Program, control method of information processing device, and information processing device

Abstract

To provide a mechanism capable of reducing a communication load when a push notification request management server acquires a device token.SOLUTION: An application 310 is installed in a host computer 20-1. The host computer 20-1 performs communication with each of a push notification management server 30 for issuing a device token specifying the application 310 and a push notification request management server 40 for issuing a push notification to the host computer in which the application indicated by the device token is installed. The host computer 20-1, when a reference device token does not coincide with a latest device token, transmits the latest device token to the push notification request management server 40, and, when the reference device token coincides with the latest device token, does not transmit the latest device token to the push notification request management server 40.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a program, a control method for an information processing apparatus, and an information processing apparatus.

Background Art

[0002] As a technology for delivering information to an application, push notification is known. As a technology for realizing push notification, a push notification request management server sends a push notification delivery request to a push notification management server prepared by an OS vendor, and the push notification management server delivers a push notification to the device and application indicated by the push notification delivery request. (For example, see Patent Document 1.) Examples of the push notification management server include Windows Push Notification Service (WNS) of Microsoft in the United States and Apple Push Notification service (APNs) of Apple in the United States.

[0003] For example, in a configuration where push notifications are delivered to an application operating on macOS (registered trademark) of Apple Inc. in the United States, the application operating on macOS holds information indicating whether it supports receiving push notifications. When an application that supports receiving push notifications (hereinafter referred to as a "push notification-compatible application") is launched, the push notification-compatible application communicates with APNs through the processing of the pre-prepared operating system. When this communication is successful, the push notification-compatible application can obtain a character string called a device token for uniquely identifying the application on the device from APNs. As a result, the application on this device is recognized by APNs as the application targeted for push notifications. This device token needs to be included in the push notification delivery request as information for specifying the notification target when the push notification delivery request is issued. Therefore, in a configuration using a push notification request management server, it is necessary to convey the information of the device token to the push notification request management server as well.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] By the way, according to Apple, the information of the device token may be changed periodically, and it is not clear when it will be changed. Therefore, the push notification - enabled application needs to communicate with APNs every time it starts up to always obtain the latest device token. Also, if the device token included in the push notification delivery request remains old, the push notification cannot be issued to the target application. Therefore, the push notification request management server that issues the push notification delivery request needs to always hold the latest device token. On the other hand, since the frequency of change of the device token provided by APNs is not so high, in most cases, even if the device token is obtained every time the push notification - enabled application starts up, the information of the obtained device token has not been changed. When such a device token with a not - so - high change frequency is sent to the push notification request management server every time the push notification - enabled application starts up, a problem occurs in that the communication load on the push notification request management server increases.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide a mechanism capable of reducing the communication load when a push notification request management server acquires a device token.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0007] To achieve the above object, the program of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to execute. The information processing apparatus is caused to execute a process of transmitting, to a second server that issues a push notification to the information processing apparatus based on the first identification information, the first identification information obtained from a first server and identifying an application installed in the information processing apparatus, and a control process of controlling the second identification information generated by the first server after the first identification information. The control process includes a process of obtaining the second identification information from the first server, and a process of transmitting the second identification information to the second server when the first identification information and the second identification information do not match, and a process of not transmitting the second identification information to the second server when the first identification information and the second identification information match.

Advantages of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, the communication load when the push notification request management server acquires the device token can be reduced.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0010] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the present invention according to the claims, and not all combinations of the features described in the present embodiments are essential for the solution means of the present invention.

[0011] FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a push notification system including a host computer 20-1 as an information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment. In this push notification system, N host computers 20-1 to 20-N, a push notification management server 30 (first server), and a push notification request management server 40 (second server) can communicate with each other via the Internet 10.

[0012] The host computers 20-1 to 20-N are, for example, personal computers (PCs). Note that the host computers 20-1 to 20-N are not limited to desktop PCs, and may be laptop PCs, tablet PCs, smartphones, or the like. An operating system (hereinafter referred to as OS) is installed on each of the host computers 20-1 to 20-N. Also, each of the host computers 20-1 to 20-N is equipped with a push notification-compatible application.

