Computer system, cumulative operation time management method, and computer program thereof

Abstract

To provide a computer system that enables a server to grasp the usage time of application software that is the object of management even when the server is not constantly connected to a network. [Solution] A computer system includes a management table, management means, and interface means. The management table is provided in a non-volatile storage area, and includes items such as an application ID, a main counter indicating the application's operating time since power-on, and an accumulated operating time of the application. The management means is provided in a basic input / output system, and counts the operating time of the application, and updates the main counter and the accumulated operating time in the management table. The interface means is provided in the basic input / output system, and returns the value of the main counter and / or the value of the accumulated operating time in the management table to the application in response to a read request from the application.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a computer system, a method for managing accumulated operating time, and a computer program therefor. [Background technology]

[0002] Subscription services are becoming more common in the use of application software running on computer systems. Some subscription services are based on time-based billing, and for these services it is necessary to know the amount of time the application software is used. If the computer system on which the application software runs uses a network, the application software can periodically send information about the amount of time the application software is used to a billing server, making it possible to check this information. However, if the computer system is not constantly connected to the network, it is difficult for the billing server to monitor the amount of time the application software is used.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a method for managing the accumulated power-on time of a computer, which makes it possible to obtain the accumulated power-on time of the computer system. More specifically, the computer system has a counter that measures time, measures the time during power-on, and when a predetermined time is reached, reads out the accumulated power-on time value of the computer stored in a non-volatile storage device. The computer system then adds a predetermined time value to this accumulated power-on time value, writes the added accumulated power-on time value to the non-volatile storage device, and resets the counter, thereby obtaining the accumulated power-on time of the computer system. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2000-293406 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The method of managing the accumulated power-on time described in Patent Document 1 can obtain the accumulated power-on time of a computer system, but cannot obtain the operation time of application software running on the computer system. In other words, in the method of managing the accumulated power-on time described in Patent Document 1, if the computer system is not constantly connected to the network, the server cannot grasp the usage time of the application software to be managed.

[0006] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a computer system, a method for managing accumulated operating time, and a computer program therefor that solve the above-mentioned problems. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A computer system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes: a management table provided in a non-volatile storage area and managed by a basic input / output system of the computer system, the management table including an ID of an application running on the computer system, a main counter indicating the operation time of the application since the power of the computer system was turned on, and an item indicating a cumulative operation time of the application; and a management means provided in the basic input / output system for counting the operation time of the application and updating the main counter of the management table corresponding to the ID of the application and the cumulative operation time. and an interface means provided in the basic input / output system for returning to the application, in response to a read request from the application, the value of the main counter of the management table corresponding to the ID of the application and / or the value of the accumulated operating time.

[0008] A method for managing accumulated operating time according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes preparing a management table provided in a non-volatile memory area and managed by a basic input / output system of a computer system, the management table having an ID of an application running on the computer system, a main counter indicating the operating time of the application since the computer system was powered on, and an item indicating the accumulated operating time of the application, counting the operating time of the application by a management means provided in the basic input / output system, updating the main counter and the accumulated operating time in the management table corresponding to the ID of the application, and returning to the application a value of the main counter and / or a value of the accumulated operating time in the management table corresponding to the ID of the application by an interface means provided in the basic input / output system in response to a read request from the application.

