KR20120118819A - Mobile terminal and system for managing applications using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a mobile terminal capable of running an application and an application management system using the same. A mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an identification module, a display unit, an application management module, and a communication unit. The identification module stores identification information. The display unit displays a list of applications provided by a provider corresponding to the identification information. The application management module generates a download request signal when a selection for at least one of the items in the application list is recognized. The communication unit transmits the download request signal to the relay server, and downloads an application corresponding to the selected item from the relay server in response to the download request signal.

Description

MOBILE TERMINAL AND SYSTEM FOR MANAGING APPLICATIONS USING THE SAME}

The present invention relates to a mobile terminal, and more particularly, to a mobile terminal capable of driving an application and an application management system using the same.

A terminal can be divided into a mobile or portable terminal and a stationary terminal depending on whether the terminal is movable or not. The mobile terminal may be further classified into a handheld terminal and a vehicle mount terminal according to whether a user can directly carry it.

As the functions of such terminals are diversified, they are implemented in the form of a multimedia player having complex functions such as photographing and photographing of movies, reproduction of music and video files, games, and broadcasting reception . Further, in order to support and enhance the function of the terminal, it may be considered to improve the structural and software parts of the terminal.

Meanwhile, a mobile terminal supporting a third generation or more mobile communication service may include a universal subscriber identity module (USIM) card. The USIM card is implemented by combining a subscriber identity module (SIM) card that stores subscriber information with a universal IC card. The USIM card may serve as a storage device to store personal information such as mobile subscriber and operator identification information, a telephone number list, and a short message transmitted and received.

An object of the present invention is to provide a mobile terminal and its application management system capable of mounting and running applications provided by various communication providers.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a mobile terminal and an application management system using the same, which can increase user convenience in maintaining applications.

A mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an identification module, a display unit, a controller, and a communication unit. The identification module stores identification information. The display unit displays a list of applications provided by a provider corresponding to the identification information. The controller generates a download request signal when a selection for at least one of the items of the application list is recognized. The communication unit transmits the download request signal to the relay server, and downloads an application corresponding to the selected item from the relay server in response to the download request signal.

Here, the identification information may include operator identification information and manufacturer identification information. The identification module may be a universal user identification module (USIM) for storing the operator identification information.

The communication unit may receive an update list provided by a provider corresponding to the identification information from the relay server.

The controller may determine whether an update version for the downloaded application exists based on the update list. The controller may generate an update request signal when it is determined that there is an update version for the downloaded application.

The communication unit may transmit the update request signal to the relay server and download an application of an updated version corresponding to the downloaded application from the relay server in response to the update request signal.

In an embodiment, the mobile terminal may further include a memory for storing applications managed by the controller.

The controller may determine whether to generate the download request signal according to a comparison result of the size of the application corresponding to the selected item and the size of the remaining storage area of the memory. The controller may perform a cleanup operation on the memory when the size of the application corresponding to the selected item is larger than the size of the remaining storage area of the memory. Here, the cleanup operation for the memory may include deleting at least one of applications stored in the memory.

The communication unit may receive the application list from any one of the relay server and another relay server connected to the relay server.

Application management system according to an embodiment of the present invention, a mobile terminal and a relay server. The mobile terminal displays an application list provided by a provider corresponding to the identification information, and generates a download request signal when a selection for at least one of the items in the application list is recognized. When the relay server receives the download request signal from the mobile terminal, the relay server transmits an application corresponding to the selected item to the mobile terminal.

The mobile terminal may read the identification information from an internal identification module and transmit the identification information to the relay server.

The relay server may transmit the application list to the mobile terminal in response to the identification information received from the mobile terminal. When the relay server receives the operator identification information from the mobile terminal, the relay server transmits the operator application list to the mobile terminal and, when receiving the manufacturer identification information from the mobile terminal, sends the manufacturer application list to the mobile terminal. Can transmit

The application management system may include: a service provider server uploading applications corresponding to service provider identification information among the identification information to the relay server, and upload applications corresponding to manufacturer identification information among the identification information to the relay server. The manufacturer may further include a server.

In an embodiment, the application management system may further include another relay server configured to store and manage applications having a mobile platform different from the mobile platform of applications stored and managed by the relay server.

According to the present invention, after the mobile terminal is released, an application (hereinafter referred to as a "business operator application") provided by a user of a mobile communication service subscribed to by a user can be downloaded to the mobile terminal using the operator identification information. This eliminates the need to wait until the carrier application is released to mount the carrier application in the manufacturing phase of the mobile terminal, and as a result, the development schedule can be simplified.

