JP5590379B2 - Information processing apparatus and method, information providing apparatus and method, and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and method, an information providing apparatus and method, and a program, and more particularly to an information processing apparatus and method, an information providing apparatus and method, and a program that can easily manage license information.

  In the electronic device system, a technique for updating firmware of the electronic device has been proposed.

  Patent Document 1 describes updating the firmware of an electronic device connected to a POS (Point Of Sales) system. Here, it is described that when the POS system accesses a server via the Internet and performs authentication, the POS system downloads the updated firmware and transfers it to the electronic device.

  Patent Document 2 describes the following. That is, when updating the firmware of an electronic device connected to the POS system, the electronic device accepts a firmware update request from the POS system. Then, the firmware is updated according to the firmware update status of each electronic device.

JP2009-245398 JP2008-181228

  However, in the method of Patent Document 1, it is difficult to manage license information when a license is required when updating firmware or adding a new module function.

  In the method of Patent Document 2, the license can be managed, but since the fee is charged after the firmware is updated, the license fee cannot be collected in advance.

  Furthermore, in the conventional method, it is necessary to connect to the POS system when updating the firmware. Therefore, it is not possible to update the firmware that is not connected to the POS system.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and makes it possible to easily manage license information. The present invention also enables software to be easily updated.

An information processing apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention includes an acquisition unit that acquires information about an update card that manages a module license, and updates the module based on the information about the update card acquired by the acquisition unit. When the determination unit determines that the update of the module is permitted, the module information is transmitted to the information providing device, and the information providing device transmits the module information. communication means for receiving the module, and updates the module received by the communication means, by subtracting 1 the number of licenses of the module, and a control means for writing said updated card, said control means, said If it is determined by the determination means that the module can be updated, the module is being updated. The operation flag is set and written to the update card. When the determination unit receives the module by the communication unit, is the operation flag written to the update card set? The control means updates the module received by the communication means when the determination means determines that the operating flag is set, and the determination means includes the communication means And further determining whether or not the update of the module received by the control unit is successful, and the control unit determines that the operating flag is updated when the determination unit determines that the update of the module received by the communication unit is successful. The number of licenses of the module is decremented by 1, and the information on the number of licenses and the running Writes the state of the sushi in the update for the card.

  The update card is a non-contact IC card, and the acquisition unit can acquire information on the update card via an antenna.

The control means can simultaneously update the plurality of modules acquired from the information on the update card by the acquisition means.

  The update card can be provided to the user in a state where the license of the module is recorded.

An information processing method according to an aspect of the present invention includes an acquisition step of acquiring information on an update card that manages a license of a module, and the module based on the information on the update card acquired by the processing of the acquisition step. A determination step for determining whether or not the update of the module is permitted, and when it is determined that the update of the module is permitted by the processing of the determination step, the information of the module is transmitted to the information providing apparatus, and a communication step of receiving the module from the provider, and updates the module received by the processing of said communication step, the number of licenses by subtracting 1 of the module, seen including a control step of writing said updated card The control step processing is performed by the determination step processing. Is determined to be updateable, an operating flag indicating that the module is being updated is set and written to the update card, and the process of the determination step is performed by the communication step. If it is received, it is further determined whether or not the operating flag written in the update card is set, and the processing of the control step is performed when the operating flag is set by the processing of the determining step. When determined, update the module received by the communication step process, the determination step process further determines whether the module received by the communication step process has been successfully updated, The process of the control step is received by the process of the communication step by the process of the determination step When it is determined that the module has been successfully updated, the operating flag is reset, the number of licenses of the module is reduced by 1, and the information on the number of licenses and the status of the operating flag are stored in the update card. Write .

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program for acquiring information on an update card for managing a license of a module based on the information on the update card acquired by the acquisition unit. A determination unit that determines whether or not an update is permitted; and when the determination unit determines that the update of the module is permitted, information on the module is transmitted to the information providing device, and the information providing device A communication means for receiving the module; and updating the module received by the communication means, reducing the number of licenses of the module by 1 and causing the module to function as a control means for writing to the update card ; If it is determined by the determination means that the module can be updated, the module An in-operation flag indicating that updating is in progress is set and written to the update card. When the determination unit receives the module by the communication unit, the in-operation flag written in the update card It is further determined whether a flag is set, and the control means updates the module received by the communication means when the determination means determines that the operating flag is set, and the determination The means further determines whether the update of the module received by the communication means is successful, and the control means determines that the update of the module received by the communication means is successful by the determination means At the same time, the in-operation flag is reset, and the number of licenses of the module is decremented by 1. And to function state of the operation flag to write to the update card.

