JP2005250550A - Application control device - Google Patents

Abstract

An application control apparatus that smoothly controls execution of a plurality of applications is provided.
An application control apparatus 101 can control and execute any of a plurality of applications 103a, b,..., Z downloaded or installed from the outside by a system unit 102, and an application is active and being executed When another application tries to switch to the active state instead, the other application sends a command indicating that it wants to switch to the active state to the currently active application via the system unit 102. The currently active application that has received the command notifies the user from the output unit 104 whether to save the data and terminate the application or continue the application according to the processing result of the command. As a response Reply to the another application of Xinyuan.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an application control apparatus, and in particular, from a portable or stationary information processing apparatus capable of executing a plurality of applications such as game and mail transmission / reception, broadcast reception, schedule management, and telephone transmission / reception. It is related with the application control apparatus comprised.

  For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-152916 “Information Terminal Device” and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-152916 in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 9-152916, which simultaneously execute a plurality of applications represented by a personal computer due to remarkable technological progress in recent years. As disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 9-179715, “Window Management Device”, it can be realized in small information devices, mobile phone terminals, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), and the like. For example, in recent mobile phone terminals, a form in which a game application is downloaded or installed in a mobile phone terminal and a game is played has become popular. In addition, mobile phone terminals having built-in tuners for analog terrestrial television broadcasting have appeared, and it can be said that mobile phone terminals that receive terrestrial digital broadcasts started at the end of 2003 will be realized in the near future.

In addition, the stationary video game machine is not only for playing games, but also has a CD / DVD playback function and an HDD recorder function equipped with a TV tuner and a hard disk (hereinafter referred to as HDD). Products and all-in-one products that have many functions on a single video game machine are also becoming reality.
JP-A-9-152916 JP-A-9-179715

  In the existing technology, when a user is working by executing a certain application, when the other application is started by a timer or the like, the state of the currently working application is not particularly considered. The newly started application is faithfully started at that timing. Also, in an application that is already running in the background, there is no problem even if it is executed without any concern by the user when it is set to start execution of a certain function at a certain timing. With such a function, the user is not prevented from executing the currently working application, but depending on the application, the currently working application may be affected and the user may be bothered.

  The application control apparatus according to the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and aims to provide the following means. That is, in the application control apparatus according to the present invention, when there is a certain active application that the user is working on, when another application is about to be automatically activated, or is already activated in the background. When a function of an application is about to be executed and becomes an active state, notification information indicating that the function of the other application is about to be activated (that is, a command that requests switching to an active state) An active application that is transmitted to an active application that is currently being executed by a user and that has received the notification information has another application active within the active application depending on the content of the notification information. Is about to be in a state It is presented to the user.

  In addition, depending on the execution status of an active application, it may not be possible to immediately save the state in the middle and exit. Even in such a case, if the time for starting another application is notified in advance as the notification information, the active application continues to operate so that the suspended state can be saved by the time point reached. It is possible to make it. In addition, since a user operating an active application can operate with timing in the application, another application is suddenly started and the application that has been working until now is suddenly started. It is possible to prevent anxiety that data on the way is lost or that a user operation on the application that has been performed until now is suddenly performed on another application.

  According to a first technical means, in an application control apparatus capable of executing a plurality of applications, any of the inactive applications other than the active application currently in execution is activated from the inactive state. A command requesting that the inactive application to be switched to an active state to switch to an active state for the active application that is currently in a running state. Whether the active application that sent and received the command processes the command in its own application and either accepts the command and terminates its own application, or rejects without accepting the command And notifying the user to create a message combined household.

  According to a second technical means, in the application control device according to the first technical means, the active application currently being executed receives the command as a response to the received command. Either the information to end the application itself or the information to reject the command without accepting the command is returned to the inactive application that is the source of the command.

  In the application control apparatus according to the first or second technical means, a third technical means adds the command to information on the command transmitted from the inactive application that is not currently in a running state. ID information that can distinguish the inactive application to be transmitted from other applications is added by a system unit that controls transmission / reception of the command between applications.

  According to a fourth technical means, in the application control device according to the third technical means, the ID information is already added to the information of the command transmitted from the inactive application that is not currently in a running state. If it is, the system unit does not further add ID information of the inactive application that transmitted the command.

  A fifth technical means is the application control apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth technical means, wherein the active application currently being executed receives the command from a plurality of applications. Among the plurality of commands received, when the acceptance process is performed on the first accepted command, prior to terminating the own application, the inactive application that is the transmission source of the first accepted command is sent to the inactive application. On the other hand, after receiving the command, the command received after the received command is retransmitted in the order received without changing the ID information identifying the inactive application of the transmission source. The command that has been received is processed first. Is handed over to the inactive application that is going to switch to the active state, and after the inactive application switches to the active state, the passed commands are processed in the order in which they were retransmitted It is characterized by doing.

  A sixth technical means is the application control apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth technical means, wherein the inactive application to be switched to an active state should be switched to an active state. When the active switching time indicating the time is registered in advance, the command for the active application being executed at a certain predetermined time for each of the inactive applications from the active switching time. And the information of the command includes time information until switching to an active state.

  In a seventh technical means, in the application control apparatus according to any one of the first to sixth technical means, when the application that has received the command accepts the command and terminates the application, the seventh technical means Prior to termination, the current state is automatically saved, and then the application is terminated.

  The eighth technical means is the application control apparatus according to any one of the first to sixth technical means, wherein the application that has received the command accepts the command and terminates the application. Is stored, and the user is inquired whether to terminate the application.

  According to a ninth technical means, in the application control device according to any one of the first to eighth technical means, the application that has received the command pops up and displays the information indicated by the received command on the display unit. It is characterized by.

  According to a tenth technical means, in the application control device according to any one of the first to eighth technical means, the application receiving the command causes the character appearing in the application to be displayed on the display unit on the screen. If possible, the application displays the information indicated by the received command on the display unit as an utterance of the character appearing in the application.

  According to an eleventh technical means, in the application control device according to any one of the first to eighth technical means, the application that receives the command causes the application to display an object of an arbitrary shape on the display unit. If it is possible, the application displays information indicated by the received command as the object displayed on the screen on the display unit of the application.

  In a twelfth technical means, in the application control device according to any one of the first to eighth technical means, if the application that has received the command can arbitrarily change the story of the application, The application changes the story of the application according to the information indicated by the received command.

  In a thirteenth technical means, in the application control device according to any one of the first to eighth technical means, when the application that has received the command can reproduce and output the voice as the application, The application reproduces and outputs the information indicated by the received command as the voice of the application.

  Fourteenth technical means, in the application control device according to any one of the first to eighth technical means, when the application that has received the command has a vibration function to vibrate the application control device, The application causes the application control apparatus to vibrate by operating the vibration function according to the information indicated by the received command.

  According to a fifteenth technical means, in the application control device according to any one of the first to eighth technical means, the application that has received the command performs remote control in accordance with an instruction from a remote controller having a display unit. If it is possible, the application displays information indicated by the received command on the display unit of the remote controller.

  Sixteenth technical means is the application control apparatus according to any one of the first to fifteenth technical means, wherein one of the plurality of applications that can be executed receives a broadcast wave of television or radio. If the broadcast receiving application is a broadcast receiving application, the broadcast receiving application has a function of making a viewing reservation for a program to be broadcast in the future, and broadcasting of the viewing reserved program that has been reserved for viewing starts. When the time is reached, the broadcast receiving application is in an active state when another application is currently in an active state and the other application occupies and uses the display unit for video display. The command to be transmitted to the other application in the file includes the title of the reserved viewing program And it features.

  The seventeenth technical means is the application control apparatus according to the sixteenth technical means, wherein the command to be transmitted to the other application in which the broadcast receiving application is in an active state is broadcasted to the viewing reservation program. The time is included.

  According to an eighteenth technical means, in the application control device according to the sixteenth technical means, a broadcast end of a viewing reservation program is added to the command transmitted to the other application in which the broadcast receiving application is active. The time is included.

  In a nineteenth technical means, in the application control apparatus according to the sixteenth technical means, the broadcast time of the reserved program is added to the command transmitted to the other application in which the broadcast receiving application is active. It includes a length.

  The twentieth technical means is the application control apparatus according to the sixteenth technical means, wherein the command transmitted to the other application in which the broadcast receiving application is active is included in the channel number of the viewing reservation program. It is characterized by including.

  In a twenty-first technical means, in the application control apparatus according to the sixteenth technical means, a broadcast station of a viewing reservation program is included in the command transmitted to the other application in which the broadcast receiving application is active. The name is included.

  In a twenty-second technical means, in the application control device according to the sixteenth technical means, a performer of a scheduled viewing program is added to the command transmitted to the other application in which the broadcast receiving application is active. It includes the name of

  In a twenty-third technical means, in the application control apparatus according to the sixteenth technical means, a genre of a reserved viewing program is added to the command transmitted to the other application in which the broadcast receiving application is active. It is characterized by including.

  According to a twenty-fourth technical means, in the application control device according to the sixteenth technical means, a viewing reservation program is broadcasted to the command transmitted to the other application in which the broadcast receiving application is active. As information indicating the type of broadcast media, broadcast media type information represented by television, radio, and data is included.

  According to a twenty-fifth technical means, in the application control device according to the sixteenth technical means, a viewing reservation program is broadcast in the command transmitted to the other application in which the broadcast receiving application is active. The information indicating the type of broadcasting system includes broadcasting system type information represented by terrestrial digital broadcasting, terrestrial analog broadcasting, and BS / CS broadcasting.