In addition, since applications can be selectively downloaded, the internal memory usage of the mobile terminal can be reduced.

In addition, since update information provided by the mobile communication provider may be received from the server and the updated version of the application may be downloaded using the same, the user's convenience may be improved in configuration management of the applications.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a mobile terminal according to the present invention.
2A and 2B are perspective views showing an appearance of a mobile terminal according to the present invention.
3 is a block diagram illustrating an application management application management system according to an exemplary embodiment.
4 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a mobile terminal included in the application management system illustrated in FIG. 3.
5 is a flowchart illustrating an application management method of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 and 7 are flowcharts illustrating the application management method of the mobile terminal shown in FIG. 5 in more detail.
8 is a flowchart illustrating an application management method of a mobile terminal according to another embodiment of the present invention.
9 is a flowchart illustrating an application management method of a mobile terminal according to another embodiment of the present invention.
10 is a block diagram illustrating an application management application management system according to another embodiment of the present invention.
11A to 11C are conceptual views illustrating an embodiment of a user interface for implementing an application management method of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art may easily implement the technical idea of the present invention. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. In the drawings, parts irrelevant to the description are omitted in order to clearly describe the present invention, and like reference numerals designate like parts throughout the specification.

The mobile terminal described herein may include a mobile phone, a smart phone, a laptop computer, a digital broadcasting terminal, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistants), a PMP (Portable Multimedia Player), a navigator, have. However, it should be understood that the configuration according to the embodiments described herein may be applied to a fixed terminal such as a digital TV, a desktop computer, and the like, unless it is applicable only to a mobile terminal. It will be easy to see.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a mobile terminal 100 according to the present invention. 1, a mobile terminal 100 includes a wireless communication unit 110, an A / V input unit 120, a user input unit 130, a sensing unit 140, an output unit 150, A controller 160, an interface unit 170, a controller 180, and a power supply unit 190. The components shown in Fig. 1 are not essential, so that a mobile terminal having more or fewer components can be implemented.

Hereinafter, the components 110 to 190 of the mobile terminal 100 will be described in order.

The wireless communication unit 110 may include one or more modules for enabling wireless communication between the mobile terminal 100 and the wireless communication system or between the mobile terminal 100 and the network in which the mobile terminal 100 is located. For example, the wireless communication unit 110 may include a broadcast receiving module 111, a mobile communication module 112, a wireless Internet module 113, a short distance communication module 114, and a location information module 115.

The broadcast receiving module 111 receives broadcast signals and broadcast related information from an external broadcast management server through a broadcast channel. Here, the broadcast related information means information related to a broadcast channel, a broadcast program or a broadcast service provider. The broadcast-related information can also be provided through a mobile communication network. In this case, the broadcast-related information may be received by the mobile communication module 112. The broadcast signal and the broadcast related information received through the broadcast receiving module 111 may be stored in the memory 160.

The mobile communication module 112 transmits and receives radio signals to at least one of a base station, an external terminal, and a server on a mobile communication network. Such wireless signals may include various types of data depending on a voice call signal, a video call signal, a text message, or a multimedia message transmission / reception.

The wireless Internet module 113 is a module for wireless Internet access, and may be embedded in the mobile terminal 100 or externally. Wireless Internet technologies may include Wireless LAN (Wi-Fi), Wireless Broadband (Wibro), World Interoperability for Microwave Access (Wimax), High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), and the like.

The short range communication module 114 refers to a module for short range communication. As a short range communication technology, Bluetooth, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), Infrared Data Association (IrDA), Ultra Wideband (UWB), ZigBee, and the like can be used.

The location information module 115 is a module for acquiring a location of the mobile terminal 100, and a representative example thereof is a GPS (Global Position System) module.

1, an A / V (Audio / Video) input unit 120 is for inputting an audio signal and a video signal, and may include a camera 121, a microphone 122, and the like. The camera 121 processes image frames such as still images and moving images obtained by the image sensor in the video communication mode or the photographing mode. The image frame processed by the camera 121 can be displayed on the display unit 151. [ The image frame may be stored in the memory 160 or transmitted to the outside through the wireless communication unit 110. [ More than two cameras 121 may be provided depending on the use environment.

The microphone 122 processes the acoustic signal input from the outside as electrical voice data in a call mode, a recording mode, a voice recognition mode, and the like. The voice data processed by the microphone 122 in the communication mode can be converted into a form that can be transmitted to the mobile communication base station through the mobile communication module 112 and output. The microphone 122 may be implemented with various noise reduction algorithms for eliminating noise generated when an external sound signal is input.

