Program, information processing device, control method

Abstract

To solve the problem in which: further convenience is demanded in relation to a technique to inform a user that a terminal device has received information.SOLUTION: A program causes a computer of an information processing apparatus to execute: a first acquisition step of acquiring first information to execute a notification operation; a second acquisition step of acquiring second information that is information different from the first information and to execute the notification operation; and a control step of, based on the fact that the second information is acquired before the lapse of a predetermined time from the acquisition of the first information in the second acquisition step executed after the first acquisition step, performing control so that at least one of a plurality of operations included in the notification operation based on the second information is not executed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

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

Background Art

[0002] When a terminal device receives information, there is a known technique for notifying the user that the information has been received by vibration sounds such as a notification sound or vibration. There is also a known technique for suppressing the sound so that the notification sound or vibration sound does not become noise. For example, in Patent Document 1, when a mobile phone changes from a moving state to a stationary state, if it is determined that the mobile phone is placed where the vibration of the vibration reaches, a technique for suppressing the vibration sound by not operating the vibration is described.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] By the way, further convenience is required for the technique for notifying the user that the terminal device has received information.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] A program that causes a computer of an information processing device to perform an acquisition step of acquiring first information for performing a notification operation relating to an application program, and a control step of causing a notification based on the first information to be performed based on the fact that a second piece of information for performing a notification operation relating to the same application program as the application program identified based on the first information acquired in the acquisition step has not been acquired within a predetermined time before the acquisition of the first information, wherein the control step controls the computer not to perform a notification operation based on the first information if the second piece of information for performing a notification operation relating to the same application program as the application program identified based on the first information acquired has been acquired within the predetermined time before the acquisition of the first information.

Effects of the Invention

[0006] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to achieve further improvement in convenience for the technique for notifying the user that the terminal device has received information.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0007] [Figure 1] This diagram shows the system configuration. [Figure 2] This diagram shows the hardware configuration of the terminal device 100 and the push notification server 200. [Figure 3] This flowchart illustrates the process that determines whether the push notification function works. [Figure 4] This flowchart illustrates the process that determines whether the push notification function works. [Figure 5] This flowchart illustrates the process that determines whether the push notification function works. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0008] The present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. The following embodiments are not intended to limit the claims of this disclosure, and not all combinations of features described in these embodiments are necessarily essential to the solutions of this disclosure. Furthermore, in the accompanying drawings, identical or similar components are given the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions are omitted.

[0009] (Embodiment 1) Figure 1 shows the configuration of the system in this embodiment. The system in this embodiment includes a terminal device 100 and a push notification server 200. The terminal device 100 is an information processing device on which an operating system (hereinafter referred to as OS) 101 and an application program (hereinafter referred to as application) 102 are installed.

[0010] In the system shown in Figure 1, each device is connected in a communicative manner. For example, terminal device 100 and push notification server 200 located outside terminal device 100 are connected in a communicative manner via the internet (not shown).

[0011] The terminal device 100 is, for example, an information processing device such as a personal computer (PC) or a smartphone. Various devices such as digital cameras may also be used as the terminal device 100 in this embodiment.

[0012] The push notification server 200 is an information processing device that has the function of distributing push notification information, as described later, to the terminal device 100.

[0013] Figure 2(a) shows the hardware configuration of the terminal device 100. The terminal device 100 includes a CPU 110, an operation unit 120, a communication unit 130, a display unit 140, a storage unit 150, a vibrator 160, and a sound output unit 170. Each unit is interconnected via a system bus 180.

[0014] The CPU 110 is the system control unit and controls the entire terminal device 100. The operation unit 120 accepts user operations. For example, it is composed of a mouse, keyboard, touch panel, etc. The communication unit 130 communicates with other devices. For example, it is composed of a USB interface, wired LAN interface, wireless LAN interface, etc., and communicates with the push notification server 200. The display unit 140 displays images and information. For example, it is composed of a screen such as an LCD display, and outputs the content of push notification information by displaying it on the LCD display screen, etc. The storage unit 150 is composed of, for example, ROM or RAM, and stores various data and programs, and is used as a work area and temporary data storage area when executing various programs. Examples of programs stored in the storage unit 150 include the OS 101 and application 102. In the following, application 102 will be described as an application for exchanging messages (chat application) as an example. In a chat application, for example, a user can create a group consisting of multiple people or a group consisting of two people, and exchange messages in a chat format. Furthermore, users can use text-based messages or stamp-based messages as the format for sending messages. The chat application may also have calling functions and functions for sending images and videos. Application 102 may also be an application with other functions. For example, it may be an application that allows other users to view text and images posted by the user. It may also be an application that causes printing to a printer (not shown), or an application that can perform the push notification function described later. Application 102 is installed from an external server, for example, via internet communication through the communication unit 130, and stored in the storage unit 150. Note that the storage unit 150 may store software other than the OS 101 and application 102.The vibrator 160 generates vibrations and, through the vibrations and the sounds produced by the vibrations, notifies the user that the terminal device 100 has received information. The sound output unit 170 outputs sound. For example, it is composed of a speaker and notifies the user that the terminal device 100 has received information with a sound such as a beep.