[0009] A computer program for causing a computer system to realize a function for managing accumulated operating time according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes preparing a management table that is provided in a non-volatile memory area and managed by a basic input / output system of the computer system, the management table having an ID of an application running on the computer system, a main counter indicating the operating time of the application since the computer system was powered on, and an item indicating the accumulated operating time of the application, counting the operating time of the application by a management means provided in the basic input / output system, updating the main counter and the accumulated operating time in the management table corresponding to the ID of the application, and returning to the application, via an interface means provided in the basic input / output system, the value of the main counter in the management table corresponding to the ID of the application and / or the value of the accumulated operating time, in response to a read request from the application. Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the above aspect, even if the computer system is not constantly connected to the network, the server can grasp the usage time of the application software that is the object of management. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a computer system according to the present disclosure. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a hierarchical diagram showing functions operating in a computer system according to the present disclosure, which are divided into blocks. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a management table according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a process flow for updating a main counter and an accumulated operating time by an SMI handler, which is one of the functions of the BIOS according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 5] 11 is a diagram illustrating a flow of a process of updating a management table by an SMI handler, illustrating details of the update process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a process flow for starting counting the operation of an application upon notification from the application regarding the start of operation according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a process flow for returning a count value related to the operation of an application to the application in response to a notification related to reading of the count from the application according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a management table according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 9] 11 is a diagram illustrating a flow of processing by an SMI handler at the start of counting when an item "status" is added to a management table according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a detailed flow of the process of step S450 in FIG. 9 by the SMI handler according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 11]13 is a diagram showing the flow of processing of a BIOS program at the start of counting when an item "status" is added to a management table according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. [Figure 12] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a flow of processing of a BIOS program for stopping counting according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 13] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a computer system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] Hereinafter, each embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. In all the drawings, the same or corresponding components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and common descriptions will be omitted.

[0013] First, the configuration of a computer system in this disclosure will be described. Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a computer system 100. Referring to Fig. 1, the computer system 100 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 110, a north bridge 120, a memory 130, a south bridge 140, and an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory: non-volatile memory) 150, which are connected by a local bus. The CPU 110 and the south bridge 140 are also connected by an SMI (System Management Interrupt) signal.

[0014] Here, the CPU 110 controls the entire computer system 100. The north bridge 120 is also called a memory controller hub and has a memory controller function for controlling reading and writing of the memory 130, which is a main memory that exchanges information with the CPU 110 at high speed. The memory 130 stores the programs executed by the CPU 110 and the data referenced by the CPU 110. The south bridge 140 is also called an I / O controller hub and has an I / O controller function for controlling input / output devices and recording devices such as a mouse, keyboard, and hard disk. The computer system 100 may be any device, such as a personal computer, that can be connected to a network and has an environment in which application software can run. Note that in FIG. 1, descriptions of input / output devices such as a mouse, keyboard, and display device, recording devices such as a hard disk, or connection ports to input / output devices, connection ports to connect to a network, and buses connecting the CPU 110, memory 130, etc. to these devices are omitted.

[0015] The south bridge 140 includes an SMI logic 141 and a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) 143, which is a non-volatile storage device. The SMI logic 141 has a mechanism for generating an SMI signal for transitioning the CPU 110 to an SMM (System Management Mode). The SMI logic 141 can output an SMI signal to the CPU 110 at regular time intervals. In order to output an SMI signal to the CPU 110 at regular time intervals, the SMI logic 141 has an ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface) timer 142 in FIG. 1. Note that an APM (Advanced Power Management) timer may be provided instead of the ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface) timer 142. Note that the following description will be given as an example in which the APM timer is used. A counter indicating the number of times an SMI signal has been generated is stored in the CMOS 143.

[0016] The EEPROM 150 is connected to the south bridge 140, and stores a BIOS (Basic Input Output System) 151 and a management table 152. The BIOS 151 includes an SMI handler, which is a program executed by the SMM, in addition to an initialization program. The BIOS 151 also includes a program for counting up the accumulated operating time and an update program for the management table 152. The method for counting up the accumulated operating time, the configuration of the management table 152, and the method for updating the management table 152 will be described separately.

[0017] 2 is a hierarchical diagram of functions operating in the computer system 100 according to the present disclosure, which are divided into blocks. An application 210 is a subscription program for which it is desired to obtain the cumulative execution time of the program. In the following, an "application program" may be simply referred to as an "application." Below the application 210 exists an operating system (OS) 220, which also includes a driver that is an interface with a BIOS program 230. The BIOS program 230 can refer to a management table 152.

[0018] An example of an interface standard between the operating system 220 and the BIOS program 230 is WMI (Windows Management Instrumentation). When an application refers to its uptime through this WMI interface, an interface function (interface means) that is part of a program for managing the application's accumulated uptime is implemented as a BIOS WMI interface program.