[0013] For example, when the push notification-compatible application is launched on the host computer 20-1, the host computer 20-1 acquires the device token of the host computer 20-1 from the push notification management server 30. This device token is identification information composed of a predetermined character string for identifying the host computer 20-1 or the push notification-compatible application of the host computer 20-1. Also, the host computer 20-1 transmits the acquired device token to the push notification request management server 40. Further, the host computer 20-1 periodically transmits the attribute information of the host computer 20-1 to the push notification request management server 40 at a preset timing. This attribute information includes country information, language information, OS version information, information on peripheral devices connected to the host computer 20-1, and the like. For example, when the push notification-compatible application of the host computer 20-1 is an application for managing an image forming apparatus, the information on peripheral devices is the model name of the image forming apparatus connected to the host computer 20-1, the remaining amount information of ink or toner, and the like.

[0014] When the push notification request management server 40 receives a request for notification delivery from the outside, it identifies the device indicated by this request and generates a push notification delivery request including the device token of the device. The push notification request management server 40 transmits the generated push notification delivery request to the push notification management server 30. The push notification management server 30 identifies the host computer corresponding to the device token included in the received notification delivery request from among the host computers 20-1 to 20-N, and transmits (issues) a push notification to the identified host computer.

[0015] Figure 2 is a block diagram schematically showing the hardware configuration of the push notification system in Figure 1. In this embodiment, the host computers 20-1 to 20-N all have the same configuration. Hereinafter, as an example, the configuration of the host computer 20-1 will be described.

[0016] In Figure 2, the host computer 20-1 has a CPU 101, a ROM 102, a RAM 103, a display unit 104, an input unit 105, an external storage device 106, and an I / F unit 107. These are connected to each other via a bus 108. Note that I / F is an abbreviation for interface.

[0017] The CPU 101 is a central processing unit that controls each part of the host computer 20-1 and executes control programs such as the OS and applications. The ROM 102 controls the system operation of the host computer 20-1 by the stored OS. The RAM 103 is a random access memory in which the working area by the CPU 101 is expanded. The external storage device 106 stores various control programs such as applications. The input unit 105 is an input device such as a keyboard and a mouse for operating the host computer 20-1. The display unit 104 is a display device for checking the information input using the input unit 105, or for displaying the user interface screen of the OS or applications, messages, etc. The I / F unit 107 is a communication module that transmits and receives data to and from the push notification management server 30 and the push notification request management server 40.

[0018] The push notification management server 30 includes a CPU 111, a ROM 112, a RAM 113, a display unit 114, an input unit 115, an external storage device 116, and an I / F unit 117. These are connected to each other via a bus 118. The CPU 111 is a central processing unit that controls the components of the push notification management server 30. The ROM 112 is a read-only memory that stores a program for controlling the system and applications within the push notification management server 30. The RAM 113 is a memory that can be written to and read from at any time, and temporarily stores programs necessary for the operation of the system and applications within the push notification management server 30, device tokens of the generated host computer 20-1, etc. The input unit 115 is an input device such as a keyboard and a mouse for operating the push notification management server 30. The display unit 114 is a display device for checking the information input using the input unit 115, or for displaying the user interface screen of the OS or applications, messages, etc. The I / F unit 117 is a communication module that transmits and receives data to and from the host computers 20-1 to 20-N, etc.

[0019] The push notification request management server 40 includes a CPU 121, a ROM 122, a RAM 123, a display unit 124, an input unit 125, an external storage device 126, and an I / F unit 127. These are connected to each other via a bus 128. The CPU 121 is a central processing unit that controls the components of the push notification request management server 40. The ROM 122 is a read-only memory that stores programs for controlling the system and applications within the push notification request management server 40. The RAM 123 is a random access memory that can be written to and read from at any time. The RAM 123 temporarily stores programs necessary for the operation of the system and applications within the push notification request management server 40, device tokens received from the host computer 20-1, attribute information of the host computer 20-1, and the like. The input unit 125 is an input device such as a keyboard and a mouse for operating the push notification request management server 40. The display unit 124 is a display device for confirming information input using the input unit 125, or for displaying the user interface screen of the OS or an application, messages, and the like. The I / F unit 127 is a communication module that transmits and receives data to and from host computers 20-1 to 20-N and the like.

