has a larger value. In this example, the priority indicates that the higher the value, the higher the priority.

  The conflict management file in FIG. 4 is used by the storage device 500 by the application “A” executed by the execution environment 211, the application “B” executed by the execution environment 212, and the application “C” executed by the execution environment 213. This indicates that there is a possibility of contention caused by these applications. In other words, in this example, the storage device 500 is not used by other applications other than the applications “A”, “B”, and “C”, and there is no possibility that contention may occur depending on the other applications. It can be said. By referring to such a conflict management file, the management unit 222 can easily recognize a combination of execution environments or applications having a relationship that causes a conflict.

  The confirmation unit 223 has a function for confirming devices that can be used by each of the execution environments 211, 212, and 213, and holds data that describes whether or not each device can be used by each execution environment. The execution environments 211, 212, and 213 make an inquiry to the confirmation unit 223 when trying to recognize a device that can be used in each. In response to this inquiry, the confirmation unit 223 notifies whether or not each device can be used.

  It should be noted that the confirmation unit 223 preferably allows the execution environments 211, 212, and 213 to confirm information regarding the availability of each device only for its own information, and cannot confirm information about other execution environments. To be limited. In this way, which execution environment can use which device can be concealed from other execution environments.

  The setting unit 224 has a function of changing the above-described priority to a value corresponding to a user operation. That is, the setting unit 224 makes it possible to set a new priority of a value desired by the user, instead of a predetermined priority. The selection unit 225 has a function of allowing the user to select whether or not the setting by the setting unit 224 (that is, change of priority) is allowed. The setting unit 224 enables the change when the selection unit 225 permits the change, and prioritizes the priority set by the user over a predetermined priority. The setting unit 224 and the selection unit 225 use the display device 300 and the input device 600 to provide a user interface for realizing such settings and changes.

  The setting by the setting unit 224 and the selection by the selection unit 225 may be executed limited to a specific device or execution environment. Such setting and selection may be executed at a predetermined timing set by the execution environment control unit 220 or may be executed at a timing desired by the user.

  The configuration of the information processing apparatus 100 is as described above. With this configuration, the information processing apparatus 100 uses a device according to a plurality of execution environments and realizes a function according to a user operation or the like. For example, the information processing apparatus 100 transmits an audio data generated by the audio device 800 via the communication device 400 or is broadcast by 1Seg by executing an application for calling with a user of another mobile phone. By executing an application for recording a television program, the program data can be received by the one-segment device 900 and recorded in the storage device 500. In addition, the information processing apparatus 100 may use a plurality of other devices by executing one application in this manner, while using only one other device by executing one application. There is also.

  Further, when the execution environment for displaying a screen on the display device 300 is switched, when the execution environment after the switching uses another device, the information processing apparatus 100 uses the other device as the execution environment after the switching. The timing for making it available is controlled as follows. Here, the screen switching may be performed when the screen before switching is hidden and the screen after switching is displayed, or when the screen hierarchy changes before and after switching. In the latter case, for example, when multiple screens are displayed, the screen that was previously displayed on the back is displayed on the front, and part of the screen that has been displayed on the front is hidden. This is the case.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing executed by the execution environment control unit 220 when controlling access to another device. In the process shown in FIG. 5, the execution environment control unit 220 first detects screen switching (step S101). Here, it is assumed that the execution environment using another device changes by switching the screen, and the execution environment corresponding to the screen before the switching is referred to as the “first execution environment”, and the execution environment corresponding to the screen after the switching. Is referred to as a “second execution environment”.

  Next, the execution environment control unit 220 identifies another device used by the second execution environment (step S102). The execution environment control unit 220 can perform this specification by using the above-described conflict management file. If there is another device described in the conflict management file in association with the second execution environment, the execution environment control unit 220 can specify that the device is used by the second execution environment. .

  Subsequently, the execution environment control unit 220 determines the usage status of other devices used by the second execution environment (step S103). The execution environment control unit 220 can determine the usage status using the monitoring file described above. Here, the execution environment control unit 220 determines whether another device that the second execution environment intends to use is being used by another execution environment (step S104). At this time, if another device that the second execution environment intends to use is not used by another execution environment, it can be said that there is no possibility of contention for the device. Therefore, in such a case, the execution environment control unit 220 switches the state of the device to a state where the second execution environment can be used in synchronization with the timing of switching the screen (step S106).