The user input unit 130 generates input data for controlling the operation of the mobile terminal 100 by a user. The user input unit 130 may be composed of a key pad, a dome switch, a touch pad (static and electrostatic), a jog wheel, a jog switch, and the like.

The sensing unit 140 senses the current state of the mobile terminal 100 such as presence or absence of a user, the open / close state of the mobile terminal 100, position, orientation, acceleration, deceleration, And generates a sensing signal. For example, when the mobile terminal 100 is in the form of a slide phone, the sensing unit 140 may detect whether the slide phone is opened or closed. The sensing unit 140 may sense whether the power supply unit 190 is powered on, whether the interface unit 170 is connected to an external device, and the like.

The sensing unit 140 may include a proximity sensor 141. The sensing unit 140 may include a touch sensor (not shown) for sensing a touch operation with respect to the display unit 151.

The touch sensor may have the form of a touch film, a touch sheet, a touch pad, or the like. The touch sensor may be configured to convert a pressure applied to a specific portion of the display portion 151 or a change in capacitance generated at a specific portion of the display portion 151 into an electrical input signal. The touch sensor may be configured to detect a touch pressure as well as a touched position and area.

When the touch sensor and the display unit 151 have a mutual layer structure, the display unit 151 can be used as an input device in addition to the output device. The display unit 151 may be referred to as a 'touch screen'.

If there is a touch input via the touch screen, signals corresponding thereto are sent to a touch controller (not shown). The touch controller processes the signals transmitted from the touch sensor, and then transmits data corresponding to the processed signals to the controller 180. Thus, the control unit 180 can know which area of the display unit 151 is touched.

When the touch screen is capacitive, the touch screen may be configured to detect the proximity of the sensing object by the change of the electric field according to the proximity of the sensing object. Such a touch screen may be classified as proximity sensor 141. [

The proximity sensor 141 refers to a sensor that detects the presence or absence of an object to be sensed without mechanical contact using an electromagnetic force or infrared rays. The proximity sensor 141 has a longer life than the contact type sensor and its utilization is also high. Examples of the proximity sensor 141 include a transmission type photoelectric sensor, a direct reflection type photoelectric sensor, a mirror reflection type photoelectric sensor, a high frequency oscillation type proximity sensor, a capacitive proximity sensor, a magnetic proximity sensor, and an infrared proximity sensor.

Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, a proximity action is referred to as " proximity touch " while an object to be sensed does not touch the touch screen, and an action of touching the sensing object on the touch screen is called & touch ".

The proximity sensor 141 detects the presence or absence of a proximity touch and a proximity touch pattern (for example, a proximity touch distance, a proximity touch direction, a proximity touch speed, a proximity touch time, a proximity touch position, The information corresponding to the presence / absence of proximity touch and the proximity touch pattern can be output to the touch screen.

The output unit 150 generates an output related to visual, auditory, tactile, and the like. The output unit 150 may include a display unit 151, an audio output module 153, an alarm unit 154, and a haptic module 155.

The display unit 151 displays (outputs) information processed by the mobile terminal 100. For example, when the mobile terminal 100 operates in the call mode, the display unit 151 displays a UI (User Interface) or a GUI (Graphic User Interface) related to the call. When the mobile terminal 100 operates in the video communication mode or the photographing mode, the display unit 151 displays the photographed image, the received image, the UI, the GUI, and the like.

The display unit 151 may be a liquid crystal display (LCD), a thin film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD), an organic light emitting diode (OLED), a flexible display display, a 3D display, and an e-ink display.

At least one display (or display element) included in the display unit 151 may be configured to be transparent or light transmissive so that the display can see the outside through it. This may be referred to as a transparent display. A representative example of such a transparent display is TOLED (Transparant OLED). The rear structure of the display unit 151 may also be of a light transmission type. With this structure, the user can see an object located behind the terminal body through the area occupied by the display unit 151 in the terminal body.

There may be two or more display units 151 according to the embodiment of the mobile terminal 100. [ For example, in the mobile terminal 100, a plurality of display portions may be spaced apart from one another, or may be disposed integrally with one another, and may be disposed on different surfaces, respectively.

The sound output module 153 may output audio data received from the wireless communication unit 110 or stored in the memory 160 in a call signal reception, a call mode or a recording mode, a voice recognition mode, a broadcast reception mode, and the like. The sound output module 153 also outputs sound signals related to functions (e.g., call signal reception sound, message reception sound, etc.) performed in the mobile terminal 100. [ The sound output module 153 may include a receiver, a speaker, a buzzer, and the like.