[0015] Figure 2(b) shows the hardware configuration of the push notification server 200. The management server 200 includes a CPU 210, an operation unit 220, a communication unit 230, a display unit 240, and a storage unit 250. Each unit is interconnected via a system bus 280. Each component has the same function as the components of the terminal device 100. The push notification server 200 can communicate with a management server (not shown) where push notification information is created, and retrieves the created push notification information from the management server. In this embodiment, the push notification server 200 is described as being configured with a single server device (information processing device). However, the functions performed by the push notification server 200 may be configured so that each function is performed by multiple servers on the cloud working in cooperation. In other words, the push notification server 200 may be composed of multiple server devices. A server composed of one or more server devices is also called a server system.

[0016] The push notification function will now be explained. The push notification function is a function of OS101 that performs notification actions based on push notification information sent from the push notification server 200. In this embodiment, the notification actions include display actions, sound output actions, vibration actions, and lighting actions. A display action is the action of displaying the notification content indicated by the push notification information sent from the push notification server 200 using a push notification area. The push notification area may be a notification area such as Toast, Notification, SnackBar, or Dialog. In this embodiment, the push notification function will notify information about services and campaigns related to the application 102 running on the terminal device 100. Other content may also be notified. A sound output action is the action of outputting sound from the sound output unit 170, and a vibration action is the action of vibrating the vibrator 160. Furthermore, a lighting action is the action of lighting up the display of the terminal device 100, or, if the terminal device 100 is equipped with a light-emitting unit (not shown), the action of lighting up the light-emitting unit. These notification actions inform the user that they have received push notification information. Therefore, push notification information is information used to display the push notification area, or information used to execute a notification action.

[0017] OS101 includes two settings related to push notifications: OS Notification Setting 1 and OS Notification Setting 2. OS Notification Setting 1 is a function that allows users to configure whether or not to execute (enable) the push notification function when push notification information for a particular application is received. In other words, in OS Notification Setting 1, users can choose whether or not to execute notification actions based on push notification information. Furthermore, OS Notification Setting 2 is a function that allows users to configure which of the multiple actions included in the notification action to enable when the push notification function is enabled in OS Notification Setting 1. For example, users can choose whether or not to execute sound actions or vibration actions as notification actions. Note that if OS Notification Setting 1 is disabled, no notification actions will be executed. Also, even if OS Notification Setting 1 is enabled, if no notification actions are enabled in OS Notification Setting 2, no notification actions will be executed. Note that whether or not vibration actions are executed may be determined by whether or not the silent mode function, which will be described later, is enabled. Note that display actions will be enabled when the push notification function is enabled in OS Notification Setting 1, and disabled when the push notification function is disabled in OS Notification Setting 1. In other words, display actions cannot be individually enabled or disabled in OS notification settings 2; OS notification settings 2 allows you to enable or disable actions other than display actions. Note that display actions may be included in OS notification settings 2, and may be individually enabled or disabled in OS notification settings 2.

[0018] Furthermore, application 102 can execute Application Notification Setting 1 and Application Notification Setting 2 as settings related to push notifications. Application Notification Setting 1 is a function that sets whether or not to allow OS 101 to execute the push notification function when push notification information related to application 102 is received. Application Notification Setting 1 allows the user to choose whether or not to allow application 102 to execute the push notification function related to application 102 on OS 101. Application Notification Setting 2 is a function that allows the user to set which of several actions included in the notification action to enable when the push notification function is enabled in Application Notification Setting 1. For example, the user can choose whether or not to perform a sound action or a vibration action as a notification action. Note that if Application Notification Setting 1 is disabled, no notification action will be performed. Also, even if Application Notification Setting 1 is enabled, if no notification action is enabled in Application Notification Setting 2, no notification action will be performed. Note that the display action is always enabled when the push notification function is enabled in Application Notification Setting 1, and is always disabled when the push notification function is disabled in Application Notification Setting 1. In other words, display operations cannot be individually enabled or disabled in Application Notification Setting 2; only operations other than display operations can be enabled or disabled in Application Notification Setting 2. Display operations may be included in Application Notification Setting 2. Details regarding when OS Notification Settings 1 and 2 and Application Notification Settings 1 and 2 are applied in the execution of push notifications in this embodiment will be described later. If an application does not have Application Notification Setting 2, the notification operation may be executed based on OS Notification Setting 2. In other words, in the embodiment described later, when an application 102 that does not have Application Notification Setting 2 instructs OS 101 to execute a push notification, it is instructing OS 101 to execute only the push notification, and OS 101, upon receiving the instruction, will execute the notification operation based on OS Notification Setting 2.