[0020] Figure 3 is a block diagram schematically showing the software configuration of the host computer 20-1 in Figure 1. As shown in Figure 3, the host computer 20-1 is equipped with a communication unit 301, an OS push notification reception unit 302, and an OS push notification display unit 303 as software. Further, the host computer 20-1 is equipped with an application 310, which is a push notification-compatible application, as software. The application 310 includes a push notification acquisition unit 311, a push notification display unit 312, an attribute information creation unit 313, a token reception unit 314, a token match determination unit 315, a peripheral device information acquisition unit 316, and a storage unit 317. The host computer 20-1 communicates with the external push notification management server 30, the push notification request management server 40, and the peripheral device 320 through the processing of the communication unit 301 to exchange information.

[0021] When the application 310 is launched on the host computer 20-1, the token reception unit 314 communicates with the push notification management server 30 via the communication unit 301. If this communication is successful, the token reception unit 314 receives the device token of the host computer 20-1 from the push notification management server 30. As described above, this device token is identification information composed of a predetermined character string for identifying the host computer 20-1 and the application 310. This device token is transmitted to the push notification request management server 40 via the communication unit 301. As a result, the application 310 is recognized as a push notification target by the push notification management server 30 and the push notification request management server 40. At this time, the token reception unit 314 stores the device token that has been successfully transmitted to the push notification request management server 40 in the storage unit 317. The device token stored in the storage unit 317 is used, for example, in the determination process by the token matching determination unit 315 of the token reception unit 314 when the application 310 is launched next time. Details of the determination process by the token matching determination unit 315 will be described later.

[0022] When the application 310 is launched on the host computer 20-1, the attribute information creation unit 313 creates the attribute information of the host computer 20-1 and the application 310. The created attribute information is transmitted to the push notification request management server 40 through the communication unit 301. Note that the attribute information may also include information on the peripheral device 320 connected to the host computer 20-1. In that case, the peripheral device information acquisition unit 316 acquires the information of the peripheral device 320 via the communication unit 301.

[0023] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of attribute information created by the attribute information creation unit 313 in FIG. 3. This attribute information includes a user ID 400, country information 401, language information 402, OS version information 403, the model name 404 of the image forming apparatus connected to the host computer 20-1, and the ink remaining amount information 405 of this image forming apparatus. By sending such attribute information to the push notification request management server 40, the push notification request management server 40 can send a push notification only to the notification destination corresponding to the received attribute information. For example, when it is desired to distribute a push notification only to users in Japan, the push notification request management server 40 identifies the devices whose country information 401 is JP among the host computers 20-1 to 20-N. In this way, the push notification request management server 40 can send a push notification request for the device to the push notification management server 30. Further, this attribute information may be configured to be sent to the push notification request management server 40 not only when the application 310 is started but also at a preset timing regularly. By sending the attribute information regularly in this way, it becomes possible to notify the push notification request management server 40 of the latest attribute information regularly.

[0024] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a push notification request transmitted by the push notification request management server 40 in FIG. 1. This push notification request includes a device token part 501, a message part 502, an image URL part 503, a data format specification part 504, and a notification type specification part 505. Further, this push notification request further includes a notification target application specification part 506, an expiration date part 507, a data part 508, and a push notification management server specification part 509.

