Information processing system

Abstract

To provide a configuration capable of achieving both smooth transmission / reception of a request and a response to / from a server and suppression of processing delay or the like even in a client terminal having poor calculation resources.SOLUTION: A relay device 60 for relaying a request from a portable terminal 10 and a response from a server 50 includes a storage part 62 for storing the response received from the server 50, and performs distribution processing for distributing the response stored in the storage part 62 to the portable terminal 10 shifted to a reception processing state with the portable terminal 10 as a distribution destination. The mobile terminal 10 receives a response from the relay device 60 at the timing when the mobile terminal 10 shifts to the reception processing state.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing system in which a response generated by a server in response to a request from a client terminal is received by the client terminal. [Background technology]

[0002] A method of managing inventory status and logistics processes for managed items by combining RF tags and other wireless tags or information codes attached to managed items with a reading terminal that reads them is becoming widespread. In recent years, the number of portable reading terminals that can be connected to a computer network as client terminals has also increased, and online applications that operate by transmitting and receiving data between each reading terminal and a server via the network are being used in business.

[0003] Unlike stationary general-purpose computers, portable client terminals tend to use relatively inexpensive CPUs and memory, which means they have limited computing resources and are therefore susceptible to the impact of communication processing loads when communicating wirelessly with servers, etc.

[0004] Regarding such problems, in the software execution system disclosed in Patent Document 1 below, in order to reduce the processing load on terminal devices with limited computing resources, data delivered from a server to a terminal device is converted by a relay device into a form that can be processed by the terminal device before being delivered. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-213066 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] In the above-described system, a request from a client terminal is converted by a relay device before being sent to a server, and a response generated by the server in response to this request is also converted by the relay device received from the server and then delivered to the client terminal. In this way, one response is sent and received for one request between the client terminal and the server in the above-described system, and when multiple requests are made, the sending and receiving of a pair of request and response is repeated.

[0007] For this reason, when a client terminal with limited computing resources performs a task that requires a large number of requests in a short period of time, the client's processing capacity is monopolized by receiving responses, which tends to increase the processing load. As a result, while the client terminal is repeatedly sending and receiving requests and responses, delays occur in other processes, which causes problems such as impaired operability and responsiveness.

[0008] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to provide a configuration that can achieve both smooth sending and receiving of requests and responses between a server and a client terminal, even if the client terminal has limited computing resources, while suppressing processing delays, etc. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides A client terminal (10), a server (50) that generates and transmits a response in response to a request from the client terminal; a relay device (60) that relays the request from the client terminal and the response from the server; An information processing system (1) comprising: The relay device a storage unit (62) for storing the response received from the server; a delivery unit (61, 63) that delivers the response stored in the storage unit to the client terminal that has transitioned to a reception processing state, with the client terminal as the delivery destination; Equipped with The client terminal receives the response from the relay device at the timing when the client terminal transitions to the reception processing state. The symbols in parentheses above indicate the correspondence with the specific means described in the embodiments to be described later. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] In the present invention, a relay device that relays a request from a client terminal and a response from a server includes a storage unit that stores the response received from the server, and a distribution unit that distributes the response stored in the storage unit to a client terminal that has transitioned to a reception processing state, with the client terminal as the distribution destination. The client terminal receives the response from the relay device at the timing of transitioning to the reception processing state.

[0011] As a result, the client terminal that made the request can receive a response from the relay device by transitioning to the reception processing state at any time when it is not performing other processing such as input processing or display processing, i.e., at a time when the processing load is low. In this way, the client terminal itself can distribute the processing load generated by receiving a response. Therefore, even a client terminal with limited computing resources can achieve smooth transmission and reception of requests and responses to the server while suppressing processing delays, etc.

[0012] The delivery unit may deliver to the client terminal that has transitioned to the reception processing state a combined response that combines at least some of the responses stored in the storage unit with the client terminal as the delivery destination. This allows the client terminal to receive fewer responses than when one response is received for each request, thereby further reducing the processing load caused by receiving the responses.

[0013] The client terminal may make a request including the read data of the wireless tag to the server via the relay device, and receive a response from the relay device when it transitions to the receiving processing state, and the server may generate and send the response so that it includes information used to determine whether the read data included in the corresponding request has been read.

[0014] This allows the client terminal to determine, based on the responses received from the server and accumulated, whether the data read from the wireless tag is data that has already been read by another terminal. In particular, even if the client terminal makes a large number of requests in a short period of time to read a large number of wireless tags, delays and stops in the reading process can be suppressed by transitioning to the reception process state at a time when the processing load is low, such as when the reading process or input reception process is not being executed.

[0015] The client terminal may transition to the reception processing state when the processing load is low and the reading processing is not being executed.

[0016] The response includes the read data of the corresponding request, and the client terminal may transition to a receiving processing state so that the relay device can deliver the response stored in the memory unit to another client terminal as a delivery destination to that client terminal as well.