[0019] The push notification function includes a push notification function A and a push notification function B. The push notification function A is a function in which the OS 101 executes the push notification function without depending on the application 102 for the acquired push notification information. Specifically, the OS 102 acquires push notification information from the push notification server 200 and controls whether to execute the push notification function according to the OS notification settings. Further, the push notification function B is a function in which the OS 101 transmits the acquired push notification information to the application 102 and executes the push notification function according to an instruction from the application 102. Specifically, the OS 102 acquires push notification information from the push notification server 200 and transmits the push notification information to the application 102. Then, the application 102 instructs the OS 102 to execute the push notification function according to the application notification settings 1 and 2 and the analysis result of the push notification information. Then, the OS 102 controls whether to execute the push notification function according to the instruction of the application 102 and the OS notification settings. In the push notification function B, when the push notification function regarding the application 102 is invalidated by the OS notification setting 1, the OS 101 does not transmit the push notification information to the application 102, and when the push notification function regarding the application 102 is validated by the OS notification setting 1, control may be executed such that the OS 101 transmits the push notification information to the application 102.

[0020] In the present invention, a form for determining a notification operation in the push notification function will be described. Note that the present invention may also be applied to a form for determining a notification operation when receiving other information that is not push notification information and notifying the user of the information.

[0021] Incidentally, when the OS 101 continuously receives a plurality of push notification messages without elapsing a predetermined time and continuously executes the push notification function, the notification operation may also be continuously executed. When the notification operation is continuously executed, for example, the vibration sound by the vibration operation or the sound output by the sound operation may be continuously executed, which may be noise for the user or people around. Furthermore, when the lighting of the terminal device 100 by the lighting operation or the lighting of the screen of the terminal device 100 by the display operation is continuously executed, it may be troublesome depending on the user's environment.

[0022] Here, the terminal device 100 may be equipped with a function called the manner mode. The manner mode is a function that prevents the sound from being output even when the sound output unit 170 is set to output sound in the notification setting. When the manner mode is effective, it is known that the vibrator is vibrated to notify the user. However, even when the manner mode is effective, when the OS continuously executes the push notification function, the vibration sound caused by the vibration of the vibrator 160 may be continuously executed, which may be noise for the user or people around. If the vibrator 160 does not vibrate when the manner mode is effective, the user may not be able to notice the notification due to the non-vibration of the vibrator 160.

[0023] Also, by setting (invalidating) the push notification function not to be executed in the OS notification setting, the notification operation is not executed, but the user may not be able to notice that the push notification message has been received due to the non-execution of the notification operation, resulting in a decrease in usability. In addition, setting whether to execute the push notification function according to the OS notification setting may be troublesome for the user. Therefore, when the push notification function is effective, even when continuously receiving push notification messages, it is required to reduce the trouble caused by the notification operation for the user.

[0024] Therefore, in this embodiment, it is determined whether or not push notification information related to application 102 was received after a predetermined time has elapsed since the previous push notification information related to application 102 was received. If the received push notification information was received before the predetermined time had elapsed since the previous push notification information was received, control is made so that the push notification function based on the received push notification information is not executed. In other words, control is made so that notification actions such as display actions or vibration actions are not executed based on the previously received push notification information and the push notification information received consecutively.

[0025] This reduces the likelihood of notifications becoming annoying to users, even when they receive a series of push notifications while the push notification function is enabled.

[0026] <Embodiment 1> Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating the process by which OS101 controls the notification operation in push notification function A.

[0027] In S101, the OS101 receives (acquires) push notification information from the push notification server 200. The push notification information includes information indicating which application included in the terminal device 100 the push notification information pertains to. In this embodiment, the push notification information received in S101 is assumed to be push notification information pertaining to application 102.

