JPH1021060A - Communication system with automatic program update processing function, and recording medium equipped with program performing program update processing - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a communication system with an automatic program update processing function which can easily and surely perform version-up of its own program and a recording medium equipped with a program which performs the program update processing. SOLUTION: After version information on a program stored in a 2nd memory 5 is requested form a host device 3 when a program 10 in a PC 1 is started, it is decided whether or not the requested version information is newer than version information 12 on its own program 10 by making a comparison. According to the comparison result, when the version information of the program of the host device 3 is newer than the version information 12 of the its own program 10, the latest program is requested form the host device 3 and the latest program transmitted form the host device 3 is overwritten to the current program 10.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a communication system having an automatic program update processing function and a recording medium having a program for executing the program update processing. More specifically, the processing apparatus is prepared in response to a request from a terminal device. The present invention relates to a communication system having an automatic program update processing function for transmitting the latest program used by a terminal device from the programs to be transmitted to the terminal device via a communication line, and a recording medium having a program for executing the program update process.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a terminal device connected to a host device, a server, or the like via a communication line executes a target process by operating its own function according to a program prepared for writing in a memory. In such a processing apparatus, for example, a program for creating / processing / transmitting data, that is, a program for handling data is previously secured in a memory.

For example, when a personal computer (PC) connected to a host device via a communication line is used as a terminal device, the PC executes its own function according to its own program to execute the host device. In addition to executing a data request, data transmitted from the host device is fetched and displayed on a display.

In this case, the host device naturally executes its own function according to its own program and
Data is exchanged between the terminal device and the host device so that the software (application program) is upgraded whenever a new function is added to the hardware or software. In this version upgrade, generally, each operator installs the latest software in a hard disk or the like.

[0005]

However, in the case of a terminal device connected to such a conventional host device or the like via a communication line, for example, a PC, a large number of terminal devices are connected to the host device or the like to form a network. When the host device upgrades the latest version of the software (application program), the host device notifies each operator using the PC of the fact that the upgrade has been performed. In addition, there is a problem that the work is complicated because the upgraded software needs to be distributed.

In addition, since it is not possible for the operator on the PC side to confirm that the host apparatus has been upgraded, an old version must be used in this case. Therefore, the present invention requests the latest version of the processing device via the communication line every time the program of the terminal device is started, and when the version of the program of the processing device is newer than the version of the own program, A communication system having a program automatic update processing function capable of easily and reliably updating the version of its own program by automatically updating the program to become the latest program, and a program for executing the program update processing It is an object of the present invention to provide a recording medium provided with the same.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a terminal device that operates various processing functions of the terminal device according to a program stored in a storage device and a processing device that stores a program used by the terminal device in a storage device are connected via a communication line. A communication system capable of transmitting a program stored in the storage means by the processing device in response to a request from the terminal device to the terminal device, wherein the terminal device has a program update processing function, The processing function includes requesting means for requesting a version of the program stored in the storage means to the processing device at the time of starting the own program, and requesting the version requested by the requesting means to be newer than the version of the own program. Comparing means for comparing whether or not there is, and a version of the program of the processing device based on the comparison result of the comparing means. Update means for requesting the latest program from the processing device when the current program is newer than the version of the own program, and overwriting the latest program transmitted from the processing device with the own program. I have.

In this case, each time the program stored in the storage means of the terminal device is started, the latest version is requested from the processing device. If the program of the terminal device and the program of the processing device are the same version, the processing device is not changed. The program is activated and a predetermined process is executed. When the version of the program of the processing device is newer than the version of the program of the terminal device, a predetermined processing function is executed after the program of the terminal device is rewritten to be the latest program of the processing device.

Therefore, the program of the terminal device is automatically updated so as to have the same version as the program of the processing device, and the work of upgrading the version is performed simply and reliably. According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording medium having a program readable by a computer for executing a program updating process of the terminal device according to the first aspect of the present invention. Request processing for requesting the device for the version of the program stored in the storage means, comparison processing for comparing whether the requested version is newer than the version of its own program, and the comparison processing result When the version of the program of the processing device is newer than the version of its own program based on the update process of requesting the latest program from the processing device and overwriting the latest program transmitted from the processing device with its own program, Execute a program update process including an instruction to cause the computer to execute It is characterized by having a program.