[0017] This allows each client terminal to share the read data, and therefore new requests and responses are not made for read data that has already been read by another client terminal, further reducing the processing load caused by sending and receiving requests and responses. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an information processing system according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] 2(A) is a block diagram illustrating the electrical configuration of the mobile terminal of FIG. 1, FIG. 2(B) is a block diagram illustrating the wireless tag processing unit of FIG. 2(A), and FIG. 2(C) is a block diagram illustrating the information code reading unit of FIG. 2(A). [Figure 3] 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of the flow of processing performed by a mobile terminal, a server, and a relay device during inventory work in the first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 4] 4 is a sequence diagram illustrating the flow of processes performed by a mobile terminal, a server, and a relay device during inventory work in the first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating the flow of processes performed by a mobile terminal, a server, and a relay device during an inventory operation in a modified example of the first embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating the flow of processes performed by a mobile terminal, a server, and a relay device during inventory work in the second embodiment. [Figure 7] 7(A) to 7(C) are explanatory diagrams illustrating each response received by the relay device from the server, and FIG. 7(D) is an explanatory diagram illustrating the combined response that the relay device delivers to the mobile terminal. [Figure 8] FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram illustrating the flow of processes performed by a mobile terminal, a server, and a relay device during inventory work in the third embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0019] [First embodiment] A first embodiment of an information processing system according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The information processing system 1 according to this embodiment is configured as a system in which a response generated by a server in response to a request from a client terminal is received by the client terminal, and the request from the client terminal and the response from the server are relayed by a relay device. As shown in Fig. 1, the information processing system 1 includes a plurality of mobile terminals 10 each functioning as a client terminal, a server 50, and a relay device 60.

[0020] The information processing system 1 according to this embodiment is configured as a system employed for managing inventory work within a predetermined management area such as a warehouse, where managed items such as clothes are stored in predetermined locations. For this purpose, each managed item is attached with a wireless tag T such as an RF tag that stores management data such as a tag ID, and data such as the tag ID read from the wireless tag T by each mobile terminal 10 (hereinafter also referred to as read data) is transmitted and received between each mobile terminal 10 and the server 50 via a relay device 60 using predetermined requests and responses.

[0021] In this embodiment, a request transmitted from the mobile terminal 10 requests a read determination result (information used for determining whether the read data to be transmitted is data that has already been read by another terminal), and the read determination result, etc. is transmitted as a response from the server 50 to the mobile terminal 10 that made the request as a distribution destination. Each mobile terminal 10 can determine whether the read data being read from the RF tag T has already been read by another mobile terminal 10, based on the read determination result, etc. contained in the received response. The relay device 60 functions to relay the request from the mobile terminal 10 and the response from the server 50. The mobile terminal 10, the server 50, and the relay device 60, which function in this way, will be described below.

[0022] First, the configuration of the mobile terminal 10 will be described. The mobile terminal 10 of this embodiment is configured as a portable information reading terminal that is carried by a user and used in various places, and not only has the function of reading and writing information stored in a wireless tag T using radio waves transmitted and received via an antenna as a medium, but also has the function of an information code reader that optically reads information codes such as barcodes and two-dimensional codes, and is configured to be able to perform reading in two ways.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 2(A), the mobile terminal 10 mainly includes a control unit 21 that is responsible for overall control and a memory unit 22 consisting of a semiconductor memory or the like, as well as a display unit 23 whose display content is controlled by the control unit 21, an operation unit 24 that outputs an operation signal to the control unit 21 in response to an input operation, an alarm unit 25 whose light-emitting state of the light-emitting unit, the alarm state of the speaker, the sounding state of the buzzer, etc. are controlled by the control unit 21, a communication unit 26 for wireless or wired communication with external devices such as a relay device 60 and a server 50 via a predetermined network N such as an in-house LAN or the Internet, and a power supply unit 28 that supplies power from a battery 29 to various electrical components.

[0024] The mobile terminal 10 also includes a wireless tag processing unit 30 for reading and writing information from and to the wireless tag T, and an information code reading unit 40 for optically reading the information code. The wireless tag processing unit 30 can be an example of a "reading unit" that performs a reading process to read data stored in the wireless tag T via wireless communication.

[0025] First, the wireless tag processing unit 30 will be described with reference to FIG. 2(B). The RFID tag processing unit 30 functions as a wireless communication unit that communicates wirelessly with a plurality of RFID tags T using a predetermined modulation method controlled by the control unit 21, and cooperates with the antenna 34 and the control unit 21 to communicate with the RFID tags T using electromagnetic waves, reading data such as tag IDs stored in the RFID tags T, or writing data to the RFID tags T. The RFID tag processing unit 30 is configured as a circuit that transmits using a known radio wave method, and includes a transmitting circuit 31, a receiving circuit 32, a matching circuit 33, etc., as shown schematically in Fig. 2(B).

[0026] The transmission circuit 31 is composed of a carrier oscillator, an encoder, an amplifier, a transmission filter, a modulator, and the like. The carrier oscillator outputs a carrier (carrier wave) of a predetermined frequency. The encoder is connected to the control unit 21 and encodes the transmission data output from the control unit 21 and outputs the encoded data to the modulator. The modulator receives the carrier (carrier wave) from the carrier oscillator and the transmission data from the encoder. The modulator generates a modulated signal by modulating the carrier (carrier wave) output from the carrier oscillator with the encoded transmission code (modulation signal) output from the encoder when transmitting a command to a communication target, and outputs the modulated signal to the amplifier. The amplifier amplifies the input signal (the modulated signal modulated by the modulator) with a predetermined gain and outputs the amplified signal to the transmission filter. The transmission filter filters the amplified signal from the amplifier and outputs the resulting transmission signal to the antenna 34 via the matching circuit 33. When the transmission signal is output to the antenna 34 in this manner, the transmission signal is radiated from the antenna 34 to the outside as a transmission radio wave.

