Information terminal and control method for information terminal, information processing device and information processing method, information processing system, and computer program

Abstract

Provided is an information terminal that uploads IC chip information to a server.　The information terminal is equipped with a reading unit that reads information from a recording medium at a first timing based on first information specified in setting information, and an uploading unit that uploads the information to an external device at a second timing based on second information specified in the setting information. The recording medium is an IC chip that is built into the information terminal or an IC chip that is accessible from the information terminal. The reading unit reads the IC chip information from the IC chip, and the uploading unit uploads the IC chip information to the external device.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The technology disclosed in this specification (hereinafter referred to as "the present disclosure") relates to an information terminal and a control method for an information terminal that uploads information recorded in a recording device such as an IC chip to a server, an information processing device and an information processing method that operate as a server and collect information uploaded from the information terminal, an information processing system consisting of an information terminal that uploads information recorded in a recording device such as an IC chip and a server that collects information uploaded from the information terminal, and a computer program. [Background technology]

[0002] Services using IC chips or IC cards (hereafter referred to as "IC chips") are widely used. IC chips are devices protected by tamper-resistant hardware and are used as secure elements. In addition, IC chips record the usage history of various services such as electronic money. There are cases where the information recorded on the IC chip needs to be periodically retrieved and stored by a server. For example, in a system configuration consisting of an information processing terminal such as a smartphone with IC chip reading capabilities and a server that manages the usage history of the IC chip, it is common for the information processing terminal to read the IC chip and upload the data to the server as a series of processes.

[0003] For example, if the service application of the information processing terminal simultaneously reads the IC chip and uploads the data to the server when a user operates the IC chip, it is expected that during peak times upload requests from tens of thousands of information processing terminals will be concentrated on the server, causing an increase in the server load. With electronic money service applications for transport, many operations such as paying fares with IC chips and charging IC chips are performed during rush hour, so server upload requests tend to be concentrated during these hours.

[0004] When the load on a server increases, the server's processing response deteriorates, and as a result, the waiting time for the server's response and the waiting time for the user's operation on the service application side of the information processing terminal increases, which is a concern as it will have a serious impact on the quality of service. In order to maintain good service quality, it is necessary to deal with the server load at peak times by adding more servers or changing to servers with higher capabilities. However, such a method of dealing with the problem increases the cost of the service.

[0005] For example, a probe data collection method has been proposed in which information on vehicles passing through a specific area is sampled and uploaded (see Patent Document 1). This probe data collection method is applied to a system consisting of a large number of vehicles and a server that collects probe data from each vehicle, and manages the upload source clients by vehicle ID and by using the periodic timing of uploads by each client.

[0006] Also, a command system between an information terminal and a server, which is composed of an IC chip, an information terminal, and a server connected to the information terminal, reduces the number of transactions between the information terminal and the server, and can execute a processing request from the server to the information terminal asynchronously. process An information processing system that reduces the load on a server by using a sequence has been proposed (see Patent Document 2).

[0007] In addition, an information processing system has been proposed that provides users with services related to special offers provided using data stored in an information processing terminal with contactless communication capabilities (see Patent Document 3), but this does not reduce the load on the server due to concentrated uploads. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0008] [Patent Document 1] WO2017 / 037784 publication [Patent Document 2] JP 2007-86957 A [Patent Document 3] JP 2011-59737 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0009] An object of the present disclosure is to provide an information terminal and a control method for an information terminal that uploads information recorded in a recording device such as an IC chip to a server while alleviating the concentration of requests, an information processing device and information processing method that operates as a server and collects information from an information terminal while alleviating the concentration of upload requests, and an information processing system consisting of an information terminal that uploads information recorded in a recording device such as an IC chip and a server that collects information from the information terminal while alleviating the concentration of upload requests, and a computer program. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above problems, and a first aspect thereof is: a reading unit that reads information from the recording medium at a first timing based on first information described in the setting information; an upload unit that uploads the information to an external device at a second timing based on second information described in the setting information; It is an information terminal equipped with the above.

[0011] The setting information includes the first information describing the first timing assigned to each group classified based on identification information, and the second information describing the second timing assigned to each group. The reading unit identifies the first timing assigned to the group corresponding to the identification information held by the information terminal from the first information, and the uploading unit identifies the second timing assigned to the group corresponding to the identification information held by the information terminal from the second information.

[0012] The second aspect of the present disclosure is a reading step of reading information from the recording medium at a first timing based on first information described in the setting information in the information terminal; an upload step of uploading the information to an external device at a second timing based on second information described in the setting information in the information terminal; The present invention relates to a method for controlling an information terminal having the above-mentioned features.

[0013] Moreover, a third aspect of the present disclosure is a storage unit for storing setting information describing first information for calculating a first timing for each information terminal to read information from a recording medium and second information for calculating a second timing for uploading the information to a server; an analysis unit that analyzes a state in which each of the information terminals uploads the information to the server in accordance with the setting information; an update unit that updates the setting information based on the analysis result; The information processing device includes:

[0014] The setting information includes the first information describing the first timing to be assigned to each group classified based on identification information held by each information terminal, and the second information describing the second timing to be assigned to each group.

[0015] The analysis unit tallies the number of upload requests for each group during a predetermined evaluation period, and the update unit updates the second information so that a longer time period is assigned to a group with a large number of upload requests, or so that the number of upload requests at the second timing assigned to each group is smoothed.