In one aspect of the present invention, information on an update card for managing a module license is acquired, and it is determined whether update of the module is permitted based on the acquired information on the update card. Is determined to be permitted, the module information is transmitted to the information providing apparatus, the module is received from the information providing apparatus, the received module is updated, and the number of module licenses is reduced by one. When it is determined that the module can be updated by being written to the update card, an in-operation flag indicating that the module is being updated is set, written to the update card, and the module is received. If the operating flag written in the update card is set, And when it is determined that the operating flag is set, the received module is updated, and it is further determined whether the received update of the module is successful, and the received update of the module Is determined to be successful, the operating flag is reset, the number of licenses of the module is decremented by 1, and the information on the number of licenses and the state of the operating flag are written to the update card. .

  According to an aspect of the present invention, license information can be easily managed. Further, according to the aspect of the present invention, software can be easily updated.

It is a figure which shows the structural example of one Embodiment of the module update system of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the terminal device of a module update system. It is a block diagram which shows the functional structural example of MPU of a terminal device. It is a figure which shows the example of the card for an update of a module update system. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the management server of a module update system. It is a block diagram which shows the functional structural example of MPU of a management server. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the software relevant to control of module update. It is a flowchart explaining the module update process of a terminal device. It is a flowchart explaining the module update process of a terminal device. It is a flowchart explaining the update module provision process of a management server. It is a flowchart explaining the other module update process of a terminal device. It is a flowchart explaining the other update module provision process of a management server.

[Module update system configuration]

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example as an embodiment of a module update system 1 to which the present invention is applied.

  The module update system 1 in FIG. 1 includes a terminal device 11, an antenna 12, an update card 13, a network 14, and a management server 15.

  The terminal device 11 and the update card 13 transmit and receive information without contact via the antenna 12. The terminal device 11 and the management server 15 transmit and receive information via the network 14.

[Configuration of terminal device]

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the terminal device 11. The terminal device 11 is, for example, a reader / writer of a non-contact type IC (Integrated Circuit) card.

  In the terminal device 11, an MPU (Micro Processing Unit) 31, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 32, a POS connection interface 33, an input / output interface 35, an antenna connection interface 38, and a network connection interface 39 are mutually connected by a bus 34. It is connected to the.

  The input / output interface 35 is connected to an output unit 36 including a display and a speaker, and a nonvolatile memory 37.

  The terminal device 11 transmits / receives information to / from the POS system 16 via the POS connection interface 33. The terminal device 11 transmits and receives information to and from the antenna 12 via the antenna connection interface 38. The antenna 12 performs contactless communication with the update card 13. Furthermore, the terminal device 11 connects to the network 14 represented by the Internet via the network connection interface 39.

  In the terminal device 11 configured as described above, the MPU 31 loads, for example, a program that is software stored in the nonvolatile memory 37 to the RAM 32 via the input / output interface 35 and the bus 34 and executes the program. As a result, a series of processing is performed. A program executed by the terminal device 11 (specifically, the MPU 31) is provided via the network 14, can be received via the network connection interface 39, and can be installed in the nonvolatile memory 37. In addition, the program can be installed in the nonvolatile memory 37 in advance.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of the MPU 31.

  The MPU 31 includes an acquisition unit 51, a determination unit 52, an output unit 53, a control unit 54, and a communication unit 55. Each block of the MPU 31 can exchange signals and data with each other as necessary.

  The acquisition unit 51 as an acquisition unit of the MPU 31 acquires various types of information from the update card 13 and the nonvolatile memory 37. The determination unit 52 as a determination unit determines whether the process satisfies a predetermined condition. The output unit 53 outputs various information to the output unit 36. The control unit 54 serving as a control unit controls module update processing. A communication unit 55 as a communication unit exchanges various information with the management server 15 via the network 14.