  A twenty-sixth technical means is a mail application in which one of the plurality of applications that can be executed in the application control apparatus according to any one of the first to fifteenth technical means has an electronic mail transmission / reception function. If the email application detects receipt of an email and the other application is currently active, the email application sends to the other application in the active state The command includes information indicating that an e-mail has been received.

  A twenty-seventh technical means is the application control apparatus according to the twenty-sixth technical means, wherein the received electronic mail title is added to the command transmitted to the other application in which the mail application is active. It is characterized by including.

  In a twenty-eighth technical means, in the application control apparatus according to the twenty-sixth technical means, a sender of the received e-mail is sent to the command transmitted to the other application in which the mail application is active. It includes an address.

  In a twenty-ninth technical means, in the application control apparatus according to the twenty-sixth technical means, the text of the received electronic mail is added to the command transmitted to the other application in which the mail application is active. It is characterized by including.

  A thirtieth technical means is the application control apparatus according to the twenty-sixth technical means, wherein, in the command sent to the other application in which the mail application is active, a transmission date and time of the received electronic mail It is characterized by including.

  In a thirty-first technical means, in the application control apparatus according to the twenty-sixth technical means, the size of the received electronic mail is added to the command transmitted to the other application in which the mail application is active. It is characterized by including.

  A thirty-second technical means is the application control apparatus according to the twenty-sixth technical means, wherein the command transmitted to the other application in which the mail application is active is attached to the received e-mail. It contains information on whether or not there is.

  In a thirty-third technical means, in the application control apparatus according to the twenty-sixth technical means, when an attached file is attached to the received e-mail, the other e-mail application is active. The command to be transmitted includes information indicating the type of the attached file attached to the received electronic mail.

  In a case where the application control device described in the twenty-sixth technical means can determine the name of the sender of the e-mail based on the sender address of the received e-mail, The command sent to the other application in an active state includes the name of the sender of the received e-mail.

  A thirty-fifth technical means is the application control apparatus according to the twenty-sixth technical means, wherein an address book group in which the address of the sender of the electronic mail is registered based on the sender address of the received electronic mail. If it can be determined, group information of the address book in which the address of the sender of the received e-mail is registered in the command transmitted to the other application in which the mail application is active It is characterized by including.

  The thirty-sixth technical means is the application control device according to the twenty-sixth technical means, wherein when it is possible to determine that the destination of the received electronic mail includes a destination other than the application control device, the mail The command transmitted to the other application in an active state includes a recipient address indicating a destination other than the application control device of the received e-mail.

  The thirty-seventh technical means is capable of determining in the application control device according to the twenty-sixth technical means that the destination of the received e-mail includes a destination other than the application control device, and If the recipient's name other than the application control device of the e-mail can be determined based on the destination other than the application control device, the e-mail application is transmitted to the other application in an active state The command includes the name of the recipient other than the application control device of the received electronic mail.

  According to a thirty-eighth technical means, in the application control apparatus according to any one of the first to fifteenth technical means, one of the plurality of applications that can be executed can transmit and receive a telephone call. In the case of a phone application, when the phone application detects an incoming phone call, the phone application is in an active state with respect to the other application in the active state. The command to be transmitted includes information indicating that an incoming call has been received.

  A thirty-ninth technical means is the application control apparatus according to the thirty-eighth technical means, wherein in the command transmitted to the other application in which the telephone application is active, the caller ID of the incoming telephone is included. It is characterized by including.

  In a case where the application control device according to the thirty-eighth technical means can determine the name of the caller of the telephone based on the telephone number of the caller of the incoming call, the forty technical means The command transmitted to the other application in an active state includes the name of the caller of the incoming call.

  Forty-first technical means is the application control apparatus according to the thirty-eighth technical means, wherein the group name of the telephone directory in which the caller of the telephone is registered is determined based on the telephone number of the caller of the incoming call. If possible, the command to be transmitted to the other application in which the telephone application is active includes group information of the telephone book in which a caller of an incoming call is registered. And

  In a case where the application control device according to the thirty-eighth technical means can determine the calling area of the caller of the incoming call based on the telephone number of the caller of the incoming call, The command to be transmitted to the other application in which the telephone application is active includes the calling area of the caller of the incoming call.

  Forty-third technical means, in the application control apparatus according to the thirty-eighth technical means, determines a call transmission medium represented by a mobile phone or PHS based on the telephone number of the caller of the incoming call. The command transmitted to the other application in which the telephone application is in an active state includes the call origination medium of the incoming telephone.

  Forty-fourth technical means is the application control apparatus according to any one of the first to fifteenth technical means, wherein one of the plurality of applications that can be executed is a schedule registered by a schedule reminder function. In the case of a schedule application that can be managed, when the notification function based on the reminder function operates based on the schedule registered by the schedule application, the schedule application is activated when another application is currently active. The application includes the title information of the registered schedule in the command transmitted to the other application in the active state.

  Forty-fifth technical means is the application control apparatus according to the forty-fourth technical means, wherein the schedule action registered in the command transmitted to the other application in which the schedule application is active is added. It includes a start time.

  Forty-sixth technical means, in the application control apparatus according to the forty-fourth technical means, details of the schedule registered in the command transmitted to the other application in which the schedule application is active It is characterized by including.

  In a 47th technical means, in the application control apparatus according to the 44th technical means, an action of the registered schedule is included in the command transmitted to the other application in which the schedule application is active. Includes location information to be implemented.

  Forty-eighth technical means is the application control apparatus according to the forty-fourth technical means, wherein the schedule action registered in the command transmitted to the other application in which the schedule application is active It includes time information indicating how long before the start time is notified to the user in advance

  Forty-ninth technical means is the application control apparatus according to any one of the first to fifteenth technical means, wherein one of the plurality of applications that can be executed is connected to a network and chats. The chat application is in an active state when another application is currently active when the chat application detects receipt of a chat via the network. The command transmitted to the another application includes the received chat text.

  According to a 50th technical means, in the application control apparatus according to the 49th technical means, the command transmitted to the other application in which the schedule application is active is included in the received chat partner. It includes a name.

According to the application control apparatus according to the present invention constituted by the technical means as described above, the following effects can be obtained.
That is, when a certain application is being executed in the application control device, it is necessary to terminate the application being executed or switch to an inactive state in order to activate the function of another application by a timer or the like. In some cases, a command (notification information) for requesting activation of the function of another application is notified to the currently executing application in advance, and the executing application that has received the command receives the command. Based on the contents and the status of the application, it is possible to prompt the user to save the data of the application or to switch to the inactive or inactive state. Data storage for the application It takes a long time to, can be prevented the occurrence of situation is can not be carried out smoothly to start the functions of other applications that will be started from now.

  Further, by executing the processing until the running application is terminated as a part of the operation of each of the running applications, it is possible for a user who is working based on the running application. Without giving a sense of incongruity, it is possible to process the command received from another application as part of the operation of the application, save data in the middle of work, and perform end processing.

  The application control apparatus according to the present invention can execute a plurality of applications downloaded from the outside or installed. Here, if any of the applications in the inactive state other than the active application in the currently running state tries to switch from the inactive state to the active state, the above described state of trying to switch to the active state. The inactive application sends a command requesting to switch to the active state to the active application that is currently in the running state.

  The active application that has received the command processes the command in its own application and creates an inquiry message asking whether to accept the command and terminate its own application, or to reject without accepting the command And notify the user. Further, a result obtained as a result of inquiring the user is returned as a response to the inactive application that is the transmission source of the command.

  Suddenly, another application starts up, the active application that is currently running is interrupted, and the data in the middle of the application that has been working until now disappears, It is possible to prevent the occurrence of a situation in which a user operation on the application that has been performed is suddenly performed on another application.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of an application control apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[Schematic configuration]
The application control device according to the present invention is portable or stationary information that can execute a plurality of applications downloaded or installed from the outside, such as game / email transmission / reception, broadcast reception, schedule management, telephone transmission / reception, etc. It is comprised from a processing apparatus. A control block diagram showing an example of the principle configuration of the application control apparatus is shown in FIG.

  1, an application control apparatus 101 displays data of a system unit 102 that activates and executes a plurality of applications 103a, b,..., Z stored in an application storage unit 103, and each application 103a, b,. And an output unit 104 for outputting sound. The output unit 104 may include devices such as a display that is a display unit for displaying a screen and a speaker that outputs sound, or may be only an output terminal for outputting to the display and the speaker. Also, information such as an LED or a vibrator that conveys information to a user who handles the application control apparatus 101 as necessary (for example, an LED that displays a lamp in various states or the application control apparatus 101 itself vibrates. The output unit 104 may also include a vibrator such as a display unit such as a liquid crystal display mounted on a remote control for remote control. The plurality of applications 103a, b,..., Z may be incorporated as functions from the beginning in the application storage unit 103 of the application control apparatus 101, or may be downloaded via a network connection, a CD-ROM, The program may be input from an external memory such as a flash memory and installed.

  The application control apparatus 101 further includes an input unit 105. The input unit 105 serves as an interface for the user to operate the application control apparatus 101, and includes a keyboard, a mouse, a controller, a microphone, and the like. Furthermore, a button part of a remote control, a touch panel, etc. may be included in this input part 105. Furthermore, as long as the application control apparatus 101 has a function of receiving a broadcast wave such as a television or radio, it may be a broadcast data input unit that receives the broadcast wave. However, in the case of a touch panel, the output unit 104 is also used. Some are programmed so that various applications 103a, b,..., Z are executed under the control of the system unit 102 based on the user operation information and other information input from the input unit 105. .