[0019] First Embodiment Hereinafter, an embodiment according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0020] 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a management table 152 according to the present disclosure. The management table 152 includes, as management items, an ID 10, a main counter 20, and an accumulated operation time 30. Here, the ID 10 is a number that uniquely identifies an application that runs on the computer system 100. The main counter 20 is an item that stores a counted-up value in response to an interrupt by an APM timer, which will be described separately, in order to measure the operation time of the application identified by the ID 10. The accumulated operation time 30 is an item for managing the accumulated operation time of the application identified by the ID 10.

[0021] Next, the initialization operation of the computer system 100 will be described. When the computer system 100 is powered on, the program of the BIOS 151 is loaded into the memory 130, and the CPU 110 executes the loaded BIOS initialization program. When the execution of the initialization program is completed, the SMI signal, which is a periodic interrupt signal, becomes valid. When the CPU 110 receives the SMI signal, it transitions to SMM (system management mode) and executes the SMI handler of the BIOS 151 in the memory 130 each time. The SMI handler is a type of program that is loaded into a dedicated area of ​​the memory 130 by the BIOS 151 when the computer system 100 is started. This dedicated area of ​​the memory 130 becomes an area used by the BIOS 151 and firmware when the computer system transitions to SMM (system management mode). When the BIOS initialization program is executed, a process related to the initialization of the management table 152 is also performed.

[0022] The process of updating the main counter 20 and the accumulated operating time 30, which are items in the management table 152, will be described. Fig. 4 is a flow chart showing the process of updating the main counter 20 and the accumulated operating time 30 by the SMI handler, which is one of the functions of the BIOS. The updating of the main counter 20 and the accumulated operating time 30 is realized as a management function (management means) by the SMI handler, which is one of the functions of the BIOS.

[0023] The SMI handler is executed by the SMI signal generated by the APM timer, thereby starting operation. The SMI handler confirms that the cause of the SMI signal is the APM timer (step S110). The SMI handler reads the count value stored in CMOS 143 (step S120), counts up the counter value by the timer time (interval) (step S130), and writes the counter value back to CMOS 143 (step S140). This makes it possible to count the accumulated operating time of computer system 100 since power was turned on.

[0024] The SMI handler further performs processing (step S150) to update management table 152. Fig. 5 is a diagram showing details of the update processing (step S150) and a flow chart showing the processing flow of updating management table 152 by the SMI handler. Note that the registration of information including the application ID in management table 152 will be described separately with reference to Fig. 6.

[0025] The SMI handler checks the item of ID10 in the management table 152 (step S160), and if an ID is set in the item of ID10 in the management table 152 (step S161, Yes), it adds the timer time to the value of the main counter 20 of the application identified by the ID, counts up, and also adds the timer time to the value of the cumulative operating time 30 to update the cumulative operating time of the application identified by the ID (step S162). The SMI handler performs this for all IDs set in the item of ID10 in the management table 152 (steps S160 to S170). Here, the value of the main counter 20 indicates the operating time of the target application after the power supply of the computer system 100 is turned on, and the cumulative operating time indicates the cumulative operating time of the target application after a predetermined timing. The "predetermined timing" will be explained separately.

[0026] FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing a process for starting counting the operation of an application in response to a notification from an application regarding the start of operation. After the power supply of the computer system 100 is turned on, the application accesses the application by WMI using the ID of the application and an argument indicating the start of counting, and the process shown in FIG. 6 is started. When the BIOS program confirms that the cause is the start of counting (step S210), it checks whether the specified ID exists in the management table 152 (step S220). If the specified ID does not exist in the management table 152 (step S220, No), the BIOS program sets the specified ID as a new ID 10 in the management table 152 and sets "0" as the initial value of the main counter in the main counter 20 item. In addition, the BIOS program writes the count value related to the cumulative operation time of the application with the specified ID, which is held in the CMOS 143, into the cumulative operation time 30 item in the management table 152 (step S230), and returns success to the application (step S240). If the specified ID already exists in the management table (step S220, Yes), the BIOS program returns failure to the application (step S250). The process in FIG. 6 is realized by an interface function (interface means) provided as a part of the BIOS program.