[Configuration of renewal card]

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the update card 13. The update card 13 is, for example, a non-contact IC card. The update card 13 is provided to the user in a state where the license information of the module that is software is recorded in advance.

  In the update card 13, a card ID 71, an update module ID 72, update version information 73, license information 74, and an operating flag 75 are recorded.

  In the card ID 71, a card identification number and a flag indicating either the update card 13 or a normal card are recorded. The update card 13 is a card provided to the user for a fee or free of charge in order to update the software.

  A normal card is a card having functions such as electronic money and an employee ID card. Both are configured by an IC card such as FeliCa (registered trademark of Sony Corporation).

  In the update module ID 72, the ID of the module to be updated is recorded. In the update version information 73, the version information of the module corresponding to the update module ID 72 is recorded.

  In the license information 74, the number of licenses of the module corresponding to the update module ID 72 is recorded. The module license information 74 is acquired in advance by the user and recorded in the update card 13.

  In the operating flag 75, a flag indicating whether or not a process for acquiring a module corresponding to the update module ID 72 is being executed, that is, a flag indicating whether or not the module is being updated is recorded. In the operating flag 75, reset (for example, 0) is set as an initial value.

[Management server configuration]

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the management server 15.

  In the management server 15, an MPU 91, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 92, and a RAM 93 are connected to each other by a bus 94. An input / output interface 95 is further connected to the bus 94. Connected to the input / output interface 95 are an input unit 96 made up of a keyboard, mouse, microphone, etc., an output unit 97 made up of a display, a speaker, etc., and a storage unit 98 made up of a hard disk, nonvolatile memory, and the like. Further, the input / output interface 95 is connected to a communication unit 99 such as a network interface, and a drive 100 that drives a removable medium 101 such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, or a semiconductor memory.

  In the management server 15 configured as described above, the MPU 91 loads a program stored in the storage unit 98 into the RAM 93 via the input / output interface 95 and the bus 94 and executes the program, for example. Is performed. The program executed by the management server 15 (specifically, the MPU 91) is provided by being recorded in the removable medium 101 that is a package medium, for example. As the package medium, a magnetic disk (including a flexible disk), an optical disk (CD-ROM (Compact Disc-Read Only Memory), DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), etc.), a magneto-optical disk, or a semiconductor memory is used. . Alternatively, the program is provided via a wired or wireless transmission medium such as a local area network, the Internet, or digital satellite broadcasting. The program can be installed in the storage unit 98 via the input / output interface 95 by attaching the removable medium 101 to the drive 100. The program can be received by the communication unit 99 via a wired or wireless transmission medium and installed in the storage unit 98. In addition, the program can be installed in the ROM 92 or the storage unit 98 in advance.

  FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of the MPU 91.

  The MPU 91 includes a communication unit 121, a determination unit 122, an acquisition unit 123, and a control unit 124. Each block of the MPU 91 can exchange signals and data with each other as necessary.

  A communication unit 121 as a communication unit of the MPU 91 exchanges various information with the terminal device 11 via the network 14. The determination unit 122 determines whether the process satisfies a predetermined condition. The acquisition unit 123 acquires various types of information from the storage unit 98 and the communication unit 99. The control unit 124 serving as a control unit controls processing for providing a module to be updated.

Software configuration

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a software configuration of the terminal device 11.

  The terminal device 11 holds a basic firmware 141, a module management program 142, an audio output module 143, a network module 144, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) output module 145, and a USB (Universal Serial Bus) host module 146. The USB host module 146 is not actually installed yet.

  The basic firmware 141 controls the terminal device 11. The module management program 142 operating on the basic firmware 141 manages modules stored in the terminal device 11. The audio output module 143, the network module 144, and the LCD output module 145 operate on the module management program 142. The same applies to the USB host module 146 that has not been installed yet. The audio output module 143 controls audio output. The network module 144 controls connection with the network 14. The LCD output module 145 controls the output of the output unit 36 to the liquid crystal display. The USB host module 146 controls a device connected to the terminal device 11 via USB.

  The software held by the terminal device 11 is not limited to the example in FIG.

[Module update processing 1 of terminal device]

  8 and 9 are flowcharts for explaining module update processing of the terminal device 11. The module update process of the terminal device 11 is started when the user holds the IC card over the terminal device 11.