  The application control apparatus 101 further includes a power supply unit 106. The power supply unit 106 may be a battery if the application control apparatus 101 is a portable device, and may have a power input terminal function if it is not portable. The entire application control apparatus 101 is activated by the power obtained from the power supply unit 106.

  The application control apparatus 101 further includes a storage unit 107. The storage unit 107 is used for storing user setting information of the application control apparatus 101 and data of the applications 103a, b,..., Z, and the storage unit 107 is built in the application control apparatus 101. Alternatively, it may be supplied from the outside such as a hard disk HDD or a flash memory card.

[First Embodiment]
Next, an operation when one of the applications 103a, b,..., Z can receive a television or radio broadcast wave will be described.
An application that can receive the broadcast wave (hereinafter referred to as a broadcast reception application) sets a viewing reservation or a recording reservation for a broadcast program to be broadcast in the future according to program information by EPG or time information input from the input unit 105. The setting information (viewing reservation information and recording reservation information) is stored in the storage unit 107.

  It is assumed that the broadcast start time at which the broadcast program reserved for viewing by the user starts now has been reached. The broadcast receiving application checks the viewing reservation information stored in the storage unit 107. When the broadcast start time is reached, the tuner is tuned to the broadcast program reserved for viewing, the broadcast wave is received, and the video and audio of the broadcast program are received. The data is output to the output unit 104 via the system unit 102.

  However, when the broadcast start time is reached, if the user is working by executing another application other than the broadcast reception application, the broadcast reception application suddenly becomes active at an unexpected timing of the user. As a result, the application that the user was working on becomes inactive on the way, which hinders the user's operation. Even if the system unit 102 detects that the broadcast receiving application is activated and informs the user via the output unit 104 of information that another application, that is, the broadcast receiving application will be activated soon, the output unit The information transmission method to 104 is different from the application that the user is currently working on, and is a sudden information transmission from the system unit 102. Therefore, the information is an impression of the application being worked on. Is likely to be far away, which is bothersome for the user.

  A function for solving such a problem will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the first embodiment of the application control apparatus according to the present invention.

  First, it is confirmed whether or not there is a broadcast program reserved for viewing first (step S201). If there is no broadcast program reserved for viewing (NO in step S201), the function of the broadcast receiving application is not implemented. If there is a broadcast program reserved for viewing (YES in step S201), it is confirmed whether the current time is approaching the broadcast start time of the program reserved for viewing (step S202). If there is still sufficient time until the broadcast starts (NO in step S202), the system waits until the broadcast start time is approached. At this time, the time when the time has approached the broadcast start time may be just before the start of the broadcast, but it may be, for example, 5 minutes or 3 minutes before the broadcast start time. When the broadcast start time is approached (YES in step S202), it is confirmed whether the broadcast receiving application is currently in an active state (step S203).

  When the broadcast receiving application is already active (NO in step S203), since the user has already performed the broadcast receiving operation, the viewing reservation program is received as it is, and the video and audio are output to the output unit 104. The data is output and presented to the user (step S206).

  On the other hand, when the broadcast receiving application is not in an active state (YES in step S203), another application is currently in an active state, and the other application occupies and uses the display unit for video display. In some cases, the application cannot be executed at the same time as the broadcast receiving application (including a situation in which it is necessary to select one on the screen even if it can be physically displayed). In such a case, if the broadcast receiving application is activated as it is, it may adversely affect the operation of another application that the user is currently working on. For this reason, first, for example, a command for requesting switching to the active state as shown in FIG. 3 (that is, a broadcast reception application command) is passed through the system unit 102 to the active application that the user is currently working on. It transmits to (step S204).

  Here, FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an example of the broadcast reception application command in the first embodiment of the application control apparatus according to the present invention, and the broadcast reception application command example of FIG. 3 will be described below. Note that FIG. 3 is merely an example of the broadcast reception application command, and the broadcast reception application command may not include all the information illustrated in FIG. 3. You may make it provide.

  In the broadcast reception application command of FIG. 3, the program title 301 is the title of a program that has been reserved for viewing and starts to be received from now on, and is acquired from the EPG information at the time of reservation or when the viewing reservation is set by the user Is stored in the storage unit 107, or in some cases, there may be no title information left unset.

  The broadcast start time 302 indicates the broadcast start time of a program reserved for viewing, and a format such as “HH: MM: SS (H is hours, M is minutes, and S is seconds)” is considered. In addition to this, various formats can be considered including date. In the present invention, any format may be used, and no further description will be made.

Broadcast end time 303 indicates the broadcast end time of the program reserved for viewing. A format similar to the broadcast start time 302 is considered appropriate, but the format is not mentioned here.
The broadcast time length 304 indicates the broadcast time length of the program reserved for viewing. This value is also obtained from the difference between the broadcast start time 302 and the broadcast end time 303.

  A channel number 305 indicates a channel number to be selected for a broadcast reserved for viewing. This channel number 305 may be set automatically by the application control apparatus 101 or may be customized by the user.

  The broadcast station name 306 is a broadcast station name of a program reserved for viewing, and may be acquired from EPG information at the time of reservation or input when a viewing reservation is set by a user. Alternatively, there may be a case where there is no broadcasting station name information that is not set.

  The performer name 307 indicates the name of the main performer who appears in the program reserved for viewing, and is obtained when EPG information is acquired at the time of reservation or when viewing reservation is set by the user There is. Alternatively, there may be a case in which there is no performer name information that is not set.

  The genre 308 indicates the genre of a program reserved for viewing, and may be acquired from EPG information at the time of reservation or input when a viewing reservation is set by a user. Alternatively, there may be a case where there is no genre information without setting.

  The broadcast media type 309 is broadcast media type information indicating the type of broadcast media of the program reserved for viewing, and may be television broadcast, radio broadcast, data broadcast, etc. The broadcast media type that can be received by the broadcast receiving application is There are many other types of broadcast media, and I will not mention them any more here.

  The broadcast system 310 is broadcast system type information indicating the type of broadcast system of a program reserved for viewing, and terrestrial digital broadcast, terrestrial analog broadcast, BS broadcast, CS broadcast, and the like can be considered. Various types of broadcasting systems are conceivable in addition to this, and here, the type is not mentioned any further.

  In general, one or a set of command information among various command information as exemplified in the broadcast reception application command of FIG. 3 is sent to the active application via the system unit 102. At this time, the system unit 102 adds ID information indicating from which application the command is transmitted to the command information and transmits the command information. This ID information is unique information that can be arbitrarily set by the system unit 102 so that the command transmission source application can be distinguished from other applications, and the type of the transmission source application can also be specified. is there.

  Each of the applications 103a, b,..., Z executed on the system unit 102 does not need to be particularly concerned with what value the ID information of the own application is, and can send and receive commands between the applications. The ID information is managed only by the controlling system unit 102, and is added and referenced by the system unit 102 when a command is transmitted from the application. If ID information has already been added to the command transmitted from the application, the system unit 102 does not add additional ID information and uses the already added ID information. Controls the sending and receiving of commands.

  When the active application receives the broadcast reception application command shown in FIG. 3 from the system unit 102, the active application processes the broadcast reception application command in its own application and makes a reservation for viewing based on the content of the broadcast reception application command. It tries to tell the user that the program will start so as not to disturb the work of the application.

  When the active application that has received the broadcast reception application command can save and terminate the current state at the timing when the broadcast reception application command is received, a pop-up message is displayed on the display unit of the output unit 104. For example, an inquiry message “A 6Ch program“ Baseball ”starts at 19:30. Do you want to save the current state and exit the application?” Is displayed in a pop-up on the display unit of the output unit 104. To inquire the user.

  As the timing for displaying the inquiry message, a pop-up can be displayed at an arbitrary position at an appropriate timing depending on the state of the active application, so that the user's work that has been performed so far is suddenly interrupted. In addition, it is possible to avoid making a continuous operation meaningless.

  In addition, when the received command is accepted and the active application is terminated, the current work-in-progress state may be automatically saved prior to termination, or the termination may be performed as in the inquiry message described above. In this case, the user may be inquired whether or not to end after saving the current state.

  A response that the application is terminated in response to the received broadcast reception application command when the user is able to save the state of the work in progress and exit the active application according to the operation result via the user input unit 105 Is returned to the broadcast receiving application via the system unit 102. Alternatively, when the user wants to continue the application that is currently working rather than watching the program that the user has reserved, the operation of the currently active application is determined based on the operation result via the input unit 105 of the user. Is sent back to the broadcast receiving application via the system unit 102. At this time, the currently active application adds the ID information indicating the transmission source application added to the received broadcast reception application command as it is and returns it to the system unit 102. The system unit 102 checks the ID information added to the returned response, and sends the response to the broadcast reception application that is the transmission source of the broadcast reception application command.

  When a response indicating that the broadcast receiving application may be activated and broadcast reception may be started by receiving a response sent back via the system unit 102 (YES in step 205), the viewing reservation program is received and The video and audio are presented to the output unit 104 (step S206). On the other hand, when a response to continue the work of the active application currently being worked on is received (NO in step S205), the viewing reservation program is not received without switching the broadcast receiving application to the active state.

  In the above-described embodiment, the broadcast receiving application transmits the broadcast receiving application command as described above to the active application with some time margin, such as 5 minutes before the start of broadcasting of the viewing reservation program or 3 minutes before the broadcast. Even if the active application that received the command becomes inactive immediately, or if it is an application that can immediately save and exit the current state of the active application Until the broadcast start time indicated in the received broadcast reception application command, the broadcast starts without particularly presenting a message asking the user whether or not to switch the currently active application. It is also possible to start showing to the user just before the time. That.