In this case, each time the program stored in the storage means of the terminal device is started, the latest version is requested from the processing device. If the program of the terminal device and the program of the processing device are the same version, the processing device is not changed. The program is activated and a predetermined process is executed. When the version of the program of the processing device is newer than the version of the program of the terminal device, a predetermined processing function is executed after the program of the terminal device is rewritten to be the latest program of the processing device.

Therefore, it is possible to automatically update the program of the terminal device so as to have the same version as the program of the processing device, thereby performing control for easily and surely performing the work of upgrading. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, in the second aspect of the present invention, when the version of the program of the processing device is the same type as the version of the own program based on the comparison processing result, A first activation process for executing a program; and a second activation process for executing an updated program when an update process is performed based on a result of the comparison process. And the update process and the first and second activation processes are different from the program, and the first or second activation process is not updated after the comparison process. It is characterized in that the updated program is started.

In this case, after the version is checked when the application is started, the first or second version is checked.
Since the program is executed by the start-up process, if the terminal device version is older than the processing device version, the old version of the program will be executed before the program is overwritten and the overwriting will not be performed. Never do.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, in the second aspect of the present invention, when the version of the program of the processing apparatus is of the same type as the version of its own program based on the result of the comparison processing A first activation process for executing an own program, and a second activation process for executing an updated program when an update process is performed based on a result of the comparison process. The update process and the first and second activation processes are configured by a terminal device and a program for operating various processing functions of the terminal device and another program.

In this case, the request processing, the comparison processing, the update processing, the first and second start-up processing, and the program for operating the various processing functions provided therein are separated, so that the program is simplified.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 3 are diagrams showing a first embodiment of a communication system having an automatic program update processing function and a recording medium having a program for executing a program update processing according to the present invention.

First, the configuration will be described. In FIG. 1, 1
Is a PC (personal computer) as a terminal device, and this PC 1 is connected to a host device (processing device) 3 via a communication line 2 such as a telephone line or a LAN (local area network). The host device 3 includes a first memory (storage means) 4 composed of a RAM or the like for storing an upgraded program (application program) and a second memory 5 composed of a RAM or the like in which version information of the program is stored. Yes,
The program and version information stored in the first memory 4 and the second memory 5 are rewritten each time the version is upgraded. Note that the first and second
The memories 4 and 5 are not separate, but may be, for example, an integrated one. Instead of the RAM, they may be a separate or integrated one composed of a hard disk.

On the other hand, the PC 1 has a program (including an application program) for executing various processing functions (creation / processing / transmission / display, exchange of data with the host device 3, etc.) and version check processing. First memory 7 stored and composed of RAM or the like
A second program which stores a program for executing a load and program activation process to be described later and is constituted by a RAM or the like.
A memory 9 and a CPU 8 that reads out the programs in the first and second memories 7 and 9 and executes the various functions and the program update processing based on the programs are provided.

That is, this program includes a program 10 for executing various processing functions of the host device 3 and a host device 3.
A host I / F 11 for exchanging information with the host device; version information 12 which is an area in which version information of the program 10 is stored as a module;
A version request 13 as an area where a program (request processing) for requesting version information stored in the memory 5 is stored as a module, and a comparison is made as to whether the requested version is newer than the version of this program. Version comparison as an area where the program (comparison process) to be executed is stored as a module 14
It is composed of

The second memory 9 has a version comparison.
When the comparison by 14 is completed, program activation (first activation processing, second activation processing), which is an area in which a program for activating the program 10 is stored as a module 15
If the version of the program in the host device 3 is newer than the version information 12 of the program 10 based on the comparison result by the version comparison 14, the latest program transmitted to the host device 3 is requested from the host device 3, and the latest program transmitted from the host device 3 is requested. A load 16, which is an area in which a program (update processing) for downloading a program and overwriting the program 10 (update processing), is stored as a module.