  When updating the software, the user purchases the update card 13 in advance for a fee. Therefore, the software provider can collect charges such as a software update fee and a license fee in advance.

  In the present embodiment, the module update includes addition of a module. That is, even when the module corresponding to the update module ID 72 is not yet recorded in the terminal device 11, a new module of the version described in the update version information 73 corresponding to the update module ID 72 is acquired.

  In step S <b> 1, the acquisition unit 51 of the terminal device 11 acquires in-card information from the IC card via the antenna 12. That is, information in the IC card held by the user is acquired.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the card ID 71, the update module ID 72, the update version information 73, the license information 74, and the operating flag 75 are recorded in the in-card information of the update card 13.

  In step S <b> 2, the determination unit 52 determines whether it is the update card 13 that is held over. That is, it is determined whether the IC card from which the in-card information is acquired is the module update card 13 or a normal card.

  If it is determined in step S2 that the card 13 for updating is held over, in step S3, the determination unit 52 determines whether an update module is held.

  That is, it is determined whether the version of the module to be updated has already been downloaded and held.

  If it is determined in step S3 that the update module is held, in step S4, the determination unit 52 determines whether the update module is installed. That is, it is determined whether the version of the module to be updated is operating on the terminal device 11.

  If it is determined in step S4 that the update module is installed, in step S5, the output unit 53 displays, for example, a “no update” message on the output unit. Note that the output unit 53 may output audio.

  That is, when the software is already installed, execution of the process of downloading twice is prevented.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S3 that the update module is not held, in step S6, the determination unit 52 determines whether a license exists. That is, it is determined whether the number of licenses recorded in the license information 74 is 1 or more.

  If it is determined in step S6 that the license does not exist, that is, if the number of licenses recorded in the license information 74 is 0, the download has already been performed an allowable number of times.

  In this case, it is determined that the module update is not permitted. Therefore, in this case, in step S <b> 7, the output unit 53 displays, for example, a “no license” message on the output unit 36.

  If it is determined in step S6 that the license exists, that is, if the number of licenses recorded in the license information 74 is 1 or more, it is determined that the module update is permitted.

  In this case, in step S8, the control unit 54 sets the operating flag 75. That is, for example, 1 is set in the operating flag 75.

  In step S <b> 9, the control unit 54 writes the state of the operating flag 75, that is, the set (for example, “1”) in the update card 13. After the process of step S9, the process proceeds to step S21 of FIG.

  In step S <b> 21 of FIG. 9, the communication unit 55 connects to the management server 15 via the network 14. For connection with the management server 15, network connection is securely performed using SSL (Secure Socket Layer) or the like.

  If there is an environment where network communication can be performed safely, SSL connection is not necessary.

  In step S22, the communication unit 55 transmits update module information. The update module information includes a card ID 71, an update module ID 72, update version information 73, and an update module download request.

  In step S <b> 23, the communication unit 55 receives whether download is possible from the management server 14 via the antenna 12. That is, the processing result of step S44 or S45 of FIG.

  In step S24, the determination unit 52 determines whether download is permitted. That is, it is determined whether the download permission is notified from the management server 15 by the process of step S45 of FIG. 10, or whether the download permission is notified by the process of step S44.

  If it is determined in step S24 that the download is permitted, that is, if the download permission is transmitted from the management server 15 by the process in step S45 of FIG. 10, the process proceeds to step S25.

  In step S25, the communication unit 55 receives the update module transmitted from the management server 15 by the process of step S47 of FIG. That is, the update module is downloaded.

  In step S26, the determination unit 52 determines whether the download is successful. That is, it is determined whether or not the download has failed because the connection is interrupted during the download.

  If it is determined in step S26 that the download has failed, that is, for example, if the connection with the management server 15 is interrupted during the download, the communication unit 55 notifies the management server 15 of the download failure in step S27. To do.

  In step S <b> 28, the output unit 53 displays an error on the output unit 36.

  If it is determined in step S24 that the download is not permitted, that is, if the download is not permitted by the process in step S44 of FIG. 10, the process in step S28 is also executed.

  If it is determined in step S26 that the download is successful, the communication unit 55 transmits the download success to the management server 15 in step S29. After the process of step S29, the process proceeds to step S10 of FIG.