  On the other hand, when another device that the second execution environment intends to use is being used by another execution environment, the execution environment control unit 220 may cause a conflict for the device. Therefore, in such a case, the execution environment control unit 220 determines whether to switch the state of the device synchronously with the screen switching by referring to the priority described in the conflict management file (step S105). The determination in step S105 is made by comparing the priority related to the device in the execution environment that is using the device with the priority related to the device in the second execution environment, and the priority of the second execution environment is higher. It is done depending on whether or not. If the priority of the second execution environment is higher, the execution environment control unit 220 switches the state of the device synchronously with the screen switching (step S106). Otherwise, the execution environment control unit 220 Instead of switching the state at the timing of switching the screen, the state is switched later than the timing. Specifically, the execution environment control unit 220 switches the state of the device after the execution environment using the other device finishes using the device.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating another example of processing executed by the execution environment control unit 220. In the process illustrated in FIG. 6, the execution environment control unit 220 determines whether to switch the state of another device synchronously with the screen switching after detecting the screen switching (steps S <b> 201 and S <b> 202). The process of step S201 is the same as the process of step S101 shown in FIG. In addition, the process of step S202 can be used by appropriately combining the processes of steps S102 to S105 shown in FIG. That is, the following processing in step S203 may be executed together with the processing shown in FIG. 5 (specifically, between step S105 and step S106).

  Subsequently, in step S203, the execution environment control unit 220 determines whether or not the request for switching the screen is due to a user operation. Here, switching of the screen by the user's operation refers to switching of the screen that is directly triggered by the user's operation, such as when the user instructs activation of the execution environment by button input. On the other hand, the screen switching not based on the user operation corresponds to a case where a system event generated internally in the execution environment control unit 220 is triggered. Alternatively, a case where a call is received from another mobile phone and a screen corresponding to the incoming call (screen for displaying a telephone number or the like) is displayed is also applicable. If the request for switching the screen is due to a user operation, the execution environment control unit 220 switches the status of the other device synchronously with the switching of the screen (step S204). Instead of switching at the timing of switching the screen, the state is switched later than the timing. Note that the processing in step S204 is similar to the processing in step S106 shown in FIG.

  The execution environment control unit 220 executes such processing for each of the other devices used by the second execution environment. As a result, the use of other devices in the second execution environment can be performed in synchronization with screen switching, and the use by other execution environments in use is terminated without synchronizing with screen switching. Then it becomes possible. In the latter case, switching of execution environments using other devices is performed at a timing different from switching of screens. Therefore, the execution environment before switching can be continued without hindering the use of the other device by the second execution environment.

  According to the above processing, for example, even if there is an incoming call from another mobile phone during the recording of the TV program, if the one-segment device 900 or the storage device 500 is not used during the call, the incoming TV program It is possible to prevent the video recording process from being forcibly interrupted. On the other hand, when there is a conflict in another device and the priority of the execution environment after switching (second execution environment) is lower than the priority of the execution environment before switching, After the use of another device by the execution environment is completed, the execution environment after switching the device can be used.

[Modification]
The above-described embodiment is an aspect of the present invention. The present invention can also be implemented in a mode in which the following modifications are applied to the above-described embodiments. In addition, the modification shown below may be implemented combining each suitably as needed.

(Modification 1)
Other devices according to the present invention may be part of those described in the above-described embodiments. In addition, other devices according to the present invention include a vibrator device that generates vibration by a motor, a lighting device that controls blinking of a light source such as an LED (Light Emitting Diode), and a terminal or cable that conforms to the USB (Universal Serial Bus) standard. It may be a USB device or the like for communicating with an external device such as a personal computer.

