WO2012153787A1

WO2012153787A1 - Information terminal, method for controlling information terminal, control program and recording medium

Info

Publication number: WO2012153787A1
Application number: PCT/JP2012/061925
Authority: WO
Inventors: 道隆利元
Original assignee: シャープ株式会社
Priority date: 2011-05-12
Filing date: 2012-05-09
Publication date: 2012-11-15

Abstract

A mobile telephone (1) is provided with: a condition assessment unit (507) that determines whether a user's terminal is in a target warning state in which it is possible that the user is involuntarily consuming power stored in a power supply unit (80) which supplies power to the user's terminal; and an application control unit (505) that limits the operations of applications during execution when the condition assessment unit (507) has determined that the user's terminal is in the abovementioned target warning state.

Description

Information terminal, information terminal control method, control program, and recording medium

The present invention relates to an information terminal that executes various applications, an information terminal control method, a control program, and a recording medium.

In recent years, various applications have been executed on information terminals such as mobile phones, which has improved user convenience. However, many applications are not designed with current consumption in mind, and may operate at the maximum CPU load, so the current consumption increases rapidly in a short period of time. In addition, it is common for batteries to be depleted or run out. In particular, smartphones such as iPhone (registered trademark) and Android (registered trademark) mobile phones consume a large amount of battery because they play music, video, and data communication. Also, in an information terminal equipped with a data synchronization function that automatically synchronizes with the data on the server, when data synchronization is performed automatically in the background, the battery runs down and runs out without the user's knowledge. Even inconvenient for the user.

Therefore, in order to reduce the battery consumption and improve the battery life, the battery consumption is relatively limited.

Conventionally, the following techniques have been disclosed in order to improve battery life.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an error control device that achieves both battery life and user convenience. Specifically, the current consumption is reduced by transmitting two types of packets and performing error correction encoding or error detection encoding according to the packet type.

Also, the following technologies are available for limiting functions.

For example, Patent Document 2 discloses a mobile communication system that can be controlled by changing a function to be controlled for each area among functions provided in a mobile terminal device. Specifically, the restriction mode is set when the portable terminal device receives a restriction signal periodically transmitted by radio from a transmission station installed in a plurality of areas. Further, the restriction mode is canceled when the mobile terminal device receives a release signal periodically transmitted by radio from a transmission station installed near the entrance of the area.

Further, Patent Document 3 describes that a series of usage rules are defined. Specifically, when the wireless device is in a restricted area (for example, hospital, movie theater, etc.), the specific function (for example, ringing tone, use of camera, etc.) of the wireless device is disabled. Or, power off the device forcibly.

Japanese Patent Publication “JP 2007-195156 A (published August 2, 2007)” Japanese Patent Publication “Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-48166 (published on February 12, 2004)” Japanese Patent Publication “Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2008-507893 (published March 13, 2008)”

However, the error control device described in Patent Document 1 cannot reduce current consumption when playing music or moving images or performing large-capacity data communication.

Also, the function restriction technology described in Patent Document 2 or Patent Document 3 restricts the function of the terminal or the device depending on the place, and does not restrict the function depending on the battery consumption. Therefore, the battery life cannot be improved.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an information terminal capable of restricting application functions in order to improve battery life, a control method for the information terminal, and control. To realize a program and a recording medium.

In order to solve the above-described problem, the information terminal according to the present invention is an information terminal that executes an application, and the user can unintentionally consume power stored in a power supply unit that supplies power to the terminal. Power consumption state determination means for determining whether or not the own terminal is in a warning target state having a characteristic, and an application being executed when the power consumption state determination means determines that the terminal is in the warning target state And an application control means for restricting the operation.

The information terminal control method according to the present invention is an information terminal control method for executing an application, and the user can unintentionally consume power stored in a power supply unit that supplies power to the terminal. If it is determined in the power consumption state determination step that determines whether or not the own terminal is in the warning target state that has a characteristic and the power consumption state determination step, the terminal is in the warning target state. And an application control step for restricting the operation of the application.

According to the above configuration, in the information terminal, when the terminal is in a warning target state that may cause the user to unintentionally consume the power stored in the power supply unit, for example, a large amount of power is consumed. When there is a fear, or when an application that is not intended by the user is automatically activated and there is a possibility that power is wasted, it is possible to limit the applications that are being executed. Here, specific conditions for determining whether or not the terminal is in a warning target state include, specifically, a battery reduction rate, current consumption, operation time, current consumption within the operation time, and the number of application activations within a certain time. It is possible to use whether or not the application has been downloaded for free, the number of past activations, the average current consumption of the application, the number of forced terminations, the number of application downloads, and the like.

Therefore, it is possible to prevent the power from being suddenly reduced or lost without the user's knowledge.

The information terminal may be realized by a computer. In this case, the information terminal control program for causing the information terminal to be realized by the computer by causing the computer to operate as the respective means, and the program recorded therein. Computer-readable recording media are also within the scope of the present invention.

As described above, the information terminal according to the present invention has its own terminal in a warning target state that may unintentionally consume the power stored in the power supply unit that supplies power to the own terminal. A power consumption state determination unit that determines whether or not, and an application control unit that restricts the operation of the application being executed when the power consumption state determination unit determines that the terminal is in the warning target state. It is.

In addition, in the information terminal control method according to the present invention, is the own terminal in a warning target state that may unintentionally consume power stored in a power supply unit that supplies power to the own terminal? A power consumption state determination step for determining whether or not, and an application control step for restricting the operation of the application being executed when it is determined in the power consumption state determination step that the terminal is in the warning target state, It is the method of including.

