KR100830678B1 - Method and apparatus for automatically executing application of mobile terminal in mobile communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for automatically executing an application of a mobile terminal in a mobile communication system, comprising: driving a wireless internet platform for interoperability (WIPI) of the mobile terminal when an external device detects a connection of the mobile terminal; When the WIPI is driven to determine the information of the application mounted on the mobile terminal, if there is an application linked to the external device in the information of the identified application requesting the mobile terminal to drive the application linked to the external device; step; Instructing the mobile terminal to download an application when there is no application linked to the external device in the determined application information; And instructing the mobile terminal to execute the application when notified that the application has been downloaded from the mobile terminal, wherein the WIPI driving is performed by a predetermined command through a combination of predetermined WIPI commands.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR EXECUTING APPLICATIONS OF MOBILE TERMINAL AUTOMATICALLY IN A MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATION SYSTEM}

1 is a diagram illustrating a communication structure between a terminal and an application server in a mobile communication network according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a block diagram of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention;

3 is a block diagram of an automatic execution module of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a block diagram of an application server according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a block diagram of an application service unit of the application server according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a process of automatically executing an application of an external device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a flowchart illustrating a communication process between a mobile terminal and an application server according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for automatically executing an application of a mobile terminal in a mobile communication system, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for automatically executing an application in a mobile terminal using a terminal application ID.

Recently, various functions have been mounted in mobile terminals. However, up to now, it is very limited in terms of the size and the price of the terminal to mount all the functions supporting various standard technologies such as the performance of the recent laptop computer. Therefore, peripheral devices that interoperate with mobile terminals continue to appear in the market to overcome these limitations.

For example, mobile operators are currently difficult to commercialize embedded mobile terminals, such as driving navigation applications, delivering global positioning system data, and developing health-related blood sugar linkage devices through the 24-pin external device interface of mobile phones. Devices and services for the Niche Market are being developed.

However, using these peripherals also has many inconveniences for the user to install and operate the driving software. Therefore, it is necessary for the mobile terminal and the peripheral device to be linked with each other in a more convenient and intuitive manner. In other words, there is a need for a method capable of downloading and driving a terminal application in an intuitive manner, overcoming the difficulties of the conventional method of using a peripheral device of a general mobile terminal.

In summary, when a user uses an application embedded in a mobile terminal, the user may use the built-in application immediately, but when using an external device connected to the mobile terminal, a software package including an application for driving the external device is downloaded and downloaded. There is a problem in that an application for driving an external device is used after installing a package in a mobile terminal.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for automatically executing an application of a mobile terminal in a mobile communication system that executes a corresponding application of external devices interworking with the mobile terminal more intuitively.

In addition, another object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for automatically executing an application of a mobile terminal in a mobile communication system that downloads a corresponding application of external devices interworking with the mobile terminal more intuitively.

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, an apparatus for automatically executing an application of a mobile terminal in a mobile communication system includes: an external device interface for connecting with an external device; When the external device is connected to the external device interface, an automatic execution module for interworking with other functional blocks in the terminal to automatically download or automatically execute the corresponding application capable of driving the external device; A memory, which may be configured as data memories, and may store corresponding applications of the external device; And a controller configured to collectively control each of the functional blocks to generate control data for determining automatic execution of an application of the mobile terminal.

Here, the automatic execution module is mounted on the mobile terminal to execute the corresponding application when the external device is connected to the external device interface or to search for the corresponding application from the application server connected to the mobile communication network, and to download and execute the found application. A WIPI driver for driving Wireless Internet Platform for Interoperability (WIPI); When the external device is connected, the application is searched for whether the application exists in the mobile terminal using the application ID assigned to the application. If the external device does not exist, the application exists in the application server using the application ID through the mobile communication network. An application search unit for searching whether or not; And an application execution unit that executes a corresponding application corresponding to the connected external device using a corresponding application ID according to a search result of the application search unit.

In addition, the WIPI driving may be based on a predefined command through a combination of predetermined WIPI commands, and the application ID may be managed in a separate memory area called a DD (Download Description) file or a WAM (WIPI Application Manager).