[0028] In S102, OS101 determines whether the push notification information received in S101 corresponds to push notification function A or push notification function B. It is assumed that which push notification function a notification based on push notification information corresponds to is determined for each application program. Therefore, here, OS101 determines whether or not the push notification information pertains to an application that supports push notification function A. It is also assumed that a specific tag is included in the push notification information, and OS101 may make the determination by referring to the specific tag. That is, if the push notification information includes a specific tag, OS101 may determine that it is push notification information that corresponds to push notification function B. If the push notification information does not include a specific tag (or if it includes a tag different from the specific tag), OS101 may determine that it is push notification information that corresponds to push notification function A. Whether or not to include a specific tag in the push notification information is controlled by the management server or other device that generates the push notification information. If OS102 determines in S102 that it corresponds to push notification function A, it proceeds to S103; if it determines that it corresponds to push notification function B, it proceeds to S108.

[0029] In S103, OS101 determines whether it had received push notification information about application 102 prior to receiving it in S101. If OS102 determines that the answer is YES in S103, it proceeds to S104; otherwise, it proceeds to S106. In this determination, even if it had received push notification information about an application other than application 102 prior to receiving it in S101, it will be determined to be NO if it had not received push notification information about application 102 prior to receiving it in S101.

[0030] In S104, OS101 determines whether the push notification information regarding application 102 received in S101 (the current push notification information) was received after a predetermined time has elapsed since the time the previous push notification information regarding application 102 was received. If OS102 determines that the answer is YES in S104, it proceeds to S106; if it determines that the answer is NO, it proceeds to S105. The predetermined time is assumed to be set in advance by OS101.

[0031] In S105, OS101 determines whether the application 102 has been launched by the user since receiving the previous push notification information regarding the application 102. The application 102 may be launched, for example, by operating the application 102 icon from the home screen of the terminal device 100. Alternatively, it may be launched by operating on the push notification area displayed by the execution of the push notification function based on the push notification information regarding the application 102. If OS102 determines YES in S105, it proceeds to S106; if it determines NO, it proceeds to S108.

[0032] If the result in S103 is NO, S104 is YES, and S105 is YES, then in S106, OS101 determines whether the push notification function is enabled in OS notification setting 1. In other words, OS101 determines whether the push notification function is set to be executed in OS notification setting 1. If the result in S106 is YES, proceed to S107; if the result is NO, proceed to S108.

[0033] In S107, OS101 performs notification actions based on push notification information related to application 102 using push notification function A. In other words, OS101 performs notification actions according to OS notification setting 2 using push notification function A. For example, if the push notification function for application 102 is enabled in the notification action settings of the OS notification settings, and the display action and vibration action among the notification actions are enabled while other actions are disabled, then OS101 will perform the display action and vibration action and not the other actions. That is, OS101 will display a push notification area based on the push notification information on the screen of terminal device 100 and control the vibration of the vibrator 160. If the push notification function for application 102 is disabled in the OS notification settings, OS101 will not perform the push notification function. In other words, OS101 will not perform the notification action.

[0034] If NO is determined in S106, then in S108, OS101 determines that it will not perform notification actions based on push notification information. In other words, OS101 does not perform notification actions based on push notification information. That is, if the user has not performed any operations on application 102, it is assumed that the user has not seen the previous push notification information, and all notification actions set in the OS notification settings are not performed. For example, even if display actions and vibration actions are enabled in the OS notification settings, the push notification area based on push notification information is not displayed on the screen of terminal device 100, and vibration by the vibrator 160 is not performed.

[0035] Since steps S109 to S111 are the same as steps S103 to S105, their explanation will be omitted.

[0036] If NO is determined in S109, if YES is determined in S110, or if YES is determined in S111, then in S112, OS101 decides to perform a notification action based on the push notification information using push notification function B and sends the push notification information to application 102.

[0037] In S113, OS101 determines whether it has received an instruction from application 102 to execute the push notification function. If it determines YES in S113, it proceeds to S114; if it determines NO, this determination is repeated. If it determines NO in S113, the process of this flowchart may be terminated. In other words, no notification action is performed. If it determines NO in this determination, for example, if application 102 is running, the notification action is not performed even if application notification settings 1 or 2 are enabled.