  Conversely, if an active application saves data in that state and takes some time to exit or become inactive, the user needs to consider the time required. It is sufficient to make a presentation. Since the start time for starting such state storage and termination processing varies depending on the characteristics of the application, the determination of the start time of state storage and termination processing is made by each application that has received a command such as a broadcast reception application command. Thus, it is possible to prevent the application from being terminated unnecessarily quickly, and the user can work on the application more comfortably.

  When the broadcast receiving application sends a broadcast receiving application command with some time margin, such as 5 minutes or 3 minutes before the start of viewing reservation program broadcast, the broadcast start to be switched to the active state is started. A certain time margin from the active switching time indicating the time is a predetermined time that can be arbitrarily set for each application. In the broadcast receiving application, for example, 5 minutes or 3 minutes as described above. It is. The time information related to the predetermined fixed time is further set in the broadcast reception application command shown in FIG. 3, and the broadcast reception application command in which the time information is set is indicated by the time information. It is transmitted in advance with a margin for time.

  In the above-mentioned embodiment, as a pop-up message to the user, “6Ch program“ baseball ”starts from 19:30. Do you want to save the current state and exit the application?” Although the inquiry message is created using the broadcast start time 302, the channel number 305, and the program title 301 in FIG. 3, which information in the received command is used to present to the user, The timing of the presentation is completely left to the application that received the command. Thus, even for a user operating an active application, it is possible to provide information without a sense of incongruity.

  For example, when the broadcast end time 303 is used, it is possible to present that “work will be interrupted, but see you again at 20:30”. In addition, when the broadcast time length 304 is used, it is possible to create a message that “work will be interrupted, but see you one hour later”. As for other information of the broadcast reception application command, for example, the broadcast station name 306, the performer name 307, the genre 308, the broadcast media type 309, and the broadcast method 310 are used. It is possible to create and present a sentence that says “It ’s Broadcast Taro”. The phrase that is output to the output unit 104 and presented to the user can be freely set according to the image created by the active application that has received the broadcast reception application command, so that the information is more comfortable for the user. It is possible to receive.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, an operation when one of the applications 103a, b,..., Z can send and receive e-mails and short messages will be described.
When an application that can send and receive e-mails and short messages (hereinafter referred to as the mail application) is running, check if new mail has arrived by periodically connecting to the mail server, It has a function to wait on the network to receive. In addition, it has a function to create and send mail. Here, when the user creates and sends an email, the email app is likely to be in an active state because it is operated by the user, but on the other hand, to receive an email that is unknown when it arrives. In some cases, you may be waiting in an inactive state.

  Assume that the mail application receives a new mail. The mail application that has received the new mail tries to notify the user that the mail has been received via the output unit 104 or tries to activate the mail application.

  However, when a new mail is received, if the user is working by executing another application other than the mail application, the mail application suddenly becomes active or pops up at an unexpected timing of the user. By doing so, the operation is delayed, which hinders the user's operation.

  A function for solving such a problem will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the second embodiment of the application control apparatus according to the present invention.

  First, it is checked whether or not a new mail has been received (step S401). If there is no new mail (NO in step S401), the function of this mail application is not performed. If there is a new mail (YES in step S401), it is checked whether the mail application is currently active (step S402). When the mail application is already active (NO in step S402), since the user has already operated the mail application, the fact that a new mail has been received is immediately output to the output unit 104 and presented to the user. (Step S405).

  On the other hand, when the mail application is not active (YES in step S402), if the mail application is activated as it is, the user may adversely affect the operation of another application currently being worked on. A command as shown (that is, a mail application command) is transmitted to the active application that the user is currently working on via the system unit 102 (step S403).

  Here, FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a mail application command in the second embodiment of the application control apparatus according to the present invention, and the mail application command example of FIG. 5 will be described below. Note that FIG. 5 is merely an example of the mail application command, and the mail application command may not include all the information illustrated in FIG. 5, and may include other information. It doesn't matter if you do.

  In the mail application command of FIG. 5, the reception status 501 indicates an event that a new mail has been received, and it can be seen that at least a new mail has been received by the mail application command.

A title 502 indicates a subject (title) of the received new mail.
The sender address 503 indicates the sender address of the received new mail.
A text 504 indicates the text of the mail. If the text is long, it may be part of it.
The transmission date and time 505 indicates the date and time when a new mail is transmitted.
A size 506 indicates the data size of the entire new mail.

The attached file presence / absence 507 indicates whether an attached file is attached to the received new mail.
The attached file type 508 indicates the file type of the attached file when the attached file is attached to the received new mail.

When the sender name of the newly arrived mail is known from the sender address of the received new mail and the data in the mail address book stored in the mail application or the application control device 101, the sender name 509 Indicates the name of the sender of new mail.
If it is possible to determine the group of the mail address book in which the sender address of the new mail is registered based on the sender address of the received new mail, the sender address of the new mail is registered. The mail address book group information may be added to the mail application command shown in FIG.

  The other recipient address 510 indicates a recipient address other than itself when the destination of the received new mail includes a destination other than itself, for example, a destination other than the application control apparatus 101. When there are a plurality of recipient addresses other than yourself, the mail application command format may be a method in which the command is incorporated into each command in succession a plurality of times, or the recipient address is a series of character strings. It is also possible to form a list as a list.

  The other recipient name 511 is obtained from the recipient address other than the received new mail, for example, the recipient address other than the application control apparatus 101 and the mail address book data stored in the mail application or as the application control apparatus 101. When the names of recipients other than themselves are known, the names of other recipients of the new mail are indicated. When there are multiple recipient names other than yourself, the mail application command format may be a method of incorporating the command into each command consecutively multiple times, or the recipient name is a series of character strings. It is also possible to form a list as a list.

  In general, a set of one or a plurality of command information among various command information as exemplified in the mail application command of FIG. 5 is sent to an active application via the system unit 102. The operation of the system unit 102 at this time is the same as that described in the first embodiment.

  When the active application that has received the mail application command is such that a character operated by the user appears, such as a role-playing game, a party in the application that acts together with the character operated by the user One of the people said, “Oh, it seems like I received an email from“ Email Taro ”.“ A weekend trip ”. It seems that an image file is also attached, but I want to read the email? Can be displayed on the screen as a character's remarks to notify the user that mail has been received in the game. That is, using the received mail application command reception status 501, sender name 509, title 502, attached file presence / absence 507, attached file type 508, and body 504, a part of the game can be selected from currently active game applications. As a result, it is possible to notify a participating user of the reception of new mail at an appropriate timing.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the mail application command may include a mail text 504. In such a case, it is possible to read out a new mail in the game and participate in the game. The user can check the contents of the new mail without interrupting the game application, and does not feel bothered to interrupt the game application when a new mail arrives. In other words, when the user is satisfied with the content of the mail application command transmitted to the game application, the user can continue the game without having to activate the mail application.

  When it is not necessary to activate the mail application, the current application continues to work on the mail application from the currently active game application via the system unit 102 as in the first embodiment. A response of “Masu” is returned (NO in step S404). The mail application that has received the response indicating that the current application is to continue work does not switch to the active state and continues to be in the standby state in the background.

  On the other hand, when the user wants to suspend the game and switch the mail app to active and display it, the user makes such a selection via the input unit 105 in the game to save the state during the game. When the active game application can be terminated, a response to terminate the application is returned to the mail application via the system unit 102 in response to the received mail application command. When a response indicating that the mail application may be activated is received by the response sent back through the system unit 102 (YES in step S404), the mail application is activated, and the mail screen is displayed on the output unit 104. It is displayed (step S405).

  In the embodiment described above, a notification that the user has received a new mail within the game application is sent to the reception status 501, title 502, and text 504 shown in FIG. However, since it is possible to present the text, it asks "I want to read?"), Using the sender name 509, the presence / absence of an attached file 507, and the attached file type 508, Although the information is created, which information in the received command is used to present to the user, the timing of the presentation, and the like are the same as in the case described in the first embodiment. It can be handled completely freely by each application. Thus, even for a user operating an active application, it is possible to provide information without a sense of incongruity.

  Other than the information in the mail application command taken up in the above-described example, for example, using the sender address 503, the transmission date and time 505, the size 506, other recipient addresses 510, and other recipient names 511, Mail@abc.ne.jp received an e-mail at 10: 00.mail2@abc.ne.jp and Jiro seem to be sending the same e-mail. You can create a message such as "Let's read it now?"

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, assuming that a character such as a role playing game appears as an active application that the user is currently working on, a message created based on the received mail application command information is In the case where the active application can reproduce and output as voice, the created message is reproduced and output as voice. You may do it.

  Furthermore, if the active application that the user is currently working on is a game in which the user is constantly moving the character, such as a shooting game or an action game, for example, when the mail application command is received, If a pop-up is displayed as an utterance of a certain character, it may interfere with the return to the game. In such a case, if an object of an arbitrary shape can be displayed on the screen of the game, a special object (item) indicating reception of a mail application command such as a treasure box is displayed on the game screen. ) May be displayed on the screen.

  When a certain character appearing in the game touches the object (item) displayed on the screen, a message about the received mail application command is displayed on the screen or a voice is output to the user. For example, it may be possible to confirm that the message is received from the menu when the user determines that the operation of the game has been settled.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the story can be arbitrarily changed and set so that the active application that the user is currently working on can move to the save point so that the situation in the game can be saved. In the case of an application, according to the information of the received command, the story may be appropriately changed based on the status of the application, and the received command information may be stored or processed. . As described above, it is a feature of the present invention that a transmission method to the user can be freely incorporated as a part of the function of the application in an optimum format for each application.