[0025] The device token section 501 is information that identifies the device and application to which the push notification is to be sent. The device token section 501 is ultimately used as part of the information in the push notification management server designation section 509. The message section 502 and the image URL section 503 are the content of the data to be sent as the push notification and are part of the data section 508. Also, the data format designation section 504 is information indicating the format of the data to be sent as the push notification. The notification type designation section 505 is information indicating either a notification to be displayed in the push notification display area of the OS or a notification not to be displayed in the push notification display area of the OS. The notification target application designation section 506 is information indicating the ID of the application to be the notification target. The notification target application designation section 506 is basically unchanged regardless of which device the push notification is sent to, but when sending push notifications to multiple applications, it needs to be changed together with the device token section 501 for each request. The expiration date section 507 is information indicating the expiration date for displaying the push notification. By setting the expiration date when sending a push notification for information that is valid only for a certain period such as campaign information, etc., it becomes possible to display the push notification only within a certain period when the push notification is displayed on the host computer 20-1. The data section 508 is the content of the data to be sent as the push notification. Note that in FIG. 5, an example of specifying in the JSON format is described in the data format designation section 504 and the data section 508, but a data format other than the JSON format may be used as long as it is a data format supported by the push notification management server 30. The push notification management server designation section 509 is the URL of the push notification management server 30 to which the request is sent and includes the information in the device token section 501.

[0026] The push notification management server 30 transmits the information of the push notification to the device corresponding to the device token included in the received push notification request, for example, the host computer 20-1. The information of the push notification transmitted from the push notification management server 30 is first received by the OS push notification receiving unit 302 through the communication unit 301. Here, the information of the push notification received includes information indicating either a notification to be displayed in the push notification display area of the OS or a notification not to be displayed in the push notification display area of the OS. If the information indicating that it is a notification to be displayed in the push notification display area of the OS is included, the push notification based on the received information is displayed by the OS push notification display unit 303. On the other hand, if the information indicating that it is a notification not to be displayed in the push notification display area of the OS is included, the push notification based on the received information is not displayed by the OS push notification display unit 303. In this case, the information of the push notification can be acquired by the launched application 310 and utilized for the push notification display of the application 310. The application 310 includes a push notification acquisition unit 311 and a push notification display unit 312. As described above, when the application 310 is launched, the push notification acquisition unit 311 checks whether there is any acquirable push notification information. At this time, regardless of whether it is a notification to be displayed in the OS push notification display area or a notification not to be displayed in the OS push notification display area, the push notification acquisition unit 311 can acquire the information of the push notification. An example of this push notification information is shown in FIG. 6. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the push notification information includes a push notification ID section 601, a push notification type section 602, a push notification message section 603, a push notification image URL section 604, a push notification expiration date section 605, and a push notification priority section 606. The push notification display unit 312 of the application 310 displays the push notification based on the received push notification information. For example, when the push notification type section 602 is "inapp" indicating that it is within the application, the push notification is displayed by the application 310 instead of the OS push notification display unit 303.Also, it is possible to display the message stored in the push notification message section 603 as the message to be displayed in the push notification, or to download the image file from the image file URL of the push notification image URL section 604 and display it in the push notification. The customization process of the content of these push notifications is performed by the push notification display section 312 of the application 310. Also, it is possible to display the push notification only within the validity period of the notification described in the push notification validity period section 605, or to control the display priority when multiple push notifications can be acquired simultaneously based on the information in the push notification priority section 606. The display control process of these push notifications is performed by the push notification display section 312 of the application 310.

[0027] Figure 7 is a diagram showing an example of a push notification displayed by the push notification display section 312 of Figure 3. The push notification display section 312 displays an in-app push notification window 701 and displays the content based on the push notification information therein. The image displayed in the push notification window image section 702 is an image acquired by the push notification display section 312 from the push notification image URL section 604. Also, the message displayed in the push notification window message section 703 is a message acquired by the push notification display section 312 from the push notification message section 603. Also, the OK button 704 for closing the push notification window is also displayed by the push notification display section 312.

[0028] Next, the reception of the device token when the application 310 is launched will be described.

[0029] FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the procedure of device token reception control processing executed by the host computer 20-1 in FIG. 1. The device token reception control processing is realized by the CPU 101 executing a program stored in the ROM 102 or the like. The device token reception control processing is executed, for example, when the application 310 is started for the second time or later. In this device token reception control processing, it is assumed that the device token previously transmitted by the host computer 20-1 to the push notification request management server 40 is already stored in the storage unit 317 as a reference device token.