The first memory 7 constitutes request means and comparison means together with the CPU 8, and the second memory 9
Updating means is constituted together with U8, and these request means,
The comparing means and the updating means exhibit a program update processing function. Also, the first and second memories 7, 9
Also constitutes a recording medium having a program readable by a CPU (computer) 8 that executes a program update process. Further, the first and second memories 7 and 9 are not separate and may be, for example, an integrated one, and may be a separate or integrated one made up of a hard disk instead of a RAM.

The PC 1 has a display, a keyboard, a mouse, etc., and can issue a data request to the host device 3 by instructing a predetermined command portion displayed on the display with the keyboard or the mouse. it can. For example, when requesting data of a patent publication belonging to a predetermined IPC (international classification code) from the host apparatus 3, the host apparatus 3 searches the CD-ROM (compact disk read only memory) for the corresponding publication patent publication. Then, processing such as data transfer to the PC 1 is performed.

Next, the automatic program updating process will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 2 and 3 are flowcharts showing programs stored in the first and second memories 7 and 9 executed by the CPU 8. First, when an application for executing some self-function, for example, an application for searching for a patent publication by IPC is started (step S1), a module corresponding to the application is loaded from the program 10. Later (step S2),
The version request 13 requests the latest version from the host device 3 via the host I / F 11 and the communication line 2 (step S3).

In response to this request, the host device 3 reads out the version information from the second memory 5 and transmits it to the PC 1. When the version information is input to the host I / F 11, the version comparison unit 14 reads out the version information stored in the version information 12 and compares the version information transmitted from the host device 3 with the latest version (step S4). It is determined whether or not the version information is newer than the latest version information (step S5). If the version information is not newer than the latest version information,
That is, if both versions are, for example, Ver3.0, the program 10 loaded by the program activation 15 is activated to exchange data with the host device 3 via the host I / F 11 (step S
6).

If this version information is older than the latest version information in step S5, for example, the latest version is Ver3.0 and the version of PC1 is V
In the case of er2.0, version update processing is performed based on the flowchart shown in FIG. 3 (step S7). First, after activating the application program to be updated by itself (step S11), the old version is terminated or the module to be updated is unloaded (step S12).

Next, after the latest version is downloaded from the host device 3 by the load 16 (step S
13), the execution environment of the latest version is set (step S14). Then, the program is overwritten by executing the latest version or loading a module to update the program to the latest version. At this time, the version information 12 is also updated to the latest version. Then, after the version is updated, data is exchanged with the host device 3 via the host I / F 11 using the updated application.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the PC 1 is provided with a program update processing function, and the program update processing function is provided to the host device 3 when the program 10 of its own is activated. After requesting the version information of the host device 3, whether or not the requested version information is newer than the version information 12 of the program 10 itself is compared. Then, based on the comparison result, the version of the program of the host device 3 is determined. If the information is newer than version information 12 of own program 10,
Requests the latest program from the host device 3 and replaces the latest program transmitted from the host device 3 with its own program.
Since the program is overwritten to 10, the program of the PC 1 can be automatically updated so as to have the same version as the program of the host device 3, and the work of upgrading can be performed easily and reliably.

The programs (version request 13, version comparison 14, and load 16) that can be read by the CPU 8 executing this program update process are the first and second programs.
Since these processes are stored in the memories 7 and 9, it is possible to obtain a system that executes these processes reliably and easily.
Further, in the present embodiment, when the version of the program of the host device 3 is the same type as the version of the program of the PC 1 based on the result of the comparison processing, the own program is executed and the update processing is performed based on the result of the comparison processing. In some cases, it has a program start 15 to execute the updated program, a version request 13 and a version comparison 14
Is included in the program 10, and the load 16 and the program start 15 are configured by the program 10 and another program, and the program that is not updated after the comparison process or the updated program is started by the program comparison 15.

Therefore, after the version is checked at the time of starting the application, the program is started.
Can execute the program 10, and when the version of the PC 1 is older than the version of the host device 3, the program of the old version is executed before the overwriting of the program is performed and the overwriting is not performed. Can be prevented.