[0038] In S114, OS101 determines whether application 102 is running. Here, OS101 decides whether to execute the push notification function based on OS notification setting 1 or application notification setting 1, based on whether application 102 is running. Also, OS101 decides whether to execute what kind of notification action based on OS notification setting 2 or application notification setting 2, based on whether application 102 is running. If application 102 is running, OS101 decides whether to execute the push notification function based on application notification setting 1, not OS notification setting 1. For example, if the push notification function is enabled in application notification setting 1, OS101 executes the push notification function with the notification action based on application notification setting 2. Note that if it is determined to be YES in S113, it means that an instruction to execute the push notification function has been received from application 102, and therefore application notification setting 1 is enabled. For example, if application 102 is not running, OS101 decides whether to execute the push notification function based on OS notification setting 1. For example, if the push notification function is enabled in OS notification setting 1 (determined as YES in S116 described later), OS101 will execute the push notification function based on the notification action in OS notification setting 2 (determined as S117 described later).

[0039] Note that some applications do not have Application Notification Setting 1 or Application Notification Setting 2. In such cases, OS101 should decide whether or not to execute the push notification function based on OS Notification Setting 1 or OS Notification Setting 2, regardless of whether the application is running or not. It is also possible that an application that receives a push notification command from OS101 does not have Application Notification Setting 2, and that application is running. In this case, OS101 may execute the push notification function based on OS Notification Setting 2. If the result in S114 is YES, proceed to S115; if the result is NO, proceed to S116.

[0040] In S115, OS101 performs a notification action based on push notification information, based on instructions from application 102. As described above, OS101 performs the push notification function with a notification action based on application notification setting 2.

[0041] Since S116 and S117 are the same processes as S106 and S107, their explanation will be omitted.

[0042] If the result in S111 is NO, then in S118, the OS 101 decides not to perform a notification action based on the push notification information and does not send the push notification information to the application 102. In this case, naturally, the OS 101 does not receive an instruction from the application 102 to execute the push notification function, and therefore the OS 101 does not perform a notification action based on the push notification information in S114.

[0043] In this embodiment, the OS 101 determines whether a predetermined amount of time has elapsed since the previous push notification information for application 102 was received. If it is determined that the received push notification information is not received within the predetermined time since the previous push notification information was received, the OS 101 controls the system so that no notification action based on the received push notification information is performed. This reduces the likelihood that notification actions will be a nuisance to the user, even when push notification information is received consecutively while the push notification function is enabled.

[0044] In the embodiment described above, when push notification information regarding application 102 is received for the first time, the user can be notified by executing a notification action. Also, if it is determined that the push notification information regarding application 102 in S101 was received after a predetermined time has elapsed since the previous push notification information regarding application 102 was received, the user can be notified by executing a notification action. Furthermore, even if the current push notification information is received without a predetermined time having elapsed since the previous push notification information was received, if the user performs an operation on application 102, the user can be notified of the notification based on the push notification information in S101 by executing a notification action.

[0045] In this flowchart, OS101 may execute the judgment process S106 after processing S102. If S106-NO, it may proceed to S108 without performing the judgments S103-S105. If S106-YES, it may perform the judgment processes S103-S105. In this case, OS101 may proceed to S107 if S103-S105-YES.

[0046] Note that in this flowchart, the determination process in S104 may be omitted. In other words, if in S103 it is determined that the push notification information for application 102 in S101 has been received after a predetermined amount of time has elapsed since the previous push notification information for application 102 was received, the process proceeds to S106 and the notification action may not be performed.

[0047] Note that the determination process in S114 may be omitted in this flowchart. In other words, regardless of whether application 102 is running or not, the notification action may always be performed based on either application notification setting 1 or 2, or OS notification setting 1 or 2.

[0048] Furthermore, in this flowchart, the processes S109-S111 and S118 may be omitted. In other words, if it is determined in S102 that the push notification information corresponds to push notification function B, the process proceeds to S112, and the OS 101 may send the push notification information to application 102. In this case, as will be explained in the second embodiment, application 102, which has received the push notification information, may perform the determinations in S109-S111 and control whether or not to instruct the OS 101 to execute the push notification function based on the determination result. In this case, if application 102 instructs the OS 101 to execute the push notification function in S113, the OS 101 executes the process in S114. Thus, whether the determination to decide whether or not to execute the push notification function is performed by the OS 102 or by application 102 may be controlled depending on whether the received push notification information corresponds to push notification function A or push notification function B.

[0049] In S107 of this flowchart, we described a scenario where all actions included in the notification actions are not executed despite the push notification function being enabled by OS notification setting 1, but this is not the only scenario. It is sufficient if at least one of the notification actions enabled by OS notification setting 2 and the display actions are not executed despite the push notification function being enabled by OS notification setting 1. For example, in S107, the display action may be executed, but the other notification actions may not be executed. Alternatively, the display action and the lighting action may be executed, but the other notification actions may not be executed. Which notification actions are executed and which are not may be predetermined, or they may be configurable by the user.