The method may further include driving a wireless internet platform for interoperability (WIPI) of the mobile terminal when the external device detects a connection of the mobile terminal; When the WIPI is driven to determine the information of the application mounted on the mobile terminal, if there is an application linked to the external device in the information of the identified application requesting the mobile terminal to drive the application linked to the external device; step; Instructing the mobile terminal to download an application when there is no application linked to the external device in the determined application information; And instructing the execution of the application to the mobile terminal when notified that the application has been downloaded from the mobile terminal.

Here, the WIPI driving is preferably by a predefined command through a combination of predetermined WIPI commands.

In addition, when the mobile terminal receives a command for instructing the download of the application from the external device, requesting the application server to search for the corresponding application through a mobile communication network; And when the mobile terminal receives a search result of the corresponding application from the application server, downloads the corresponding application to the application server, and downloads and executes the requested application.

In addition, the server according to an embodiment of the present invention is an application server connected to the mobile terminal and the mobile communication network in the mobile communication system to support the automatic execution of the application of the mobile terminal, and is interfaced with the core network of the mobile communication network service Wired network interface for transmitting and receiving signaling and data to provide a; An application database configured to store and manage a plurality of corresponding applications of a wireless service subscribed to the mobile communication provider by a systematic definition; An application search unit for searching an application database with respect to an application search request received from the mobile terminal; A buffer for buffering the searched application according to the state or quality of service of a network connected to the wired interface unit when transmitting the retrieved application through the wired interface unit; An application service unit which performs maintenance of an application requested from at least one mobile terminal, extracts from the application database, and transmits the extracted application to the mobile terminal; And a controller configured to collectively control the functional blocks to search for a corresponding application requested from the mobile terminal, to transmit a search result to the mobile terminal, and to transmit the corresponding application to the mobile terminal according to the search result. It is done.

The application service unit may include a platform corresponding to firmware and an operating system and performing basic support of the application; A software development kit including a plurality of functions and objects capable of configuring services of a corresponding application; And N services provided by configuring the software development kit with reference to the services corresponding to the application requested by the mobile terminal.

In addition, the system according to an embodiment of the present invention is a system for automatically executing an application of a mobile terminal in a mobile communication system, and when an external device is connected to an external device interface, the system operates a WIPI (Wireless Internet Platform for Interoperability). If the application does not exist by checking whether there is any, access the page provided by the application server through the mobile communication network and request the search for the corresponding application, and if the application search result is received, the application is downloaded to the application server. A mobile terminal for downloading the requested application and executing the application; And receiving an application search request, querying the requested application to an application database to which the application is linked, and responding to the mobile terminal with respect to the application search result, and transmitting the requested application.

Hereinafter, the operation principle of the preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Like reference numerals refer to the same elements as shown in the drawings, even though they may be shown on different drawings, and in the following description, detailed descriptions of related well-known functions or configurations are not required in the following description. If it is determined that it can be blurred, the detailed description thereof will be omitted. Terms to be described later are terms defined in consideration of functions in the present invention, and may be changed according to intentions or customs of users or operators. Therefore, the definition should be made based on the contents throughout the specification.

First, the concept of the core of the present invention will be described as follows. The present invention is a method of determining whether there is a corresponding application required when a mobile terminal and an external device are interworked, and automatically downloading and executing the corresponding application after executing the associated platform. In other words, a method of automatically downloading and executing an application by defining a new standard by combining EIF (External Interface) instructions present in the wireless Internet platform for interoperability (WIPI) of a mobile terminal is defined. The core concept of the present invention will be described in detail through the following examples.

In general, the Telecommunication Technology Association (TTA) 24-pin interface applied to a mobile terminal commercially available and distributed in Korea is an external type as a standardized standard as shown in Tables 1 to 4 below. It is used as an interface to a device or personal computer, charger, car GPS, and the like.