[0027] On the other hand, the response signal received by the antenna 34 is input to the receiving circuit 32 via the matching circuit 33. This receiving circuit 32 is composed of a receiving filter, an amplifier, a demodulation unit, a binarization processing unit, a decoding unit, etc., and the response signal received via the antenna 34 is filtered by the receiving filter, then amplified by the amplifier, and the amplified signal is demodulated by the demodulation unit. The demodulated signal waveform is then binarized by the binarization processing unit and decoded by the decoding unit, and the decoded signal is output to the control unit 21 as read data (received data).

[0028] Next, the information code reading unit 40 will be described with reference to FIG. The information code reading unit 40 functions to optically read information codes, and as shown in Figure 2(C), is configured with a light receiving sensor 43 consisting of a CCD area sensor or the like, an imaging lens 42, an illumination unit 41 consisting of multiple LEDs, lenses, etc., and functions to read the information code C (barcode or two-dimensional code) attached to the reading object R in cooperation with the control unit 21.

[0029] When reading is performed by this information code reader 40, first, illumination light Lf is emitted from the illumination unit 41 in response to a command from the control unit 21, and this illumination light Lf is irradiated onto the read object R through the reading opening 12. Then, reflected light Lr, which is formed by the illumination light Lf being reflected by the information code C, is taken in through the reading opening 12 and is received by the light-receiving sensor 43 through the imaging lens 42. The imaging lens 42, which is disposed between the reading opening 12 and the light-receiving sensor 43, is configured to form an image of the information code C on the light-receiving sensor 43, and the light-receiving sensor 43 outputs a light-receiving signal corresponding to the image of the information code C. The light-receiving signal output from the light-receiving sensor 43 is stored as image data in the storage unit 22 (FIG. 2(A)) and is used in a decoding process to acquire the information contained in the information code C. The information code reading unit 40 is provided with an amplifier circuit that amplifies the signal from the light receiving sensor 43, an AD conversion circuit that converts the amplified signal into a digital signal, and the like, but these circuits are not shown in the figure.

[0030] In the mobile terminal 10 configured in this manner, a work confirmation process performed by the control unit 21 performs a reading process for sequentially reading read data from each RFID tag T while a predetermined reading operation is being performed on the operation unit 24. In this reading process, reading is performed at the rate of several tens of sheets per second, and if the read data is not registered in the read database constructed in the storage unit 22, the read data is additionally registered, and if the read data is already registered in the read database, the read data is discarded.

[0031] In the work confirmation process, each time the read data read by the reading process is registered in the read database, the above request is made for the read data, and then the process transitions to a receiving process state for receiving a response addressed to itself as the distribution destination at the desired timing, whereby the response is received from the relay device 60 as described below.

[0032] Therefore, each time the mobile terminal 10 reads a wireless tag T, it can notify whether the wireless tag T has already been read by another mobile terminal 10 by using light emission or the like from the notification unit 25. For example, when it is determined that an unread wireless tag T has been read, the notification unit 25 goes into a predetermined notification state, so that the worker can easily know whether another worker is already performing inventory work in the work area where the worker is currently performing inventory work, thereby preventing duplication of inventory work.

[0033] Next, the configuration of the server 50 will be described. The server 50 according to this embodiment includes a storage unit 52, a communication unit 53, etc., and a control unit 51 that controls these units in an integrated manner. The server 50 is configured by installing a predetermined server program that causes the control unit 51 to execute a response transmission process that generates and transmits a response in response to a request from each mobile terminal 10. A database is constructed in the storage unit 52 in which the read data included in the request from each mobile terminal 10 is registered, in order to perform processes such as tallying the read data and determining whether it has been read, and to grasp the progress of inventory work.

[0034] In the response transmission process, each time the request is received via the communication unit 53, a read determination result, read data, etc. are generated as a response to be transmitted in response to the request. Specifically, if the read data included in the request has already been read by another terminal, read result information is generated as the read determination result, and if the read data included in the request has not been read by another terminal, unread result information is generated as the read determination result. Then, each time a response is generated in this way, the response is transmitted to the mobile terminal 10 that made the request as the distribution destination.

[0035] Next, the configuration of the relay device 60 will be described. The relay device 60 according to this embodiment includes a storage unit 62, a communication unit 63, and a control unit 61 that controls these units. The relay device 60 is configured as an MQTT broker device in which an MQTT broker program and a server response storage program are installed to employ the MQTT communication protocol, which enables one-to-many communication, for relaying data transmission and reception between each mobile terminal 10 connected to the predetermined network N and the server 50. In the MQTT communication protocol, when a device connected to the MQTT broker device transmits (publishes) data by specifying a character string called a topic, the data is distributed to multiple connected devices that are waiting to receive the topic (reception processing state: subscribed). In the MQTT communication protocol, subscribers who are not subscribed at the time the data is published are generally unable to receive the data.

[0036] For this reason, in the relay process performed by the control unit 61, when a request having itself as a delivery destination is received from each mobile terminal 10, a process of transferring the request to the server 50 is performed. Also, in the relay process performed by the control unit 61, when a response having a delivery destination set is received from the server 50, the response is temporarily saved (stored) in the storage unit 62 functioning as a server response storage unit, and then a delivery process is performed in which the response is delivered via the communication unit 63 to the mobile terminal 10 that is the delivery destination and has transitioned to a reception processing state. The response temporarily saved in the storage unit 62 is deleted from the storage unit 62 by receiving reception completion information, which will be described later, from the mobile terminal 10. Note that the control unit 61 and the communication unit 63 that perform the delivery process of delivering the response stored in the storage unit 62 to the mobile terminal 10 that has transitioned to a reception processing state and has the mobile terminal 10 as the delivery destination can correspond to an example of a "delivery unit."