It is a block diagram which shows the principal part structure of the mobile telephone which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the application discrimination | determination information management table which the mobile telephone shown in FIG. 1 uses. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing for downloading an application in the mobile phone illustrated in FIG. 1. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of application termination processing in the mobile phone shown in FIG. 1.

An information terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the information terminal according to the present embodiment is realized as a smartphone (mobile phone) that can be connected to the Internet. For this reason, hereinafter, the information terminal according to the present embodiment is simply referred to as a mobile phone.

The present invention can be applied to a mobile phone, a smartphone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), etc. that employs an Android (registered trademark) OS developed by Google Inc. However, the present invention is not limited to such a mobile phone but can be applied to general information terminals that can execute applications.

Embodiment
An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

(Outline of processing)
The processing outline of this embodiment will be described as follows.

In this embodiment, when an application is automatically started in the background, the remaining battery level is reduced by the operation of the application (for example, communication with a server). Therefore, when the battery depletion rate, which is the rate at which the remaining amount of the battery drops in a certain time, exceeds a predetermined threshold, the operation of the application is limited (in this embodiment, the application is terminated). As a result, the battery is prevented from running out without the user's knowledge.

Here, for example, when the predetermined threshold is 5%, when the battery depletion rate exceeds the predetermined threshold, the remaining battery level is reduced by 5% or more in 60 minutes ( That is, this is a case where the battery reduction rate is 5% or more).

Note that restricting the operation of the application is not limited to ending the application. For example, the application may be deleted. In this case, before limiting the operation of the application, the PopUp screen or the like may be displayed, and the user may select / approve whether to delete or end the operation.

If the application is automatically deleted, the PopUp screen may be displayed after the deletion to notify the user.

If the application to be restricted consumes a large amount of battery power through communication with an external device or the like, the communication function of the application may be restricted without terminating the application. Here, the limitation of the communication function may be that communication with an external device or the like may be prohibited, or a communication amount may be determined in advance and communication may be permitted only up to that communication amount.

(Main components of mobile phone)
A main configuration of the mobile phone 1 (information terminal) according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of the mobile phone 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, the mobile phone 1 includes a communication unit 10, a display unit 20, an input unit 30, a storage unit 40, a control unit 50, a battery remaining amount measurement unit 60, a timer 70, power And a supply unit 80. The mobile phone 1 may include members such as a speaker and a microphone in addition to these members, but these members are not shown because they are not directly related to the features of the invention.

The communication unit 10 transmits / receives data to / from a server such as a cloud computer (not shown).

Here, a cloud computer can provide various computer resources such as software, hardware, a database, and a server via the Internet. If there is an environment connected to the Internet, the user can use various services such as application download and e-mail.

The display unit 20 displays an image according to an instruction from the control unit 50. As the display unit 20, for example, an LCD (liquid crystal display), an organic EL display, a plasma display, or the like can be applied.

The input unit 30 is, for example, a keyboard or a touch sensor that acquires a user operation instruction and generates an instruction signal.

In the case where the display unit 20 is realized as a mobile phone having a touch panel (for example, a mobile phone using an Android (registered trademark) OS), the display unit 20 and a part or all of the input unit 30 are integrated. However, for convenience of explanation, the display unit 20 and the input unit 30 will be described separately according to the functions of the mobile phone 1.

The storage unit 40 includes a control program and an OS program executed by the control unit 50, and various functions that the control unit 50 has in the mobile phone 1 (for example, a function that the application determination unit 505 described later has to determine an application) ) To store various data read out. In the present embodiment, the storage unit 40 includes, for example, preinstalled applications (hereinafter referred to as pre-in apps), downloaded applications (hereinafter referred to as download apps), and a management table (see FIG. 2). Data). The storage unit 40 is realized by, for example, an EPROM, an EEPROM, a flash memory, or the like, which is a nonvolatile memory capable of rewriting contents. Note that the storage unit for storing information that does not require rewriting of contents may be realized by a ROM that is a read-only semiconductor memory, not shown, different from the storage unit 40.

The storage unit 40 further includes a pre-in application storage unit 401, a download application storage unit 402 (storage unit), and a management table storage unit 403.

The pre-in application storage unit 401 stores an application (pre-in application) pre-installed in the mobile phone 1. In the pre-in app storage unit 401, a management number (ID) for the pre-in app is added to each pre-in app and stored.

The download application storage unit 402 stores an application (download application) downloaded by the user. In the download application storage unit 402, a management number (ID) for the download application is added to each download application and stored.

The details of the management number for the pre-in application and the management number for the download application will be described later.

The management table storage unit 403 stores an application discrimination information management table T1 (see FIG. 2).

Hereinafter, the application determination information management table T1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the application determination information management table T1.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the application determination information management table T1, a management number (ID) and a type (pre-in application / download application) are stored in association with each application name. Hereinafter, the management number for the pre-in application and the management number for the download application will be described in detail. In FIG. 2, the pre-in application and the download application are abbreviated as “pre-in” and “DL”, respectively.

In this embodiment, “0001” to “1000” are assigned as management numbers for the pre-in application. Also, “1001” and later are assigned as management numbers for download applications. The application discrimination information management table T1 is used when discriminating whether an application is preinstalled or downloaded.

Note that information stored in the application determination information management table T1 is preferably stored as follows. First, a management number (ID), an application name, and a type are associated with each other and stored in the application determination information management table T1 in advance. Each time the downloaded application is downloaded, the management number (ID), the application name, and the type are associated with each other and stored in the application determination information management table T1 one by one.

Further, the management number is not particularly limited, and any management number may be used if it is not necessary to distinguish between the pre-in application and the download application. Further, in this embodiment, when discriminating between the pre-in app and the download app, the discriminating is based on the “type” stored in association with the management number. Alternatively, it may be determined by a management number that is distinguished from download application.