[0050] (Embodiment 2) In Embodiment 1, the process described was that OS 101 receives push notification information about application 102 and decides whether to execute a notification action based on whether the received push notification information was received within a predetermined time since the previously received push notification information. However, in this embodiment, the process described is that application 102 receives push notification information about application 102 from OS 101 and decides whether to execute a notification action based on whether the received push notification information was received within a predetermined time since the previously received push notification information. In other words, the process described is that when the push notification function B described above is executed, application 102 decides whether to execute a notification action in the push notification function. The following description will focus on the differences from Embodiment 1.

[0051] Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating the process by which application 102 decides whether or not to execute a notification action in push notification function B. OS 101 sends the received push notification information to application 102. Specifically, for example, OS 101 stores the push notification information in the storage unit 150. Note that some of the push notification information stored by OS 101 does not need to match the push notification information obtained from the push notification server. Specifically, OS 101 may create new push notification information B from the received push notification information A, which is necessary for application 102 to decide whether or not to execute a notification action, and store it in the storage unit 150. Note that application 102 may create and obtain push notification information B. In the following, push notification information A and push notification information B will not be distinguished and will both be referred to as push notification information.

[0052] In S201, application 102 receives push notification information from OS 101. Specifically, for example, application 102 retrieves push notification information stored in memory unit 150.

[0053] The processing in S202 to S204 is the same as the processing in S102 to S104 in Figure 3, except that the main processing entity is application 102, so the explanation is omitted. In S203, application 102 determines whether the push notification information received in S201 (the current push notification information) was received after a predetermined time has elapsed since the previous push notification information was received. Here, application 102 may also determine whether the current push notification information received by OS 101 was received after a predetermined time has elapsed since OS 101 received the previous push notification information. Alternatively, application 102 may determine whether the current push notification information received by application 102 was received after a predetermined time has elapsed since application 102 received the previous push notification information.

[0054] If the answer in S202 is NO, in S203 is YES, and in S204 is YES, then in S205, application 102 determines whether the push notification function is enabled in application notification setting 1. In other words, application 102 determines whether the push notification function is set to be executed in application notification setting 1. If the answer in S205 is YES, proceed to S206; if the answer is NO, proceed to S207.

[0055] In S206, application 102 instructs OS 101 to perform a notification action based on push notification information related to application 102. In other words, application 102 instructs OS 101 to perform a notification action according to the application notification settings. For example, if vibration is enabled in application notification setting 2, application 102 instructs OS 101 to display a push notification area based on the push notification information on the screen of terminal device 100 and to perform vibration using the vibrator 160. However, if the push notification function is disabled in application notification setting 1, application 102 does not instruct OS 101 to perform the push notification function. In other words, application 102 does not instruct OS 101 to perform a notification action.

[0056] If NO is determined in S205, then in S207, application 102 controls the OS 101 not to perform notification actions based on push notification information. In other words, if the user has not performed any operations on application 102, it is assumed that the user has not seen the previous push notification information, and the OS 101 is controlled not to perform any notification actions set in application notification setting 2. For example, even if vibration is enabled in application notification setting 2, the push notification area based on push notification information is not displayed on the screen of the terminal device 100, and the OS 101 is controlled not to perform vibration using the vibrator 160.

[0057] In this embodiment, after sending push notification information to application 102, OS 101 executes processes as shown in S113-S117 and S119 in Figure 3. Specifically, it executes a determination process as shown in S113, and if it receives a notification operation instruction from application 102, it determines in S114 whether application 102 is running or not. Based on the determination result in S114, OS 101 decides whether to perform the notification operation based on application notification settings 1 or 2, or OS notification settings 1 or 2. For example, if application 102 is running, OS 101 performs the push notification operation based on application notification setting 2. Note that the determination process in S114 may be omitted. That is, it may be configured so that the notification operation is always performed based on either application notification settings 1 or 2, or OS notification settings 1 or 2, regardless of whether application 102 is running or not.

[0058] In this embodiment, if application 102 does not have application notification setting 2, application 102 instructs OS 101 to perform push notification operations based on OS notification setting 2. In this embodiment, application 102 determines whether push notification information relating to application 102 has been received after a predetermined time has elapsed since the previous push notification information relating to application 102 was received. If it is determined that the received push notification information has not been received within the predetermined time since the previous push notification information was received, application 102 instructs OS 101 not to perform the notification operation when executing the push notification function based on the received push notification information. This reduces the likelihood of notification operations being a nuisance to the user, even when push notification information is received consecutively when the push notification function is enabled.