[0027] Here, it is assumed that the accumulated operation time of each application before the power supply of the computer system 100 is turned on is stored in the CMOS 143 together with the ID of the application. For example, when the management table 152 is initialized by the power supply of the computer system 100 being turned on, the ID of the application recorded in the management table 152 before the initialization is associated with the accumulated operation time of the application and stored or updated in the CMOS 143, and then the management table 152 is initialized. This enables the BIOS program to set the accumulated operation time of the application for the specified ID before the power supply of the computer system 100 is turned on in the management table 152. Note that, when the ID of the target application is not present in the CMOS 143 during the process of step S230 in FIG. 6, the BIOS program sets the initial value "0" in the item of the accumulated operation time 30 of the management table 152.

[0028] FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a process of returning a count value related to the operation of an application to the application in response to a notification of the count read from the application. The process of FIG. 7 is started when the application accesses the application by WMI using the ID of the application and a value indicating the count read as arguments. The BIOS program confirms that the cause is the count read (step S310) and checks whether the specified ID exists in the management table 152 (step S320). If the specified ID exists in the management table 152 (step S320, Yes), the BIOS program returns the value of the main counter 20 that matches the specified ID in the management table 152 to the application (step S330). If the specified ID does not exist (step S320, No), the BIOS program returns a failure to the application (step S340). The process of FIG. 7 is realized by an interface function provided as a part of the BIOS program. Note that in step S330 of FIG. 7, at least one or both of the value of the main counter 20 and the value of the accumulated operating time 30 that match the specified ID may be returned to the application.

[0029] As described above, computer system 100 according to the present disclosure can provide each application with information about the amount of time the application has been running since it started running, by using management table 152 and the management and interface functions provided as a BIOS program.

[0030] Second Embodiment A computer system 100 that can provide accurate uptime even when an application stops on the computer system 100, as compared to the computer system 100 described above, will be described. In the computer system 100 of the present disclosure, an item "status" 320 indicating the operation status of an application is added to the management table 152. In the status, for example, "start" for counting to manage the uptime and "stop" for stopping the counting are set. An embodiment according to the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0031] 8 is a diagram showing the configuration of the management table 152 in this disclosure. The management table 152 includes a new item "status" 320. Items "ID" 310, "main counter" 330, and "accumulated operation time" 340 correspond to items "ID" 10, "main counter" 20, and "accumulated operation time" 30 in FIG. 3, respectively.

[0032] 9 is a flow showing the operation of the SMI handler at the start of counting when the item "status" 320 is added to management table 152. The difference from FIG. 4, which shows the operation of the SMI handler when the item "status" does not exist, is in step S450. That is, in step S450, the SMI handler updates the values ​​of main counter 330 and accumulated operation time 340 for an ID whose item "status" 320 is "started" when an ID exists in management table 152. Note that the processing shown in steps S410 to S440 in FIG. 9 is the same as the processing shown in steps S110 to S140 in FIG. 4.

[0033] FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the details of the process of step S450 in FIG. 9 by the SMI handler. The difference from FIG. 5, which shows the operation of the SMI handler when there is no item "status", is in step S462. The SMI handler judges whether the item "status" 320 of the management table 152 is "started" or not (step S462), and if it is "started" (step S462, Yes), updates the main counter 330 and the accumulated operating time 340. On the other hand, if it is not "started" (step S462, No), the SMI handler skips the process of step S463. Note that steps S460, S461, S462, and S470 in FIG. 10 are the same as the processes shown in steps S160 to S162 and S170 in FIG. 5. This makes it possible to count the operating time of only an application that is operating in the computer system 100.