[0037] As described above, the response from the server 50 is temporarily stored in the relay device 60, and therefore, in each mobile terminal 10, after making the request each time read data is read from the RF tag T, by transitioning to a reception processing state at a desired timing, a response corresponding to the request is received from the relay device 60. Therefore, the mobile terminal 10 that has read read data from the RF tag T can receive the read determination result of the read data (read result information or unread result information) as a response from the relay device 60 by transitioning to the reception processing state at any timing when other processing such as reading processing or input acceptance processing is not being performed, that is, at a timing when the processing load is low.

[0038] In the information processing system 1 configured as above, when an operator performs inventory work using the mobile terminal 10, the respective flows of the work confirmation process performed by the mobile terminal 10, the response transmission process performed by the server 50, and the relay process performed by the relay device 60 will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. In this embodiment, the MQTT topic published from the mobile terminal 10 to request processing from the server 50 is a request topic previously determined between the mobile terminal 10 on which a predetermined program is installed and the server 50, and includes an identifier (terminal ID) of the mobile terminal 10 that is the sender, an identifier (request ID) of the request, and read data. Furthermore, the response topic generated and published by the server 50 in response to the request includes the terminal ID and request ID of the request, and read data.

[0039] When the work confirmation process is started on the mobile terminal 10 having the terminal ID "001", and the read data "10011" is read from the first RF tag T by the read process during the predetermined reading operation, the terminal ID "001", the request ID "0001", and the read data "10011" are transmitted as a request to the server 50 via the relay device 60 (see S1 in FIG. 3 and Fa1 in FIG. 4). Next, when the read data "10022" is read from the second RF tag T, the terminal ID "001", the request ID "0002", and the read data "10022" are transmitted as a request to the server 50 via the relay device 60 (see S1 in FIG. 3 and Fa2 in FIG. 4). Next, when the read data "10033" is read from the third wireless tag T, the terminal ID "001", request ID "0003" and read data "10033" are sent as a request to the server 50 via the relay device 60 (see S1 in Figure 3 and Fa3 in Figure 4).

[0040] The server 50 performing the response transmission process subscribes to the terminal ID level using a multi-level wildcard, and is ready to receive any request from any mobile terminal 10. Therefore, when the server 50 receives a request with terminal ID "001", request ID "0001", and read data "10011" via the relay device 60 (see S2 in FIG. 3), since the read data "1011" has not been read by another terminal, the server 50 distributes the request ID "0001", read data "10011", and "true" indicating unread result information as a response to the terminal ID "001" (see S3 in FIG. 3 and Fb1 in FIG. 4). Thereafter, when the server 50 receives a request for terminal ID "001", request ID "0002", and read data "10022" via the relay device 60 (see S2 in Figure 3), since the read data "10022" has not been read by another terminal, the request ID "0002", read data "10022", and "true" indicating unread result information are delivered as a response to the terminal ID "001" (see S3 in Figure 3 and Fb2 in Figure 4). Thereafter, when the server 50 receives a request with the terminal ID "001", the request ID "0003", and the read data "10033" via the relay device 60 (see S2 in FIG. 3), since the read data "10033" has already been read by another terminal, the server 50 distributes the request ID "0003", the read data "10033", and "false" indicating the read result information, as a response to the terminal ID "001" (see S3 in FIG. 3 and Fb3 in FIG. 4). Note that the response distributed from the server 50 may be generated so as not to include the read data.

[0041] The relay device 60 performing the relay process subscribes to the terminal ID level using a multi-level wildcard, and is ready to receive any response from the server 50. Therefore, the relay device 60 receives from the server 50 the request ID "0001", the read data "10011", and "true" indicating the unread result information as a response with the terminal ID "001" as the destination, and temporarily stores the response in the storage unit 62 (see S4 in FIG. 3). Subsequently, the relay device 60 receives from the server 50 the request ID "0002", the read data "10022", and "true" indicating the unread result information as a response with the terminal ID "001" as the destination, and temporarily stores the response in the storage unit 62 (see S4 in FIG. 3). Then, the relay device 60 receives the request ID "0003", the read data "10033", and "false" indicating the read result information from the server 50 as a response with the destination being the terminal ID "001", and the response is temporarily stored in the memory unit 62 (see S4 in Figure 3).

[0042] Then, in the relay device 60, when the mobile terminal 10 with terminal ID "001" transitions to a reception processing state for the request ID "0001" (see S5 in FIG. 3 and Fc1 in FIG. 4), the response for the request ID "0001" temporarily stored in the storage unit 62 with the terminal ID "001" as the delivery destination is delivered to the mobile terminal 10 with terminal ID "001" as the delivery destination (see S6 and S7 in FIG. 3 and Fd1 in FIG. 4). Subsequently, in the relay device 60, when the mobile terminal 10 with terminal ID "001" transitions to a reception processing state for the request ID "0002" (see S5 in FIG. 3 and Fc2 in FIG. 4), the response for the request ID "0002" temporarily stored in the storage unit 62 with the terminal ID "001" as the delivery destination is delivered to the mobile terminal 10 with terminal ID "001" as the delivery destination (see S6 and S7 in FIG. 3 and Fd2 in FIG. 4). Then, in the relay device 60, when the mobile terminal 10 with terminal ID "001" transitions to a receiving processing state for the request ID "0003" (see S5 in FIG. 3 and Fc3 in FIG. 4), the response for the request ID "0003" temporarily stored in the memory unit 62 with the terminal ID "001" as the destination is delivered to the mobile terminal 10 with terminal ID "001" as the destination (see S6 and S7 in FIG. 3 and Fd3 in FIG. 4).