[0030] In FIG. 8, first, the CPU 101 communicates with the push notification management server 30 through the token reception unit 314 (S801). Next, the CPU 101 determines whether or not it has successfully obtained a device token from the push notification management server 30 (S802). If it is determined in S802 that the acquisition of the device token has failed, this process ends. If it is determined in S802 that the acquisition of the device token has been successful, this process proceeds to S803. Hereinafter, the device token obtained by communicating with the push notification management server 30 in S801 is referred to as the "latest device token".

[0031] In S803, the CPU 101 reads out the reference device token stored in the storage unit 317. Next, the CPU 101 determines whether or not the latest device token matches the reference device token by the token match determination unit 315 (S804).

[0032] If it is determined in S804 that the latest device token matches the reference device token, this process ends.

[0033] On the other hand, if it is determined in S804 that the latest device token does not match the reference device token, this process proceeds to S805. In S805, the CPU 101 transmits the latest device token to the push notification request management server 40 through the communication unit 301.

[0034] Next, the CPU 101 determines whether the transmission of the latest device token was successful (S806). If it is determined in S806 that the transmission of the latest device token has failed, this process ends. Note that if it is determined in S806 that the transmission of the latest device token has failed, it means that the communication with the push notification request management server 40 has failed for some reason. Therefore, a message indicating that the communication with the push notification request management server 40 has failed may be displayed on the display unit 104. Furthermore, when communication with the push notification request management server 40 becomes possible, a process of transmitting the latest device token to the push notification request management server 40 may be performed.

[0035] On the other hand, if it is determined in S806 that the transmission of the latest device token was successful, the CPU 101 updates the reference device token stored in the storage unit 317 with the latest device token (S807). Then, this process ends.

[0036] According to the above-described embodiment, when the reference device token and the latest device token match, the latest device token is not transmitted to the push notification request management server 40. That is, when the device token (reference device token) held by the push notification request management server 40 has not been updated, unnecessary device tokens are not transmitted to the push notification request management server 40. Thereby, the communication load when the push notification request management server 40 acquires the device token can be reduced.

[0037] Also, in the above-described embodiment, the reference device token is the device token transmitted to the push notification request management server 40 last time. Thereby, when the latest device token has not been updated from the device token transmitted to the push notification request management server 40 last time, unnecessary device tokens can be prevented from being transmitted to the push notification request management server 40.

[0038] Also, in the above-described embodiment, the device token reception control process by the host computer 20-1 is executed when the application 310 indicated by the reference device token is launched. Thereby, the communication load when the push notification request management server 40 acquires the device token at the time of launching the application 310 can be reduced.

[0039] Note that, although the device token reception control process of FIG. 8 described above has been described as being executed when the application 310 is launched for the second time and later, the execution timing of this device token reception control process is not limited to this. For example, this device token reception control process may be periodically executed at a predetermined timing during the operation of the application 310.

[0040] Also, this device token reception control process may be executed when a predetermined event occurs in the host computer 20-1.

[0041] Note that, in the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the reference device token is updated only when it is determined that the latest device token and the reference device token do not match has been described, but the configuration is not limited to this. For example, even when it is determined that the latest device token and the reference device token match, the reference device token may be updated to the latest device token. That is, regardless of whether the latest device token and the reference device token match, the reference device token is updated to the latest device token. In such a configuration, in S804, the latest device token is compared with the device token (reference device token) acquired from the push notification management server 30 at the previous launch of the application 310. Even in such a configuration, the same effects as those of the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

[0042] In addition, in the present embodiment, the latest device token may be added to the attribute information of the host computer 20-1 that is periodically transmitted to the push notification request management server 40 at a preset timing.

[0043] The attribute information creation unit 313 creates the attribute information of the host computer 20-1 and transmits this attribute information to the push notification request management server 40 through the communication unit 301. In the present embodiment, the latest device token is added to this attribute information.