The alarm unit 154 outputs a signal for notifying the occurrence of an event of the mobile terminal 100. Examples of events generated in the mobile terminal 100 include call signal reception, message reception, key signal input, touch input, and the like. The alarm unit 154 may output a signal for informing occurrence of an event in a form other than the video signal or the audio signal, for example, vibration. The display unit 151 and the audio output module 153 may be classified as a part of the alarm unit 154 because the video signal or the audio signal can be output through the display unit 151 or the audio output module 153. [

The haptic module 155 generates various tactile effects that a user can feel. A typical example of the haptic effect generated by the haptic module 155 is vibration. The intensity, pattern, and the like of the vibration generated by the tactile module 155 are controllable. For example, different vibrations may be synthesized and output or sequentially output.

In addition to the vibration, the haptic module 155 may be configured to perform various functions such as a pin arrangement vertically moving with respect to the contact skin surface, a spraying force or a suction force of the air through the injection port or the suction port, a touch on the skin surface, contact with an electrode, Various effects can be generated such as the effect of heat generation and the effect of reproducing the cold sensation using the heat absorbing or heatable element.

The haptic module 155 can be configured to not only transmit the tactile effect through the direct contact but also to allow the user to feel the tactile effect through the muscular sense of the finger or arm. At least two haptic modules 155 may be provided according to the configuration of the mobile terminal 100.

The memory 160 may store a program for the operation of the controller 180 and temporarily store input and output data (e.g., a phone book, a message, a still image, a moving picture, etc.). The memory 160 may store data related to vibrations and sounds of various patterns that are output upon touch input on the touch screen.

The memory 160 may be a flash memory, a hard disk, a multimedia card micro type, a card type memory (e.g., SD or XD memory), a random access memory (RAM), static random access memory (SRAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM) And may include at least one storage medium. The mobile terminal 100 may operate in association with a web storage that performs storage functions of the memory 160 on the Internet.

The interface unit 170 serves as a path for communication with all external devices connected to the mobile terminal 100. The interface unit 170 receives data from an external device, receives power, transfers the power to each component inside the mobile terminal 100, or transmits data inside the mobile terminal 100 to an external device. For example, the interface unit 170 may include a wired / wireless headset port, an external charger port, a wired / wireless data port, a memory card port, a port for connecting a device having an identification module, Input / output ports, video I / O ports, earphone ports, and the like.

The identification module is a chip for storing various information for authenticating the usage right of the mobile terminal 100 and includes a user identification module (UIM), a subscriber identity module (SIM), a general user authentication module Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM)). A device equipped with an identification module (hereinafter referred to as "identification device") can be manufactured in a smart card format. Accordingly, the identification device can be connected to the terminal 100 through the port.

The interface unit 170 may be a path through which the power from the cradle is supplied to the mobile terminal 100 when the mobile terminal 100 is connected to an external cradle or various command signals input from the cradle by the user, (Not shown). The various command signals or power supplied from the cradle may also act as a signal for recognizing that the mobile terminal 100 is correctly mounted in the cradle.

The controller 180 controls the overall operation of the mobile terminal 100. For example, control and processing related to voice calls, data communications, video calls, and the like are performed. The control unit 180 may include a multimedia module 181 for multimedia playback. The multimedia module 181 may be implemented in the control unit 180 or may be implemented separately from the control unit 180. [ The controller 180 may perform a pattern recognition process of recognizing the writing input and the drawing input on the touch screen as text and images, respectively.

The power supply unit 190 receives an external power source and an internal power source under the control of the controller 180 to supply power for operation of each component.

The various embodiments described herein may be implemented in a recording medium readable by a computer or similar device using software, hardware, or a combination thereof.

According to a hardware implementation, the embodiments described herein may be applied to various types of application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays Microprocessors, microprocessors, and other electronic units for performing other functions, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. In some cases, the embodiments described herein may be implemented by the controller 180 itself.

According to the software implementation, embodiments such as the procedures and functions described herein may be implemented as separate software modules. Each of the software modules may perform one or more of the functions and operations described herein. Software code may be implemented in a software application written in a suitable programming language. Such software code may be stored in the memory 160 and executed by the controller 180.

Hereinafter, a method of processing user input to the mobile terminal 100 will be described.

The user input unit 130 is operated to receive a command for controlling the operation of the mobile terminal 100, and may include a plurality of operation units. The operating units may also be referred to as manipulating portions and may be employed in any manner as long as they are operated in a tactile manner by the user's tactile sense.

