Systems, methods, and programs

Abstract

This invention provides a system, method, and program for notifying the need for data synchronization. [Solution] A data management system comprising a data management device for managing first data and a user device for managing second data, wherein the data management device has a notification transmission unit that sends an update notification to the user device indicating that the first data has been updated when the first data is updated, and the user device has a user notification unit that notifies the user that the first data has been updated when it receives the update notification, and a data synchronization unit that synchronizes the second data with the first data in accordance with the user's operation.

Description

Technical Field

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[0001] The present disclosure relates to a system, a method, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] Common terminals such as smartphones are equipped with a phone book, and using this phone book, it is possible to display caller information (e.g., the name of the caller, etc.) when receiving a phone call. As a technology related to this, there is known a technology that can synchronize all or part of the phone book managed by a server with the phone book provided in a terminal while reducing the risk of information leakage due to malware or the like (Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in recent operating systems (OS) for mobile terminals, strict restrictions are imposed on the operation of application programs without requiring user operations. Therefore, user operations are required to synchronize with the phone book managed by the server. For this reason, even when the phone book managed by the server is updated, if the user does not notice the update, the phone book synchronization is not performed, and the problem occurs that the user continues to use the old phone book.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in view of the above points, and an object thereof is to notify the necessity of data synchronization. [[ID=​​​​A system according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a system comprising a server for managing first data and a terminal for managing second data, wherein the server has a transmitting unit that sends an update notification to the terminal indicating that the first data has been updated when the first data has been updated, and the terminal has a notification unit that, upon receiving the update notification, notifies the user of the terminal that the first data has been updated, and a synchronization unit that synchronizes the second data with the first data in response to the user's operation. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] It can notify users of the need for data synchronization. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This figure shows an example of the overall configuration of the data management system according to this embodiment. [Figure 2] This figure shows an example of the functional configuration of the data management device according to this embodiment. [Figure 3] This figure shows an example of the functional configuration of the administrator device according to this embodiment. [Figure 4] This figure shows an example of the functional configuration of the user device according to this embodiment. [Figure 5] This is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of the data management system according to this embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiment, assuming that user operation on the terminal is required when synchronizing data managed on a server with data managed on the terminal, a data management system 1 will be described that can notify the user of the terminal when the need for data synchronization arises. Furthermore, in the following, the data managed on the server and the terminal will mainly be assumed to be a telephone directory. A telephone directory is data consisting of contact data that includes, for example, names and contact information (e.g., telephone number, email address). Furthermore, the need for data synchronization will be assumed to arise when the data managed on the server is updated.

[0010] However, the phone book is just one example, and the following embodiments can be similarly applied to data other than phone books (more specifically, data used by application programs and synchronized with data managed on a server).

[0011] Furthermore, when synchronizing data managed on a server with data managed on a terminal, user operation on the terminal is required if the terminal's OS is a mobile operating system such as Android® or iOS. This is because, in recent years, mobile operating systems have restricted application programs from operating without user operation (i.e., synchronizing with data managed on a server) in order to reduce security risks such as malware.

[0012] <Example of overall structure> An example of the overall configuration of the data management system 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figure 1. Figure 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of the data management system 1 according to this embodiment.

[0013] As shown in Figure 1, the data management system 1 according to this embodiment includes a data management device 10, one or more administrator devices 20, and one or more user devices 30. The data management device 10, each administrator device 20, and each user device 30 are connected to each other via a communication network 40, such as the Internet.

[0014] The data management device 10 is a server that manages the data (hereinafter also referred to as "master data") that is subject to synchronization with the data (hereinafter also referred to as "user data") managed by the user device 30. The data management device 10 can be implemented, for example, by a computer such as a general-purpose server or a computer system composed of such computers.

[0015] The administrator device 20 is a terminal used by users (hereinafter also referred to as "administrators") who update the master data managed by the data management device 10. The administrator device 20 can be implemented using a computer such as a PC (personal computer), smartphone, tablet terminal, wearable device, or general-purpose server. However, it is not limited to these, and the administrator device 20 may also be a storage device equipped with a storage area where the master data is stored (e.g., NAS (Network Attached Storage)).

[0016] The user device 30 is a terminal (especially a mobile terminal) that manages user data synchronized with the master data managed by the data management device 10, and performs processing using that user data (e.g., if the user data is a phone book, processing to display caller information when a call is received). The user device 30 can be implemented by a computer such as a smartphone, tablet, or wearable device.

[0017] Note that the overall configuration of the data management system 1 shown in Figure 1 is just one example and is not limited to this configuration. For example, at least one user device 30 may function as the administrator device 20.

[0018] <Functional configuration example> ≪Functional configuration example of data management device 10≫ An example of the functional configuration of the data management device 10 according to this embodiment will be described while referring to FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the data management device 10 according to this embodiment.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 2, the data management device 10 according to this embodiment includes a data update unit 101, a notification transmission unit 102, and a data synchronization unit 103. Each of these units is realized, for example, by a process executed by one or more programs installed in the data management device 10 on a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit). Further, the data management device 10 according to this embodiment includes a master data storage unit 104. The master data storage unit 104 is realized, for example, by a storage area of a storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), an SSD (Solid State Drive), or a flash memory.