[0016] Moreover, a fourth aspect of the present disclosure is distributing setting information describing first information for calculating a first timing for each information terminal to read information from the recording medium and second information for calculating a second timing for uploading the information to the server; analyzing a situation in which each of the information terminals uploads the information to the server according to the setting information; updating the configuration information based on the analysis results; The information processing method includes the steps of:

[0017] A fifth aspect of the present disclosure is The system comprises an information terminal that reads information from a recording medium, and a server that collects the information from each information terminal, the information terminal reads the information from the recording medium at a first timing calculated based on first information described in setting information distributed from the server, and uploads the information to the server at a second timing calculated based on second information described in the setting information; the server analyzes a state in which each of the information terminals uploads the information to the server in accordance with the setting information, and updates the setting information based on the analysis result. It is an information processing system.

[0018] However, the term "system" used here refers to a logical collection of multiple devices (or functional modules that realize a specific function), and it does not matter whether each device or functional module is contained within a single housing.

[0019] A sixth aspect of the present disclosure is a reading unit that reads information from the recording medium at a first timing based on first information described in the setting information; an upload unit that uploads the information to an external device at a second timing based on second information described in the setting information; It is a computer program written in a computer-readable form to cause a computer to function as a

[0020] A computer program according to the sixth aspect of the present disclosure defines a computer program written in a computer-readable format to realize a predetermined process on a computer. In other words, by installing the computer program according to the sixth aspect of the present disclosure on a computer, a cooperative action is exerted on the computer, and the same action and effect as the information terminal according to the first aspect of the present disclosure can be obtained. Effect of the Invention

[0021] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide an information terminal and a control method for an information terminal that uploads information recorded in a recording device such as an IC chip to a server while alleviating the concentration of requests, an information processing device and information processing method that operates as a server and collects information from an information terminal while alleviating the concentration of upload requests, an information processing system consisting of an information terminal that uploads information recorded in a recording device such as an IC chip and a server that collects information from the information terminal while alleviating the concentration of upload requests, and a computer program.

[0022] Note that the effects described in this specification are merely examples, and the effects brought about by the present disclosure are not limited thereto. Furthermore, the present disclosure may have additional effects in addition to the effects described above.

[0023] Further objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description based on the embodiments and the accompanying drawings. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0024] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information processing system 100. As shown in FIG. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of an information processing system 100 that realizes the information processing method according to the present disclosure. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of setting information. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the process of updating the setting information. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a specific example of the process of updating the setting information. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a specific example of the process of updating the setting information. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a specific example of updating the setting information. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a specific example of the process of updating the setting information. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0025] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings in the following order.

[0026] A. System Configuration B. Server load when uploading IC chip information C. Information Processing Method Related to This Disclosure D. Setting Information E. Server-side configuration information update process F. Classification using application IDs

[0027] A. System Configuration 1 shows a schematic configuration example of an information processing system 100 to which the present disclosure is applied. The illustrated information processing system 100 includes a server 102 and multiple information terminals 101a, 101b, ... (hereinafter, simply referred to as "information terminals 101") connected via a communication network 103.

[0028] The information terminal 101 is, for example, a multi-function information terminal such as a smartphone or a tablet, or a personal computer (PC), but may also be a POS register, a kiosk terminal capable of downloading tickets, or the like. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the information terminal 101 is capable of causing an IC chip to execute a predetermined process. The information terminal 101 is broadly classified into an information terminal having an IC chip 111 built therein as indicated by reference number 101a, and an information terminal having a reader / writer 112 capable of accessing an external IC card 113 as indicated by reference number 101b. For the sake of simplicity, only one each of the information terminal 101a and the information terminal 101b is depicted in FIG. 1, but it is assumed that a large number of information terminals 101 are operating within the information processing system 100.

[0029] In the information terminal 101a, an application 110 executed on the terminal causes a processor included in an IC chip built therein to execute a predetermined process. In the information terminal 101b, an application 110 executed on the terminal causes a processor included in an IC chip built in an IC card 113 placed within a range where the IC chip 113 can communicate with a reader / writer 112 to execute a predetermined process. In addition, the IC chip 111 safely holds a private key corresponding to a key owned by the server 102. Therefore, the information terminal 101 that causes the IC chip 111 to execute a process can decrypt data encrypted by the server 102 and encrypt the data so that the server 102 can decrypt the data.

[0030] Here, the IC chip 111 (including the IC chip built into the IC card 113) is a secure element protected by tamper-resistant hardware. Tamper resistance includes, for example, physical tamper resistance, which refers to a mechanism that withstands attacks, tamper resistance against side channel attacks, which is a function that prevents information useful for estimating internal secret information from leaking to the outside, and tamper resistance that prevents internal secret information from leaking by forcibly malfunctioning from the outside. Physical tamper resistance is realized by providing a mechanism that makes it difficult to analyze an object (such as a device, a circuit board, or a semiconductor component) or that detects disassembly in some way when it is disassembled to analyze it and stops it from operating, or that actively erases secret information rather than leaking it to the outside. Tamper resistance against side channel attacks is tamper resistance against a method of estimating secret information in a device that processes encryption (such as a circuit board or a semiconductor integrated circuit) by measuring the data dependency of encryption processing time, changes in current consumption during encryption operation, or leaked electromagnetic waves.

[0031] Note that the target on which information terminal 101 executes a predetermined process is not necessarily limited to tamper-resistant IC chip 111. For example, it may be a tamper-resistant physical medium (such as a memory card) that stores information to be kept secret on IC chip 111. It may also be information terminal 101 itself or another information terminal. In that case, for example, a key is stored in the memory of information terminal 101 or another information terminal, and a processor in IC chip 111 performs encryption and decryption processes using the key, so that at least one of the memory or the processor, and preferably both, must be tamper-resistant to prevent leakage of the key.

[0032] The server 104 is a computer that supports the execution of a predetermined process by the IC chip upon receiving a request from the information terminal 101. In this embodiment, the server 104 manages information such as the service usage history that is uploaded from the information terminal 101 and recorded in the IC chip 111.