[0034] FIG. 11 is a flow showing the operation of the BIOS program at the start of counting when the item "status" 320 is added to the management table 152. The difference from the case where the item "status" is not present (FIG. 6) is in steps S530 and S540. That is, if the ID specified in the management table 152 exists (step S520, Yes), the BIOS program checks whether the status 320 indicates "stop" (step S530). If the status 320 indicates "stop" (step S530, Yes), the BIOS program rewrites the status 320 in the management table 152 from "stop" to "start". On the other hand, if the status 320 does not indicate "stop" (step S530, No), the BIOS program returns "failure" to the application (step S570). Note that steps S510, S520, S550, S560, and S570 in FIG. 11 are the same as the processes shown in steps S210 to S250 in FIG. 6. This makes it possible to count the operation time of an application from the start of operation of the application in computer system 100. The process of Fig. 11 is realized by an interface function (interface means) provided as a part of the BIOS program.

[0035] 12 is a diagram showing the operation of the BIOS program when a count stop is notified. The BIOS program starts operation when an application accesses the ID of the application and an argument indicating the count stop by WMI. When the BIOS program confirms that the cause is the count stop (step S610), it checks whether the specified ID exists in the management table 152 (step S620). If the specified ID exists in the management table 152 (step S620, Yes), the BIOS program checks whether the status 320 of that ID indicates "start" (step S630). If the status 320 of that ID indicates "start" (step S630, Yes), the BIOS program changes the status 320 that matches the ID in the management table 152 to indicate "stop" (step S640) and returns success to the application (step S650). On the other hand, if the specified ID does not exist in management table 152 (step S620, No) or if the status 320 of the specified ID is not "Started" (step S630, No), the BIOS program returns a failure to the application (step S660). The process of FIG. 13 is realized by an interface function provided as a part of the BIOS program.

[0036] As described above, the process shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 makes it possible to count the operation time of an application while the application is running on computer system 100.

[0037] <Third embodiment> 13 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a computer system 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The computer system 100 includes a management table 152, a management unit 161, and an interface unit 162. The management table 152 is provided in a non-volatile storage area, is managed by a basic input / output system (BISO) of the computer system 100, and includes items indicating the ID of an application running on the computer system 100, a main counter indicating the running time of the application after the power is turned on in the computer system, and an accumulated running time of the application. The management unit 161 is provided in the basic input / output system, counts the running time of the application, and updates the main counter and the accumulated running time in the management table corresponding to the ID of the application. The interface unit 162 is provided in the basic input / output system, and returns the value of the main counter and / or the value of the accumulated running time in the management table corresponding to the ID of the application to the application in response to a read request from the application.

[0038] As described above, the computer system 100 according to the present disclosure allows a server that manages the uptime (usage time) of applications to manage the uptime of applications running on the computer system 100, even if the computer system 100 is not constantly connected to a network. Furthermore, the computer system 100 according to the present disclosure manages the uptime of applications running on the computer system 100 using the management table 152 managed by the BIOS 151 in the EEPROM 150, which is a non-volatile storage area. Therefore, even if the user resets the OS time or reinstalls an application or the OS, the management table 152 managed by the BIOS program is held in the non-volatile storage area, so that the uptime of each application running on the computer system 100 can be accurately managed.

[0039] An application may have a function (means) for notifying the server of the application's usage time based on the main counter value and / or the accumulated operating time value returned by the read request shown in Fig. 7 at any time or at a specified timing when the computer system 100 can access the server managing the application via the network. This allows the server managing the application to obtain the usage time of the application to be managed when the computer system 100 can access the server via the network, even if the computer system 100 is not constantly connected to the network. The usage time of the application since the power of the computer system 100 is turned on can be obtained from the main counter. The accumulated operating time can be the total operating time of the application in the computer system 100, or the total operating time of the application after the "accumulated operating time" is initialized.

[0040] Here, when an application accesses the ID of the application and an argument indicating initialization through WMI, an interface function provided as a part of the BIOS program may initialize the items "main counter" and "accumulated operation time" of the management table 152 corresponding to the ID. This allows the server that manages the usage time of the application to manage the usage time of the application at a predetermined time. For example, if the management period of the operation of the application is monthly, the application may perform processing to initialize the "main counter" and "accumulated operation time" at the first operation time at the beginning of the month. In this case, the application may obtain and save the accumulated operation time of the previous month based on the value of the accumulated operation time returned by the read request shown in FIG. 7 before the processing to initialize the "main counter" and "accumulated operation time", and may be provided with a means for notifying the server of the accumulated operation time of the previous month when the computer system 100 is connected to the network.