The battery remaining amount measuring unit 60 calculates the remaining battery amount of the power supply unit 80. For example, it can be realized by a gas gauge or the like. A gas gauge measures the voltage of a battery and calculates the remaining charge of the battery from the voltage.

Timer 70 measures the elapsed time. In the present embodiment, the timer 70 measures time in order to control the timing when the battery remaining amount measuring unit 60 measures the battery remaining amount.

The power supply unit 80 stores power and supplies the stored power to the mobile phone 1.

The control unit 50 performs various calculations by executing a program read from the storage unit 40 to a temporary storage unit (not shown), and comprehensively controls each unit included in the mobile phone 1. .

In the present embodiment, the control unit 50 includes a communication control unit 501, an application download control unit 502, a determination information update unit 503, an application control unit 504 (application control unit), and an application determination unit 505 (automatic activation determination unit). , A download determination unit), a battery state calculation unit 506, and a condition determination unit 507 (power consumption state determination unit). Each unit (501 to 507) of the control unit 50 can be realized by the CPU reading a program stored in a storage device realized by a ROM or the like to a temporary storage unit realized by a RAM or the like and executing it. .

Below, each part with which control part 50 is provided is explained.

The communication control unit 501 causes the communication unit 10 to communicate with the cloud computer or disconnect the communication. In addition, when an application download instruction is received from the application download control unit 502 described later, based on the notified application identification information (for example, application name, application identification number, etc.), the application is downloaded. The communication unit 10 is controlled.

When the application download control unit 502 receives an application download instruction from the user via the input unit 30, the application download control unit 502 notifies the communication control unit 501 of the download instruction and identification information of the application to be downloaded. If the download is successful, the downloaded application is added to the download application management number (ID) and stored in the download application storage unit 402. In addition, the discrimination information update unit 503 is notified of the success.

When receiving the notification that the download is successful from the application download control unit 502, the determination information update unit 503 adds a management number for the new downloaded application to the application name of the downloaded application, and “DL” (ie, , Download application) and the type of the application determination information management table T1.

The application control unit 504 starts, terminates, or deletes an application. Specifically, when the application is activated, the application determination unit 505 is notified of information indicating that the application has been activated and the management number (ID) of the activated application. In addition, when an instruction to end the application is received from the condition determination unit 507 described later, the application is ended based on the notified management number (ID) of the application. Then, in the application determination information management table T1, the record corresponding to the management number (ID) is deleted, and the application determination information management table T1 is updated.

When the application determination unit 505 receives information indicating that the application has been activated from the application control unit 504, is the application automatically activated (not activated by the user) first? It is to judge whether or not. When it is determined that the application is automatically started, it is determined whether the application is a pre-in application or a download application. When discriminating whether it is a pre-in app or a download app, in the app discrimination information management table T1 stored in the management table storage unit 403, based on the management number (ID) of the notified application, The type of application (pre-in app or download app) is detected and determined. When it is determined that the application is a download application, the battery state calculation unit 506 is notified of that fact.

When the battery state calculation unit 506 receives a notification from the application determination unit 505 that the application is determined to be a download application, the battery state calculation unit 506 calculates a battery depletion rate of the operating application.

In the following, the calculation method of the battery reduction rate of the running application will be described.

As a method for calculating the battery reduction rate of the application that is operating, for example, immediately after the application is activated, the battery remaining amount measuring unit 60 measures the remaining battery amount, and the temporary storage unit (Not shown). The timer 70 measures the time and notifies the battery remaining amount measuring unit 60 every 60 minutes. When the battery remaining amount measuring unit 60 receives the notification from the timer 70, the remaining battery amount measuring unit 60 measures the remaining battery amount and transmits the remaining battery amount measurement result to the battery state calculating unit 506. Then, the battery state calculation unit 506 compares the remaining battery level received from the remaining battery level measurement unit 60 with the original remaining battery level acquired from the temporary storage unit (not shown) to determine how much the battery level has been reduced. Calculate as a percentage reduction. Subsequently, the control unit 50 resets the remaining battery level stored in the temporary storage unit (not shown), and the remaining battery level measurement unit 60 sets the remaining battery level measured this time to the new remaining battery level. Is stored in a temporary storage unit (not shown). The battery state calculation unit 506 repeats the above processing every 60 minutes, and uses the battery reduction rate calculated at that time as the battery reduction rate of the application operating at that time.

The condition determination unit 507 determines whether or not a predetermined battery decrease rate threshold has been exceeded based on the battery decrease rate received from the battery state calculation unit 506. If the condition determination unit 507 determines that the threshold value has been exceeded, the application control unit 504 is instructed to end the running application.

(Application download process flow)
The flow of application download processing in the mobile phone 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing for downloading an application in the mobile phone 1.

As shown in FIG. 3, first, when the control unit 50 detects an instruction to connect to the cloud computer input by the input unit 30 from the user, the communication control unit 501 connects the communication unit so as to connect to the cloud computer. 10 is controlled (S101).

Next, the communication unit 10 acquires a list of applications that can be downloaded from the cloud computer and displays the list on the display unit 20 (S102).

Then, the application download control unit 502 determines whether or not the application is selected by the user in the list of applications displayed on the display unit 20 (S103). If the application download control unit 502 determines that no application has been selected (NO in S103), the application download control unit 502 instructs the display unit 20 to continue displaying a list of applications (S102).