Various kinds of time information can be displayed on the display unit 151. [ Such visual information can be displayed in the form of letters, numbers, symbols, graphics, icons, and the like, and can be formed as a three-dimensional stereoscopic image. At least one of a character, a number, a symbol, a graphic, and an icon may be displayed in a predetermined arrangement for inputting time information, thereby being implemented as a keypad. Such a keypad may be referred to as a so-called " soft key ".

The display unit 151 may operate as an entire area or may be divided into a plurality of areas and operated. In the latter case, the plurality of areas can be configured to operate in association with one another. For example, an output window and an input window may be displayed on the upper and lower portions of the display unit 151, respectively. The output window and the input window are areas allocated for outputting or inputting information, respectively. In the input window, a soft key with a number for inputting a telephone number may be output. When the soft key is touched, the number corresponding to the touched soft key is displayed in the output window. When the operating unit is operated, a call connection to the telephone number displayed in the output window may be attempted, or the text displayed in the output window may be entered into the application.

The display unit 151 or the touch pad may be configured to detect touch scrolling. The user can move the cursor or the pointer positioned on the displayed object, for example, the icon, on the display unit 151 by scrolling the display unit 151 or the touch pad. Further, when the finger is moved on the display unit 151 or the touch pad, the path along which the finger moves may be visually displayed on the display unit 151. [ This will be useful for editing the image displayed on the display unit 151. [

One function of the mobile terminal 100 may be executed in response to a case where the display unit 151 and the touch pad are touched together within a predetermined time range. In the case of being touched together, there may be a case where the user clamps the main body of the mobile terminal 100 using the thumb and index finger. At this time, one function of the mobile terminal 100 to be executed may be activation or deactivation for the display unit 151 or the touch pad, for example.

2A and 2B are perspective views showing an appearance of a mobile terminal 100 according to the present invention. FIG. 2A shows a front side and one side of the mobile terminal 100, and FIG. 2B shows a rear side and the other side of the mobile terminal 100. FIG.

Referring to FIG. 2A, the mobile terminal 100 includes a bar-shaped terminal body. However, the mobile terminal 100 is not limited thereto, and may be realized in various forms such as a slide type, a folder type, a swing type, and a swivel type in which two or more bodies are movably coupled to each other.

The terminal body includes a case (a casing, a housing, a cover, and the like) that forms an appearance. In the embodiment, the case may be divided into a front case 101 and a rear case 102. A variety of electronic components are embedded in the space formed between the front case 101 and the rear case 102. At least one intermediate case may be additionally disposed between the front case 101 and the rear case 102.

The cases may be formed by injection molding of a synthetic resin or may be formed to have a metal material such as stainless steel (STS), titanium (Ti) or the like.

The display unit 151, the audio output unit 152, the camera 121, the user input unit 130 (see FIG. 1), the microphone 122, the interface 170, and the like are disposed in the terminal body, mainly the front case 101. Can be.

The display unit 151 occupies a main portion of the front case 101. [ The sound output unit 152 and the camera 121 are disposed in an area adjacent to one end of the display unit 151, and the first user input unit 131 and a microphone 122 are disposed in an area adjacent to the other end. The second user input unit 132 and the interface 170 may be disposed on side surfaces of the front case 101 and the rear case 102.

The user input unit 130 is operated to receive a command for controlling the operation of the mobile terminal 100. [ The user input unit 130 may include a plurality of operation units 131 and 132.

The first or second operating units 131 and 132 can receive various commands. For example, the first operation unit 131 can receive commands such as start, end, scroll, and the like. The second operation unit 132 may receive a command such as adjusting the volume of the sound output from the sound output unit 152, switching to the touch recognition mode of the display unit 151, and the like.

Referring to FIG. 2B, a rear camera 121 'may be additionally mounted on the rear surface of the terminal body, that is, the rear case 102. The rear camera 121 'has a photographing direction opposite to that of the front camera 121 (see FIG. 2A), and may be configured to have pixels different from those of the front camera 121.

For example, the front camera 121 may be configured to have a low pixel, and the rear camera 121 'may be configured to have a high pixel. Accordingly, when the front camera 121 is used during a video call, the size of the transmission data may be reduced when the user's face is photographed and transmitted to the counterpart in real time. On the other hand, the rear camera 121 'can be used for the purpose of storing a high-quality image.

Meanwhile, the cameras 121 and 121 'may be installed in the terminal body so as to be rotated or popped up.