[0041] Although the main counter value and the cumulative operating time value in step S162 of Fig. 5 are described as being updated based on the timer time, this is not limited to this. For example, the main counter value and the cumulative operating time value may be updated based on the number of interrupts by the timer. This is because, with updating based on the number of interrupts by the timer, it is possible to calculate the operating time of the application from the number of interrupts counted and the interval between timer interrupt times.

[0042] Although the present disclosure has been described above with reference to the embodiments, the present disclosure is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments. Various modifications that can be understood by a person skilled in the art can be made to the configuration and details of the present disclosure within the scope of the present disclosure. Furthermore, each embodiment can be appropriately combined with other embodiments.

[0043] A part or all of the above-described embodiments may be described as, but is not limited to, the following supplementary notes.

[0044] (Appendix 1) a management table provided in a non-volatile storage area and managed by a basic input / output system of a computer system, the management table including items of an ID of an application running on the computer system, a main counter indicating the running time of the application after the power supply of the computer system is turned on, and an accumulated running time of the application; a management means provided in the basic input / output system for counting the operation time of the application and updating the main counter and the cumulative operation time of the management table corresponding to the ID of the application; an interface means provided in the basic input / output system for returning to the application, in response to a read request from the application, a value of the main counter and / or a value of the accumulated operation time of the management table corresponding to an ID of the application; A computer system comprising:

[0045] (Appendix 2) The management table further includes a status field for managing start and stop of the operation of the application, the management means updates the main counter value and the accumulated operation time value in the management table for an application whose status in the management table indicates start. 2. The computer system of claim 1.

[0046] (Appendix 3) The interface means updates the status corresponding to the ID of the application in response to a notification from the application of start or stop of the application. 3. The computer system of claim 2.

[0047] (Appendix 4) when the ID of the application is not present in the management table when the interface means is notified of the start of operation of the application, the interface means sets the ID of the application in the management table, sets an initial value in the main counter of the application, and sets an accumulated operation time of the application. 4. The computer system of claim 2 or 3.

[0048] (Appendix 5) When a plurality of IDs are set in the management table, the management means updates the main counter value and the accumulated operation time value in the management table corresponding to each ID of an application whose status in the management table indicates start. 5. A computer system according to any one of claims 2 to 4.

[0049] (Appendix 6) The management means stores, in a non-volatile memory, information regarding the ID of the application and the cumulative operation time of the application in the management table when the computer system is powered on, when the ID of the application is not found in the management table when the interface means is notified of the start of operation of the application, the interface means obtains an accumulated operation time corresponding to the ID of the application from the information stored in the non-volatile memory, and sets the accumulated operation time in the management table. 5. The computer system of claim 4.

[0050] (Appendix 7) the interface means initializes the main counter and the accumulated operation time corresponding to an ID of the application when notified of the initialization of the application; 7. A computer system according to any one of claims 2 to 6.

[0051] (Appendix 8) The application includes a means for notifying the server of an approximate application usage time based on the value of the main counter and / or the value of the cumulative operation time returned from the interface means in response to the read request when the computer system is accessible to the server. 8. A computer system according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

[0052] (Appendix 11) a management table provided in a non-volatile storage area and managed by a basic input / output system of a computer system, the management table including an ID of an application running on the computer system, a main counter indicating the running time of the application after power-on of the computer system, and an item indicating the cumulative running time of the application; A management means provided in the basic input / output system counts the operation time of the application, and updates the main counter and the accumulated operation time of the management table corresponding to the ID of the application; an interface means provided in the basic input / output system returns to the application, in response to a read request from the application, the value of the main counter and / or the value of the accumulated operation time in the management table corresponding to the ID of the application; How to manage accumulated working hours.