[0059] (Embodiment 3) In Embodiment 2, the process by which application 102 receives push notification information related to application 102 from OS 101 and decides whether or not to perform a notification action based on whether the received push notification information was received within a predetermined time since the previously received push notification information was received was described. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the process by which application 102 decides whether or not to perform a notification action based on whether or not the received push notification information related to category A of application 102 is the same as the previously received push notification information related to category A of application 102 is described. That is, when the push notification function B described above is executed, the process by which application 102 decides whether or not to perform a notification action based on information on whether or not the received push notification information is the same as the previously received push notification information and belongs to the same category of application 102, and information on whether or not it was received within a predetermined time since the previously acquired push notification information was acquired is described. The following description will focus on the differences from Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2.

[0060] Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating the process by which application 102 decides whether or not to execute a notification action in push notification function B. OS 101 sends the received push notification information to application 102. Specifically, for example, OS 101 stores the push notification information in the storage unit 150. Note that some of the push notification information stored by OS 101 does not need to match the push notification information obtained from the push notification server. Specifically, OS 101 may create new push notification information B from the received push notification information A, which is necessary for application 102 to decide whether or not to execute a notification action, and store it in the storage unit 150. Note that application 102 may create and obtain push notification information B. In the following, push notification information A and push notification information B will not be distinguished and will both be referred to as push notification information.

[0061] The process in S301 is the same as the process in S201 in Figure 4, so its explanation is omitted.

[0062] In S302, it is determined whether push notification information relating to category A of application 102 has been received prior to receiving it in S101. Category A is, for example, a predetermined chat group if application 102 is a chat application. Chat groups include, for example, chat groups consisting of multiple people and chat groups consisting of one person (two people). For example, suppose the push notification information received in S301 is push notification information relating to chat group X in application 102. In this case, it is determined whether push notification information relating to chat group X in application 102 has been received prior to receiving it in S301. Furthermore, for example, category A is a person named Y (hereinafter referred to as Mr. / Ms. Y) among the multiple people who make up chat group X. For example, suppose the push notification information received in S301 is push notification information relating to Mr. / Ms. Y among the multiple people who make up chat group X in application 102. In this case, it may be determined whether push notification information relating to Mr. / Ms. Y among the multiple people who make up chat group X in application 102 has been received prior to receiving it in S301. Category A is, for example, a predetermined message format. Message formats include, for example, text-based messages and stamp-based messages. For example, suppose the push notification information received in S301 is a push notification information relating to a stamp-based message in application 102. In this case, it may be determined whether or not push notification information relating to a stamp-based message in application 102 had been received before it was received in S301. Furthermore, category A may be a predetermined message format for a predetermined chat group. That is, suppose the push notification information received in S301 is a stamp-based message in application 102 for chat group X.In this case, it may be determined whether or not push notification information regarding the stamp-type message format of chat group X has been received prior to receiving it in S301. If application 102 determines that the result is YES in S302, it proceeds to S303; if it determines that the result is NO in S302, it proceeds to S305.

[0063] In S303, application 102 determines whether the push notification information for category A of application 102 (the current push notification information) received in S301 was received after a predetermined time has elapsed since the previous push notification information for category A of application 102. If application 102 determines YES in S303, it proceeds to S305; if it determines NO in S303, it proceeds to S304. The predetermined time is assumed to be set in advance by application 102.

[0064] In S304, application 102 determines whether it has been launched by a user since receiving the previous push notification information related to category A of application 102. Application 102 can be launched, for example, by operating the application 102 icon from the home screen of terminal device 100. It may also be launched by operating on the push notification area displayed by the execution of a push notification function based on the push notification information related to application 102. The push notification information used to display the push notification area to be operated on may be push notification information related to category A of application 102, or push notification information related to other categories other than category A of application 102. If application 102 is determined to be YES in S304, it proceeds to S305; if it is determined to be NO in S304, it proceeds to S307.

[0065] The processing in S305 to S307 is the same as the processing in S205 to S207 in Figure 4, so the explanation is omitted.

[0066] In this embodiment, application 102 determines whether a predetermined amount of time has elapsed since the previous push notification information for category A of application 102 was received. If it is determined that the received push notification information was received within the predetermined time since the previous push notification information was received, application 102 instructs OS 101 not to perform the notification action when executing the push notification function based on the received push notification information. This reduces the likelihood of notifications being a nuisance to the user, even when push notification information is received consecutively while the push notification function is enabled. Furthermore, by performing the notification action when push notification information belonging to a different category is received, the user can be notified that push notification information belonging to a different category has been received.