[0033] The communication network 103 is composed of, for example, a public line network such as the Internet, a telephone line network, or a satellite communication network, or a dedicated line network such as a Wide Area Network (WAN), a Local Area Network (LAN), or an Internet Protocol Virtual Private Network (IP-VPN). The communication network 103 may use either a wired or wireless communication medium, or may be composed of a combination of multiple types of communication media including wired and wireless.

[0034] Typically, various application programs are installed in the information terminal 101. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the information terminal 101 is provided with an application program (service application) 110 for causing a tamper-resistant IC chip 111 to execute a predetermined process. In addition, in this embodiment, it is assumed that an application ID is assigned to the application program (service application) for causing the IC chip 111 to execute a predetermined process for each information terminal 101 to which it is distributed.

[0035] The predetermined processing executed by the application program (service application) 110 referred to here includes, for example, recording in the IC chip 111 a usage history of a service that utilizes information stored in the IC chip 111, reading out the usage history recorded in the IC chip 111, and uploading the usage history read out from the IC chip 111 to the server 102. The server 102 includes an IC chip information storage unit 120 that stores information relating to the usage history of the IC chip 111 uploaded from the information terminal 101 (hereinafter also simply referred to as "IC chip information").

[0036] Moreover, the information stored in the IC chip 111 is, for example, value information such as electronic money. In this case, an application (service application) 110 corresponding to electronic money executes processes such as charging the electronic money, recording the usage history of the electronic money such as payments using the electronic money in the IC chip 111, reading the usage history of the electronic money recorded in the IC chip 111, and uploading the usage history of the electronic money read from the IC chip 111 to the server 102.

[0037] B. Server load when uploading IC chip information The information stored in IC chip 111 is, for example, value information such as electronic money. A user of information terminal 101 uses IC chip 111 to charge electronic money, make payments, and the like, and the usage history of these is recorded in IC chip 111. Also, there are cases where a process is required in which the IC chip information recorded in IC chip 111 is periodically acquired by a server and stored.

[0038] 1, reading of IC chip information by information terminal 101 and uploading of the IC chip information from information terminal 101 to server 102 constitute a series of processes for storing the IC chip information in server 102. For example, in the case of electronic money, each process of recording the electronic money usage history in IC chip 111, reading of the usage history recorded in IC chip 111, and uploading of the read usage history to server 102 is performed by application program 110, which is a service application corresponding to electronic money and runs on information terminal 101.

[0039] From the viewpoint of storing IC chip information recorded on many information terminals 101 in server 102, it is desirable to periodically upload the IC chip information from information terminal 101 to server 102. However, the memory capacity of IC chip 111 is relatively small, and when the usage history becomes full, the next usage history is recorded by overwriting the old usage history, and the overwritten old usage history is lost. For this reason, it is necessary to read the IC chip information from IC chip 111 to information terminal 101 before it is overwritten.

[0040] When the user operates the IC chip 111 using the information terminal 101, the IC chip information in the IC chip 111 is updated. In order to mitigate the loss due to overwriting, for example, a method of uploading the IC chip information to the server 102 each time it is updated can be considered. However, if the service application 110 simultaneously reads the IC chip information from the IC chip 111 to the information terminal 101 and uploads the IC chip information from the information terminal 101 to the server 102 at the same time when the user operates the IC chip 111 using the information terminal 101, it is expected that upload requests from tens of thousands of information terminals 101 to the server 102 will be concentrated at peak times, increasing the load on the server 102. For example, in a service application for electronic money for transportation, many operations such as paying fares with IC chips and charging IC chips are performed during commuting hours, so upload requests to the server tend to be concentrated during such hours.

[0041] When the load on the server 102 increases, the processing response of the server 102 deteriorates, and as a result, the waiting time for the server 102 response and the waiting time for the user's operation on the service application 110 side of the information terminal 101 increase, which is a concern as it will have a serious impact on the quality of service. In order to maintain good service quality, it is necessary to deal with the load on the server 102 at peak times by adding more servers 102 or changing to a server 102 with higher capacity. However, such a method of dealing with the problem increases the cost of the service.

[0042] Therefore, in this disclosure, we propose below an information processing method that reduces the load on the server 102, and enables the reading of IC chip information from the IC chip 111 to the information terminal 101 and the uploading of the IC chip information from the information terminal 101 to the server 102, without taking measures such as adding more servers 102 or changing to a server 102 with higher capabilities.

[0043] C. Information Processing Method Related to This Disclosure Fig. 2 shows a schematic diagram of an example of a functional configuration of an information processing system 100 that realizes the information processing method according to the present disclosure. In Fig. 2, in order to simplify the drawing, the communication network 103 is omitted and the information terminal 101 and the server 102 are shown as being directly connected, but it should be understood that the communication network 103 is interposed between them. In Fig. 2, each of the information terminal 101 and the server 102 is shown limited to a functional configuration related to the information processing method according to the present disclosure, but in reality, they may be provided with components not shown as necessary.

[0044] C-1. Information terminal configuration The information terminal 101 comprises a setting information acquisition unit 201, an IC chip information reading unit 202, an IC chip information upload unit 203, and a memory 204. These components 201 to 204 are functional modules that are realized by executing a service application (application 110) that uses the IC chip 111 on the information terminal 101. The memory 204 may be a memory area allocated for the service application in the internal memory of the information terminal 101.

[0045] In FIG. 2, information terminal 101 is illustrated as information terminal 101a incorporating IC chip 111 as an example, but it should be understood that information terminal 101b that uses reader / writer 112 to access external IC card 113 can also contribute to the information processing method of the present disclosure in a similar manner, although the method of reading IC chip information is different.