The flash 123 and the mirror 124 may be further disposed adjacent to the rear camera 121 '. The flash 123 emits light toward the subject when the user photographs the subject with the rear camera 121 '. The mirror 124 illuminates the user's face when the user photographs himself (self-photographing) using the rear camera 121 '.

The rear sound output unit 152 'may be further disposed on the rear surface of the terminal body. The rear sound output unit 152 ′ may perform a stereo function together with the front sound output unit 152 (see FIG. 2A), and may perform a speakerphone function during a call.

The antenna 116 for receiving a broadcast signal may be additionally disposed on the side of the main body of the terminal. The antenna 116 constituting a part of the broadcast receiving module 111 (see FIG. 1) can be installed to be able to be drawn out from the terminal body.

A power supply unit 190 for supplying power to the mobile terminal 100 is mounted on the terminal body. The power supply unit 190 may be built in the main body of the terminal or may be detachable from the outside of the main body of the terminal.

The rear case 102 may further include a touch pad 135 for sensing a touch. The touch pad 135 may be of a light transmission type like the display unit 151 (see FIG. 2A). In addition, a rear display unit for outputting visual information may be additionally mounted on the touch pad 135. In this case, information output from both the front display unit 151 and the rear display unit may be controlled by the touch pad 135.

The touch pad 135 operates in correlation with the display unit 151. [ The touch pad 135 may be disposed parallel to the rear of the display unit 151. The touch pad 135 may have a size equal to or smaller than that of the display unit 151.

3 is a block diagram illustrating an application management system 1000 according to an exemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 3, the application management system 1000 includes a mobile terminal 1100, a relay server 1200, an operator server 1300, and a manufacturer server 1400.

 The mobile terminal 1100 connects to the relay server 1200 by wire or wirelessly to receive information about operator applications and manufacturer applications, for example, a list of applications. Here, the operator application refers to an application provided by a mobile communication company that installs and operates a communication facility, and the manufacturer application refers to an application provided by a manufacturer producing a terminal. The mobile terminal 1100 downloads operator applications and manufacturer applications using the application list received from the relay server 1200.

The mobile terminal 1100 may be equipped with an application management module for shape management, such as download and update for operator applications and manufacturer applications. The application management module may be mounted in the terminal in the form of software such as firmware in the terminal manufacturing stage or in the form of hardware such as a system on chip (SoC).

In addition, the application management module may be implemented as one application. In this case, the application management module may be downloaded from the relay server 1200 and mounted on the terminal like other applications.

The relay server 1200 stores and manages carrier applications uploaded from the provider server 1300 and manufacturer applications uploaded from the manufacturer server 1400.

The relay server 1200 transmits application information, for example, an application list, an update list, and the like to the mobile terminal 1100 in response to an information request of the mobile terminal 1100. In this case, the information request of the mobile terminal 1100 may include operator identification information, manufacturer identification information, and the like.

The relay server 1200 transmits applications corresponding to the identification information to the mobile terminal 1100 in response to the download request or the update request of the mobile terminal 1100. For example, the relay server 1200 transmits operator applications provided by the operator corresponding to the operator identification information to the mobile terminal 1100, and transmits the manufacturer applications provided by the manufacturer corresponding to the manufacturer identification information to the mobile terminal. 1100).

The relay server 1200 may perform a function of a mobile content marketplace that sells various applications.

The operator server 1300 uploads the operator applications developed and managed by the mobile operator to the relay server 1200 to provide the user with the operator applications. The manufacturer server 1400 uploads to the relay server 1200 to provide a user with manufacturer applications developed and managed by the terminal manufacturer.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a mobile terminal 1100 included in the application management system illustrated in FIG. 3.

Referring to FIG. 4, the mobile terminal 1100 includes a communication unit 1110, an identification module 1120, a control unit 1130, a display unit 1140, and a memory. 1150).

The communication unit 1110 transmits and receives data by connecting to a relay server by wire or wirelessly. The communication unit 1100 transmits the identification information read by the identification module 1120 to the relay server, and receives an application list (download list) and an update list provided by the provider corresponding to the identification information from the relay server.

The communication unit 1110 transmits a request signal generated by the controller 1130 to the relay server, and downloads an application corresponding to the request signal from the relay server in response to the request signal. More specifically, when the communication unit 1100 transmits the download request signal to the relay server, the communication unit 1100 may download an application corresponding thereto from the relay server. In addition, when the communication unit 1100 transmits an update request signal to the relay server, the communication unit 1100 may download an application of an updated version corresponding thereto from the relay server.