[0067] (Other embodiments) The embodiments described above can also be realized by performing the following process: supplying software (programs) that realize the functions of the embodiments described above to a system or device via a network or various storage media, and having the computer (CPU, MPU, etc.) of that system or device read and execute the program. The program may be executed on a single computer or executed in conjunction with multiple computers. Furthermore, it is not necessary to realize all of the above processes in software; some or all of the processes may be realized in hardware such as ASICs. Also, the CPU is not limited to one CPU that performs all the processing; multiple CPUs may perform the processing in coordination as appropriate.

[0068] Furthermore, the functionality of the aforementioned embodiment is not only realized by the execution of program code read by the computer. It also includes cases where the operating system running on the computer performs some or all of the actual processing based on the instructions of that program code, and the functionality of the aforementioned embodiment is realized through that processing. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0069] 100 terminal devices 200 push notification servers 101 OS 102 Applications

Claims

1. It is a program, In the computer of the information processing device, A first step of obtaining information for performing a notification action related to an application program, A control step is performed to cause a notification based on the first information, based on the fact that a second piece of information for performing a notification operation related to the same application program as the application program identified based on the first information obtained in the acquisition step has not been obtained within a predetermined time before the acquisition of the first information, The control step is characterized by controlling the program so as not to perform a notification operation based on the first information if the second information for performing a notification operation related to the same application program as the application program identified based on the acquired first information has been acquired within the predetermined time before the acquisition of the first information.

2. The claim further comprises a determination step of determining whether the second information for performing a notification operation relating to the same application program as the application program identified based on the first information obtained in the acquisition step has been obtained within the predetermined time before the first information has been obtained, The program according to claim 1, wherein the control step determines in the determination step that the second information for executing a notification operation relating to the same application program as the application program identified based on the first information acquired in the acquisition step has not been acquired within the predetermined time before the acquisition of the first information, and then causes a notification based on the first information to be executed.

3. The program according to Claim 1, further comprising other control steps to control the program to perform a notification operation based on information for performing the next notification operation if the application program is started between the time a notification operation based on the first information is performed and the time a notification operation for performing the next notification operation related to the application program is obtained, even if the information for performing the next notification operation is obtained within the predetermined time after the acquisition of the first information.

4. The program according to Claim 1, wherein the control step is characterized in that, if the second information for performing a notification operation relating to the same application program as the application program identified based on the acquired first information is acquired within the predetermined time before acquiring the first information, the control is made so as not to perform a notification based on the first information, based on the fact that the category information identified based on the acquired first information and the category information identified based on the second information are the same.

5. The program according to claim 4, wherein the control step, even if the second information for executing a notification operation relating to the same application program as the application program identified based on the acquired first information is acquired within the predetermined time before acquiring the first information, if the category information identified based on the acquired first information and the category information identified based on the second information are different, the program causes the program to execute a notification operation based on the first information.

6. The program according to claim 5, characterized in that the category information is at least one of a chat group and a message format in the application program.

7. The program according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the notification operation includes at least one of the following operations: a vibration operation that vibrates the vibrator of the information processing device, a sound output operation by the sound output unit of the information processing device, and a lighting operation of the display or light-emitting unit of the information processing device.

8. The program according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the program is a program provided by the operating system of the information processing device.

9. The program according to claim 8, characterized in that the operating system transmits the first information relating to the application program to the application program.

10. The program according to claim 8, characterized in that when the operating system receives an instruction from the application program to notify the first information relating to the application program, it performs at least one of the notification operations.

11. An information processing device, A means for obtaining first information for performing a notification action, The system includes a control means that causes a notification based on the first information to be executed based on the fact that a second piece of information for executing a notification operation related to the same application program as the application program identified based on the first information acquired by the acquisition means has not been acquired within a predetermined time before the acquisition of the first information, The information processing device is characterized in that, if the control means has acquired the second information for performing a notification operation related to the same application program as the application program identified based on the acquired first information within the predetermined time before acquiring the first information, it will not perform a notification operation based on the first information.

12. A control method for an information processing device, A first step of obtaining information to perform a notification action, A control step is performed to cause a notification based on the first information, based on the fact that a second piece of information for performing a notification operation related to the same application program as the application program identified based on the first information obtained in the acquisition step has not been obtained within a predetermined time before the acquisition of the first information, The control step is characterized in that, if the second information for performing a notification operation related to the same application program as the application program identified based on the acquired first information is acquired within the predetermined time before the acquisition of the first information, the control step is to control the information processing device so as not to perform a notification operation based on the first information.

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