[Third Embodiment]
Next, an operation when one of the applications 103a, 103b,..., Z can transmit / receive a phone call will be described.
When an application that can send and receive telephone calls (hereinafter referred to as a telephone application) is running, it has a function of waiting for an incoming call. Further, when the user makes a call, it has a function of making a call to the telephone number designated by the user. When making a call, since the call is made by user operation, the phone application is likely to be in the active state, but when waiting for an incoming call that does not know when it will occur, it will wait in an inactive state It does not matter.

  Now assume that the phone application detects an incoming call. The phone application that detects the incoming call tries to display it via the output unit 104 to notify the user that the incoming call has arrived, or tries to notify the user by ringing a ring tone, or active Or trying to be in a state.

  However, when a phone call arrives, if the user is working by running another application other than the phone app, the phone app may suddenly become active at the user's unexpected timing. If a ring tone sounds, there is a possibility that the operation of the application that the user is currently working on may be hindered.

  A function for solving such a problem will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the third embodiment of the application control apparatus according to the present invention.

  First, it is checked whether there is an incoming call (step S601). If there is no incoming call (NO in step S601), the function of this telephone application is not implemented. If there is an incoming call (YES in step S601), it is checked whether the telephone application is currently active (step S602). When the telephone application is already active (NO in step S602), since the user is currently operating the telephone application, the fact that there is an incoming telephone call is immediately output to the output unit 104 to the user. Present (step S605).

  On the other hand, when the telephone application is not in an active state (YES in step S602), if the telephone application is made active as it is, the user may adversely affect the operation of another application currently being worked on. A command as shown (that is, a telephone application command) is transmitted to the active application that the user is currently working through the system unit 102 (step S603).

  Here, FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an example of the phone application command in the third embodiment of the application control apparatus according to the present invention. Hereinafter, the example of the phone application command in FIG. 7 will be explained. Note that FIG. 7 is merely an example of a phone application command, and the phone application command may not include all the information illustrated in FIG. 7, and may include other information. It doesn't matter if you do.

In the telephone application command of FIG. 7, the incoming call status 701 indicates an event that a telephone call has been received, and it can be seen that at least a telephone call is being received in the telephone application command.
The caller number 702 indicates the telephone number of the caller of the incoming call.

If the caller name 703 is known from the phone number of the caller of the incoming call and the phone book data stored in the phone application or as the application control device 101, the caller name 703 indicates the incoming call name. Indicates the name of the caller.
If the group of the phone book in which the telephone number of the caller of the incoming call can be determined based on the telephone number of the caller of the incoming call, the telephone number of the caller of the incoming call May be configured by adding the group information of the telephone book to which the telephone number is registered to the telephone application command of FIG.

The calling area 704 indicates a calling area specified from the telephone number of the caller of the incoming call. For example, if the caller's phone number starts with “03”, the calling area is “Tokyo”.
The transmission medium 705 indicates a transmission medium specified from the telephone number of the caller of the incoming call. Here, the transmission medium indicates a medium type of a transmission telephone represented by a mobile phone, a PHS, a fixed telephone or the like. For example, if the telephone number of the caller starts with “090”, the transmission is performed. The medium is a “mobile phone”.

  In general, a set of one or more command information among various command information as exemplified in the telephone application command of FIG. 7 is sent to an active application via the system unit 102. The operation of the system unit 102 at this time is the same as that described in the first embodiment.

The active application that has received the telephone application command tries to convey that the incoming call has been detected by a method that does not give a sense of incongruity to the user who operates the application.
For example, if the user is creating a mail text using the mail application, a specific area on the display screen that does not affect the input of the mail text is secured and ““ Chuo-ku, Tokyo ” It is possible to create and display the message “Please call me from Denden Taro”. That is, a screen area that does not affect the creation of the mail text at an appropriate timing from the currently active mail application using the incoming status 701, the calling area 704, and the caller name 703 of the received telephone application command. By using the message indicating the incoming call on the screen, the user can be notified of the incoming call.

  Here, incoming calls are waiting for the other party to call, so if you respond, you should respond immediately, even if an application other than the phone app is active, the phone app is immediately active It is better to switch to. However, depending on the application you are working on, you may not be able to switch to the phone app and leave it inactive, or you will not be able to immediately save the data you are working on, and your work will be wasted There are cases where this could end up being. The present invention can solve such problems.

  That is, depending on the user's judgment or the state of the active application that the user is currently operating, a response that the phone application may be activated by temporarily suspending the application is received via the system unit 102. When a reply is made to the telephone application (YES in step S604), the telephone application is in an active state, and the user is notified via the output unit 104 that the telephone call should be answered by video, sound, vibration, or the like (step S605). ).

  Conversely, when the user wants to continue the active application that is currently being operated without interruption, the current active application continues to work on the telephone application via the system unit 102 from the currently active application. A response of “Masu” is returned (NO in step S604). A phone application that did not get a response that it can be active will operate in the background without switching to the active state, and will answer the incoming call. (Step S606).

  In the above-described embodiment, using the incoming call status 701, the caller name 703, and the call area 704, the call is “Dentaro” from “Chuo-ku, Tokyo”. Please create and display the message "Please," but what information in the received command is used to present to the user, the timing of the presentation, etc. in the first embodiment Like the case described, it is completely left to the application and can be handled completely freely by each application. Thus, even for a user operating an active application, it is possible to provide information without a sense of incongruity.

  In addition to the information in the phone application command taken up in the above example, for example, using the caller number 702 and the transmission medium 705, a message “It is an incoming call from a mobile phone (090-1234-5678)” is created. It is also possible. Furthermore, the information on the transmission medium 705 may be presented to the user as an image using an icon indicating a mobile phone or an icon indicating a fixed phone.

  In any case, the operation of the application that has received the telephone application command differs depending on the type of the application, and it is possible to present information that does not feel uncomfortable for the user currently operating. Unlike the first and second embodiments, incoming calls are accompanied by waiting for the other party of the call destination, so the correspondence is different even for the same application.

  That is, in the case of the message before the start of viewing reservation exemplified in the first embodiment or the e-mail received message exemplified in the second embodiment, the currently working application is continued, or the currently working application Can be displayed and selected at an appropriate timing, but in the case of the incoming call message of the third embodiment, the data being worked on is forcibly immediately. There is also a need to save and program the currently active application to wait or terminate immediately. Since such a flexible operation varies depending on the nature of each application, it should be left to each application to determine what operation is performed, and the present invention is flexible as described above. There is an advantage that it is also excellent in this point.

[Fourth Embodiment]
Next, an operation in the case where one of the applications 103a, 103b,..., Z performs schedule management and can manage a schedule registered with a reminder function will be described. The reminder function here is a notification function that sounds an alarm or the like at the scheduled time registered by the user as a schedule and makes the user aware of the arrival of the scheduled time.

  As the reminder function of the application (hereinafter referred to as a schedule application) that can register and manage the user's schedule as described above and set the reminder function, there are various presentation methods to the user depending on the nature of the application. is there. For example, the schedule application can present to the user that the scheduled time has been reached by a pop-up display, an alarm, a vibration, or the like. However, when a reminder function is used to present a user, the user is not necessarily in the midst of operating the schedule app, and a case in which another application is being operated is also conceivable. In the case of the first, second, and third embodiments described above, depending on the application that the user is working on, if the notification function by the reminder function of the schedule application suddenly operates and the operation of the application that is being worked is prevented. Inconvenience may occur as well.

  A function for solving such a problem will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the fourth embodiment of the application control apparatus according to the present invention.

  First, it is checked whether or not the notification time indicating the scheduled time by the reminder function of the schedule application has been reached (step S801). When it is not the notification time by the reminder function (NO in step S801), the function of the schedule application is not performed. If it is the notification time by the reminder function (YES in step S801), it is confirmed whether the schedule application is in an active state (step S802). When the schedule application is already active (NO in step S802), since the user is currently operating the schedule application, the notification time for the schedule registered as a reminder in the schedule application has been reached immediately. Is output to the output unit 104 and presented to the user (step S805).

  On the other hand, when the schedule application is not active (YES in step S802), if the schedule application is activated as it is, the user may adversely affect the operation of another application that is currently being worked on. A command as shown (that is, a schedule application command) is transmitted to the active application that the user is currently working on via the system unit 102 (step S803).

  Here, FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an example of the schedule application command in the fourth embodiment of the application control apparatus according to the present invention. Hereinafter, the example of the schedule application command in FIG. 9 will be explained. Note that FIG. 9 is merely an example of the schedule application command, and the schedule application command may not include all the information illustrated in FIG. 9 and may include other information. It doesn't matter if you do.

In the schedule application command of FIG. 9, a schedule title 901 is a title of a schedule in which a user sets a reminder as a scheduled time.
The schedule start time 902 is the start time of the action of the schedule for which the user has set a reminder.
The schedule end time 903 is the end time of the schedule for which the user has set a reminder.

The schedule contents 904 are detailed contents of a schedule for which a user has set a reminder.
The schedule setting location 905 is location information where an action of a schedule for which a user has set a reminder is performed. For example, when a meeting is held as an action of the schedule, a place where the meeting is held is indicated.
The schedule notice time 906 is time information indicating how long in advance the user is notified in advance of the action start time of the schedule for which the user has set a reminder. In some cases, the time information may not be set.

  In general, a set of one or more command information among various command information as exemplified in the schedule application command of FIG. 9 is sent to an active application via the system unit 102. The operation of the system unit 102 at this time is the same as that described in the first embodiment.