[0046] The setting information acquisition unit 201 downloads the setting information from the server 102 and writes it to the memory 204. Here, the setting information describes first information for calculating a first timing (time period) at which each information terminal 101 in the information processing system 100 reads IC chip information, and second information for calculating a second timing (time period) at which the IC chip information is uploaded. In this embodiment, the information terminals 101 in the information processing system 100 are classified into a plurality of groups using an application ID (specifically, the end of the application ID). The setting information includes first information describing the allocation of the first timing (time period) to each group, and second information describing the allocation of the second timing (time period) to each group. The server 102 updates the setting information to alleviate the concentration of upload requests, and the details of the setting information will be described later.

[0047] The memory 204 is, for example, a memory area allocated for a service application in the internal memory of the information terminal 101. The memory 204 is used to store setting information downloaded from the server 102 by the setting information acquisition unit 201, IC chip information read from the IC chip 111 by the IC chip information reading unit 202, and other work data. The memory 204 also stores an application ID assigned to a service application distributed (installed) to the information terminal 101. The application ID is, for example, incorporated in the source code of the service application.

[0048] When IC chip information reader 202 reads the setting information and the application ID from memory 204, it calculates a first timing (time period) for reading IC chip information assigned to the application ID of its own terminal based on the first information described in the setting information. Then, IC chip information reader 202 reads IC chip information from IC chip 111 at the calculated first timing (time period) and stores it in memory 204.

[0049] When the IC chip information upload unit 203 reads the setting information and the application ID from the memory 204, it calculates a second timing (time period) for uploading the IC chip information assigned to the application ID of its own terminal to the server 102. Then, the IC chip information upload unit 203 reads the IC chip information from the memory 204 at the calculated second timing (time period) and requests the server 102 to upload the information.

[0050] C-2. Server configuration The server 102 includes a setting information storage unit 211 , a setting information update unit 212 , an IC chip information receiving unit 213 , and an upload request number analysis unit 214 .

[0051] The setting information storage unit 211 stores setting information to be distributed to the information terminal 101. The setting information describes first information for classifying a large number of information terminals 101 in the information processing system 100 into a plurality of groups and calculating a first timing (time period) for reading IC chip information for each group, and second information for calculating a second timing (time period) for uploading IC chip information for each group. In this embodiment, each information terminal 101 in the information processing system 100 is classified into a plurality of groups using an application ID (specifically, the end of the application ID). The setting information includes first information describing the allocation of the first timing (time period) to each group, and second information describing the allocation of the second timing (time period) to each group. Details of the setting information will be described later.

[0052] The IC chip information receiving unit 213 receives the IC chip information uploaded from the information terminal 101 and stores it in the IC chip information storage unit 120. Although only one information terminal 101 is depicted in FIG. 2, in reality the IC chip information receiving unit 213 performs a receiving process of IC chip information uploaded from a large number of information terminals 101.

[0053] The upload request number analysis unit 214 counts and analyzes the number of upload requests from many information terminals 101 in the information processing system 100 over a predetermined evaluation period. In this embodiment, the application ID (specifically, the last digit of the application ID) is used to classify each information terminal 101 in the information processing system 100 into a plurality of groups. Then, each information terminal 101 calculates a second timing (time period) for uploading IC chip information assigned to the application ID of the terminal to the server 102, and makes an upload request for IC chip information to the server 102. In response to this, the upload request number analysis unit 214 counts the number of upload requests from many information terminals 101 for each second timing (time period) assigned to each group, and analyzes the concentration of upload requests for each group based on the counting result. The upload request number analysis unit 214 identifies, for example, a group with a large number of upload requests per hour (or a group where upload requests are concentrated) and a group with a small number of upload requests per hour (or a group where access requests are sparse).

[0054] The setting information update unit 212 updates the description of the setting information so as to smooth the number of access requests in the second timing (time period) assigned to each group classified based on the application ID, and writes the updated setting information to the setting information storage unit 211. Specifically, based on the analysis result of the upload request number analysis unit 214, the setting information update unit 212 lengthens the time period assigned to a group with a large number of upload requests per hour (or where upload requests are concentrated), and adjusts the second timing (time period) of each group so as to smooth the number of upload requests per hour, thereby updating the second information of the setting information.

[0055] In short, in the information processing system 100 according to this embodiment, the server 102 distributes updated setting information to the information terminals 101, thereby grouping the information terminals 101 based on their application IDs, and controls, for each group, the first timing (time period) for reading IC chip information from the IC chip 111 and the second timing (time period) for uploading the IC chip information to the server 102. Therefore, the server 102 analyzes the distribution of the number of upload requests for each time period from the counting results over a predetermined evaluation period, adjusts the second timing (time period) for each group so as to smooth out the number of upload requests per hour, and updates the second information in the setting information, thereby mitigating the concentration of upload requests to the server 102.

[0056] As a result, in the information processing system 100, an increase in the load on the server 102 can be suppressed, and a deterioration in the processing response of the server 102 can be prevented. On the side of the service application 110 of the information terminal 101, the response waiting time of the server 102 and the waiting time for user operations do not increase, so that the service quality can be maintained. Since the service quality can be maintained at a good level by distributing the upload requests to each time period, it becomes unnecessary to deal with the load on the server 102 during peak times by adding more servers 102 or changing to a server 102 with higher capacity.

[0057] D. Setting Information Fig. 3 shows an example of the configuration of setting information managed on the server 102 side and distributed to the information terminal 101. Fig. 3 shows an example of setting information described in the form of pseudocode, but the setting information can be described using a predetermined structured language such as XML (eXtensible markup Language).

[0058] 3 includes first information 301 and second information 302. The first information 301 specifies a first timing (time period) for reading IC chip information for each group classified based on the application ID. The second information 302 specifies a second timing (time period) for requesting server 102 to upload IC chip information for each group classified based on the application ID.