[0043] In the mobile terminal 10 that has made the three requests as described above, if a certain time has passed since the predetermined reading operation was released without other information processing or the like being performed, it is determined that this is a timing when the processing load is low (hereinafter also referred to as a light load timing) because no reading processing is being performed, and the mobile terminal 10 transitions to a reception processing state for request ID "0001" (see S5 in FIG. 3 and Fc1 in FIG. 4). As a result, the mobile terminal 10 receives a response for request ID "0001" (such as read data "10011" and "true" indicating unread result information) from the relay device 60 (see S6 and S7 in FIG. 3 and Fd1 in FIG. 4). Upon receiving this, reception completion information indicating that the response has been received is transmitted from the mobile terminal 10 to the relay device 60 (see Fe1 in FIG. 4). Next, since the processing load on the mobile terminal 10 continues to be low, the mobile terminal 10 transitions to a reception processing state for request ID "0002" (see S5 in FIG. 3 and Fc2 in FIG. 4), and receives a response for request ID "0002" (read data "10022" and "true" indicating unread result information, etc.) from the relay device 60 (see S6 and S7 in FIG. 3 and Fd2 in FIG. 4). At the time of receiving this, reception completion information indicating that the response has been received is transmitted from the mobile terminal 10 to the relay device 60 (see Fe2 in FIG. 4). Then, since the processing load on the mobile terminal 10 continues to be low, the mobile terminal 10 transitions to a reception processing state for request ID "0003" (see S5 in FIG. 3 and Fc3 in FIG. 4), and receives a response for request ID "0003" (read data "10033" and "false" indicating read result information, etc.) from the relay device 60 (see S6 and S7 in FIG. 3 and Fd3 in FIG. 4). At the time of receiving this, reception completion information indicating that the response has been received is transmitted from the mobile terminal 10 to the relay device 60 (see Fe3 in FIG. 4).

[0044] As described above, in the information processing system 1 according to this embodiment, the relay device 60 that relays a request from the mobile terminal 10 and a response from the server 50 includes a storage unit 62 that stores the response received from the server 50, and performs a distribution process of distributing the response stored in the storage unit 62 to the mobile terminal 10 that has transitioned to the reception processing state, with the mobile terminal 10 as the distribution destination. The mobile terminal 10 receives the response from the relay device 60 at the timing of transitioning to the reception processing state.

[0045] As a result, the mobile terminal 10 that made the request can receive a response corresponding to the request from the relay device 60 by transitioning to a reception processing state at a light load timing (a timing when the processing load is low). In this way, the mobile terminal 10 itself can distribute the processing load that occurs due to receiving a response. In other words, the mobile terminal 10 that made the request can receive the response at a timing that is desirable for itself. Therefore, even a mobile terminal 10 with limited computational resources can achieve both smooth transmission and reception of requests and responses to and from the server 50 and suppression of processing delays, etc.

[0046] In particular, in this embodiment, the mobile terminal 10 makes a request including the read data of the wireless tag T to the server 50 via the relay device 60, and receives a response from the relay device 60 at the time when it transitions to the reception processing state, and the server 50 generates and transmits the response so as to include information (read result information or unread result information) used to determine whether the read data included in the corresponding request has been read.

[0047] This allows the mobile terminal 10 to determine whether the data read from the wireless tag T is data that has already been read by another terminal, based on the response received from and accumulated by the server 50. In particular, even if the number of requests in a short period of time increases in order for the mobile terminal 10 to read a large number of wireless tags, delays and stops in the reading process can be suppressed by transitioning to the reception processing state at a light load timing.

[0048] In addition, the mobile terminal 10 may transition to the reception processing state not only when the reading process is not being performed, but also when other processes such as input process and display process are not being performed, as a light load timing (a timing when the processing load is low).

[0049] Furthermore, the server 50 may transmit to each mobile terminal 10 at a predetermined timing a summary result or the like obtained by summarizing the read data received from each mobile terminal 10. In this case, it is possible to use a relay device 60 to relay the request from the mobile terminal 10 and the response from the server 50. Each mobile terminal 10 can additionally register the summary result or the like received from the server 50 in the read database of the storage unit 22, thereby preventing unnecessary requests for read data that has already been read by another mobile terminal 10.

[0050] As a variation of this embodiment, the mobile terminal 10 may set a limit on the number of times requests are continuously sent without receiving a response. Specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 5 , when the number of times requests are continuously sent without receiving a response exceeds a preset number k (see Fak in FIG. 5 ), the mobile terminal 10 temporarily stops the reading process, even if the predetermined reading operation is in progress. Then, after a light load timing is forcibly entered, the mobile terminal 10 transitions to a reception process state (see Fc1 in FIG. 5 ) and sequentially receives responses accumulated in the relay device 60 (see Fd1 in FIG. 5 ). This prevents the relay device 60 from excessively accumulating responses received from the server 50. For convenience, FIG. 5 omits the illustration of each response transmission from the server 50 to the relay device 60.