  It is assumed that the user is in a state of making a phone call using a phone application. At this time, the active application is a telephone application. Here, when the scheduled time (schedule start time 902 or schedule notice time 906) registered as the reminder function is reached, the schedule application command issued by the schedule application is sent via the system unit 102 to the active telephone application. Will receive. For example, if the telephone application is in a standby state, the telephone application is in an active state with respect to the schedule application because it is just necessary to transition to an inactive state and wait in the background. Returns a response that it is okay. That is, as in the first embodiment, the telephone application responds via the system unit 102 to the schedule application.

  When a response indicating that the telephone application has transitioned to an inactive state and the schedule application may become active is returned to the schedule application via the system unit 102 (YES in step S804), the schedule application The active state is entered, and the presentation of the reminder content is started based on a predetermined method via the output unit 104, and the fact is presented to the user (step S805). Alternatively, the reminder content may be presented using a method set in advance by the user.

  On the other hand, when an active telephone application receives a schedule application command issued by the schedule application, it is assumed that the telephone application is currently active and is in a call state with the other party by the user. In such a case, there is a high possibility that the user is making a call by placing the transmission / reception unit constituting the application control apparatus 101 or a part thereof on the ear. At that time, the phone application cannot be switched from the active state to the inactive state, and the user may be talking without looking at the screen of the output unit 104. It is also difficult to present a notification of arrival at the scheduled time by the reminder function to the user.

  Therefore, when the phone application has a vibration function that can vibrate the application control apparatus 101, for example, the active phone application that receives the schedule application command during the call operation uses the vibration function. You may make it convey a message to. Further, the vibration method for vibrating the application control apparatus 101 may be changed according to the information of the command received by the telephone application. While making a call, the user can recognize that some message is received by the vibration of the application control apparatus 101.

  In addition, the telephone application that has received the schedule application command not only notifies the user of the reception of some message by vibration, but also at some timing during the call or when the call ends, for example, the schedule title of the schedule application command 901, schedule start time 902, schedule end time 903, schedule contents 904, schedule setting location 905, "meeting: January 23, 4:50 pm-6:00 pm: meeting with the supplier (meeting room A message such as “)” can be generated, displayed via the output unit 104, and presented to the user. Alternatively, instead of displaying the created message as described above on the screen, it may be reproduced and output as the voice of the telephone application.

  Further, prior to displaying the message, the telephone application that has received the schedule application command first asks the user whether the schedule application may be activated, and the user applies the application to the schedule application. When the change is made (YES in step S804), the schedule application becomes active, and the schedule content in which the reminder function of the schedule application is set may be displayed via the output unit 104.

  On the other hand, if the user determines that the schedule content has been sufficiently confirmed by vibration or the like via the telephone application and determines that there is no need to further activate the schedule application, the telephone application via the system unit 102 A response that the work of the current application is continued and executed is returned to the schedule application (NO in step S804). The schedule application that has received the response and has not received a response indicating that it may be in an active state continues to be in a standby state in the background without switching to the active state.

  In the above-described embodiment, a message is created and displayed using the command information of the schedule title 901, schedule start time 902, schedule end time 903, schedule content 904, and schedule setting location 905. Which information is used to present to the user, and the timing of the presentation, etc. are completely entrusted to the application as in the case described in the first embodiment. It can be handled freely according to the nature and situation of the application. Thus, even for a user operating an active application, it is possible to provide information without a sense of incongruity.

  Even if the active application receives all the command information of the schedule application command described above, it can be freely handled according to the user's setting contents and the function unique to the application. For example, the schedule title 901 Only “Schedule: Meeting” may be displayed on the output unit 104 and presented to the user. Alternatively, depending on the setting contents of the user and the type of the active application of the transmission destination, in some cases, the schedule application command transmitted by the schedule application is not all command information as shown in FIG. May be transmitted as command information.

[Fifth Embodiment]
Next, an operation in a case where one of the applications 103a, 103b,..., Z has a function capable of connecting to a network and chatting will be described. The chat function here is a function capable of transmitting / receiving a message to / from a communication partner registered in advance via a network.

  When the application having the chat function (hereinafter referred to as a chat application) is activated and the user is operating, the chat application is in an active state, so when a message from a chat partner is received The message can be immediately displayed on the output unit 104 and presented to the user, and the user can immediately confirm the received message. However, since it is not known when a message received from a communication partner will be received from a chat partner, it is also possible to operate the chat application itself in the background and activate another application. Depending on the application the user is working on, every time a chat message is received, if the chat app suddenly becomes active, the operation of the active application the user is working on will be hindered. Inconvenience may occur as in the case of the first to fourth embodiments described above.

  A function for solving such a problem will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the fifth embodiment of the application control apparatus according to the present invention.

  First, it is checked whether or not a chat message from a chat partner has been received (step S1001). When the chat message has not arrived (NO in step S1001), the function of the chat application is not performed. When the chat message is received (YES in step S1001), it is confirmed whether the chat application is in an active state (step S1002). When the chat app is in an active state (NO in step S1002), since the user is currently operating the chat app, the chat app immediately outputs the received chat message to the output unit 104 to the user. Present (step S1005). Further, at this time, the reception of the chat message may be notified to the user by sound or the like.

  On the other hand, when the chat application is not active (NO in step S1002), if the chat application is activated as it is, it may adversely affect the operation of another application that the user is currently working on. For example, in FIG. A command (that is, a chat application command) as shown is transmitted to the active application that the user is currently working on via the system unit 102 (step S1003).

  Here, FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an example of the chat application command in the fifth embodiment of the application control apparatus according to the present invention. Hereinafter, the example of the chat application command in FIG. 11 will be explained. Note that FIG. 11 is merely an example of the chat application command, and the chat application command may not include all the information illustrated in FIG. 11, and may include other information. It doesn't matter if you do.

In the chat application command of FIG. 11, a chat text 1101 indicates the text of the received chat message.
Chat sender name 1102 indicates the name (handle name, nickname) of the sender of the received chat message.

  In general, a set of one or a plurality of command information among various command information as exemplified in the chat application command of FIG. 11 is sent to the active application via the system unit 102. The operation of the system unit 102 at this time is the same as that described in the first embodiment.

  Now, when a chat application receives a chat message and sends a chat application command, the user operates an application that reproduces music such as MP3 (hereinafter referred to as a music application) to play music. Suppose you are. At this time, the active application is a music application, and the chat application command is transmitted to the music application. Here, a remote controller (hereinafter referred to as a remote controller) is attached to the application control apparatus 101, and the application control apparatus 101 can be remotely controlled by wire or wireless, and the operation of the music application is controlled. It is supposed to be possible. Further, the remote controller is provided with a display unit such as a liquid crystal display so that the track number and title of the song being played, the elapsed time of the song being played, and the like are displayed. The display contents displayed on the remote controller can be displayed and confirmed on a display unit connected via the output unit 104 or a display unit built in the output unit 104 of the application control apparatus 101. You may do it.

  When an active music app receives a chat app command issued by the chat app via the system unit 102, the music app outputs a voice indicating that the chat message has been received by mixing it with the song being played back to the output unit 104. You may make it output via. In addition, by using the chat text 1101 and chat sender name 1102 of the chat application command has been received, also a display unit of the remote control: the reception of chat messages such as "" Taro " 's message from the" Hello "receive" A received message can also be displayed.

  The user recognizes the voice or the message on the remote control, and if the user wants to send a response to the received chat message, he / she operates the input unit 105 such as the remote control to change the music application to the inactive state. You can switch the chat app to an active state. At this time, even if the music application is in the background, if it is possible to continue playing music, a reply to the received chat message can be created and transmitted while listening to the music being played. In addition, if music playback can be continued even in the background, the music app may immediately switch the chat app to an active state upon receiving a chat app command. Can be returned to the chat application via the system unit 102.

  When the response that the music application may transition to the inactive state and the chat application may be activated is returned to the chat application via the system unit 102 (YES in step S1004), the chat application The chat message received via the output unit 104 is displayed (step S1005).

  In addition, as described above, unlike the case where the chat application command is received and automatically switched to the inactive state, the operation of deactivating the currently active music application and switching the chat application to active is described in the embodiment. As in the case of 1, in the case where it is left to the user's judgment, only the message indicating reception of the chat message is displayed on the display unit of the remote control. Here, for example, when the user who viewed the message determines that it is not necessary to reply, and performs an operation to continue the music application in an active state, the system unit 102 is started from the music application. The response that the current application work is continuously executed as it is is returned to the chat application via NO (NO in step S1004). The chat application that has received the response and has not received a response indicating that it may be in an active state continues to be in a standby state in the background without switching to the active state.

  In the above-described embodiment, a notification message for the user that the chat message has been received in the currently active music app is created using the chat text 1101 and chat sender name 1102 of the chat app command, Although displayed on the display unit and presented to the user, which information in the received command is used to present to the user, the timing of the presentation, and the like will be described in the first embodiment. As is the case with the application, it is completely entrusted to the application, and can be handled completely freely depending on the nature and situation of each application. Thus, even for a user operating an active application, it is possible to provide information without a sense of incongruity.

  For example, even if the chat application command as described in the above example is received, for example, only the text “Chat message received” may be presented on the display unit of the remote control, and then the currently active music application is terminated. It may be left to the judgment of the user who refers to the sentence whether to perform the chat application in the background or not.

[Sixth Embodiment]
Next, in each of the above-described embodiments, a processing method when a command is received simultaneously from a plurality of inactive applications for a certain active application will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the sixth embodiment of the application control apparatus according to the present invention.