[0059] Here, the application ID is identification information assigned to each entity of the service application, and is incorporated, for example, in the source code of the service application. The information terminal 101 stores and manages the application IDs of the installed service applications in the memory 204.

[0060] When the IC chip information reading unit 202 reads the setting information and the application ID from the memory 204, it calculates the group to which the terminal belongs based on the application ID, and can identify the first timing (time period) assigned to that group based on the first information 301 in the setting information 300.

[0061] In addition, when the IC chip information upload unit 203 reads the setting information and application ID from the memory 204, it calculates the group to which the terminal belongs based on the application ID, and can identify the second timing (time period) assigned to that group based on the second information 302 in the setting information 300.

[0062] 3 in detail, the setting information 300 classifies the information terminal 101 into a plurality of groups using the last digit of the application ID. The first information 301 describes information that assigns to each group a time period during which a process of reading IC chip information from the IC chip 111 is executed. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the first information 301 describes that, for example, if the last digit of the application ID is "0", the IC chip information is read during the time period from 00:00 to 01:00 in one day, if the last digit of the application ID is "1", the IC chip information is read during the time period from 00:00 to 01:00 in one day, ..., if the last digit of the application ID is "F", the IC chip information is read during the time period from 00:00 to 01:00 in one day. Therefore, if the IC chip information reader 202 has an application ID of "1", it reads IC chip information from the IC chip 111 in the time zone of 00:00 to 01:00 every day.

[0063] Also, the second information 302 of the setting information 300 describes information that assigns a time period for executing an upload request of IC chip information to each group classified using the last digit of the application ID. In the example shown in Fig. 3, the second information 302 describes that, for example, if the group has an application ID with a value of "0" at the end of the last digit, the group performs an upload request of IC chip information in the time period from 01:00 to 01:30 in one day, if the group has an application ID with a value of "1" at the end of the last digit, the group performs an upload request of IC chip information in the time period from 01:30 to 03:00 in one day, if the group has an application ID with a value of "2" at the end of the last digit, the group performs an upload request of IC chip information in the time period from 03:00 to 05:00 in one day, if the group has an application ID with a value of "3" at the end of the last digit, the group performs an upload request of IC chip information in the time period from 05:00 to 06:00 in one day, and so on. Therefore, if the IC chip information uploading unit 203's own application ID is "1", it requests the server 102 to upload IC chip information every day between the hours of 01:30 and 03:00.

[0064] E. Server-side configuration information update process By distributing setting information to the information terminal 101, the server 102 can specify, on a group basis classified based on the end of the application ID, a first timing (time period) at which the information terminal 101 reads the IC chip information and a second timing (time period) at which the information terminal 101 requests the server 102 to upload the IC chip information.

[0065] The server 102 can disperse the timing at which upload requests occur within the information processing system 100 by specifying in the setting information that the second timing (time period) does not overlap for each group classified based on the end of the application ID. Therefore, the server 102 can alleviate the concentration of upload requests by updating the second information in the setting information based on the result of appropriately adjusting the time period and duration of the second timing for each group so that upload requests are not concentrated in a specific time period.

[0066] For example, it is expected that there will be time periods during which the number of upload requests per hour is large (or during which upload requests are concentrated). If the end values ​​of the application IDs are simply used to classify the groups, some groups may end up with a large number of information terminals. In this embodiment, the server 102 extends the time period allocated to the group with a large number of upload requests per hour (or during which upload requests are concentrated) and adjusts the second timing (time period) of each group so as to smooth out the number of upload requests per hour, thereby smoothing out the number of access requests at the second timing allocated to each group and alleviating the concentration of upload requests.

[0067] Each information terminal 101 calculates the second timing (time period) assigned to the application ID of its own terminal based on the latest setting information downloaded from the server 102, and makes an upload request for IC chip information to the server 102. Meanwhile, in the server 102, the upload request number analysis unit 214 counts and analyzes the number of upload requests over a predetermined evaluation period. Then, the upload request number analysis unit 214 counts the number of upload requests from many information terminals 101 for each second timing (time period) assigned to each group, and identifies groups with a large number of upload requests per hour (or groups with a concentration of upload requests) and groups with a small number of upload requests per hour (or groups with sparse access requests).

[0068] Based on the result of the analysis by the upload request number analysis unit 214, the setting information update unit 212 shortens the time period allocated to the group with a small number of upload requests per hour (or access requests are sparse), while lengthening the time period allocated to the group with a large number of upload requests per hour (or upload requests are concentrated), thereby smoothing the number of access requests in the second timing (time period) allocated to each group. Then, the setting information update unit 212 updates the second information of the setting information to a description specifying the second timing (time period) for each group after the adjustment, and writes the setting information to the setting information storage unit 211. By redistributing the setting information updated in this way to the information terminals 101 in the information processing system 100, the number of access requests in the second timing allocated to each group can be smoothed, and the concentration of upload requests can be alleviated.

[0069] Note that the reading of IC chip information is an internal process of each information terminal, and there is no problem even if IC chip information reading occurs intensively in the same time period in many information terminals. Therefore, the server 102 may specify in the setting information that the first timing (time period) for reading IC chip information and the second timing (time period) for requesting upload of IC chip information overlap for the end of the same application ID. Also, the server 102 may not need to perform an update process on the first information that defines the first timing (time period) for reading IC chip information among the setting information.

[0070] FIG. 4 shows, in the form of a flowchart, a process for updating setting information that is carried out within the server 102.

[0071] The upload request count analysis unit 214 counts the number of upload requests from multiple information terminals 101 in the information processing system 100 for a predetermined evaluation period (step S401). The length of the evaluation period is arbitrary. The evaluation period is, for example, a few days, but may be a few hours or a few months.