[0020] When the data update unit 101 receives an update request from the administrator device 20, it updates the master data stored in the master data storage unit 104 in response to the update request.

[0021] When the master data stored in the master data storage unit 104 is updated, the notification transmission unit 102 transmits an update notification indicating that the master data has been updated to each user device 30.

[0022] When the data synchronization unit 103 receives a synchronization request from the user device 30, it executes a synchronization process for synchronizing the user data managed by the user device 30 with the master data stored in the master data storage unit 104 in response to the synchronization request.

[0023] The master data storage unit 104 stores master data (for example, an address book (hereinafter also referred to as an "address book master") that serves as a master of the address books used by users of each user device 30).

[0024] ≪Example of Functional Configuration of Administrator Device 20≫ An example of the functional configuration of the administrator device 20 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figure 3. Figure 3 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the administrator device 20 according to this embodiment.

[0025] As shown in Figure 3, the administrator device 20 according to this embodiment has an update request unit 201. The update request unit 201 is implemented, for example, by a process in which one or more programs installed on the administrator device 20 cause a processor such as a CPU to execute. The administrator device 20 according to this embodiment also has an update data storage unit 202. The update data storage unit 202 is implemented, for example, by the storage area of ​​a storage device such as an HDD, SSD, or flash memory.

[0026] The update request unit 201 retrieves the update data stored in the update data storage unit 202 and then transmits an update request containing that update data to the data management device 10.

[0027] The update data storage unit 202 stores update data for updating the master data. Specific examples of update data when the master data is a telephone directory master include contact data to be added to the telephone directory master, data for deleting specific contact data from the telephone directory master, and data for editing information (such as names and contact details) included in the contact data of the telephone directory master.

[0028] <<Example of functional configuration of user device 30>> An example of the functional configuration of the user device 30 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figure 4. Figure 4 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the user device 30 according to this embodiment.

[0029] As shown in Figure 4, the user device 30 according to this embodiment includes a mobile terminal OS 301 and a data utilization application program 302. The user device 30 according to this embodiment also includes a user data storage unit 303. The user data storage unit 303 is implemented, for example, by a storage area of ​​a storage device such as flash memory, or by a secure storage area within that storage area managed by the mobile terminal OS 301. The mobile terminal OS 301 and the data utilization application program 302 are stored, for example, in the storage area of ​​a storage device such as flash memory.

[0030] The mobile device OS 301 is an operating system for mobile devices such as Android and iOS. To reduce security risks from malware and the like, the mobile device OS 301 restricts (or prohibits) application programs, such as data utilization application programs 302, from operating without user interaction.

[0031] The data utilization application program 302 is an application program that runs on the mobile terminal OS 301. The data utilization application program 302 provides various functions that utilize the user data stored in the user data storage unit 303. For example, if the user data is a phone book (hereinafter also referred to as the "user phone book"), the data utilization application program 302 uses the user phone book to provide a function that displays the caller information of an incoming call.

[0032] Here, the data utilization application program 302 implements the user notification unit 311, the data synchronization unit 312, and the data utilization unit 313 by having the CPU or other processor of the user device 30 execute the necessary processes.

[0033] When the user notification unit 311 receives an update notification from the data management device 10, it notifies the user that the master data has been updated in accordance with the update notification.

[0034] When an operation to synchronize user data (hereinafter also referred to as "synchronization operation") is performed, the data synchronization unit 312 sends a synchronization request to the data management device 10, which represents a request to synchronize the user data with the master data. The data synchronization unit 312 also performs a synchronization process with the data synchronization unit 103 of the data management device 10 to synchronize the user data stored in the user data storage unit 303 with the master data stored in the master data storage unit 104 of the data management device 10.

[0035] The data utilization unit 313 executes processing using the user data stored in the user data storage unit 303 (for example, if the user data is a user phone book, it uses the user phone book to display the caller information of an incoming call). Another example of processing using user data is using the user phone book to display sender information for messages, etc. (for example, the sender's name).

[0036] The data utilization unit 313 may also implement processing that utilizes user data using standard functions provided by the mobile terminal OS 301.

[0037] The user data storage unit 303 stores user data (for example, a user phone book used by the user of the user device 30).

[0038] <Example of operation> An example of the operation of the data management system 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figure 5. Figure 5 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of the data management system according to this embodiment.

[0039] The update request unit 201 of the administrator device 20 retrieves the update data stored in the update data storage unit 202 (step S101).

[0040] The update request unit 201 of the administrator device 20 sends an update request containing the update data acquired in step S101 above to the data management device 10 (step S102).

[0041] When the data update unit 101 of the data management device 10 receives the update request transmitted in step S102 above, it updates the master data stored in the master data storage unit 104 using the update data included in the update request (step S103).

[0042] When the master data is updated in step S103 above, the notification transmission unit 102 of the data management device 10 sends an update notification to each user device 30 indicating that the master data has been updated (step S104).