On the other hand, when the application download control unit 502 determines that an application has been selected (YES in S103), the application download control unit 502 sends the identification information (eg, application name, application identification number, etc.) of the selected application via the communication control unit 501. To the communication unit 10. Then, the communication unit 10 downloads the selected application from the cloud computer, and the application download control unit 502 adds a management number (ID) for the downloaded application to the downloaded application, and stores it in the storage unit 40. Store in the download application storage unit 402 (S104).

Next, the discrimination information update unit 503 associates the application name of the downloaded application with the management number (ID) for the downloaded application and the type (here, “DL” indicating the downloaded application). In addition, in addition to the application discrimination information management table T1 stored in the management table storage unit 403, the management table (T1) is updated (S105).

Then, the communication control unit 501 determines whether or not to end the connection to the cloud computer (S106). In the case of ending (YES in S106), the communication control unit 501 instructs the communication unit 10 to disconnect the connection to the cloud computer (S107). On the other hand, if not finished (NO in S106), the communication control unit 501 instructs the display unit 20 to continue displaying the application list on the display unit 20 (S102).

(Application restriction process flow)
Next, the flow of application restriction processing in the mobile phone 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of processing for terminating (limiting) an application in the mobile phone 1.

First, the application control unit 504 activates an application based on a user instruction. Even if there is no user instruction, for example, when “background data communication permission” and “automatic synchronization permission” are set in advance by the user, a request for automatic synchronization in which an application automatically communicates with the server. When the control unit 50 detects the signal, the application is automatically activated.

Here, “background data communication permission” is a setting item indicating that communication in the background is permitted for an application that has moved to the background. Further, “automatic synchronization permission” is a service in which data for users is updated on the server independently of the mobile phone 1 (specifically, various services using an account (for example, a telephone book, Gmail (registration)). Trademark), Picasa (registered trademark), calendar, etc.))) is a setting item indicating that it is permitted to automatically update (synchronize) data.

It should be noted that both “Background data communication permission” and “Automatic synchronization permission” need to be set in order to perform automatic synchronization for the various services of the above account. In other words, if both "Background data communication permission" and "Automatic synchronization permission" are set, the application will be automatically launched in the background (automatically) to communicate with the server. There is.

As shown in FIG. 4, the application determination unit 505 monitors in real time whether or not the application is activated (S201). Specifically, when the application control unit 504 starts the application, the application control unit 504 notifies the application determination unit 505 of an application management number (ID) and information indicating that the application has been started. Then, when receiving a notification that the application has been activated from the application control unit 504, the application determination unit 505 determines that the application has been activated, and has not received a notification that the application has been activated. In this case, it is determined that the application is not activated.

If the application determination unit 505 determines that the application is not activated (NO in S201), it continues to monitor the activation of the application (S201).

On the other hand, when the application determination unit 505 determines that the application is activated (YES in S201), the battery remaining amount measuring unit 60 acquires the remaining battery amount of the mobile phone 1 and stores it in a temporary storage unit (not shown). Store (S202).

Next, the application determination unit 505 determines whether or not the activation of the application is automatic activation (hereinafter referred to as “automatic activation”) (S203).

If the application determination unit 505 determines that it is not automatic activation (NO in S203), it continues to monitor application activation (S201).

On the other hand, when the application determination unit 505 determines that the activation is automatic (YES in S203), the management number (ID) of the application received from the application control unit 504 in the application determination information management table T1 from the management table storage unit 403. ) Is detected (S204), and it is determined whether it is a pre-in app or a download app (S205).

If the application determining unit 505 determines that the activated application is a pre-in application (NO in S205), the application determining unit 505 continues to monitor application activation (S201).

On the other hand, when the application determination unit 505 determines that the activated application is a download application (YES in S205), the control unit 50 determines whether there is a request to end the application (S206).

Here, there are basically the following two types of requests for terminating the application. One is an automatic termination request that automatically terminates the application due to communication termination or timeout. The other is a manual termination request for terminating the application when the user inputs a “clear” key or the like.

When the control unit 50 detects at least one of an automatic termination request or a manual termination request (YES in S206), the application control unit 504 terminates the application (S209; application control step).

On the other hand, when the control unit 50 detects neither an automatic termination request nor a manual termination request (NO in S206), the battery state calculation unit 506 calculates the battery reduction rate of the application (S207).

Specifically, the battery state calculation unit 506 uses the timer 70 to determine whether a predetermined time (for example, 60 minutes) has elapsed since the battery remaining amount measurement unit 60 previously measured the battery remaining amount. Judge whether or not.

When the battery state calculation unit 506 determines that a predetermined time (for example, 60 minutes) has elapsed, the battery state calculation unit 506 determines whether the battery remaining amount is stored in a temporary storage unit (not shown). To get. At the same time, the remaining battery level at the present time is measured by the remaining battery level measurement unit 60 and acquired. Then, the battery reduction rate is calculated based on the remaining battery level and the current battery level. Then, the calculated battery decrease rate is transmitted to the condition determination unit 507. Further, the control unit 50 resets the remaining battery level stored in the temporary storage unit (not shown), and uses the remaining battery level measured by the remaining battery level measurement unit 60 as a new remaining battery level. Store in a temporary storage (not shown).

If it is determined that a predetermined time (for example, 60 minutes) has not elapsed, “0” is transmitted to the condition determination unit 507 as the battery reduction rate.

Here, the reason for transmitting “0” as the battery reduction rate is to make sure that the determination result is “NO” in the step (S208) of determining whether or not the battery reduction rate, which will be described later, exceeds a threshold value. Because.

Next, the condition determination unit 507 determines whether or not the battery depletion rate received from the battery state calculation unit 506 has exceeded a predetermined threshold (for example, 5% here) (S208; power consumption). State determination step).