[0072] Next, the upload request number analysis unit 214 calculates the average number of upload requests for each time period assigned to each group of information terminals 101 classified by the end of the application ID in the current setting information. Based on the calculation result, it is possible to identify a group with a large number of upload requests per time period (or a group with a concentration of upload requests) and, conversely, a group with a small number of upload requests per time period (or a group with sparse access requests). Then, the upload request number analysis unit 214 calculates the required smoothing time for smoothing the average number of upload requests for each group (step S402). Specifically, the upload request number analysis unit 214 calculates the required smoothing time for a group with a large average number of uploads to be longer in the time period for smoothing, and calculates the required smoothing time for a group with a small average number of upload requests to be shorter in the time period for smoothing.

[0073] Next, the setting information update unit 212 increases or decreases the time slots for upload requests assigned to each group by the smoothing required time calculated for each group in step S402, updates the second information of the setting information to reflect the changes, and writes it to the setting information storage unit 211 (step S403).

[0074] Thereafter, the new setting information updated on the server 102 side is distributed to each information terminal 101 in the information processing system 100 (step S404). Specifically, the setting information acquisition unit 201 in the information terminal 101 downloads the setting information from the server 102 to the setting information storage unit 211 in the server 102, and writes it to the memory 204.

[0075] In information terminal 101, IC chip information reading unit 202 reads IC chip information from IC chip 111 at a first timing (time period) for reading IC chip information assigned to its own application ID based on updated setting information, and stores the IC chip information in memory 204. Also, IC chip information uploading unit 203 reads IC chip information from memory 204 at a first timing (time period) for reading IC chip information assigned to its own application ID based on updated setting information, and requests server 102 to upload the information.

[0076] Therefore, server 102 can analyze the distribution of the number of upload requests for each time period, adjust the second timing (time period) for each group so as to smooth out the number of upload requests per hour, and update the description of the second information in the setting information, thereby controlling the upload requests from information terminal 101 to avoid concentration.

[0077] A specific example of the process of updating the setting information in server 102 will be described with reference to Fig. 5 to Fig. 8. In the following description, it is assumed that the time zone for upload requests assigned according to the application ID in the setting information is updated, but the time zone for reading IC chip information from IC chip 111 is not updated.

[0078] 5 shows the time slots for upload requests assigned to each group classified by the last digit of the application ID, which are described as second information in the current (or pre-update) setting information. In the example shown in the figure, the second information indicates that for a group whose last digit of the application ID is "0", an upload request for IC chip information is made in the time slot of 1:00 to 2:00 a day, for a group whose last digit of the application ID is "1", an upload request for IC chip information is made in the time slot of 2:00 to 3:00 a day, for a group whose last digit of the application ID is "2", an upload request for IC chip information is made in the time slot of 3:00 to 4:00 a day, and for a group whose last digit of the application ID is "3", an upload request for IC chip information is made in the time slot of 4:00 to 5:00 a day. For a group whose last digit of the application ID is "4", an upload request for IC chip information will be made from 5:00 to 6:00 of the day, for a group whose last digit of the application ID is "5", an upload request for IC chip information will be made from 6:00 to 7:00 of the day, ..., for a group whose last digit of the application ID is "N", an upload request for IC chip information will be made from 23:00 to 0:00 of the day.

[0079] The information terminal 101 identifies the group to which it belongs based on its application ID, and requests the server 102 to upload IC chip information during the time period allocated to that group. Then, on the server 102 side, the upload request number analysis unit 214 counts and analyzes the number of access requests during a predetermined evaluation period for each time period allocated to each group shown in FIG.

[0080] 6 shows the average number of upload requests for each time slot assigned to each group, as a result of tallying up the number of access requests for each time slot over a predetermined evaluation period on the server 102 side. In the example shown in the figure, it can be seen from the analysis result by the application request number analysis unit 214 that the number of upload requests per hour in the time slot from 2:00 to 3:00 assigned to the group whose application ID has the last digit value "1" and the time slot from 3:00 to 4:00 assigned to the group whose application ID has the last digit value "2" are higher than the average number of upload requests per hour over the entire predetermined evaluation period.

[0081] Then, the upload request number analysis unit 214 calculates the required smoothing time for smoothing the average number of upload requests for each group. Specifically, the upload request number analysis unit 214 calculates the required smoothing time to be extended for a group with a large average number of upload requests, and calculates the required smoothing time to be shortened for a group with a small average number of upload requests.

[0082] 7 shows the smoothing required time for each group classified by the last digit of the application ID, calculated by the upload request number analysis unit 214 based on the tabulation result shown in FIG. 6. In the example shown in the figure, the smoothing required time for the group with the last digit of the application ID being "1" and the group with the last digit of the application ID being "2", whose number of upload requests per hour was significantly higher than the average for the entire predetermined evaluation period, is extended from the original 60 minutes to 90 minutes and 120 minutes, respectively. On the other hand, the smoothing required time for the group with the last digit of the application ID being "0", whose last digit of the application ID being "5", ..., and the group with the last digit of the application ID being "N", whose number of upload requests per hour was significantly lower than the average for the entire predetermined evaluation period, is shortened from the original 60 minutes to 30 minutes.

[0083] The setting information update unit 212 increases or decreases the time slots of upload requests assigned to each group by the smoothing required time calculated for each group. FIG. 8 shows the time slots of upload requests for each group classified by the suffix of the application ID, which have been reallocated using the smoothing required time calculated based on the analysis results of the number of upload requests over a specified evaluation period. In the example shown in the figure, the time slots of upload requests assigned to groups whose last digit of the application ID is "0" are shortened to 1:00-1:30, the time slots of upload requests assigned to groups whose last digit of the application ID is "1" are extended to 1:30-3:00, the time slots of upload requests assigned to groups whose last digit of the application ID is "2" are extended to 3:00-5:00, and the time slots of upload requests assigned to groups whose last digit of the application ID is "3" are extended to 4:00-5:00. The time period for upload requests assigned to groups whose last digit of the application ID is "4" has been moved to 6:00-7:00, the time period for upload requests assigned to groups whose last digit of the application ID is "5" has been shortened to 7:00-7:30, ..., the time period for upload requests assigned to groups whose last digit of the application ID is "N" has been shortened to 23:30-0:00.