  Returning to FIG. 8, if it is determined in step S4 that the update module is not installed, that is, if there is a module (USB host module 146) indicated by a broken line shown with reference to FIG. Proceed to step S10.

  That is, if it is downloaded and held but not yet installed, the process of step S10 is performed. Further, the process of step S10 is also executed after the process of step S29 of FIG.

  In step S <b> 10, the determination unit 52 determines whether the operating flag 75 is set. That is, it is determined whether 1 is set in the operating flag 75.

  If it is determined in step S10 that the operating flag 75 is not set, that is, if the operating flag 75 is set to 0, the output unit 53 displays an error on the output unit 36 in step S11. .

  When the software is downloaded and held but not installed, the in-operation flag 75 remains set in step S8. Accordingly, when the operating flag 75 is reset in this state, it is an error.

  If it is determined in step S10 that the operating flag 75 is set, that is, if the operating flag 75 is set to 1, in step S12, the control unit 54 updates the module. That is, the update module is installed.

  In step S4, it is determined that the update module is not installed, and in step S10, it is determined that the operating flag 75 is set, for example, after the process of step S25 in FIG. This is a case where the module update process is interrupted before the process of step S12 of FIG.

  In step S13, the determination unit 52 determines whether the update of the module is completed. That is, it is determined whether the installation of the update module executed in step S12 is successful.

  If it is determined in step S13 that the module has been successfully updated, that is, if the module to be updated has been successfully installed, the process proceeds to step S14.

  In step S14, the control unit 54 resets the operating flag 75 and decrements the number of licenses in the license information 74 by one. That is, “0” is set in the operating flag 75 and the number of licenses is reduced by one.

  In step S <b> 15, the control unit 54 writes the state of the operating flag 75 and the license information 74 in the update card 13. In step S <b> 16, the output unit 53 displays, for example, a “update complete” message on the output unit 36.

  If it is determined in step S13 that the update of the module has not been successful, that is, if the installation of the update module has failed, the output unit 53 displays, for example, an “update failure” message on the output unit 36 in step S17. To do.

  If the update fails in this way, the operating flag 75 remains set. Therefore, when the updating card 13 is held next, the processes of steps S3, S4, S10, and S12 are executed.

  If it is determined in step S2 that the card is not the update card 13, that is, if it is determined that the card is a normal IC card, the module update process as described above is not executed.

  After the processes of steps S5, S7, S11, and S17, or after the process of step S28 of FIG. 9, the module update process of the terminal device 11 ends.

  In this way, the terminal device 11 can manage the module license by the update card 13 and execute the module update based on the managed license. Further, the terminal device 11 can execute the module update without connecting to the POS system.

[Management server module provision processing 1]

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating the module providing process of the management server 15. This process is executed corresponding to the module update process of the terminal device 11 shown in FIGS.

  In the management server 15, an update module, card ID 71, update module ID 72, update version information 73, and license information 74 provided to the user based on the sold update card 13 are stored in the storage unit 98 in advance. .

  The information stored in the storage unit 98 of the management server 15 is stored independently of the in-card information of the update card 13.

  In step S <b> 41, the communication unit 121 connects to the terminal device 11 via the network 14. This process corresponds to the process of step S21 of the terminal device 11 of FIG.

  In step S <b> 42, the communication unit 121 receives update module information from the terminal device 11. The update module information is transmitted from the terminal device 11 in the process of step S22 of FIG.

  In step S43, the determination unit 122 determines whether a module license exists.

  That is, with reference to the storage unit 98, it is determined whether there is a license based on the card ID 71, the update module ID 72, and the update version information 73 of the update module information received in step S42.

  If it is determined in step S43 that the module license does not exist, that is, if there is no license based on the card ID 71, the update module ID 72, and the update version information 73, the process proceeds to step S44.

  In step S44, the communication unit 121 notifies the terminal device 11 that download is not permitted. Based on this notification, the terminal device 11 performs the above-described determination processing in step S24 of FIG.

  If it is determined in step S43 that a module license exists, that is, if a license based on the card ID 71, the update module ID 72, and the update version information 73 exists, the process proceeds to step S45.

  In step S45, the communication unit 121 notifies the terminal device 11 of permission to download. Based on this notification, the terminal device 11 performs the above-described determination processing in step S24 of FIG.