[0051] [Second embodiment] Next, an information processing system according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that multiple responses are combined into one and delivered from the relay device to the mobile terminal (client terminal). Therefore, the same reference numerals are used for components that are substantially the same as those in the first embodiment, and their description will be omitted.

[0052] From the time when mobile terminal 10 transmits multiple requests to server 50 until it transitions to a reception processing state for responses corresponding to the requests, the responses received from server 50 continue to accumulate in memory unit 62 of relay device 60. On the other hand, the timing when mobile terminal 10 becomes lightly loaded depends on the user of mobile terminal 10, the application being executed, etc.

[0053] For this reason, depending on the processing load status of the mobile terminal 10, there is a possibility that a large number of responses destined for the mobile terminal 10 may be accumulated in the relay device 60 before the mobile terminal 10 transitions to the reception processing state. In such a case, in a system in which the relay device 60 individually distributes responses as in the first embodiment described above, the relay device 60 needs to receive the reception completion information from the mobile terminal 10 for each transmission and reception, which poses a problem that it takes a long time for the relay device 60 with a large number of responses accumulated to complete distribution of all the responses.

[0054] Therefore, in the information processing system 1 of this embodiment, the relay device 60 is configured to be able to deliver a single combined response obtained by combining multiple responses in accordance with a predetermined rule. Therefore, the mobile terminal 10 is configured to transition to a combined response reception processing state for receiving the combined response at a low-load timing when the combined response can be received in an interpretable manner based on the predetermined rule. Specifically, the mobile terminal 10 subscribes to a response using a wildcard at the request ID level at the low-load timing. When such a subscription is detected by the server response saving program in the relay device 60, a single combined response obtained by combining multiple responses stored in the storage unit 62 for that terminal ID is delivered (published) to the mobile terminal 10.

[0055] Hereinafter, in this embodiment, when an operator performs inventory work using the mobile terminal 10, the respective flows of the work confirmation process performed by the mobile terminal 10 and the relay process performed by the relay device 60 will be specifically described with reference to Figures 6 and 7.

[0056] When the portable terminal 10 having the terminal ID "001" reads read data from four wireless tags T, first, a request including the terminal ID "001", the request ID "0001", and the read data "10011" is transmitted to the server 50 (see Fa1 in FIG. 6). After that, a request including the terminal ID "001", the request ID "0002", and the read data "10022" is transmitted to the server 50 (see Fa2 in FIG. 6). Next, a request including the terminal ID "001", the request ID "0003", and the read data "10033" is transmitted to the server 50 (see Fa3 in FIG. 6). Finally, a request including the terminal ID "001", the request ID "0004", and the read data "10044" is transmitted to the server 50 (see Fa4 in FIG. 6).

[0057] In the server 50, since the received read data "1011" has not been read by another terminal, the request ID "0001", the read data "10011", and "true" indicating unread result information are delivered as a response to the terminal ID "001" (see Fb1 in FIG. 6). After that, in the server 50, since the read data "10022" has not been read by another terminal, the request ID "0002", the read data "10022", and "true" indicating unread result information are delivered as a response to the terminal ID "001" (see Fb2 in FIG. 6). After that, in the server 50, since the read data "10033" has already been read by another terminal, the request ID "0003", the read data "10033", and "false" indicating read result information are delivered as a response to the terminal ID "001" (see Fb3 in FIG. 6). Thereafter, in the server 50, since the read data "10044" has not been read by another terminal, the request ID "0004", the read data "10044", and "true" indicating unread result information are delivered as a response to the terminal ID "001" (see Fb4 in FIG. 6). Note that the response delivered from the server 50 may be generated so as not to include the read data.

[0058] In the relay device 60 performing the relay process, the responses received from the server 50 are temporarily stored in the storage unit 62 in sequence, as in the first embodiment.

[0059] Then, in the relay device 60, when responses corresponding to request IDs "0001" to "0003" have been accumulated and a response corresponding to request ID "0004" has not yet been received, if the mobile terminal 10 with terminal ID "001" transitions to a combined response reception processing state (see Fc in Figure 6), a combined response combining the responses corresponding to request IDs "0001" to "0003" is delivered to the mobile terminal 10 with terminal ID "001" as the delivery destination (see Fd1 in Figure 6).

[0060] For example, as illustrated in Figures 7(A) to (C), if a response corresponding to request ID "0001", a response corresponding to request ID "0002", and a response corresponding to request ID "0003" are stored in memory unit 62, a combined response structured to include the original request ID is generated and delivered, as illustrated in Figure 7(D).

[0061] When the relay device 60 receives a response corresponding to the request ID "0004", the mobile terminal 10 with the terminal ID "001" is still in the combined response receiving process state, and since there is no response that can be combined, the combining process is not performed, and the response corresponding to the request ID "0004" is delivered to the mobile terminal 10 with the terminal ID "001" as the delivery destination (see Fd2 in Figure 6).