(Modification 2)
The priority in the present invention may be binary such as “prioritize (use a device)” and “do not prioritize (do not use a device)”. Further, when the device can be shared by a plurality of execution environments or applications, the priority can represent the degree to which the device is prioritized. In this case, the execution environment control unit 220 can change the allocation amount of resources such as memory according to the priority. That is, the present invention can be applied to both a case where only one execution environment or application exclusively uses other devices and a case where a plurality of execution environments or applications share other devices. The information processing apparatus according to the present invention may have a configuration in which other devices that can be shared with other devices that are exclusively used are mixed.

(Modification 3)
The information processing apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to a mobile phone or a smartphone, and may be, for example, a music player, a game machine, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a desktop or laptop personal computer, a server apparatus, or the like. . The information processing apparatus according to the present invention may be anything as long as it includes a display device and one or more other devices and can execute a plurality of execution environments.

  The present invention can also be provided as an invention of a method or program corresponding to a conflict management apparatus. Also, a program according to the present invention. It can also be provided in the form of a recording medium such as an optical disk storing this, or it can be provided in the form of being downloaded to a computer via a network such as the Internet, and making it available for installation. It is.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Information processing apparatus, 200 ... Control part, 211, 212, 213 ... Execution environment, 220 ... Execution environment control part, 221 ... Judgment part, 222 ... Management part, 223 ... Confirmation part, 224 ... Setting part, 225 ... Selection 300, display device, 400 communication device, 500 storage device, 600 input device, 700 camera device, 800 audio device, 900 one-segment device

Claims (10)

In an information processing apparatus including a display device used by a plurality of execution environments and other devices, a determination unit that determines a use status of the other devices by the plurality of execution environments;
When the execution environment for displaying the screen on the display device is switched from the first execution environment to the second execution environment, the second execution is performed according to the usage status of the other device determined by the determination unit. A management unit that changes the timing for making the other devices available to the environment, and
The display device hierarchically displays a plurality of screens each corresponding to a predetermined execution environment or application,
The conflict management apparatus, wherein the management unit determines the timing for each execution environment or application corresponding to each of the screens using a priority set for each layer in which the screen is displayed. The said management part memorize | stores the combination of the said execution environment which may produce competition about each of said another device as setting information, and determines the said timing using the said setting information. Conflict management device. Each of the plurality of execution environments includes a confirmation unit for confirming whether or not the other device can be used,
The confirmation unit restricts the plurality of execution environments so that the availability of the execution environment can be confirmed, and the availability of other execution environments other than the execution environment cannot be confirmed. The contention management apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. The contention management apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the management unit stores the combination for each application executed by the plurality of execution environments as the setting information. The contention management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the management unit changes the timing depending on whether or not display switching by the display device is performed by a user operation.   The contention management device according to claim 1, further comprising a setting unit that changes the predetermined priority according to a user operation. The contention management device according to claim 6, wherein the setting unit allows the change in a predetermined execution environment and restricts the change from being performed in an execution environment other than the execution environment. . A selection unit that allows the user to select whether or not the setting unit can be changed;
The contention management device according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the setting unit gives priority to the change over the predetermined priority when the change is permitted by the selection unit. In an information processing apparatus including a display device used by a plurality of execution environments and other devices, a first step of determining a use status of the other devices by the plurality of execution environments;
When the execution environment for displaying the screen on the display device is switched from the first execution environment to the second execution environment, the second device is used according to the usage status of the other device determined in the first step. A second step of making the timing for making the other device available to the execution environment of
The display device hierarchically displays a plurality of screens each corresponding to a predetermined execution environment or application,
In the second step, for the execution environment or application corresponding to each of the screens , the timing is determined by using a priority set for each hierarchy in which the screen is displayed. Method. In a computer of an information processing apparatus including a display device and other devices used by a plurality of execution environments,
A first step of determining usage of the other device by the plurality of execution environments;
When the execution environment for displaying the screen on the display device is switched from the first execution environment to the second execution environment, the second device is used according to the usage status of the other device determined in the first step. And executing the second step of making the timing of making the other device available to the execution environment of
The display device hierarchically displays a plurality of screens each corresponding to a predetermined execution environment or application,
In the second step, for the execution environment or application corresponding to each of the screens , a program for determining the timing by using a priority set for each hierarchy in which the screen is displayed.

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