The processing device is not limited to the host device 3 but may be a server or the like, and the terminal device may be a facsimile machine or a workstation instead of a PC. In short, any device can be used as long as data can be exchanged between the terminal device and the processing device via a communication line. FIG. 4 shows a communication system having an automatic program update processing function according to the present invention and a second recording medium having a program for executing the program update processing.
It is a figure showing an embodiment.

The present embodiment is characterized in that a program for executing various processing functions provided by itself and a program for automatically updating the program are provided separately, and the basic operation is the first embodiment. Since the configuration is the same as that of the embodiment, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.
PC21 has various processing functions (data creation /
A first memory 22 storing a program (including an application program) 25 for executing processing / transmission / display, data exchange with the host device 3, and a second memory 22 storing a program for executing a program automatic updating process. A second memory 23 and a CPU 24 that reads a program from the first and second memories 22 and 23 and executes the above-described various functions and program update processing based on the program.

The second memory 24 includes a host I / F 26 for exchanging information with the host device 3, version information 27 which is an area in which version information of the program 25 is stored as a module, 3 is a version request 28 as an area in which a program (request processing) for requesting version information stored in the second memory 5 of the host device 3 is stored as a module. Version comparison 29 as an area where a program (comparison processing) for comparing whether or not a new version is stored as a module is also compared.
When the comparison by 29 has been completed, program activation (first activation processing, second activation processing) which is an area in which a program for activating the program 25 is stored as a module 30
If the version of the program of the host device 3 is newer than the version information 27 of the program 25 based on the comparison result by the version comparison 29, the latest program is requested from the host device 3 and the latest program transmitted from the host device 3 is requested. A load 31, which is an area in which a program (update processing) for downloading a program and overwriting the program 25 (update processing), is stored as a module.

The second memory 23 constitutes requesting means, comparing means and updating means together with the CPU 24, and these requesting means, comparing means and updating means exhibit a program update processing function. Also, the first and second memories
Reference numerals 22 and 23 also constitute a recording medium having a program readable by a CPU (computer) 24 for executing a program update process. In addition, the first and second memories 22, 23
Is not a separate unit, and may be, for example, an integral unit, and may be an integral unit composed of a hard disk instead of the RAM.

Next, an automatic program update process will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 2 and 3 show the first and second memories 2 executed by the CPU 24.
24 is a flowchart showing programs stored in Nos. 2 and 23. First, when an application for executing some self-function, for example, an application for searching for a patent publication by IPC is started (step S1), a module corresponding to the application is loaded from the program 25. Later (step S2),
The version request 27 requests the latest version from the host device 3 via the host I / F 26 and the communication line 2 (step S3).

In response to this request, the host device 3 reads out the version information from the second memory 5 and transmits it to the PC 21. When the version information is input to the host I / F 26, the version comparison unit 29 reads out the version information stored in the version information 27, compares the version information transmitted from the host device 3 with the latest version (step S4). It is determined whether or not the version information is newer than the latest version information (step S5). If the version information is not newer than the latest version information,
In other words, if both versions are, for example, Ver3.0, the program 25 loaded by the program activation 30 is activated to exchange data with the host device 3 via the host I / F 26 (step). S
6).

If the version information is older than the latest version information in step S5, for example, the latest version is Ver3.0 and the version of the PC 21 is V
In the case of er2.0, version update processing is performed based on the flowchart shown in FIG. 3 (step S7). First, after activating the application program to be updated by itself (step S11), the old version is terminated or the module to be updated is unloaded (step S12).

Next, after the latest version is downloaded from the host device 3 by the load 31 (step S
13), the execution environment of the latest version is set (step S14). Then, the program is overwritten by executing the latest version or loading a module to update the program to the latest version. At this time, the version information 27 is also updated to the latest version. After the version is updated, data is exchanged with the host device 3 via the host I / F 26 using the updated application.