When the condition determination unit 507 determines that the battery reduction rate does not exceed the threshold (5%) (NO in S208), the control unit 50 returns to S206 and determines whether there is a request to end the application. Judgment is made (S206).

On the other hand, when the condition determination unit 507 determines that the battery reduction rate has exceeded the threshold (5%) (YES in S208), the application control unit 504 ends the application (S209).

And the application discrimination | determination part 505 repeatedly monitors in real time whether the application was started (S201).

In the present invention, the conditions for restricting the application are not limited to the contents described in the above embodiment, and for example, there are conditions described in Modifications 1 to 5 below. Modifications 1 to 5 are all the same as those in the above embodiment except for the conditions for limiting the application.

In addition, about the same component as the said embodiment, the same member number is attached | subjected and the description is abbreviate | omitted. In the following modifications, differences from the above-described embodiment will be mainly described, and components that are not particularly described have the same configurations and functions as those of the above-described embodiment.

[Modification 1]
In this modification, the condition for limiting the application is when the average current consumption of the application in operation exceeds a predetermined threshold.

Specifically, the battery state calculation unit 506 calculates the average current consumption of the application in operation. Then, the calculated average current consumption is transmitted to the condition determination unit 507.

Here, as a method of calculating the average current consumption, for example, the timer 70 notifies the battery remaining amount measuring unit 60 every 10 minutes. Then, when the battery remaining amount measuring unit 60 receives the notification from the timer 70, the battery remaining amount measuring unit 60 measures the battery remaining amount and notifies the battery state calculating unit 506 of it. The battery state calculation unit 506 calculates the difference between the remaining battery levels received twice before and after (that is, the current consumption for 10 minutes, hereinafter referred to as “current consumption”). Then, the battery state calculation unit 506 uses the calculation result of the current consumption for a predetermined number of times (for example, 6 times) (for example, divides the total of the 6 times of current consumption by 6) every 10 minutes. The average current consumption is calculated. As described above, the battery state calculation unit 506 repeats every 10 minutes and sets the average consumption current every 10 minutes calculated at that time as the average consumption current at that time.

Next, the condition determination unit 507 determines whether or not the average consumption current received from the battery state calculation unit 506 exceeds a predetermined threshold (for example, 100 mA).

When the condition determination unit 507 determines that the average current consumption has exceeded the threshold (100 mA), the application control unit 504 ends the application.

It should be noted that the condition for limiting the application in the present invention is not limited to using the average current consumption of the operating application, and for example, the current consumption of the operating application at that time may be used.

[Modification 2]
In the present modification, the condition for limiting the application is when the time during which the same application continuously operates in the mobile phone 1 exceeds a predetermined threshold.

Specifically, the condition determination unit 507 acquires the time during which the application is operating (hereinafter referred to as “operation time”) from the timer 70 in the mobile phone 1. Then, it is determined whether or not the acquired operation time exceeds a predetermined threshold (for example, 2 hours).

When the condition determination unit 507 determines that the operation time has exceeded the threshold (2 hours), the application control unit 504 ends the application.

[Modification 3]
In the present modification, the condition for restricting the application is that the current consumption within the time, which is the current consumed by the operating application within a predetermined time (for example, 1 hour) in the mobile phone 1, This is a case where a predetermined threshold is exceeded.

Specifically, the battery state calculation unit 506 calculates the current consumption (time consumption current) within a certain time (for example, 1 hour) in the mobile phone 1 via the battery remaining amount measurement unit 60 and the timer 70. calculate. Then, the calculated result is transmitted to the condition determining unit 507 as an in-time consumption current.

Here, as a method for calculating the current consumption during time, for example, the timer 70 notifies the battery remaining amount measuring unit 60 every 60 minutes. Then, when the battery remaining amount measuring unit 60 receives the notification from the timer 70, the battery remaining amount measuring unit 60 measures the battery remaining amount and notifies the battery state calculating unit 506 of it. The battery state calculation unit 506 calculates the difference between the remaining battery levels (that is, current consumption during time) received twice before and after. As described above, the battery remaining amount calculation unit 506 repeats every 60 minutes, and uses the current consumption within time calculated at that time as the current consumption during time.

Next, the condition determination unit 507 determines whether or not the in-time consumption current received from the battery state calculation unit 506 exceeds a predetermined threshold (for example, 100 mAh).

When the condition determination unit 507 determines that the current consumption in time exceeds the threshold value (100 mAh), the application control unit 504 ends the application.

It should be noted that the value measured within a certain time is not limited to the current consumption, and the number of activations within a certain time or the number of downloads within a certain time may be used.

[Modification 4]
In the present modification, the condition for restricting the application is that the application that is operating on the mobile phone 1 is downloaded by the user free of charge.

Specifically, the condition determination unit 507 determines whether or not the application currently operating is downloaded for free by the user.

When the condition determination unit 507 determines that the application has been downloaded free of charge, the application control unit 504 ends the application.

If the condition determination unit 507 determines that the application has been downloaded for a fee, the condition determination unit 507 may confirm with the user whether or not to terminate the application by displaying a PopUp screen.

[Modification 5]
In the present modification, the condition for restricting the application is a case where the past usage count of the operating application in the mobile phone 1 is less than a predetermined threshold.

Specifically, the mobile phone 1 further includes a counter for counting the number of times the application is activated. The application use count (startup count) is added by this counter and stored in the storage unit 40.

When the application is activated, the condition determination unit 507 acquires the usage count (startup count) stored in the storage unit 40 as the past usage count, and the acquired past usage count is determined in advance. It is determined whether or not it is less than a threshold value (here, for example, 5 times).