The identification module 1120 stores information for authenticating the use authority of the mobile terminal 1100, for example, subscriber identification information, operator identification information, manufacturer identification information, and the like. Here, the manufacturer identification information, for example, the company name, product serial number, product manufacturing date, etc. may be information stored in the internal storage area of the mobile terminal 1100. This means that the manufacturer identification information may be copied and stored from the internal storage area of the mobile terminal 1100 to the identification module 1120.

The identification module 1120 may be implemented in the form of a universal user identification module (USIM) card. In addition, the identification module 1120 may be implemented as a large memory device capable of storing not only the identification information but also an application corresponding to the identification information.

The controller 1130 controls the overall operation of the mobile terminal 1100. The controller 1130 includes an application management module 1132 for managing applications mounted on the mobile terminal 1100.

When the selection of at least one of the items of the application list received by the communication unit 1100 is recognized, the application management module 1132 generates a download request signal and transmits it to the communication unit 1100. When the application is downloaded from the relay server in response to the download request signal, the application management module 1132 may generate a management list and manage the information about the downloaded application in the management list.

The application management module 1132 determines whether an update version for an application in the management list exists based on the update list received by the communication unit 1100. If it is determined that there is an update version for the application, the application management module 1132 generates an update request signal and transmits the update request signal to the communication unit 1100. The application management module 1132 may update the management list by registering information about the updated version of the application from the relay server in response to the update request signal in response to the update request signal.

The application management module 1132 may determine a size of an application (hereinafter referred to as a “selected application”) corresponding to a selected item of the application list or the update list received by the communication unit 1110 and the size of the remaining storage area of the memory 1150. The generation of the download request signal may be determined according to the comparison result.

For example, the application management module 1132 generates a download request signal when the size of the selected application is larger than the size of the remaining storage area of the memory 1150, that is, when there is not enough free storage space for downloading the selected application. Instead, the cleanup operation may be performed on the memory 1150. Here, the cleanup operation for the memory 1150 may be an operation for deleting at least one of applications stored in the memory 1150. In addition, the cleaning operation on the memory 1150 may be an operation of deleting garbage data, temporary files, and the like.

The application management module 1132 may provide a download request signal or an update request signal when the size of the selected application is less than or equal to the remaining storage area of the memory 1150, that is, when there is sufficient free space for downloading the selected application. It may be generated and transferred to the communication unit 1110.

The display unit 1140 displays an application list and an update list provided by the provider corresponding to the identification information. The display unit 1140 may be implemented in the form of a touch screen to detect selection of items in the application list and the update list.

The memory 1150 stores applications managed by the application management module 1132. That is, the memory 1150 may store an application downloaded from the relay server and an updated version thereof. In addition, the memory 1150 may store manufacturer identification information.

As described above, according to the present invention, after the mobile terminal is released, the operator application can be downloaded to the mobile terminal using the application management module. That is, in the manufacturing stage of the mobile terminal, it is equipped with an application management module capable of integrated management of applications, by using the application management module corresponding to the applications provided by the provider corresponding to the identification information, in particular, user identification information Applications provided by the provider can be downloaded from the relay server.

As a result, it is not necessary to wait for the carrier application to be released to mount the carrier application in the manufacturing stage of the mobile terminal, and as a result, the development schedule can be simplified.

5 is a flowchart illustrating an application management method of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, the method for managing an application of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes displaying an application list provided by a provider corresponding to identification information (S110). For example, when a list of applications provided by the operator corresponding to the user identification information is received in the communication unit, the display unit may display a list including items for the operator applications. For another example, when a list of applications provided by a manufacturer corresponding to manufacturer identification information is received in the communication unit, the display unit may display a list including items for manufacturer applications. The step S110 of displaying the application list will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 5 below.

If a selection of at least one of the items in the application list is recognized, step S120 of downloading the selection application is performed. Downloading the application (S120) will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 6 below.

6 and 7 are flowcharts illustrating the application management method of the mobile terminal shown in FIG. 5 in more detail.

Referring to FIG. 6, displaying the application list illustrated in FIG. 5 (S110) may include reading identification information from the identification module (S111). Here, the identification information may include user identification information and manufacturer identification information as described above. In this case, any one of user identification information and manufacturer identification information may be selected according to the user's input.

Next, a step (S112) of transmitting the identification information to the relay server proceeds. Thereafter, step S113 of receiving an application list provided by the provider corresponding to the identification information from the relay server in response to the identification information is performed. In this case, the display unit may display a list of applications received from the relay server.