  As described in the first embodiment, when a certain inactive application tries to send a command to an active application via the system unit 102, the system unit 102 sends the command from which application. Is added to the command and transmitted to the active application as a command with ID information as shown in FIG. FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of commands in the sixth embodiment of the application control apparatus according to the present invention. In FIG. 13, ID 1301 is ID information that makes it possible to identify the application that transmitted the command, and is added by the system unit 102. The inactive application command 1302 is information on a command generated in the inactive application, and indicates the entire command information transmitted from the inactive application to the active application.

  Here, it is assumed that four applications (hereinafter referred to as application 1, application 2, application 3, and application 4) are currently activated on the application control apparatus 101. Furthermore, it is assumed that app 1 is a currently active application, and app 2, app 3 and app 4 are inactive applications.

  Now, the inactive app 2, app 3, and app 4 are respectively commands such as those described in the first to fifth embodiments (for example, broadcast reception app command, mail app command, phone app command, It is assumed that a schedule application command or a chat application command is transmitted to the application 1 that is an active application via the system unit 102.

  The system unit 102 adds ID information such as ID 1301 in FIG. 13 to each of the commands obtained from the application 2, the application 3, and the application 4, and transmits those commands to the application 1. Here, the order in which the command is transmitted from the system unit 102 to the application 1 is first-in first-out, and is the order in which the inactive application is delivered to the system unit 102. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the system unit 102 receives each command in the order of application 2, application 3, and application 4, and transmits the commands to application 1 in this order.

  Therefore, first, the currently active application 1 receives a command transmitted from the application 2 (hereinafter referred to as command 2). Further, a plurality of commands are received such that a command transmitted from the application 3 (hereinafter referred to as “command 3”) and a command transmitted from the application 4 (hereinafter referred to as “command 4”) are received thereafter. Are sequentially received (YES in step S1201). If a plurality of commands have not been received (NO in step S1201), the function shown in the sixth embodiment is not performed.

  As a result, the application 1 that has received the three commands of the command 2, the command 3, and the command 4 performs the process of the command 2 that has arrived first (step S1202). The processing method for the command 2 is the processing described in the first to fifth embodiments.

  Here, the application 1 checks the commands in the order received, and accepts, for example, the command 2 as the first command to be accepted, and terminates the application itself or sets the application in an inactive state. On the other hand, when a response indicating that it may be switched to active is returned via the system unit 102 (YES in step S1203), the command 2 received before the application 1 is terminated or set to inactive. The command 3 and the command 4 received after that are sent back to the system unit 102 without changing the format of the commands 3 and 4 and without changing the ID information indicating the transmission source of the commands 3 and 4. Thereafter, under the control of the system unit 102, the application 1 stores the data and ends or transitions to an inactive state (step S1204). At this time, the order of the commands that the application 1 returns to the system unit 102 is the order in which the commands are received, that is, the order of the commands 3 and 4.

  The system unit 102 that has received the response returned from the app 1 to the app 2 sets the app 2 to an active state based on the response. Thereafter, the command 3 and the command 4 returned from the application 1 to the system unit 102 are transmitted to the application 2 that is about to switch to the active state, and the processing of the command 3 and the command 4 is sent to the application 2. Delivered. At this time, since the command 130 and the command 4 returned from the application 1 are already in the state in which the ID 1301 is added, the system unit 102 has transmitted the command 3 and the command 4 from the application 1. The ID 1301 that is a command is transmitted to the application 2 as it is without being added and added. The order of transmission to the application 2 is the order returned from the application 1 and is the order of the command 3 and the command 4.

  As described above, as a result of the transmission / reception of the command via the system unit 102, the app 2 that has been switched to the currently active state is directly transmitted from the app 3 and the app 4 via the system unit 102. The command 3 and the command 4 are exactly the same as the transmitted state. Therefore, the application 2 that has been switched to the active state can process the delivered command 3 and command 4 in the order in which they are retransmitted.

  Next, the application 1 in the active state cannot be switched to the active state for the application 2 in order to maintain the active state of the application 1 as it is in response to the command 2 transmitted from the application 2. A process when a response is made (NO in step S1203) will be described.

  In this case, the application 1 returns a response refusing to activate the application 2 to the system unit 102 (step S1205). The system unit 102 that has received the response transmits the response to the application 2 to notify that the command 2 has been rejected by the application 1. The subsequent processing method of the application 2 for which the command 2 is rejected is the processing described in the first embodiment to the fifth embodiment.

  Thereafter, when it is determined that the received unprocessed command still exists (YES in step S1206), the active application 1 processes the command 3 received next (step S1202). . The processing of the command 3 is also the processing described in the first embodiment to the fifth embodiment described above, and as a processing result of the command 3, a response that the application 3 may be activated or the activation is rejected. Any one of the responses is returned to the system unit 102.

  When processing for multiple commands is performed as described above, even if multiple commands are sent to the active application at the same time, it is possible to process all commands in the order in which the commands were received. In the end, unprocessed commands are completely eliminated (NO in step S1206). Here, depending on the nature and execution status of each application, there are cases where it can be terminated immediately upon receipt of a command, cases where it can be executed in the background, or cases where it cannot be terminated immediately. . However, even if the nature of each application differs, the above processing is performed, so that an appropriate countermeasure can be taken according to the individual application.

  Note that the specific applications illustrated in each of the above-described embodiments are examples, and are not uniquely specified for each application described in each of the embodiments. For example, the operation of automatically saving the current state prior to the end of the application or inquiring the user whether or not to save the current state can be performed on the system unit 102 of the application control apparatus 101. Any application may be used.

  In addition, the received command is processed appropriately in each application, and when the received command information is notified to the user, it is displayed as a pop-up message on the display unit, notified by voice, or notified by vibration. Alternatively, if it is an application for operating the remote controller, it may be displayed on the display unit of the remote controller for notification. Furthermore, when there are appropriate characters and objects appearing in the application, the characters and objects can be displayed or the story can be changed so as not to give a sense of incongruity to the user operating the application. If it is a simple application, the story may be changed and notified.

  As described above in detail, according to the application control device of the present invention, when a certain active application is being used, another application suddenly starts up. , The active application that is currently running is interrupted, data in the middle of the application that has been working until now disappears, or the user operation on the application that has been working until now suddenly changes to another Occurrence of a situation such as being performed on an application can be prevented in advance without causing the user in operation to feel uncomfortable.

It is a control block diagram which shows an example of the principle structure about the application control apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the operation example of 1st Embodiment of the application control apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing explaining an example of the broadcast reception application command in 1st Embodiment of the application control apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the operation example of 2nd Embodiment of the application control apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing explaining an example of the mail application command in 2nd Embodiment of the application control apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the operation example of 3rd Embodiment of the application control apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing explaining an example of the telephone application command in 3rd Embodiment of the application control apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the operation example of 4th Embodiment of the application control apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing explaining an example of the schedule application command in 4th Embodiment of the application control apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the operation example of 5th Embodiment of the application control apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing explaining an example of the chat application command in 5th Embodiment of the application control apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the operation example of 6th Embodiment of the application control apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing explaining an example of the command in 6th Embodiment of the application control apparatus which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 ... Application control apparatus, 102 ... System part, 103 ... Application storage part, 103a, 103b, ..., 103z ... Application, 104 ... Output part, 105 ... Input part, 106 ... Power supply part, 107 ... Storage part, 301 ... Program Title: 302 ... Broadcast start time, 303 Broadcast end time, 304 ... Broadcast time length, 305 ... Channel number, 306 ... Broadcast station name, 307 ... Performer name, 308 ... Genre, 309 ... Broadcast media type, 310 ... Broadcast system 501 ... Reception status 502 ... Title 503 ... Sender address 504 ... Body text 505 ... Send date / time 506 ... Size 507 ... Attached file presence / absence 508 ... Attached file type 509 ... Sender name 510 ... Others Recipient address, 511 ... other recipient names, 701 ... incoming call status, 702 ... Referer number, 703 ... Sender name, 704 ... Sending area, 705 ... Sending medium 901 ... Schedule title, 902 ... Schedule start time, 903 ... Schedule end time, 904 ... Schedule content, 905 ... Schedule setting location, 906 ... Schedule notice Time 1101 ... Chat text 1102 ... Chat sender name 1301 ... ID 1302 ... Inactive application command.