When the condition determination unit 507 determines that the past usage count is less than the threshold value (5), the application control unit 504 ends the application. Note that the activation at this time may be configured to count or may not be counted.

[Modification 6]
In the present modification, the conditions for restricting the application are any of N (from N to a positive integer, for example, 5) from the one that consumes a large amount of current in the mobile phone 1. This is a case where a predetermined threshold value (here, for example, 100 mA) is exceeded.

That is, assume that one application is started multiple times. Regardless of the operation time, N (top N) are selected in descending order from the current consumed from the start to the end in each operation of the application, and any of the top N is selected by the above threshold ( For example, if it exceeds 100 mA), the application is terminated.

Specifically, the battery state calculation unit 506 calculates the current consumption once from the start to the end for each application. The calculated result is stored in the storage unit 40 for each application.

Then, when the application is activated, the condition determination unit 507 acquires the result calculated so far for the application, that is, the current consumption for each activation so far, from the storage unit 40. When the number of acquired results is N or more, the top N are selected in descending order of current consumption, and it is determined whether or not any of the top N exceeds a predetermined threshold (for example, 100 mA).

When the condition determination unit 507 determines that any of the top N values exceeds the threshold value (for example, 100 mA), the application control unit 504 ends the application.

[Others]
The present invention can be particularly suitably used for a mobile phone employing an Android (registered trademark) OS.

A mobile phone adopting an Android (registered trademark) OS has an excellent feature compared to other mobile phones, in that a user can freely create an application and the user can freely download the application. Users can download and enjoy applications from the Android Market. Here, the Android market is a distribution service for application software for mobile phones, operated by Google Inc. in the United States. In the Android Market, application software data that runs on a mobile phone equipped with an Android (registered trademark) OS of Google Inc. can be downloaded for a fee or free of charge.

In addition, a mobile phone adopting an Android (registered trademark) OS can be set to “background data communication permission” and “automatic synchronization permission”. This is because when using software such as Gmail (registered trademark) or calendar, there is a user's need to automatically communicate with a server and automatically update data.

However, many downloaded applications are not created in consideration of current consumption, and there are many applications that have a function of automatically communicating with the server. Therefore, if the above-mentioned “background data communication permission” and “automatic synchronization permission” are set, the downloaded applications are launched in the background without the user's knowledge and communicate with the server. There are things to do. Therefore, the battery may be depleted or run out without the user's knowledge.

Therefore, it is necessary to satisfy the above needs of the user and prevent the battery from running out without the user's knowledge.

When the application is automatically started in the background, the remaining battery level is reduced by the operation of the application (for example, communication with the server). Therefore, in this embodiment, when the battery depletion rate, which is the rate at which the remaining amount of the battery drops to a certain time, exceeds a predetermined threshold, the application is limited (in this embodiment, the application is terminated). ) Therefore, it is possible to prevent the battery from running out without the user's knowledge.

In addition, the power consumption of the application installed in advance at the time of factory shipment is basically known in advance. Therefore, the consumption current of the downloaded application can be calculated by subtracting the consumption current of the application installed in advance from the total consumption current of the mobile phone. Therefore, it is possible to determine whether the consumption rate of the downloaded application exceeds the threshold value, such as the battery reduction rate or the average consumption current.

In addition, when the application control unit 504 terminates the active application based on an instruction from the condition determination unit 507 (hereinafter referred to as “forced termination”), the number of forced terminations is measured by a counter. And stored in the storage unit 40. Then, when the application is about to start, the control unit 50 deletes the application when it is determined that the number of past forced terminations exceeds a certain threshold (for example, 5 times) for the application. May be.

In addition, information on harmful applications is received from the server, for example, with Gmail (registered trademark), and a search is made among downloaded applications based on the information. It may be judged and deleted automatically.

Also, when deleting an application, the downloaded application is distinguished whether it is a paid application or a free application, and if it is a free application, it may be deleted automatically, but in the case of a paid application Before deleting, it is preferable to ask the user whether or not to delete by displaying a PopUp screen or the like. It should be noted that it is desirable not to delete preinstalled applications.

Also, a reference value may be provided for the remaining battery level, and if the remaining battery level is lower than the reference value, it is permitted to start only the paid application and restrict the free application from starting.

In addition, a time limit for communication may be set according to the user's specification, and even in an application with low current consumption, communication may be limited in that time zone.

Further, a time limit (for example, midnight) may be provided in advance according to the user's specification, and the application may be restricted so that only applications permitted in advance can be activated in the time limit.

Also, when the remaining battery level is low, it may be limited so that only applications permitted in advance can be activated.

The mobile phone according to the present invention may have the following configuration.

The mobile phone according to the present invention determines whether or not the own terminal is in a warning target state that may consume the power stored in the power supply unit that supplies power to the own terminal involuntarily by the user. If the condition determination unit determines that the terminal is in the warning target state, the condition determination unit may include an application control unit that restricts the operation of the application being executed.

Furthermore, the mobile phone according to the present invention includes an application determination unit that determines whether or not the application being executed is automatically activated without depending on a user instruction, and the condition determination unit includes: The determination may be performed only when the application determination unit determines that the application being executed is automatically started.

Furthermore, the mobile phone according to the present invention includes an application determination unit that determines whether or not an application being executed is downloaded according to a user instruction and stored in a download application storage unit, and the condition determination unit includes: The determination may be performed only when the application being executed by the application determination unit is downloaded according to a user instruction and stored in the download application storage unit.

Furthermore, in the mobile phone according to the present invention, the application control unit may end the running application.

Furthermore, in the mobile phone according to the present invention, the application control unit may delete the application being executed from the download application storage unit that stores the application.