  In step S46, the acquisition unit 123 acquires an update module based on the card ID 71, the update module ID 72, and the update version information 73. The update module is stored in the storage unit 98.

  In step S <b> 47, the communication unit 121 transmits the acquired update module to the terminal device 11. This update module is received by the terminal device 11 in step S25 of FIG.

  In step S48, the communication unit 121 receives the success or failure of the download. That is, the result of the processing in steps S27 and S29 in FIG.

  In step S49, the determination unit 122 determines whether the download is successful. That is, it is determined whether or not the terminal device 11 has acquired the update module based on the download results of steps S27 and S29 of FIG. 9 received in step S48.

  If it is determined in step S49 that the download has been successful, that is, if the terminal device 11 has acquired the update module, the control unit 124 determines the number of licenses of the update module stored in the storage unit 98 in step S50. Decrement by one.

  That is, the number of licenses in the license information 74 based on the card ID 71, the update module ID 72, and the update version information 73 is reduced by one.

  After the processes of steps S44 and S50, or when it is determined in step S49 that the download has failed, the update module providing process of the management server 15 ends.

  As described above, the management server 15 provides the update module based on the request from the terminal device 11 and can manage the number of licenses of the update module independently of the update card 13 in the management server 15.

[Module update processing 2 of terminal device]

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating another example of module update processing of the terminal device 11.

  The example of FIG. 11 shows an example in which a module that does not have the license information 74 such as a free license module is updated using the update card 13 as a non-contact IC card.

  In FIG. 11, the processes of steps S61 to S65 are processes corresponding to the processes of steps S1 to S5 of FIG. 8, and the processes of steps S66 to S68 are processes corresponding to the processes of steps S21, S22, and S25 of FIG. The processes in steps S69 to S72 are processes corresponding to the processes in steps S12, S13, S16, and S17 in FIG.

  Therefore, these processes are repeated and will be described briefly.

  In step S61, the acquisition unit 51 acquires the in-card information of the IC card held over. In step S <b> 62, the determination unit 52 determines whether the held IC card is the module update card 13.

  If it is determined in step 62 that the held IC card is the update card 13, the determination unit 52 determines whether or not the update module is held in step S63.

  If it is determined in step S63 that the update module is held, in step S64, the determination unit 52 determines whether the update module is installed. That is, it is determined whether the module update is permitted.

  If it is determined in step S64 that the update module is installed, the module is not allowed to be updated. Therefore, in step S65, the output unit 53 displays, for example, a “no update” message on the output unit 36. .

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S63 that the update module is not held, it is determined that the module update is permitted, and the communication unit 55 connects to the management server 15 in step S66.

  In step S <b> 67, the communication unit 55 transmits the update module information to the management server 15.

  In step S68, the communication unit 55 receives the update module transmitted from the management server 15 (processing in step S94 in FIG. 12 described later).

  If it is determined in step S64 that the update module is not installed, or after the process of step S68, the control unit 54 updates the module in step S69.

  In step S <b> 70, the determination unit 52 determines whether the module update is successful. If it is determined in step S70 that the module has been successfully updated, in step S71, the output unit 53 displays, for example, an “update complete” message on the output unit.

  If it is determined in step S70 that the module update has not been successful, in step S72, the output unit 53 displays, for example, an “update failure” message on the output unit.

  If it is determined in step S62 that the card is not the update card 13, or after the processes of steps S65, S71, and S72, the module update process of the terminal device 11 ends.

  As described above, the user can update the module in the terminal device 11 only by holding the update card 13, which is a non-contact type IC card, over the terminal device 11 via the antenna 12. Further, the terminal device 11 can execute the module update without connecting to the POS system.

[Management server update module provision process 2]

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining another example of the update module providing process of the management server 15. This process is executed corresponding to the module update process of the terminal device 11 of FIG.

  In FIG. 12, the processes in steps S91 to S94 are processes corresponding to the processes in steps S41, S42, S46, and S47 in FIG. Therefore, these processes are repeated and will be described briefly.

  In step S <b> 91, the communication unit 121 connects to the terminal device 11. In step S <b> 92, the communication unit 121 receives update module information (transmitted in step S <b> 67 in FIG. 11) from the terminal device 11.