Claims (50)

  In an application controller that can execute multiple applications, any of the inactive applications other than the active application that is currently in execution is going to switch from the inactive state to the active state. The inactive application trying to switch to the active state sends a command requesting the active application that is currently running to switch to the active state and receives the command The active application processes the command in its own application and either accepts the command and terminates its own application or rejects without accepting the command. Application control unit and notifying the user by creating a.   2. The application control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the active application that is currently being executed receives, as a response to the received command, information indicating that the active application accepts the command and terminates its own application, or Any one of the information of rejecting without accepting the command is returned to the inactive application that is the transmission source of the command.   3. The application control apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the inactive application that transmits the command is added to another application in the information of the command transmitted from the inactive application that is not currently in a running state. ID information that can be identified by the system unit is added by a system unit that controls transmission / reception of the command between applications.   4. The application control apparatus according to claim 3, wherein when the ID information is already added to the information of the command transmitted from the inactive application that is not currently in a state of being executed, the system unit An application control apparatus characterized by further not adding ID information of the inactive application that has transmitted the command.   5. The application control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the active application currently being executed receives the command from a plurality of applications, the first of the plurality of received commands When the acceptance process is performed on the command received in the step, before the application is terminated, prior to terminating the application, the inactive application that is the transmission source of the command received first is received after the received command. By retransmitting the received command in the order received without changing the ID information identifying the inactive application of the transmission source, processing of the command received after being accepted is performed. Is the source of the first accepted command and An inactive application to be switched to an active state, and after the inactive application has been switched to an active state, the transferred commands are processed in the order of resending. Control device.   6. The application control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an active switching time indicating a time at which the inactive application to be switched to an active state should be switched to an active state is registered in advance. The command is transmitted to the active application that is currently being executed, and a predetermined time before each of the inactive applications from the active switching time, and the command An application control apparatus characterized in that the information includes time information until an attempt is made to switch to an active state.   7. The application control device according to claim 1, wherein when the application receiving the command accepts the command and terminates the application, the current state is automatically set prior to termination of the application. The application control apparatus is characterized in that the application is terminated after being saved.   7. The application control device according to claim 1, wherein when the application that has received the command accepts the command and terminates the application, the current state is saved and the application is terminated. An application control apparatus characterized by inquiring a user whether or not.   9. The application control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the application that has received the command displays the information indicated by the received command in a pop-up display on a display unit.   9. The application control device according to claim 1, wherein when the application that has received the command can display a character appearing in the application on the display unit, the application has received the command. An application control apparatus characterized in that the information indicated by the command is displayed on the display unit as an utterance of the character appearing in the application.   In the application control device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, when the application that has received the command can cause the application to display an object of an arbitrary shape on the display unit, the application An application control apparatus that displays information indicated by the received command as the object displayed on the screen of the display unit of the application.   9. The application control device according to claim 1, wherein when the application that has received the command can arbitrarily change the story of the application, the application indicates the received command. An application control apparatus that changes the story of the application according to information.   9. The application control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the application that has received the command can reproduce and output the voice as an application, the application receives the command. An application control apparatus that reproduces and outputs information to be displayed as audio of the application.   9. The application control device according to claim 1, wherein when the application that receives the command has a vibration function that vibrates the application control device, the application receives the command. An application control apparatus that vibrates the application control apparatus by operating the vibration function according to information to be displayed.   9. The application control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the application that has received the command can be remotely controlled by an instruction from a remote controller having a display unit, the application receives the command. The information indicated by the command is displayed on the display unit of the remote controller.   16. The application control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein one of the plurality of applications that can be executed is a broadcast receiving application capable of receiving a broadcast wave of television or radio. When the broadcast receiving application has a function of making a viewing reservation for a program to be broadcast in the future and reaches the broadcast start time of the viewing reservation program for which the viewing reservation has been made, When the application is currently in an active state and the other application occupies and uses the display unit for video display, the broadcast receiving application is in response to the other application in the active state. The command to be transmitted includes the title of the reserved viewing program. The control device.   17. The application control device according to claim 16, wherein the command transmitted to the other application in which the broadcast receiving application is active includes a broadcast start time of a viewing reservation program. apparatus.   17. The application control apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the command transmitted to the other application in which the broadcast receiving application is active includes a broadcast end time of a reserved program for viewing. apparatus.   17. The application control apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the command transmitted to the other application in which the broadcast receiving application is active includes a broadcast time length of a viewing reservation program. apparatus.   17. The application control apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the command transmitted to the other application in which the broadcast receiving application is active includes a channel number of a reserved program for viewing. .   17. The application control device according to claim 16, wherein the command transmitted to the other application in which the broadcast receiving application is active includes a broadcast station name of a viewing reservation program. apparatus.   17. The application control device according to claim 16, wherein the command transmitted to the other application in which the broadcast receiving application is active includes a name of a performer of a reserved viewing program. Control device.   17. The application control apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the command transmitted to the other application in which the broadcast receiving application is active includes a genre of a reserved viewing program.   The application control device according to claim 16, wherein the command transmitted to the other application in which the broadcast receiving application is in an active state includes information indicating a type of broadcast media on which the viewing reserved program is broadcast. An application control apparatus including broadcast media type information represented by television, radio, and data.   The application control device according to claim 16, wherein the command transmitted to the other application in which the broadcast receiving application is in an active state is information indicating a type of a broadcasting system in which a viewing reservation program is broadcast. An application control apparatus comprising broadcast system type information represented by terrestrial digital broadcast, terrestrial analog broadcast, and BS / CS broadcast.   16. The application control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when one of the plurality of applications that can be executed is a mail application having an electronic mail transmission / reception function, the mail application is an electronic application. When a mail reception is detected, if another application is currently active, the mail application receives an email in the command sent to the other application in the active state. An application control apparatus including information indicating that the operation has been performed.   27. The application control apparatus according to claim 26, wherein the command transmitted to the other application in which the mail application is active includes a title of the received electronic mail.   27. The application control apparatus according to claim 26, wherein the command transmitted to the other application in which the mail application is active includes a sender address of the received electronic mail. apparatus.   27. The application control apparatus according to claim 26, wherein the command transmitted to the other application in which the mail application is active includes a text of the received electronic mail.   27. The application control apparatus according to claim 26, wherein the command transmitted to the other application in which the mail application is active includes a transmission date and time of the received electronic mail. .   27. The application control apparatus according to claim 26, wherein the command transmitted to the other application in which the mail application is active includes a size of the received electronic mail.   27. The application control apparatus according to claim 26, wherein the command transmitted to the other application in which the mail application is active includes information indicating whether or not the received electronic mail has an attached file. An application control device characterized by the above.   27. In the application control apparatus according to claim 26, when an attached file is attached to the received electronic mail, the received electronic is included in the command transmitted to the other application in which the mail application is active. An application control apparatus comprising information indicating a type of the attached file attached to an e-mail.   27. The application control device according to claim 26, wherein when the name of the sender of the e-mail can be determined based on the sender address of the received e-mail, the other e-mail application is in an active state. The application control apparatus, wherein the command transmitted to the application includes a name of a sender of the received e-mail.   27. In the application control apparatus according to claim 26, when the address book group in which the address of the sender of the e-mail is registered can be determined based on the sender address of the received e-mail, the mail application An application control device characterized in that the command transmitted to the other application in the active state includes group information of the address book in which the address of the sender of the received e-mail is registered .   27. The application control device according to claim 26, wherein when it is possible to determine that the destination of the received e-mail includes a destination other than the application control device, the other e-mail application is in an active state. The application control apparatus characterized in that the command transmitted to the application includes a recipient address indicating a destination other than the application control apparatus of the received electronic mail.   27. The application control device according to claim 26, wherein it is possible to determine that the destination of the received electronic mail includes a destination other than the application control device, and based on the destination other than the application control device. When it is possible to determine the names of recipients other than the application control device of the e-mail, the command transmitted to the other application in which the mail application is active is included in the received e-mail. An application control apparatus comprising a name of the recipient other than the application control apparatus.   16. The application control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when one of the plurality of applications that can be executed is a telephone application capable of transmitting / receiving a telephone, the telephone application When the phone detects an incoming call, if another application is currently active, the phone application sends an incoming call to the command that is sent to the active application An application control apparatus comprising information indicating that there has been.   39. The application control apparatus according to claim 38, wherein the command transmitted to the other application in which the telephone application is active includes a caller ID of an incoming telephone. .   39. The application control device according to claim 38, wherein when the name of the caller of the incoming call can be determined based on the telephone number of the incoming caller, the other telephone application is in an active state. An application control apparatus characterized in that the command transmitted to the application includes the name of the caller of the incoming call.   39. The application control apparatus according to claim 38, wherein when the group name of the telephone directory in which the caller of the telephone is registered can be determined based on the telephone number of the caller of the incoming call, the telephone application is The application control apparatus characterized in that the command transmitted to the other application in an active state includes group information of the telephone directory in which a caller of an incoming call is registered.   39. The application control apparatus according to claim 38, wherein when the caller area of the caller of the incoming call can be determined based on the telephone number of the caller of the incoming call, the telephone application is in an active state. The application control apparatus characterized in that the command transmitted to the application includes the calling area of the caller of the incoming call.   39. The application control apparatus according to claim 38, wherein when the call origination medium represented by a mobile phone or PHS can be determined based on the telephone number of the caller of the incoming call, the telephone application is active. The application control apparatus, wherein the command transmitted to the other application in a state includes a call transmission medium of an incoming call.   16. The application control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein one of the plurality of applications that can be executed is a schedule application capable of managing a schedule registered by a schedule reminder function. In some cases, when the notification function based on the reminder function operates based on the schedule registered by the schedule application, the schedule application is in the active state when another application is currently in the active state. The application control apparatus, wherein the command transmitted to another application includes title information of the registered schedule.   45. The application control apparatus according to claim 44, wherein the command transmitted to the another application in which the schedule application is active includes a start time of an action of the registered schedule. Control device.   45. The application control apparatus according to claim 44, wherein the command transmitted to the other application in which the schedule application is active includes the detailed contents of the registered schedule. .   45. The application control device according to claim 44, wherein the command transmitted to the other application in which the schedule application is active includes location information on which the action of the registered schedule is performed. Application control device.   45. The application control device according to claim 44, wherein the user sends in advance to the command to be transmitted to the another application in which the schedule application is active in advance before the start time of the action of the schedule registered. An application control apparatus characterized by including time information indicating whether to give a notice to the user.   The application control device according to any one of claims 1 to 15, wherein when one of the plurality of applications that can be executed is a chat application that can connect to a network and perform a chat, When a chat application detects receipt of a chat via the network, if another application is currently active, the chat application sends to the other application in the active state An application control apparatus characterized in that the command includes the received chat text.   50. The application control device according to claim 49, wherein the command transmitted to the other application in which the schedule application is active includes the received name of the chat partner. apparatus.

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