[0053] (Appendix 12) The management table further includes a status field for managing start and stop of the operation of the application, said management means updates said main counter value and said accumulated operation time value in said management table for an application whose status in said management table indicates start; A method for managing cumulative operating time as described in Appendix 11.

[0054] (Appendix 13) updating the status corresponding to the ID of the application in response to a notification from the application of start or stop of the application by the interface means; A method for managing cumulative operating time as described in Appendix 12.

[0055] (Appendix 14) if the ID of the application is not present in the management table when the interface means notifies the start of operation of the application, the ID of the application is set in the management table, an initial value is set in the main counter of the application, and an accumulated operation time of the application is set. A method for managing cumulative operating time as described in Appendix 12 or Appendix 13.

[0056] (Appendix 15) When a plurality of IDs are set in the management table, the management means updates the main counter value and the cumulative operation time value in the management table corresponding to each ID of the application whose status in the management table indicates start. A method for managing cumulative operating time according to any one of Supplementary Note 12 to Supplementary Note 14.

[0057] (Appendix 16) The management means stores information about the ID of the application and the cumulative operating time of the application in the management table in a non-volatile memory when the computer system is powered on, when the ID of the application is not found in the management table when the interface means is notified of the start of operation of the application, the interface means obtains an accumulated operation time corresponding to the ID of the application from the information stored in the non-volatile memory, and sets the accumulated operation time in the management table. A method for managing cumulative operating time as described in Appendix 14.

[0058] (Appendix 17) when the interface means notifies the user of the initialization of the application, the main counter and the cumulative operation time corresponding to the ID of the application are initialized; A method for managing cumulative operating time according to any one of Supplementary Note 12 to Supplementary Note 16.

[0059] (Appendix 18) notifying the server of an approximate application usage time based on the main counter value and / or the cumulative operating time value returned from the interface means in response to the read request when the computer system is able to access the server by the application; A method for managing cumulative operating time according to any one of Supplementary Note 11 to Supplementary Note 17.

[0060] (Appendix 21) a management table provided in a non-volatile storage area and managed by a basic input / output system of a computer system, the management table including an ID of an application running on the computer system, a main counter indicating the running time of the application after power-on of the computer system, and an item indicating the cumulative running time of the application; A management means provided in the basic input / output system counts the operation time of the application, and updates the main counter and the accumulated operation time of the management table corresponding to the ID of the application; an interface means provided in the basic input / output system returns to the application, in response to a read request from the application, the value of the main counter and / or the value of the accumulated operation time in the management table corresponding to the ID of the application; A computer program for enabling a computer system to implement a function for managing accumulated operating time.

[0061] (Appendix 22) The management table further includes a status field for managing start and stop of the operation of the application, said management means updates said main counter value and said accumulated operation time value in said management table for an application whose status in said management table indicates start; 22. The computer program of claim 21.

[0062] (Appendix 23) updating the status corresponding to the ID of the application in response to a notification from the application of start or stop of the application by the interface means; 23. The computer program of claim 22.

[0063] (Appendix 24) if the ID of the application is not present in the management table when the interface means notifies the start of operation of the application, the ID of the application is set in the management table, an initial value is set in the main counter of the application, and an accumulated operation time of the application is set. 24. The computer program of claim 22 or 23.

[0064] (Appendix 25) When a plurality of IDs are set in the management table, the management means updates the main counter value and the cumulative operation time value in the management table corresponding to each ID of the application whose status in the management table indicates start. 25. A computer program according to any one of claims 22 to 24.

[0065] (Appendix 26) The management means stores information about the ID of the application and the cumulative operating time of the application in the management table in a non-volatile memory when the computer system is powered on, when the ID of the application is not found in the management table when the interface means is notified of the start of operation of the application, the interface means obtains an accumulated operation time corresponding to the ID of the application from the information stored in the non-volatile memory, and sets the accumulated operation time in the management table. 25. The computer program of claim 24.