[0044] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of attribute information including a device token. In addition to the user ID 400, country information 401, language information 402, OS version information 403, model name 404 of the image forming apparatus connected to the host computer 20-1, and ink remaining amount information 405 of this image forming apparatus described above, this attribute information includes a device token 901. The device token 901 is added to the attribute information when it is necessary to convey it to the push notification request management server 40, and is not added to the attribute information when it is not necessary to convey it to the push notification request management server 40. By transmitting the attribute information including the device token 901 to the push notification request management server 40, the push notification request management server 40 can not only send a push notification only to the notification destination corresponding to the received attribute information, but also identify the device and application targeted by the request.

[0045] FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing another procedure of the device token reception control process executed by the host computer 20-1 in FIG. 1. The device token reception control process in FIG. 10 is realized by the CPU 101 executing a program stored in the ROM 102 or the like, similar to the device token reception control process in FIG. 8 described above. In addition, the device token reception control process in FIG. 10 is executed after the application 310 is started and the device token reception control process in FIG. 8 described above is completed. That is, the device token reception control process in FIG. 10 is executed during the operation of the application 310.

[0046] In FIG. 10, first, the CPU 101 determines whether it is the transmission timing of the preset attribute information (S1001). The transmission timing of the attribute information is, for example, once a month, once every three months, etc., and is a timing that can be changed by the user in the menu of the application 310. Note that the transmission timing of the attribute information is not limited to the timing set by the user, and may be, for example, the timing when there is a change in the printer status or the like regarding the attribute information. The setting regarding the transmission timing of the attribute information is held by, for example, the attribute information creation unit 313.

[0047] If it is determined in S1001 that it is not the transmission timing of the attribute information, this process ends. If it is determined in S1001 that it is the transmission timing of the attribute information, the CPU 101 communicates with the push notification management server 30 through the token reception unit 314 (S1002). Next, the CPU 101 determines whether it has successfully obtained the latest device token from the push notification management server 30 (S1003).

[0048] If it is determined in S1003 that the acquisition of the latest device token from the push notification management server 30 has failed, this process ends. If it is determined in S1003 that the acquisition of the latest device token from the push notification management server 30 has been successful, the CPU 101 reads out the reference device token stored in the storage unit 317 (S1004). Next, the CPU 101 determines whether the latest device token matches the reference device token through the token match determination unit 315 (S1005).

[0049] If it is determined in S1005 that the latest device token and the reference device token do not match, the CPU 101 notifies the latest device token to the attribute information creation unit 313 (S1006). Next, the CPU 101 controls the attribute information creation unit 313 to generate attribute information (S1007). At this time, in S1007, as shown in FIG. 9, attribute information 400 including the notified latest device token 901 is generated. Thus, in the present embodiment, when the latest device token and the reference device token do not match, attribute information 400 including the latest device token 901 is generated. Thereafter, this process proceeds to S1008.

[0050] If it is determined in S1005 that the latest device token and the reference device token match, S1006 is not performed and S1007 is performed. At this time, in S1007, as shown in FIG. 4, attribute information 400 that does not include the acquired latest device token is generated. Thereafter, this process proceeds to S1008.

[0051] In S1008, the CPU 101 transmits the attribute information generated in S1007 to the push notification request management server 40. Next, the CPU 101 determines whether the transmission of the attribute information was successful (S1009). If it is determined in S1009 that the transmission of the attribute information has failed, this process ends. Note that if it is determined in S1009 that the transmission of the attribute information has failed, it means that the communication with the push notification request management server 40 has failed for some reason. Therefore, a message indicating that the communication with the push notification request management server 40 has failed is displayed on the display unit 104, and when communication with the push notification request management server 40 becomes possible, a process of transmitting the attribute information to the push notification request management server 40 may be performed.

[0052] On the other hand, if it is determined in S1009 that the transmission of the attribute information was successful, the CPU 101 updates the reference device token stored in the storage unit 317 with the latest device token (S1010). Thereafter, this process ends.

[0053] In the above-described embodiment, one piece of data including the attribute information of the host computer 20-1 and the latest device token is transmitted to the push notification request management server 40. Thereby, the amount of data received by the push notification request management server 40 can be reduced compared to the case where the attribute information of the host computer 20-1 and the latest device token are transmitted as separate data, and thus the communication load on the push notification request management server 40 can be reduced.