<Table 1> is a table showing signal names of input / output terminal pins for charging function. <Table 2> is a table showing signal name of input / output terminal pin for hands free function. <Table 3> is a table showing signal names of input / output terminal pins for data communication function. <Table 4> is a signal name which shows the signal names of the input / output terminal pins for functions other than those shown in Tables 1 to 3.

Here, the scheme proposed in the present invention is simple to implement, and communicates using signals of the input / output terminal pins for the data communication functions of <Table 3> of <Table 1>. On the premise.

When the external device is connected to the mobile terminal through the TTA 24-pin interface (hereinafter referred to as "external device interface"), the external device recognizes that the connection is made in hardware (eg, checks power supply or battery ID). In general, the terminal downloads the corresponding terminal application through the mobile communication network of FIG. 1 or drives an already installed application.

1 is a diagram illustrating a communication structure between a mobile terminal and an application server in a mobile communication network according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the mobile communication network includes a mobile terminal 100, a base station 110, a control station 120, a packet data switch 130, a gateway 140, and an authentication center 150 according to an embodiment of the present invention. And an application server 160 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In general, when an external device (not shown) is connected to an external device interface located at the bottom of the mobile terminal, the mobile terminal 100 identifies the external device and drives the corresponding application to interwork with the external device. However, if the external device is to provide a new function, rather than a commonly used charger, the external device and the mobile terminal 100 should run an application that can be interlocked. However, when an application for interworking with the external device and the mobile terminal does not exist in the mobile terminal 100, the application is downloaded and executed from the application server 160 through the mobile communication network as shown in FIG.

The function of each component in the mobile communication network for this process is as follows.

In order to download an application that does not exist in the mobile terminal 100, the mobile terminal 100 accesses the base station 110 of the subscribed mobile communication network. The base station 110 transmits the signal received from the mobile terminal 100 to the control station 120. The control station 120 interprets the signal received from the base station 120 and transmits the signal to the packet data switch 130 in the case of packet data. In this case, the packet data switch 130 may be a PDSN (Packet Data Serving Node) in the case of a CDMA2000 network, and may be a Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN) in the case of a WCDMA network.

The packet data switch 130 detects a destination of the received packet data and switches the packet data to the corresponding destination. At this time, the gateway 140 receives the packet data, converts the packet data to suit the network characteristics of the destination, and delivers the packet data to the application server 160 as a destination. The application server 160 receiving the packet data transmitted through the gateway 140 searches for a corresponding application requested by the mobile terminal 100 and transmits the corresponding application to the mobile terminal 100 when the corresponding application exists.

2 is a block diagram of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the mobile terminal 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes an external device interface 200, an auto execution module 210, an RF (Radio Frequency) unit 220, a key input unit 230, and a memory. 240, a display unit 250, an audio unit 260, and a controller 270.

The external device interface 200 may be connected to an external device, and the TTA 24-pin interface applied to a mobile terminal commercially available and distributed in Korea is an interface of a standardized standard as shown in Tables 1 to 4.

When the external device is connected to the external device interface 200, the auto execution module 210 automatically downloads or automatically executes the corresponding application capable of driving the external device according to the present invention. Works with

The RF unit 220 generates an intermediate frequency signal by down converting the frequency of the signal by the control data of the controller 270. In addition, the key input unit 230 includes keys for inputting numeric and character information and function keys for setting various functions. The function key also includes keys for selecting a function for automatically downloading or automatically executing a corresponding application of an external device interface according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The memory 240 may be configured of data memories, and may store a corresponding application of an external device. The display unit 250 displays a signal processed by the decoder (not shown) under the control of the controller 270. In addition, the audio unit 260 plays a function of reproducing the audio signal processed by the decoder under the control of the control unit 100.

The controller 270 performs a function of performing overall control of the mobile terminal. In particular, the controller 270 controls the key input unit 230 to generate control data for determining the automatic execution of the application of the mobile terminal in accordance with the key input.

3 is a block diagram of an automatic execution module of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the auto execution module 200 includes a WIPI driver 310, an application searcher 320, and an application executor 330.