[0066] (Appendix 27) when the interface means notifies the user of the initialization of the application, the main counter and the cumulative operation time corresponding to the ID of the application are initialized; 27. A computer program according to any one of claims 22 to 26.

[0067] (Appendix 28) notifying the server of an approximate application usage time based on the main counter value and / or the cumulative operating time value returned from the interface means in response to the read request when the computer system is able to access the server by the application; 28. A computer program according to any one of claims 21 to 27. [Explanation of symbols]

[0068] 10, 310 ID section 20, 330 Main counter 30, 340 cumulative operating hours 100 Computer Systems 120 Northbridge 130 Memory 140 South Bridge 141 SMI Logic 142 ACPI Timers 143 CMOS 150 EEPROM 152 Management Table 210 Applications 220 Operating Systems 230 BIOS Program 320 Status

Claims

1. a management table provided in a non-volatile storage area and managed by a basic input / output system of a computer system, the management table including items of an ID of an application running on the computer system, a main counter indicating the running time of the application after the power supply of the computer system is turned on, and an accumulated running time of the application; a management means provided in the basic input / output system for counting the operation time of the application and updating the main counter and the cumulative operation time of the management table corresponding to the ID of the application; an interface means provided in the basic input / output system for returning to the application, in response to a read request from the application, a value of the main counter and / or a value of the accumulated operation time of the management table corresponding to an ID of the application; A computer system comprising:

2. The management table further includes a status field for managing start and stop of the operation of the application, the management means updates the main counter value and the accumulated operation time value in the management table for an application whose status in the management table indicates start.

2. The computer system of claim 1.

3. the interface means updates the status corresponding to an ID of the application in response to a notification from the application that the application has started or stopped operating.

3. The computer system of claim 2.

4. when the ID of the application is not present in the management table when the interface means is notified of the start of operation of the application, the interface means sets the ID of the application in the management table, sets an initial value in the main counter of the application, and sets an accumulated operation time of the application.

3. The computer system of claim 2.

5. When a plurality of IDs are set in the management table, the management means updates the main counter value and the accumulated operation time value in the management table corresponding to each ID of an application whose status in the management table indicates start.

3. The computer system of claim 2.

6. the management means stores, in a non-volatile memory, information regarding the ID of the application and the cumulative operation time of the application in the management table when the computer system is powered on; when the ID of the application is not found in the management table when the interface means is notified of the start of operation of the application, the interface means obtains an accumulated operation time corresponding to the ID of the application from the information stored in the non-volatile memory, and sets the accumulated operation time in the management table.

5. The computer system of claim 4.

7. the interface means initializes the main counter and the accumulated operation time corresponding to an ID of the application when notified of the initialization of the application; 3. The computer system of claim 2.

8. the application includes a means for notifying the server of the usage time of the application based on the value of the main counter and / or the value of the accumulated operation time returned from the interface means in response to the read request when the computer system is accessible to the server; A computer system according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. a management table provided in a non-volatile storage area and managed by a basic input / output system of a computer system, the management table including an ID of an application running on the computer system, a main counter indicating the running time of the application after power-on of the computer system, and an item indicating the cumulative running time of the application; A management means provided in the basic input / output system counts the operation time of the application, and updates the main counter and the accumulated operation time of the management table corresponding to the ID of the application; an interface means provided in the basic input / output system returns to the application, in response to a read request from the application, the value of the main counter in the management table corresponding to the ID of the application and / or the value of the accumulated operation time. How to manage accumulated working hours.

10. a management table provided in a non-volatile storage area and managed by a basic input / output system of a computer system, the management table including an ID of an application running on the computer system, a main counter indicating the running time of the application after power-on of the computer system, and an item indicating the cumulative running time of the application; A management means provided in the basic input / output system counts the operation time of the application, and updates the main counter and the accumulated operation time of the management table corresponding to the ID of the application; an interface means provided in the basic input / output system returns to the application, in response to a read request from the application, the value of the main counter in the management table corresponding to the ID of the application and / or the value of the accumulated operation time. A computer program for enabling a computer system to implement a function for managing accumulated operating time.

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