[0054] Also, in the above-described embodiment, the device token reception control process by the host computer 20-1 is executed at a predetermined timing set in advance during the operation of the application 310. Thereby, in a configuration in which the latest device token is acquired from the push notification management server 30 at a predetermined timing set in advance during the operation of the application 310, the communication load on the push notification request management server 40 can be reduced.

[0055] Also, in the above-described embodiment, the device token reception control process by the host computer 20-1 is executed at the timing when the attribute information is changed during the operation of the application 310. Thereby, in a configuration in which the latest device token is acquired from the push notification management server 30 at the timing when the attribute information is changed during the operation of the application 310, the communication load on the push notification request management server 40 can be reduced.

[0056] Also, in the present embodiment, when a request for a device token is received from the push notification request management server 40, a configuration may be adopted in which the latest device token is compared with the reference device token.

[0057] FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing yet another procedure of the device token reception control process executed by the host computer 20-1 in FIG. 1. Note that the device token reception control process in FIG. 11 is a process similar to the device token reception control process in FIG. 8 described above. Hereinafter, the content different from the device token reception control process in FIG. 8 described above will be described. The device token reception control process in FIG. 11 is also realized by the CPU 101 executing a program stored in the ROM 102 or the like, similar to the device token reception control process in FIG. 8 described above. The device token reception control process in FIG. 11 is also executed, for example, when the application 310 is started for the second time or later, similar to the device token reception control process in FIG. 8 described above. Note that in the device token reception control process in FIG. 11 as well, it is assumed that the device token previously transmitted by the host computer 20-1 to the push notification request management server 40 is already stored in the storage unit 317 as the reference device token.

[0058] In FIG. 11, first, S801 and S802 described above are performed. If it is determined in S802 that the acquisition of the device token has failed, this process ends. If it is determined in S802 that the acquisition of the device token has succeeded, this process proceeds to S1101.

[0059] In S1101, the CPU 101 determines whether it has received a request for a device token from the push notification request management server 40. If it is determined in S1101 that the push notification request management server 40 has not received a request for a device token, this process ends. If it is determined in S1101 that the push notification request management server 40 has received a request for a device token, S803 and S804 described above are performed.

[0060] If it is determined in S804 that the latest device token does not match the reference device token, the above-described S805 and S806 are performed. If it is determined in S806 that the transmission of the latest device token has failed, this process ends. If it is determined in S806 that the transmission of the latest device token has succeeded, the above-described S807 is performed, and then this process ends.

[0061] If it is determined in S804 that the latest device token matches the reference device token, the CPU 101 transmits a response indicating that the device token does not need to be updated to the push notification request management server 40 (S1102). Then, this process ends. Note that, from the perspective of communication frequency, the response in S1102 does not necessarily have to be performed. In a configuration where the response in S1102 is not performed, when the push notification request management server 40 does not receive a response to the device token request even after a predetermined period has elapsed, it determines that the device token does not need to be updated.

[0062] In the above-described embodiment, the device token reception control process by the host computer 20-1 is executed when the host computer 20-1 receives a device token request from the push notification request management server 40. Thereby, in a configuration where the host computer 20-1 acquires the latest device token from the push notification management server 30 when receiving a device token request from the push notification request management server 40, the communication load on the push notification request management server 40 can be reduced.

[0063] The present invention is also realized by executing the following process. That is, software (program) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment is supplied to a system or device via a network or various storage media, and a computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or device reads and executes the program.

