COMMUNICATION TERMINAL AND APPLICATION CONTROL METHOD

• US 20130053015A1
• Filed: 04/04/2011
• Published: 02/28/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/23/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Nakajima, Ryo
• Granted Patent: US 8,874,096 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/418
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/482 Application
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/485 Task life-cycle, e.g. stopping, restarting, resuming execution G06F9/4881 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/145 avoiding end of session, e.g. keep-alive, heartbeats, resumption message or wake-up for inactive or interrupted session
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72403 with means for local support of applications that increase the functionality

Abstract

A communication terminal includes: an application control unit that controls execution of an application; a communication control unit that controls a communication unit to establish communication with a communication network, and a suspension control unit that, after detecting a terminal operation that becomes a factor in suspending the application, transmits a suspend command to suspend the application that is running to the application control unit. The suspension control unit is, in response to the terminal operation thus detected, capable of selecting a keep-alive state for transmitting the suspend command to the application control unit without disconnecting communication connection with the communication network by the communication unit. The communication terminal prevents unnecessary disconnection of communication by a suspend operation and improving convenience and comfortableness of application operation.

Claims

1. A communication terminal comprising:

an application control device for controlling execution of an application;

a communication control device for, after an application including a communication function is executed by the application control device, controlling a communication device to establish communication with a communication network and executing the communication function of the application; and

a suspension control device for, after detecting a terminal operation that becomes a factor in suspending the application, transmitting a suspend command to suspend the application that is running to the application control device, wherein

the suspension control device is, in response to the terminal operation, capable of selecting a keep-alive state for transmitting the suspend command to suspend the application including the communication function to the application control device without disconnecting communication connection with the communication network by the communication device.

2. The communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein the suspension control device, after detecting an end of the terminal operation that becomes a factor in suspending the application, transmits a resume command to resume the application in a suspended state to the application control device, and

the application control device resumes, in response to reception of the resume command, the application suspended in response to the suspend command.

3. The communication terminal according to claim 2, wherein the application control device, after resuming the application in response to the reception of the resume command, transmits a resume notification indicative of having resumed the application to the communication control device, and

the communication control device, with the communication function of the application being executed when the application is suspended, when receiving data on the communication function of the application from the communication network via the communication device while the application is being suspended, retains the data thus received and, in response to reception of the resume notification from the application control device, transmits the data retained to the application control device, and

the application control device transmits the data received from the communication control device to the communication function of the application.

4. The communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein when a state of the communication terminal transitions to out of service while the application is being suspended, a preservation state is selected for maintaining communication connected with the communication network by the communication device.

5. The communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein the communication control device, with the communication function of the application being executed when the application is suspended, when the communication with the communication network by the communication device is disconnected while the application is being suspended, retains a disconnection notification indicating that the communication has been disconnected and, when the application suspended is resumed, transmits the disconnection notification to the communication function of the application via the application control device.

6. The communication terminal according to claim 5, wherein the communication control device, when receiving data on the communication function of the application from the communication network via the communication device before the communication with the communication network by the communication device is disconnected while the application is being suspended, retains data thus received without retaining the disconnection notification and, when resuming the application suspended, transmits the data to the application via the application control device.

7. The communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein in a case that the communication function of the application is not being executed when the application is suspended and the communication with the communication network by the communication device is disconnected while the application is being suspended, the communication device retains information indicating that the communication has been disconnected and, when the communication function is executed after the application suspended is resumed, the communication device transmits the disconnection notification indicating that the communication has been disconnected to the communication function of the application via the communication control device and the application control device.

8. An application control method that is executed in a communication terminal including an application control device for controlling execution of an application;

a communication control device for, after an application including a communication function is executed by the application control device, controlling a communication device to establish communication with a communication network and executing the communication function of the application; and

a suspension control device for, after detecting a terminal operation that becomes a factor in suspending the application, transmitting a suspend command to suspend the application that is running to the application control device, the application control method comprising;

a detecting step of, by the suspension control device, detecting the terminal operation;

a transmitting step of, by the suspension control device, when the terminal operation is detected at the detecting step, transmitting the suspend command to suspend the application including the communication function to the application control device; and

a selecting step of, by the suspension control device, in response to the terminal operation detected at the detecting step, selecting a keep-alive state for maintaining a communication connection state without disconnecting communication connection with the communication network by the communication device.