When the external device is connected to the external device interface 200 of FIG. 2, the WIPI driver 310 drives the WIPI to execute the corresponding application, or retrieves the application from the application server 160 of FIG. 1 connected to the mobile communication network. Then, the WIPI mounted on the mobile terminal 100 of FIG. 1 is driven to download and execute the searched corresponding application. Here, WIPI is an acronym for "Wireless Internet Platform for Interoperability" and is a kind of wireless Internet platform. In other words, it is a mobile platform standard standard created by the mobile platform special section of the Korea Wireless Internet Standardization Forum (KWISF), and provides an environment for executing the application downloaded through the wireless Internet on a mobile terminal. It is a necessary standard.

When the external device is connected to the external device interface 200 of FIG. 2, the application search unit 320 searches whether the application currently exists in the mobile terminal 100 using an application ID assigned to the application, and does not exist. In this case, the mobile communication network is responsible for searching for whether the corresponding application exists in the application server 160 using the corresponding application ID.

The application executor 330 is responsible for executing a corresponding application corresponding to the external device connected to the external device interface 200 using the corresponding application ID according to the search result of the application search unit 320.

Here, the application ID refers to an ID value uniquely assigned to each application (game, browser, and "June Player" downloaded to "mPlayon") mounted on the terminal. The above value is used to manage the application in the terminal (for example, the GoStop game is downloaded, and may be used when the terminal determines whether the game is a downloaded game), linkage (call "June Player" in a browser, or other application). Parameter used when a browser or "June Player" is called.

In addition, the area where the application ID resides is also stored as a DD (Download Description) file when the application is downloaded or stored in the memory, which corresponds to the above area. In some cases, the application on the WAM (WIPI Application Manager: WIPI) is stored. There is also a central module to manage the application ID in a separate memory area.

4 is a block diagram of an application server according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the application server 160 includes a control unit 410, a wired network interface unit 420, a buffer 430, an application database 440, an application search unit 450, and an application service unit 460. do.

The controller 410 collectively controls the wired network interface unit 420, the buffer 430, the application database 440, the application search unit 450, and the application service unit 460 to request the corresponding application requested from the mobile terminal 100. Search for, and transmits the search results to the mobile terminal 100, and transmits the application to the mobile terminal 100 in accordance with the search results.

The wired network interface unit 420 is a block for transmitting and receiving signaling and data so as to interface with the core network of the mobile communication network to provide a service. The buffer 430 buffers the retrieved application under the control of the controller 410 according to the state of the network connected to the wired interface unit 420 or the quality of service when the application is transmitted through the wired interface unit 420.

The application database 440 stores and manages a plurality of corresponding applications of the wireless service subscribed through the mobile communication provider by a systematic definition, and extracts the stored applications in cooperation with other functional blocks under the control of the controller 410 to be serviced. do. In addition, the application search unit 450 searches the application database 440 for the application search request received from the mobile terminal 100 and transmits a search result to the mobile terminal 100 through the wired interface unit 420. do.

The application service unit 460 performs maintenance on the application requested from at least one mobile terminal, extracts it from the application database 440, and transmits the extracted application to the at least one mobile terminal. A detailed function of the internal structure of the application service unit 460 for performing such a possibility will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 5.

5 is a block diagram of an application service unit of the application server according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, the application service unit 460 includes N services 500, a software development kit 510, and a platform 520 provided by the application service unit 460.

Each of the N services 500 is provided by using the software development kit 510 as a reference corresponding to each of the applications requested by the mobile terminal 100. The software development kit 510 includes a plurality of functions and entities that can configure each of the N services 500 of the application.

The platform 520 is hardware or software that is the basis of a computer system. The platform 520 corresponds to hardware, firmware, and an operating system at an integrated circuit chip level, and performs the basic support of the application.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a process of automatically executing an application of an external device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, a method of automatically downloading and executing an application by setting a new standard by combining IEF commands existing in a WIPI, which is a wireless Internet platform of a mobile terminal, is defined.

In step 600, when the mobile terminal is connected, the external device drives the WIPI of the mobile terminal (AT * SKT * WIPI), and in step 610, the mobile terminal drives the WIPI and then responds to it (SKT * WIPI: 1). To external device.