Furthermore, the mobile phone according to the present invention may include a communication unit that communicates with the outside, and the application control unit may prohibit communication via the communication unit by the running application.

Furthermore, in the mobile phone according to the present invention, the application belongs to one of a plurality of types, and the application control unit restricts the operation of the application according to the type to which the application being executed belongs. May be.

Further, in the mobile phone according to the present invention, the application being executed is one in which the terminal is automatically started regardless of the user's instruction, and is executed without displaying a screen at the time of execution in the background. It may be.

Furthermore, in the mobile phone according to the present invention, when the condition determining unit determines that the own terminal is in the warning target state when the consumption state of the power stored in the power supply unit in a predetermined time becomes a predetermined state. It may be determined.

[Supplement]
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope shown in the claims, and embodiments obtained by appropriately combining technical means disclosed in different embodiments. Is also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

Finally, each block of the mobile phone 1, in particular, the control unit 50 may be configured by hardware logic, or may be realized by software using a CPU as follows.

That is, the mobile phone 1 includes a storage device (recording device) such as a CPU that executes instructions of a control program that realizes each function, a ROM that stores the program, a RAM that expands the program, a memory that stores the program and various data, and the like. Medium). An object of the present invention is to provide a recording medium on which a program code (execution format program, intermediate code program, source program) of a control program for the mobile phone 1 which is software for realizing the above-described functions is recorded so as to be readable by a computer. This can also be achieved by supplying the mobile phone 1 and reading and executing the program code recorded on the recording medium by the computer (or CPU or MPU).

Examples of the recording medium include tapes such as magnetic tapes and cassette tapes, magnetic disks such as floppy (registered trademark) disks / hard disks, and disks including optical disks such as CD-ROM / MO / MD / DVD / CD-R. Card system such as IC card, IC card (including memory card) / optical card, or semiconductor memory system such as mask ROM / EPROM / EEPROM / flash ROM.

Alternatively, the mobile phone 1 may be configured to be connectable to a communication network, and the program code may be supplied via the communication network. The communication network is not particularly limited. For example, the Internet, intranet, extranet, LAN, ISDN, VAN, CATV communication network, virtual private network, telephone line network, mobile communication network, satellite communication. A net or the like is available. Also, the transmission medium constituting the communication network is not particularly limited. For example, even in the case of wired such as IEEE 1394, USB, power line carrier, cable TV line, telephone line, ADSL line, etc., infrared rays such as IrDA and remote control, Bluetooth ( (Registered trademark), 802.11 wireless, HDR, mobile phone network, satellite line, terrestrial digital network, and the like can also be used. The present invention can also be realized in the form of a computer data signal embedded in a carrier wave in which the program code is embodied by electronic transmission.

Also, the information terminal (mobile phone) according to the present invention will be supplemented below.

The information terminal according to the present invention is an information terminal that executes an application, and in a warning target state that may unintentionally consume power stored in a power supply unit that supplies power to the terminal itself. Power consumption state determining means for determining whether or not the own terminal is present, and application control means for restricting the operation of the application being executed when the power consumption state determining means determines that the own terminal is in the warning target state It is characterized by providing these.

Further, the information terminal according to the present invention includes an automatic activation determining unit that determines whether or not the application being executed is automatically activated regardless of a user instruction, and the power consumption state The determination means is characterized in that the determination is performed only when the automatic start determination means determines that the application being executed is automatically started.

According to the above configuration, the power consumption state determination unit can perform the determination for only the application that is automatically started. That is, it is not necessary to perform the above determination for an application activated by a user operation.

An application that may consume the power unintentionally by the user is started without permission from the user. Therefore, the above determination may be performed only for applications that are launched without the user's knowledge.

Therefore, in addition to being able to prevent the power from suddenly decreasing or disappearing without the user's knowledge, the load on the information terminal can be determined only by automatically starting applications. As a result, the processing speed can be improved and power consumption can be saved.

Furthermore, the information terminal according to the present invention further comprises download determining means for determining whether or not the running application is downloaded according to a user instruction and stored in the storage unit, and the power consumption state determining means includes: The above-described determination is performed only when the application being executed by the download determination unit is downloaded in accordance with a user instruction and stored in the storage unit.

According to the above configuration, the power consumption state determination unit can perform the determination for only the application to be downloaded. That is, it is not necessary to perform the above determination for an application that is already installed in the information terminal at the time of shipment.

-Applications installed in advance at the time of shipment from the factory are basically created in consideration of power consumption. However, not all applications downloaded by users according to their personal preferences are created with consideration of power consumption. Some applications consume large amounts of power or without the user's knowledge. There are many things that start without permission or communicate without permission.

Therefore, when the above determination is performed only for downloaded applications, it is possible to maintain the effect that the power can be prevented from suddenly decreasing or disappearing without much deterioration of the determination accuracy. be able to.

Further, since the number of judgment objects is further reduced, the load on the information terminal can be further reduced, the processing speed can be improved, and the power consumption can be saved.

Furthermore, the information terminal according to the present invention is characterized in that the application control means terminates the running application.

According to the above configuration, when the terminal is in a warning target state that may unintentionally consume the power stored in the power supply unit, the running application can be terminated.

Therefore, by forcibly terminating the application, it is possible to maintain power without consuming a large amount of power. Therefore, it is possible to improve the holding power of the power supply unit, and it is possible to prevent the power from being suddenly reduced or lost without the user's knowledge.

Furthermore, the information terminal according to the present invention is characterized in that the application control means deletes the running application from the storage unit storing the application.

According to the above configuration, in addition to terminating the running application when the terminal is in a warning target state that may unintentionally consume the power stored in the power supply unit. The running application can be deleted.