[0043] When the user notification unit 311 of the user device 30 receives the update notification sent in step S104 above, it notifies the user that the master data has been updated (step S105). Here, the method of notifying the user is not limited to a specific method, but for example, the user notification unit 311 pushes a message indicating that the master data has been updated. A push notification means displaying a message on the screen of the user device 30 (including the lock screen, etc.). This allows the user of the user device 30 to know that the master data has been updated and that a synchronization operation is required.

[0044] The following explanation assumes that the synchronization operation was performed by the user of the user device 30. Specific examples of a synchronization operation include opening the main screen of the data utilization application program 302 (for example, tapping the icon representing the data utilization application program 302). However, this is merely an example, and synchronization operations are not limited to opening the main screen of the data utilization application program 302.

[0045] The data synchronization unit 312 of the user device 30 accepts synchronization operations from the user (step S106).

[0046] When the data synchronization unit 312 of the user device 30 receives a synchronization operation in step S106 above, it sends a synchronization request to the data management device 10 (step S107).

[0047] When the data synchronization unit 103 of the data management device 10 receives the synchronization request sent in step S107, it performs a synchronization process with the data synchronization unit 312 of the user device 30 that sent the synchronization request, to synchronize the user data stored in the user data storage unit 303 of the user device 30 with the master data (step S108). As a result, the user data stored in the user data storage unit 303 of the user device 30 is synchronized with the master data stored in the master data storage unit 104 of the data management device 10.

[0048] For the synchronization process, any existing data synchronization process can be executed. For example, a data synchronization process consisting of steps 1 to 6 below can be executed.

[0049] Step 1: The data synchronization unit 103 of the data management device 10 sends a request for data to be synchronized to the user device 30.

[0050] Step 2: When the data synchronization unit 312 of the user device 30 receives the request sent in Step 1 above, it sends the user data stored in the user data storage unit 303 to the data management device 10.

[0051] Step 3: When the data synchronization unit 103 of the data management device 10 receives the user data transmitted in Step 2 above, it identifies the portion of the master data stored in the master data storage unit 104 that differs from the user data.

[0052] Step 4: The data synchronization unit 103 of the data management device 10 extracts the portion of the data identified in Step 3 above (hereinafter also referred to as "difference data") from the master data stored in the master data storage unit 104.

[0053] Step 5: The data synchronization unit 103 of the data management device 10 transmits the differential data obtained in Step 4 above to the user device 30.

[0054] Step 6: When the data synchronization unit 312 of the user device 30 receives the differential data transmitted in Step 5 above, it uses the differential data to update the portion of the user data stored in the user data storage unit 303 that corresponds to the differential data.

[0055] From step S108 onward, the data utilization unit 313 of the user device 30 executes processing using the user data stored in the user data storage unit 303 (i.e., user data synchronized with the updated master data) (step S109).

[0056] <Summary> As described above, in the data management system 1 according to this embodiment, when the master data managed by the data management device 10 is updated, each user is notified that the master data has been updated. This allows each user to perform synchronization operations with the master data, and to synchronize the user data managed on the user device 30 they use with the master data. For this reason, for example, it is possible to prevent situations where a user continues to use an old user phonebook without noticing that the phonebook master has been updated.

[0057] The present invention is not limited to the embodiments specifically disclosed above, and various modifications, changes, and combinations with known technologies are possible as long as they do not deviate from the spirit described in the claims. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0058] 1. Data Management System 10. Data Management Device 20 Administrator device 30 User devices 40 Communication Networks 101 Data Update Unit 102 Notification transmission unit 103 Data Synchronization Unit 104 Master Data Storage Unit 201 Update request section 202 Update data storage unit 301 Operating Systems for Mobile Devices 302 Data Utilization Application Programs 303 User data storage unit 311 User Notification Section 312 Data Synchronization Unit 313 Data Utilization Department

Claims

1. A system that includes a server for managing first data and a terminal for managing second data, The aforementioned server, The device includes a transmission unit that, when the first data is updated, sends an update notification to the terminal indicating that the first data has been updated. The aforementioned terminal is Upon receiving the update notification, the notification unit notifies the user of the terminal that the first data has been updated. A system comprising a synchronization unit that synchronizes the second data with the first data in response to the user's operation.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the terminal is prohibited from synchronizing the second data with the first data without user operation.

3. The system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first data and the second data are telephone directory data.

4. A method used in a system that includes a server for managing first data and a terminal for managing second data, The aforementioned server, If the first data is updated, a transmission procedure is performed to send an update notification to the terminal indicating that the first data has been updated. The aforementioned terminal, Upon receiving the update notification, a notification procedure is provided to notify the user of the terminal that the first data has been updated. A method for performing a synchronization procedure that synchronizes the second data with the first data in response to the user's operation.

5. A program used in a system that includes a server for managing first data and a terminal for managing second data, To the aforementioned server, If the first data is updated, the system executes a transmission procedure to send an update notification to the terminal indicating that the first data has been updated. To the aforementioned terminal, Upon receiving the update notification, a notification procedure is provided to notify the user of the terminal that the first data has been updated. A program that performs a synchronization procedure to synchronize the second data with the first data in response to the user's operation.

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