When an external device is connected to a mobile terminal, it connects to the mobile terminal's Universal Asynchronous Receiver / Transmitter (UART), where the UART is a program that handles asynchronous serial communication of a computer, usually implemented in a microchip, and converts parallel data into a serial bit stream. It performs the functions of converting or restoring, adding parity bits, detecting and removing parity, and seeking and erasing start and stop bits for asynchronous communication. UARTs also have built-in buffers because of the large difference between UART serial communications speed and central processing unit (CPU) speed.

In step 620, the external device queries the mobile terminal to determine whether the corresponding application exists (AT * WIPI * LIST) for the external device (AT * WIPI * LIST). In step 630, the mobile terminal transmits to the corresponding application. Respond to external devices by identifying the presence or absence (* WIPI * LIST: <number>, <app.id> ...).

In step 640, if the application exists based on the response result, the external device instructs the mobile terminal to execute the application to execute the application (AT * WIPI * EXEC = App ID). In step 650, the mobile terminal executes the application. After execution, the response (* WIPI * EXEC: Success) is written to the external device.

In operation 660, if the application does not exist in the mobile terminal, the external device instructs the mobile terminal to download the application from the application server through the mobile communication network (AT * WIPI * OPEN = <URL>). The terminal downloads the application and sends a response (* WIPI * UOPEN: Success) to the external device.

Table 5 below summarizes the commands that can control the application automatic execution process of the mobile terminal proposed in the present invention as described above.

Suggested Command meaning AT * SKT * WIPI Execute command / WIPI throwing from terminal to external device SKT * WIPI: 1 Response thrown from external device to external device / Successful execution of WIPI AT * WIPI * LIST Command to throw from external device to terminal / Return application list mounted on mobile terminal as application ID * WIPI * LIST: <number>, <app.id> Response throwing from external device to external device / Shows application ID installed in mobile device (AT * WIPI * EXEC = App ID) Run the application automatically (* WIPI * EXEC: Success) Response after running the application (AT * WIPI * UOPEN = <URL>) Go to the page provided by the application server where you can download the application (* WIPI * UOPEN: Success) Reply after downloading the application

7 is a flowchart illustrating a communication process between a mobile terminal and an application server according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 7, in operation 710, an external device is connected to an external device interface of the mobile terminal 100, and in operation 720, the WIPI of the mobile terminal 100 is driven. In operation 730, if the corresponding application is present in the mobile terminal 100, the mobile terminal 100 requests a search for the corresponding application by accessing a page provided by the application server through the mobile communication network. do.

When the application server 160 receives a request for searching for a corresponding application from the mobile terminal 100, in step 750, the application server 160 queries the application database 440 of FIG. 4 to link the requested application. In operation 760, the application server 160 responds to the corresponding application search result.

In step 770, when the mobile terminal 100 receives the corresponding application search result, the mobile terminal 100 requests the download of the corresponding application to the application server 160. In step 780, the requested application is downloaded, and in step 790, the corresponding application is executed. .

The present invention has been described in detail so far, but the embodiments mentioned in the process are only illustrative, and are not intended to be limiting, and the present invention is provided by the following claims. Within the scope not departing from the scope of the present invention, component changes to the extent that they can be equivalently substituted from the present invention will fall within the scope of the present invention.

In the present invention operating as described in detail above, the effects obtained by the representative ones of the disclosed inventions will be briefly described as follows.

The present invention can provide a method and apparatus for automatically executing an application of a mobile terminal in a mobile communication system that executes corresponding applications of external devices interworking with the mobile terminal more intuitively.

In addition, the present invention has the effect of providing a method and apparatus for automatically executing an application of a mobile terminal in a mobile communication system that more intuitively downloads a corresponding application of external devices linked with the mobile terminal.