Therefore, by deleting the above application, it is possible to completely prevent the application from adversely affecting the terminal itself and to further increase the power holding power of the power supply unit.

Furthermore, the information terminal according to the present invention includes a communication unit that communicates with the outside, and the application control unit prohibits communication through the communication unit by the application being executed.

According to the above configuration, when the running application is an application that communicates with an external device or the like, the warning target state that may consume the power stored in the power supply unit involuntarily by the user is automatically set. When there is a terminal, communication by the running application can be prohibited.

When an application communicates with an external device or the like, it often consumes a large amount of power. Therefore, if the terminal is in a warning target state that may consume the power stored in the power supply unit unintentionally, simply prohibiting communication by the running application, You can improve your life. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the power from being suddenly reduced or lost without the user's knowledge and to continuously use the application being executed by the user.

For example, for an application that can play music and can automatically update data such as information related to music from a server or the like, when the user uses the application, the application enters the warning target state. If there is a local terminal, the application can prohibit communication with the server and restrict data updates, improving the power supply of the power supply unit and allowing the user to continue using the application without any problems. it can.

Further, in the information terminal according to the present invention, the application belongs to any one of a plurality of types, and the application control unit limits the operation of the application according to the type to which the application being executed belongs. It is characterized by that.

According to the above configuration, the operation of the application can be further restricted according to the type of application being executed (for example, paid application / free application). For example, in the above information terminal, when the terminal is in a warning target state that may consume the power stored in the power supply unit involuntarily by the user, the application is limited depending on the type of application being executed. be able to. Specifically, when the application being executed is a pay application, the application is terminated. On the other hand, when the application being executed is a free application, the application can be deleted from the storage unit after the application is terminated. In other words, it can be restricted separately according to the type of application.

Therefore, since the restrictions on each running application can be set in detail, it is possible to prevent the power from suddenly decreasing or disappearing without the user's knowledge, and to restrict the running application appropriately. It can be applied, and there is an effect that unnecessary restrictions and erroneous restrictions can be suppressed.

Furthermore, in the information terminal according to the present invention, the application being executed is one in which the terminal is automatically activated regardless of the user's instruction, and is executed without displaying a screen at the time of execution in the background. It is characterized by being.

According to the above configuration, the application being executed is automatically executed in the background and cannot be confirmed directly on the screen. In this case, by notifying the user of the power consumption state notification information, it is possible to particularly effectively prevent the power from rapidly decreasing or disappearing without the user's knowledge.

Furthermore, in the information terminal according to the present invention, the power consumption state determining means is configured such that when the consumption state of the power accumulated in the power supply unit for a predetermined time becomes a predetermined state, the terminal enters the warning target state. It is characterized by determining that there is.

According to the above configuration, it is further possible to determine whether or not the terminal is in the warning target state according to the power consumption state during a predetermined time.

Therefore, it is possible to estimate the future consumption status according to the power consumption status within a predetermined time. Therefore, it is possible to quickly determine whether or not the terminal is in the warning target state, and can notify the user before a large amount of power is consumed. Therefore, there is an effect that it is possible to prevent power from being suddenly reduced or lost without the user's knowledge.

The present invention can be used for information terminals. In particular, it can be suitably used for an information terminal that executes various applications.

1 Mobile phone (information terminal)
10 communication unit 80 power supply unit 402 download application storage unit (storage unit)
504 Application control unit (application control means)
505 Application discrimination unit (automatic start discrimination means, download discrimination means)
507 Condition determining unit (power consumption state determining means)
S208 Power consumption state determination step S209 Application control step

Claims

An information terminal that executes an application,
A power consumption state determining means for determining whether or not the own terminal is in a warning target state that may unintentionally consume the power stored in the power supply unit that supplies power to the own terminal;
An information terminal comprising: application control means for restricting operation of an application being executed when the power consumption state determination means determines that the terminal is in the warning target state.
An automatic activation determining means for determining whether or not the application being executed is one in which the terminal is automatically activated without being instructed by the user;
The information according to claim 1, wherein the power consumption state determination unit performs the determination only when the automatic start determination unit determines that the application being executed is automatically started. Terminal.
Download determination means for determining whether the application being executed is downloaded according to a user instruction and stored in the storage unit;
The power consumption state determination unit performs the determination only when an application being executed by the download determination unit is downloaded according to a user instruction and stored in a storage unit. Information terminal described in 1.
The information terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the application control means terminates the application being executed.
5. The information terminal according to claim 4, wherein the application control means deletes the running application from the storage unit storing the application.
It has a communication unit that communicates with the outside,
The information terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the application control unit prohibits communication through the communication unit by the application being executed.
The application belongs to one of a plurality of types,
The information terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the application control unit restricts an operation of the application according to a type to which the application being executed belongs.
2. The application being executed is one in which the terminal is automatically started regardless of a user instruction, and is executed without displaying a screen at the time of execution in the background. 8. The information terminal according to any one of items 7.
The power consumption state determination unit determines that the terminal is in the warning target state when a consumption state of the power stored in the power supply unit in a predetermined time becomes a predetermined state. Item 9. The information terminal according to any one of Items 1 to 8.
A control program for causing a computer to function as the information terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the control program causes the computer to function as each of the above means.
A computer-readable recording medium on which the control program according to claim 10 is recorded.
An information terminal control method for executing an application,
A power consumption state determination step for determining whether or not the own terminal is in a warning target state that may unintentionally consume the power stored in the power supply unit that supplies power to the terminal;
An information terminal control method comprising: an application control step of restricting an operation of an application being executed when it is determined in the power consumption state determination step that the terminal is in the warning target state.