As described above, also in the present embodiment, the same effects as in the first embodiment can be obtained. Further, in the present embodiment, the request processing, the comparison processing, the update processing, the first and second activation processing, and the program for operating the various processing functions provided therein are separated, so that the program can be simplified. In the above embodiments, one version information is provided for each program. However, a plurality of version information may be provided.

[0038]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, each time the program stored in the storage unit of the terminal device is started, the latest version is requested from the processing device, and the program of the terminal device and the program of the processing device are requested. If the version is the same, the program is started and the predetermined processing is executed as it is, and if the version of the processing device program is newer than the version of the terminal device program, the terminal device program is updated to the latest program of the processing device. After rewriting the program to execute the specified processing function, the program of the terminal device can be automatically updated to the same version as the program of the processing device. And reliably.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the program of the terminal device is automatically updated so as to have the same version as the program of the processing device, and control for easily and surely performing the version upgrade is performed. Can be. According to the third aspect of the present invention, the program can be executed by the first or second activation processing after the version is checked at the time of activation of the application, so that the version of the terminal device is more than the version of the processing device. It is possible to prevent a situation in which the old version of the program is executed before the program is overwritten and the overwriting is not performed.

According to the invention described in claim 4, the request processing,
Since the comparison processing, the update processing, the first and second activation processing, and the program for operating the various processing functions of the self are different, the program can be simplified.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing a first embodiment of a communication system having a program automatic update processing function and a recording medium having a program for executing a program update processing according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of the version check process.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a version update process.

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram showing a second embodiment of a communication system having an automatic program update processing function and a recording medium having a program for executing the program update processing according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 21 PC (terminal device) 2 communication line 3 host device 4 first memory (storage means) 7 first memory (request means, comparison means) 8, 24 CPU (computer, request means, comparison means, update means) 9 Second memory (update means) 10 Program 13 Version request (request processing) 14 Version comparison (comparison processing) 15 Program start (first and second start processing) 16 Load (update processing) 23 Second memory (request means, comparison means) , Update means) 25 program 28 version request (request processing) 29 version comparison (comparison processing) 30 program start (first and second start processing) 31 load (update processing)

Claims (4)

[Claims] A terminal device for operating various processing functions of the terminal device according to a program stored in a storage device and a processing device for storing a program used by the terminal device in a storage device are connected via a communication line. A communication system capable of transmitting a program stored in a storage unit by a processing device to a terminal device in response to a request from the terminal device, wherein the terminal device has a program update processing function, and the program update processing function is Requesting means for requesting the processing device for the version of the program stored in the storage means at the time of activation of the program; and whether the version requested by the requesting means is newer than the version of the program. Comparing means for comparing whether the version of the program of the processing device is based on the comparison result of the comparing means. Updating means for requesting the latest program from the processing device when the program is newer than the version of the program, and overwriting the own program with the latest program transmitted from the processing device. A communication system having a processing function. 2. A recording medium having a computer-readable program for executing a program updating process of said terminal device according to claim 1, wherein said program is stored in a storage means for said processing device when said program is started. Request processing for requesting the version of the program, comparison processing for comparing whether or not the requested version is newer than the version of its own program. An update process of requesting the latest program from the processing device when the newer program is newer than the version of the program and overwriting the latest program transmitted from the processing device with its own program; Characterized by having a program for executing processing Recording media. 3. A first activation process for executing a self-program when the version of the program of the processing device is the same as the version of the self-program based on the comparison process result, and an update process based on the comparison process result. A second activation process for executing the updated program when performed;
Wherein the request processing and the comparison processing are included in a program for operating various processing functions provided in the terminal device by the terminal device, and the update processing and the first and second activation processings are different from the program. 3. The recording medium according to claim 2, wherein the second activation process activates a program that is not updated or an updated program after the comparison process. 4. A first activation process for executing a self-program based on a result of the comparison process when the version of the program of the processing device is the same type as a version of the self-program, and an update process based on the comparison process result. A second activation process for executing the updated program when performed;
3. The program according to claim 2, wherein the request process, the comparison process, the update process, and the first and second activation processes are different from a program for operating various processing functions of the terminal device. A recording medium provided with a program for executing an update process.