  In step S93, the acquisition unit 123 acquires an update module based on the update module information received in step S92 from the storage unit 98. In step S <b> 94, the communication unit 121 transmits the acquired update module to the terminal device 11.

  This update module is received by the terminal device 11 in step S68 of FIG.

  After the process of step S94, the update module providing process of the management server 15 ends.

  In the above embodiment, the function of the updated module can be used by restarting the system after completion of the module update process.

  Moreover, in the above embodiment, the update of a module can update several modules simultaneously. Further, the update process of the basic firmware 141, the update process of the LCD output module 145, and the update process of the USB host module 146 shown in FIG. 6 can be executed simultaneously in parallel.

  Note that the program executed by the computer may be a process performed in time series in the order described in this specification, or in parallel or at a necessary timing such as when a call is made. It may be a program to be processed.

  The embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Terminal device, 12 Antenna, 13 Update card, 15 Management server, 51 Acquisition part, 52 Determination part, 54 Control part, 55 Communication part, 121 Communication part, 124 Control part

Claims (6)

An acquisition means for acquiring information of an update card for managing a module license;
A determination unit that determines whether or not the update of the module is permitted based on the information of the update card acquired by the acquisition unit;
When the determination unit determines that the update of the module is permitted, the communication unit transmits the module information to the information providing device and receives the module from the information providing device;
Updating the module received by the communication means, and reducing the number of licenses of the module by 1 and writing to the update card,
The control means, when it is determined that the module can be updated by the determination means, sets an operating flag indicating that the module is being updated, and writes it to the update card,
The determination means further determines whether or not the operating flag written in the update card is set when the module is received by the communication means;
The control unit updates the module received by the communication unit when the determination unit determines that the operating flag is set,
The determination means further determines whether the update of the module received by the communication means is successful;
The control unit resets the operating flag when the determination unit determines that the update of the module received by the communication unit is successful, and subtracts the number of licenses of the module by 1 to An information processing device that writes information on the number and the status of the operating flag to the update card. The update card is a contactless IC card,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the acquisition unit acquires information of the update card via an antenna. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control unit simultaneously updates the plurality of modules acquired from the information on the update card by the acquisition unit. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the update card is provided to a user in a state where a license for the module is recorded. An acquisition step for acquiring information of an update card for managing a module license;
A determination step of determining whether the update of the module is permitted based on the information of the update card acquired by the process of the acquisition step;
When it is determined that the update of the module is permitted by the process of the determination step, the communication step of transmitting the module information to the information providing device and receiving the module from the information providing device;
A step of updating the module received by the processing of the communication step, and reducing the number of licenses of the module by 1 and writing to the update card,
In the process of the control step, when it is determined that the module can be updated by the process of the determination step, an operating flag indicating that the module is being updated is set, and the update card is written.
The process of the determination step further determines whether the operating flag written in the update card is set when the module is received by the process of the communication step,
The process of the control step updates the module received by the process of the communication step when it is determined by the process of the determination step that the operating flag is set,
The process of the determination step further determines whether the update of the module received by the process of the communication step is successful,
The process of the control step resets the operating flag and determines the number of licenses of the module when it is determined that the update of the module received by the process of the communication step is successful by the process of the determination step. An information processing method of subtracting 1 and writing the information on the number of licenses and the status of the operating flag to the update card. Computer
An acquisition means for acquiring information of an update card for managing a module license;
A determination unit that determines whether or not the update of the module is permitted based on the information of the update card acquired by the acquisition unit;
When the determination unit determines that the update of the module is permitted, the communication unit transmits the module information to the information providing device and receives the module from the information providing device;
Update the module received by the communication means, reduce the number of licenses of the module by 1, and function as a control means to write to the update card,
The control means, when it is determined that the module can be updated by the determination means, sets an operating flag indicating that the module is being updated, and writes it to the update card,
The determination means further determines whether or not the operating flag written in the update card is set when the module is received by the communication means;
The control unit updates the module received by the communication unit when the determination unit determines that the operating flag is set,
The determination means further determines whether the update of the module received by the communication means is successful;
The control unit resets the operating flag when the determination unit determines that the update of the module received by the communication unit is successful, and subtracts the number of licenses of the module by 1 to A program that functions to write the information on the number and the status of the operating flag to the update card.

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