[0084] Then, the setting information update unit 212 updates the second information of the setting information so as to reflect the content of the increase / decrease by the smoothing required time calculated for each group, and writes the updated information in the setting information storage unit 211 .

[0085] Thereafter, the setting information acquisition unit 201 in each information terminal 101 in the information processing system 100 downloads the setting information from the server 102 to the setting information storage unit 211 in the server 102, and writes it to the memory 204. Then, each information terminal 101 reads the IC chip information from the IC chip 111 and requests the server 102 to upload the IC chip information at a first timing (time period) and a second timing (time period) based on the description of the updated setting information.

[0086] Therefore, server 102 can analyze the distribution of the number of upload requests per time period, adjust the second timing (time period) of each group so as to smooth out the number of upload requests per hour, and update the second information in the setting information, thereby controlling the upload requests from information terminal 101 to avoid concentration.

[0087] F. Classification using application IDs In the above explanation, an embodiment has been described in which the information terminals 101 in the information processing system 100 are classified according to the end of the application ID, and the timing (time period) for requesting an upload and the timing (time period) for reading IC chip information from the IC chip 111 are assigned. However, the information terminals 101 may be classified using something other than the end of the application ID (for example, the first digit, or any one or more digits), or the information terminals 101 may be classified using information other than the application ID. [Industrial Applicability]

[0088] Although the present disclosure has been described in detail above with reference to specific embodiments, it is obvious that those skilled in the art can modify or substitute the embodiments without departing from the gist of the present disclosure.

[0089] In this specification, the embodiment of the present disclosure applied to an information processing system in which the server compiles the IC chip information of each information terminal has been mainly described, but the gist of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the present disclosure can be similarly applied to various types of information processing systems in which the processing results of applications for each client are uploaded to a server and compiled.

[0090] In short, the present disclosure has been described in the form of examples, and the contents of the specification should not be interpreted as being limited. In order to judge the gist of the present disclosure, the claims should be taken into consideration.

[0091] The present disclosure can also be configured as follows.

[0092] (1) a reading unit that reads information from a recording medium at a first timing based on first information described in the setting information; an upload unit that uploads the information to an external device at a second timing based on second information described in the setting information; An information terminal comprising:

[0093] (2) the recording medium is an IC chip built into the information terminal or an IC chip accessible from the information terminal, The reading unit reads IC chip information from the IC chip, The upload unit uploads the IC chip information to the external device. The information terminal described in (1) above.

[0094] (3) further comprising a setting information acquisition unit that acquires the setting information from the external device; An information terminal according to either (1) or (2) above.

[0095] (4) the setting information includes the first information describing the first timing assigned to each group classified based on identification information, and the second information describing the second timing assigned to each group, The reader identifies, from the first information, the first timing assigned to a group corresponding to identification information held by the information terminal; The upload unit identifies the second timing assigned to a group corresponding to identification information held by the information terminal from the second information. An information terminal according to any one of (1) to (3) above.

[0096] (5) The recording medium is an IC chip, The identification information is an application ID of an application that uses the IC chip. The information terminal described in (4) above.

[0097] (6) a reading step of reading information from the recording medium at a first timing based on first information described in the setting information in the information terminal; an upload step of uploading the information to an external device at a second timing based on second information described in the setting information in the information terminal; A method for controlling an information terminal having the above-mentioned configuration.

[0098] (7) a storage unit for storing setting information describing first information for calculating a first timing for each information terminal to read information from the recording medium and second information for calculating a second timing for uploading the information to the server; an analysis unit that analyzes a state in which each of the information terminals uploads the information to the server in accordance with the setting information; an update unit that updates the setting information based on the analysis result; An information processing device comprising:

[0099] (8) The recording medium is an IC chip built into each of the information terminals or an IC chip accessible from each of the information terminals, the setting information describes the first information for calculating the first timing at which each of the information terminals reads IC chip information from an IC chip and the second information for calculating the second timing at which each of the information terminals uploads the IC chip information to a server; The information processing device according to (7) above.

[0100] (9) The setting information includes the first information describing the first timing assigned to each group classified based on identification information held by each information terminal, and the second information describing the second timing assigned to each group. An information processing device according to any one of (7) or (8) above.

[0101] (10) The recording medium is an IC chip, The identification information is an application ID of an application that uses an IC chip in each information terminal. The information processing device according to (9) above.

[0102] (11) The analysis unit aggregates the number of upload requests for each group during a predetermined evaluation period, the updating unit updates the second information so that a longer time period is assigned to a group having a large number of upload requests, or so that the number of upload requests at the second timing assigned to each group is smoothed. The information processing device according to any one of (9) or (10) above.

[0103] (12) distributing setting information describing first information for calculating a first timing for each information terminal to read information from the recording medium and second information for calculating a second timing for uploading the information to the server; analyzing a situation in which each of the information terminals uploads the information to the server according to the setting information; updating the configuration information based on the analysis results; An information processing method comprising the steps of:

[0104] (13) An information terminal that reads information from a recording medium, and a server that collects the information from each information terminal, the information terminal reads the information from the recording medium at a first timing calculated based on first information described in setting information distributed from the server, and uploads the information to the server at a second timing calculated based on second information described in the setting information; the server analyzes a state in which each of the information terminals uploads the information to the server in accordance with the setting information, and updates the setting information based on the analysis result. Information processing system.