Claims (9)

An apparatus for automatically executing an application of a mobile terminal in a mobile communication system, An external device interface to allow connection with an external device; An automatic execution module for automatically downloading or automatically executing a corresponding application capable of driving the external device when the external device is connected to the external device interface; A memory, which may be configured as data memories, and may store corresponding applications of the external device; And The external device interface, and memory modules running automatically a whole the automatic application execution unit of the mobile terminal comprises a control unit for controlling to generate control data for determining an application automatic execution of the mobile station a. The method of claim 1, wherein the automatic execution module, When the external device is connected to the external device interface, the WIPI (Wireless Internet Platform for Interoperability) mounted on the mobile terminal executes the application or searches for the application from an application server connected to the mobile communication network, and downloads and executes the found application. A WIPI driver for driving the; When the external device is connected, the application ID assigned to the application is used to search whether the application exists in the current mobile terminal. If the external device does not exist, the application is stored in the application server using the application ID through the mobile communication network. An application search unit for searching for existence; And And an application execution unit configured to execute a corresponding application corresponding to the connected external device using a corresponding application ID according to a search result of the application search unit. The method of claim 2, The WIPI driving is an application auto-execution apparatus of a mobile terminal, characterized in that by the predefined command through a combination of a predetermined WIPI command. The method of claim 2, The application ID is an application auto-execution apparatus of a mobile terminal, characterized in that managed in a separate memory area called a DD (Download Description) file or WAM (WIPI Application Manager). Driving a wireless Internet platform for interoperability (WIPI) of the mobile terminal when an external device detects a connection of the mobile terminal; When the WIPI is driven to determine the information of the application mounted on the mobile terminal, if there is an application linked to the external device in the information of the identified application requesting the mobile terminal to drive the application linked to the external device; step; Instructing the mobile terminal to download an application when there is no application linked to the external device in the determined application information; And Instructing the execution of the application to the mobile terminal when notified that the application has been downloaded from the mobile terminal. The method of claim 5, further comprising: requesting a search for a corresponding application to an application server through a mobile communication network when the mobile terminal receives a command for downloading the application from an external device; If the mobile terminal receives a search result of the corresponding application from the application server, the application request to download the application to the application server, and downloading and executing the requested application, the automatic execution of the application of the external device, characterized in that Way. An application server connected to a mobile terminal through a mobile communication network in a mobile communication system and supporting application execution of the mobile terminal automatically, A wired network interface unit for transmitting and receiving signaling and data so as to interface with a core network of a mobile communication network to provide a service; An application database configured to store and manage a plurality of corresponding applications of a wireless service subscribed to the mobile communication provider by a systematic definition; An application search unit for searching an application database with respect to an application search request received from the mobile terminal; A buffer for buffering the retrieved application according to the state or quality of service of the network connected to the wired network interface unit when the retrieved application is transmitted through the wired network interface unit; An application service unit which performs maintenance of an application requested from at least one mobile terminal, extracts from the application database, and transmits the extracted application to the mobile terminal; And The wired network interface unit, an application database, an application search unit, a buffer and an application service unit are collectively controlled to search for a corresponding application requested from the mobile terminal, transmit a search result to the mobile terminal, and transmit the corresponding application according to the search result. Application server for supporting the automatic execution of the application of the mobile terminal, characterized in that it comprises a control unit for controlling the transmission. The method of claim 7, wherein the application service unit, A platform corresponding to firmware and an operating system and performing basic support of the application; A software development kit including a plurality of functions and objects capable of configuring services of a corresponding application; And And N services provided by the software development kit being configured by referring to the services corresponding to the application requested by the mobile terminal. In the application automatic execution system of the mobile terminal in the mobile communication system, When an external device is connected to the external device interface, the device operates WIPI (Wireless Internet Platform for Interoperability), checks whether the application exists, and if the application does not exist, accesses the page provided by the application server through the mobile communication network. Requesting to search for the corresponding application, and receiving a corresponding application search result, requesting to download the corresponding application to the application server, downloading the requested application, and executing the corresponding application; And When the request for the application search is requested, the mobile terminal comprises an application server for querying the requested application to the associated application database and responding to the mobile terminal with respect to the application search result, and transmitting the requested application. Application autorun system.

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