[0062] After making the four requests as described above, the mobile terminal 10 transitions to a combined response reception processing state (see Fc in FIG. 6 ), and receives a combined response from the relay device 60, combining the responses corresponding to the request IDs "0001" to "0003" (see Fd1 in FIG. 6 ). Therefore, the mobile terminal 10 can obtain the responses corresponding to the request IDs "0001" to "0003" by interpreting the received combined response based on the predetermined rule. Thereafter, the mobile terminal 10 remains in the combined response reception processing state, and receives a response corresponding to the request ID "0004" from the relay device 60 (see Fd2 in FIG. 6 ). As a result of receiving the responses corresponding to the request IDs "0001" to "0004" from the relay device 60 in this manner, reception completion information indicating that all responses have been received is transmitted from the mobile terminal 10 to the relay device 60 (see Fe in FIG. 6 ).

[0063] As described above, in the information processing system 1 according to this embodiment, the relay device 60 delivers a combined response to a mobile terminal 10 that has transitioned to a combined response reception processing state, combining multiple responses stored in the memory unit 62 into one, with the mobile terminal 10 as the delivery destination.

[0064] This allows the mobile terminal 10 to reduce the number of times responses are received compared to when one response is received for each request. Therefore, even when a large number of responses are accumulated in the relay device 60, not only can the time required to complete response delivery be shortened, but the processing load on the mobile terminal 10 caused by receiving responses can also be further reduced.

[0065] Note that relay device 60 is not limited to generating a combined response by combining all responses stored in storage unit 62 into one, with mobile terminal 10 that has transitioned to the combined response reception processing state as the distribution destination, but may also generate a combined response by combining at least some of the multiple responses stored in storage unit 62 into one. For example, in order to reduce the processing load on mobile terminal 10 when interpreting each response from the combined response, an upper limit on the number of responses to be combined may be set, and if responses exceeding this upper limit are stored in storage unit 62, relay device 60 may first generate and distribute a combined response that combines the upper limit of responses into one, and then generate and distribute a combined response that combines the remaining responses that fall below the upper limit as the combined response reception processing state continues.

[0066] [Third embodiment] Next, an information processing system according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. The third embodiment differs from the first embodiment etc. mainly in that each mobile terminal (client terminal) transitions to a reception processing state so that a response stored in the relay device with another mobile terminal as the destination is also delivered to that mobile terminal. Therefore, components that are substantially the same as those in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals and their description will be omitted.

[0067] If the mobile terminal 10 does not receive the tallying results, etc. from the server 50, it cannot grasp the read data read by other mobile terminals 10. Therefore, if a long period of time passes without receiving the tallying results, etc. from the server 50, there is a problem that the mobile terminal 10 unnecessarily requests read data that has already been read by other mobile terminals 10.

[0068] Therefore, in the information processing system 1 of this embodiment, assuming that the read data of the request is included in the corresponding response, each mobile terminal 10 transitions to a receiving processing state so that the relay device 60 delivers the response stored in the memory unit 62 to another mobile terminal 10 as the delivery destination to that mobile terminal 10 as well.

[0069] Specifically, the mobile terminal 10 transitions to a reception processing state for the request ID that it has made at a light load timing, and transitions to a reception processing state at the terminal ID level and request ID level with wildcards when all responses to its request have been received or when no request has been made.

[0070] Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 8, an example will be described in which a response (see Fb1a in FIG. 8) generated by a mobile terminal 10a with terminal ID "001" making a request (see Fa1a in FIG. 8) with request ID "0001" and read data "10011", etc., and a response (see Fb1b in FIG. 8) generated by a mobile terminal 10b with terminal ID "002" making a request (see Fa1b in FIG. 8) with request ID "0001" and read data "10055", etc., are stored in the memory unit 62 of the relay device 60.

[0071] In the relay device 60, the mobile terminal 10a with the terminal ID "001" transitions to a reception processing state for the request ID "0001" (see Fc1a in FIG. 8), and the response for the request ID "0001" that has been temporarily stored in the storage unit 62 with the terminal ID "001" as the destination is delivered to the mobile terminal 10a with the terminal ID "001" as the destination (see Fd1a in FIG. 8). Subsequently, in the relay device 60, the mobile terminal 10b with the terminal ID "002" transitions to a reception processing state for the request ID "0001" (see Fc1b in FIG. 8), and the response for the request ID "0001" that has been temporarily stored in the storage unit 62 with the terminal ID "002" as the destination is delivered to the mobile terminal 10b with the terminal ID "002" as the destination (see Fd1b in FIG. 8).

[0072] At the light load timing, the mobile terminal 10a with terminal ID "001" transitions to a reception processing state for the request ID "0001" (see Fc1a in FIG. 8), and receives a response from the relay device 60, such as the request ID "0001" and the read data "10011" addressed to the terminal ID "001" (see Fd1a in FIG. 8). Upon receiving this response, the mobile terminal 10a transmits reception completion information indicating that the response has been received to the relay device 60 (see Fe1a in FIG. 8). Thereafter, because the processing load on the mobile terminal 10a continues to be low, the mobile terminal 10a transitions to a reception processing state using wildcards at the terminal ID level and the request ID level (see Ff1a in FIG. 8).

[0073] At the light load timing, the mobile terminal 10b with terminal ID "002" transitions to a reception processing state for the request ID "0001" (see Fc1b in FIG. 8), and receives a response from the relay device 60, such as the request ID "0001" and the read data "10055" with the terminal ID "002" as the distribution destination (see Fd1b in FIG. 8). Upon receiving this response, the mobile terminal 10b transmits reception completion information indicating that the response has been received to the relay device 60 (see Fe1b in FIG. 8). Thereafter, since the processing load on the mobile terminal 10b continues to be low, the mobile terminal 10b transitions to a reception processing state using wildcards at the terminal ID level and the request ID level.