[0105] (14) The setting information includes the first information describing the first timing assigned to each group classified based on identification information held by each of the information terminals, and the second information describing the second timing assigned to each of the groups; Each of the information terminals specifies, from the first information, the first timing assigned to a group corresponding to identification information held by the terminal, and specifies, from the second information, the second timing assigned to a group corresponding to identification information held by the terminal. The information processing system according to (13) above.

[0106] (15) The server counts the number of upload requests for each group during a predetermined evaluation period, adjusts the second timing for allocating the number of upload requests to each group so as to smooth out the number of upload requests per hour, and updates the second information. The information processing system according to (14) above.

[0107] (16) a reading unit that reads information from the recording medium at a first timing based on first information described in the setting information; an upload unit that uploads the information to an external device at a second timing based on second information described in the setting information; A computer program written in a computer-readable form to cause a computer to function as a [Explanation of symbols]

[0108] 100...information processing system, 101...information terminal, 102...server 103…Communications network 110...Application program (service application) 111...IC chip, 112...reader / writer, 113...IC card 201: setting information acquisition unit, 202: IC chip reading unit 203: IC chip information upload unit, 204: memory 211...setting information holding section, 212...setting information updating section 213...IC chip information receiving unit 214… Upload request count analysis section

Claims

1. Preserves identity, a setting information acquisition unit that acquires setting information including first information describing a first timing assigned to each group classified based on the identification information and second information describing a second timing assigned to each of the groups; a reading unit that reads information from a recording medium at a first timing that is specified from the first information and that is assigned to a group corresponding to the identification information; an upload unit that uploads the information to an external device at a second timing that is specified from the second information and that is assigned to a group corresponding to the identification information; An information terminal comprising:

2. the recording medium is an IC chip built into the information terminal or an IC chip accessible from the information terminal, The reading unit reads IC chip information from the IC chip, The upload unit uploads the IC chip information to the external device.

2. An information terminal according to claim 1.

3. The setting information acquisition unit acquires the setting information from the external device.

2. An information terminal according to claim 1.

4. the recording medium is an IC chip, The identification information is an application ID of an application that uses the IC chip.

2. An information terminal according to claim 1.

5. a setting information acquisition step of acquiring, in an information terminal that holds the identification information, setting information including first information describing a first timing assigned to each group classified based on the identification information and second information describing a second timing assigned to each of the groups; a reading step of reading information from a recording medium at a first timing, which is specified from the first information and which is assigned to a group corresponding to the identification information, in the information terminal; an upload step of uploading, in the information terminal, the information to an external device at a second timing that is specified from the second information and that is assigned to a group corresponding to the identification information; A method for controlling an information terminal having the above-mentioned configuration.

6. a storage unit for storing setting information describing first information for calculating a first timing for each information terminal to read information from a recording medium and second information for calculating a second timing for uploading the information to a server; an analysis unit that analyzes a state in which each of the information terminals uploads the information to the server in accordance with the setting information; an update unit that updates the setting information based on the analysis result; Equipped with The setting information includes the first information describing the first timing assigned to each group classified based on identification information held by each information terminal, and the second information describing the second timing assigned to each group. Information processing device.

7. the recording medium is an IC chip built into each of the information terminals or an IC chip accessible from each of the information terminals, the setting information describes the first information for calculating the first timing at which each of the information terminals reads IC chip information from an IC chip, and the second information for calculating the second timing at which each of the information terminals uploads the IC chip information to a server; The information processing device according to claim 6.

8. the recording medium is an IC chip, The identification information is an application ID of an application that uses an IC chip in each information terminal. The information processing device according to claim 6.

9. The analysis unit aggregates the number of upload requests for each group during a predetermined evaluation period, the updating unit updates the second information so that a longer time period is assigned to a group having a large number of upload requests, or so that the number of upload requests at the second timing assigned to each group is smoothed. The information processing device according to claim 6.

10. distributing setting information describing first information for calculating a first timing for each information terminal to read information from the recording medium and second information for calculating a second timing for uploading the information to a server; analyzing a situation in which each of the information terminals uploads the information to the server according to the setting information; updating the configuration information based on the analysis results; having The setting information includes the first information describing the first timing assigned to each group classified based on identification information held by each information terminal, and the second information describing the second timing assigned to each group. Information processing methods.

11. The system comprises an information terminal that reads information from a recording medium, and a server that collects the information from each information terminal, the server distributes to the information terminals setting information including first information describing a first timing assigned to each group classified based on identification information held by each information terminal, and second information describing a second timing assigned to each group; the information terminal reads the information from the recording medium at a first timing calculated based on first information described in the setting information, and uploads the information to the server at a second timing calculated based on second information described in the setting information; the server analyzes a state in which each of the information terminals uploads the information to the server in accordance with the setting information, and updates the setting information based on the analysis result. Information processing system.

12. Each of the information terminals specifies, from the first information, the first timing assigned to a group corresponding to identification information held by the terminal, and specifies, from the second information, the second timing assigned to a group corresponding to the identification information held by the terminal. The information processing system according to claim 11.

13. the server counts the number of upload requests for each group during a predetermined evaluation period, adjusts the second timing for allocating to each group so as to smooth out the number of upload requests per hour, and updates the second information. The information processing system according to claim 11.

14. Preserves identity, a setting information acquiring unit that acquires setting information including first information describing a first timing assigned to each group classified based on the identification information and second information describing a second timing assigned to each of the groups; a reading unit that reads information from a recording medium at a first timing that is specified from the first information and that is assigned to a group corresponding to the identification information; an upload unit that uploads the information to an external device at a second timing that is specified from the second information and that is assigned to a group corresponding to the identification information; A computer program written in a computer-readable form to cause a computer to function as a

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