[0064] Note that the disclosure of this embodiment includes the following configurations and methods. (Configuration 1) A program to be executed by a computer, which causes an information processing device to perform a process of transmitting, to a second server that issues a push notification to the information processing device based on first identification information, the first identification information acquired from a first server and used to identify an application installed in the information processing device, and a control process of controlling the second identification information generated by the first server after the first identification information. The control process includes a process of acquiring the second identification information from the first server, and when the first identification information and the second identification information do not match, transmitting the second identification information to the second server, and when the first identification information and the second identification information match, not transmitting the second identification information to the second server. A program characterized by including the above. (Configuration 2) The program according to Configuration 1, wherein the control process further includes a process of comparing the first identification information and the second identification information. (Configuration 3) The program according to Configuration 1 or 2, wherein the first identification information is the identification information last transmitted to the second server. (Configuration 4) The program according to Configuration 1 or 2, wherein the first identification information is the identification information last acquired from the first server. (Configuration 5) The program according to any one of Configurations 1 to 4, wherein the control process is executed when the application indicated by the first identification information is launched. (Configuration 6) The program according to any one of Configurations 1 to 4, wherein the control process is executed when the information processing device receives a request for the second identification information from the second server. (Configuration 7) The program according to any one of Configurations 1 to 6, wherein the control process further includes a process of transmitting, to the second server, attribute information of the information processing device used to determine the destination of the push notification. (Configuration 8) The program according to Configuration 7, wherein in the control process, one piece of data including the attribute information of the information processing device and the second identification information is transmitted to the second server. (Configuration 9) The control process is the program according to any one of Configurations 1 to 8, characterized in that the application indicated by the first identification information operates and is executed at a preset predetermined timing. (Configuration 10) The control process is the program according to any one of Configurations 1 to 8, characterized in that the application indicated by the first identification information operates and is executed at the timing when the attribute information of the information processing apparatus is changed.

Explanation of Signs

[0065] 20-1 Host computer 30 Push notification management server 40 Push notification request management server 101 CPU 107 I / F section 310 Application

Claims

1. A program to be executed by a computer, in an information processing apparatus, a process of transmitting, to a second server that issues a push notification to the information processing apparatus based on first identification information, the first identification information acquired from a first server and for identifying an application installed in the information processing apparatus, executing a control process for controlling the second identification information generated by the first server after the first identification information, the control process includes: a process of acquiring the second identification information from the first server, when the first identification information and the second identification information do not match, transmitting the second identification information to the second server, and when the first identification information and the second identification information match, not transmitting the second identification information to the second server. A program characterized by including.

2. The program according to claim 1, wherein the control process further includes a process of comparing the first identification information and the second identification information.

3. The program according to claim 1, wherein the first identification information is the identification information last transmitted to the second server.

4. The program according to claim 1, wherein the first identification information is the identification information last acquired from the first server.

5. The program according to claim 1, wherein the control process is executed when the application indicated by the first identification information is started.

6. The program according to claim 1, wherein the control process is executed when the information processing apparatus receives a request for the second identification information from the second server.

7. The program according to claim 1, wherein the control process further includes a process of transmitting attribute information of the information processing apparatus used for determining a transmission destination of the push notification to the second server.

8. The program according to claim 7, wherein, in the control process, one piece of data including the attribute information of the information processing apparatus and the second identification information is transmitted to the second server.

9. The program according to claim 1, wherein the control process is executed at a predetermined timing during the operation of the application indicated by the first identification information.

10. The program according to claim 1, wherein the control process is executed at a timing when the attribute information of the information processing apparatus is changed during the operation of the application indicated by the first identification information.

11. A control method for an information processing apparatus in which an application is installed, comprising: transmitting, to a second server that issues a push notification to the information processing apparatus based on the first identification information, the first identification information acquired from a first server and used to identify the application; a control step of performing control regarding second identification information generated by the first server after the first identification information; wherein the control step includes a step of acquiring the second identification information from the first server; and a step of transmitting the second identification information to the second server when the first identification information and the second identification information do not match, and not transmitting the second identification information to the second server when the first identification information and the second identification information match. A control method for an information processing apparatus, characterized by the above.

12. An information processing apparatus in which an application is installed, comprising: means for transmitting, to a second server that issues a push notification to the information processing apparatus based on the first identification information, the first identification information acquired from a first server and used to identify the application; control means for performing control regarding second identification information generated by the first server after the first identification information; wherein the control means acquires the second identification information from the first server; and transmits the second identification information to the second server when the first identification information and the second identification information do not match, and does not transmit the second identification information to the second server when the first identification information and the second identification information match. An information processing apparatus, characterized by the above.

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