[0074] As can be seen from Fig. 8, when the mobile terminal 10b transitions to the reception processing state for the request ID "0001" (see Fc1b in Fig. 8), the mobile terminal 10a has already transitioned to the reception processing state due to the wildcards at the terminal ID level and the request ID level (see Ff1a in Fig. 8). Therefore, the response including the request ID "0001" and the read data "10055" delivered from the relay device 60 to the mobile terminal 10b is also delivered to the mobile terminal 10a (see Fg1a in Fig. 8).

[0075] In this way, the mobile terminal 10a can receive a response addressed to the terminal ID "002", i.e., the read data "10055" read by the mobile terminal 10b, from the relay device 60. Therefore, the read data "10055" received from the relay device 60 is additionally registered in the read database of the mobile terminal 10a for data sharing, thereby preventing the mobile terminal 10a from unnecessarily requesting read data that has already been read by the mobile terminal 10b.

[0076] When the mobile terminal 10a transitions to a receiving processing state for the request ID "0001" (see Fc1a in FIG. 8), if the mobile terminal 10b does not transition to a receiving processing state using wildcards at the terminal ID level and request ID level, the response addressed to the terminal ID "001" of the mobile terminal 10a will not be received.

[0077] In this way, in this embodiment, depending on the timing of transition to the reception processing state, each mobile terminal 10 can share the read data, and therefore new requests and responses are not made for read data that has already been read by another mobile terminal 10, thereby further reducing the processing load generated by sending and receiving requests and responses.

[0078] In the example of FIG. 8, after a response addressed to the terminal ID "002" is delivered from the server 50 (see Fb1b in FIG. 8), the mobile terminal 10a transitions to the reception processing state due to wildcards at the terminal ID level and the request ID level (see Ff1a in FIG. 8). In contrast to the example of FIG. 8, it is assumed that when a response addressed to the terminal ID "002" is delivered from the server 50, the mobile terminal 10a has already transitioned to the reception processing state due to wildcards at the terminal ID level and the request ID level. In such a case, the mobile terminal 10a receives the response delivered from the server 50 addressed to the terminal ID "002", and therefore there is a possibility that the same response will be received at the timing when the mobile terminal 10b transitions to the reception processing state.

[0079] In anticipation of such a case, each mobile terminal 10 can transition to a reception processing state by arrangement with relay device 60 so as to receive responses only from relay device 60. This prevents each mobile terminal 10 from receiving a response directly from server 50, thereby preventing the same response from being received twice as described above.

[0080] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and may be embodied as follows, for example. (1) The present invention is not limited to being adopted in an information processing system 1 for inventory work in which a mobile terminal 10 requests a server 50 to determine whether or not data read from each RF tag T has been read. For example, the present invention may be adopted in a system in which a mobile terminal 10 transmits and receives other information related to the data read from each RF tag T to and from the server 50 via a relay device 60, or in a system in which a client terminal transmits and receives data optically read from an information code such as a QR code (registered trademark) to and from the server 50 via a relay device 60. Furthermore, the present invention may be adopted in a system in which requests from a client terminal and responses from a server, which may be made many times in a short period of time, are relayed via a relay device, such as a system in which a client terminal transmits and receives data sequentially read from a RF tag attached to a transported item to and from the server 50 via a relay device 60.

[0081] (2) The mobile terminal 10 functioning as a client terminal is not limited to being configured to have the function of a wireless communication terminal that reads and writes information stored in the wireless tag T as well as the function of an information code reader that optically reads information codes, but may be configured to have only the function of a wireless communication terminal, or may be configured to have other functions as well. [Explanation of symbols]

[0082] 1. Information Processing Systems 10 Mobile devices (client devices) 30 Wireless tag processing unit (reading unit) 50 servers 60 Relay Device 61 Control unit (distribution unit) 62 Storage section 63 Communications Department (Distribution Department) T wireless tag

Claims

1. A client terminal; a server that generates and transmits a response in response to a request from the client terminal; a relay device that relays the request from the client terminal and the response from the server; An information processing system comprising: The relay device a storage unit that stores the response received from the server; a delivery unit that delivers the response stored in the storage unit to the client terminal that has transitioned to a reception processing state, with the client terminal as a delivery destination; Equipped with The information processing system is characterized in that the client terminal receives the response from the relay device at the timing when the client terminal transitions to the reception processing state.

2. The information processing system described in claim 1, characterized in that the distribution unit distributes to the client terminal that has transitioned to the receiving processing state a combined response that combines at least some of the multiple responses stored in the memory unit into one, with the client terminal as the distribution destination.

3. the client terminal includes a reading unit that performs a reading process of reading data stored in a wireless tag by wireless communication, and transmits the request including the read data of the wireless tag to the server via the relay device, and receives the response from the relay device at a timing when the client terminal transitions to the reception processing state; 2. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the server generates and transmits the response so as to include information used to determine whether the read data included in the corresponding request has been read.

4. 4. The information processing system according to claim 3, wherein the client terminal transitions to the reception processing state when the reading processing is not being executed.

5. the response includes the read data of the corresponding request; 4. The information processing system according to claim 3, wherein the client terminal transitions to a reception processing state so that the relay device can receive the response stored in the storage unit with another client terminal as the distribution destination.

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