Referring to FIG. 7, the downloading of the application illustrated in FIG. 5 (S120) may include generating a download request signal when the selection of at least one of the items of the application list is recognized (S121).

When the download request signal is generated, step S122 of transmitting the download request signal to the relay server is performed. Next, in step S123, the selection application is downloaded from the relay server in response to the download request signal. The downloaded application may be stored in at least one of the identification module and the memory.

As described above, according to the present invention, since applications can be selectively downloaded, the internal memory usage of the mobile terminal can be reduced.

8 is a flowchart illustrating an application management method of a mobile terminal according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 8, an application management method of a mobile terminal according to another embodiment of the present disclosure may include performing an update on an application (S220 to S260). To this end, first, the step S210 of downloading an application may be performed first.

Performing the update includes receiving an update list provided by the provider corresponding to the identification information from the relay server (S220). If an update list is received, determining whether there is an update version for the downloaded application based on the update list is performed (S230).

If there is no update version, step S220 of receiving an update list may be repeated. If there is an update version, step S240 of generating an update request signal is performed.

When the update request signal is generated, a step (S250) of transmitting the update request signal to the relay server is performed. Next, in operation S260, an application of an updated version of the downloaded application is downloaded from the relay server in response to the update request signal. The downloaded version of the application may be stored in at least one of the identification module and the memory.

As described above, according to the present invention, since update information provided by a mobile service provider or a manufacturer can be received from a server, and the updated version of the applications can be downloaded using the same, the user's convenience in shape management for the applications can be obtained. Can increase.

9 is a flowchart illustrating an application management method of a mobile terminal according to another embodiment of the present invention.

9, an application management method of a mobile terminal according to another embodiment is related to downloading an application. According to another exemplary embodiment, the downloading of the application may include checking a size of a selected application in the application list (S310) and checking a size of a remaining storage area of the memory (S320).

Next, according to a result of comparing the size of the selected application (download target application) with the size of the remaining storage area of the memory, determining whether to download the selected application (S330) is performed.

If the size of the selected application is larger than the size of the remaining storage area of the memory, step S340 is performed to perform a cleanup operation on the memory. At this time, at least one of the applications stored in the memory may be deleted. In addition, garbage data, temporary files, and the like stored in the memory may be deleted. Such a cleanup operation may free up space for storing selected applications.

If the size of the selected application is less than or equal to the size of the remaining storage area of the memory, the step S350 of downloading the selected application proceeds. The downloaded application may be stored in memory.

In a modified embodiment, whether to download the selected application may be determined according to a comparison result between the size of the selected application and the size of the remaining storage area of the identification module. In this case, the downloaded application may be stored in the identification module.

10 is a block diagram illustrating an application management system according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 10, the application management system 2000 includes a mobile terminal 2000, first and second relay servers 2210 and 2220, an operator server 2300, and a manufacturer server 2400. That is, the application management system 2000 may include a plurality of relay servers 2210 and 2220. Hereinafter, a description overlapping with the application management system 1000 illustrated in FIG. 3 will be omitted.

The first relay server 2210 is connected to the second relay server 2220 and relays between the mobile terminal 2100 and the second relay server 2220. This means that even if the mobile terminal 2100 accesses the first relay server 2210, the mobile terminal 2100 may access the second relay server 2220 through the first relay server 2210.

The first and second relay servers 2210 and 2220 may store and manage applications having different mobile platforms. For example, the first relay server 2210 may store and manage applications based on Android, and the second relay server 2220 may store and manage other applications based on IOS, Symbian, and the like. .

Although the first relay server 2210 is connected to the operator server 2300 and the second relay server 2220 and the manufacturer server 2400 is shown in the figure, the application management system 2000 is shown The present invention is not limited thereto and may be variously implemented.

For example, both the operator server 2300 and the manufacturer server 2400 may be connected to the first relay server 2210 or to the second relay server 2220. For another example, the first relay server 2210 and the manufacturer server 2400 may be connected, and the second relay server 2220 and the operator server 2300 may be connected.

In any case, the mobile terminal 2100 may connect to either of the first and second relay servers 2210 and 2220 to download operator applications and manufacturer applications. In this case, the mobile terminal 2100 will access a relay server for storing and managing applications corresponding to the mounted mobile platform.

11A to 11C are conceptual views illustrating an embodiment of a user interface for implementing an application management method of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 11A, the display unit 1142 may display an execution menu 1142 for executing an application management module mounted in the mobile terminal 1100. When a touch input to the execution menu 1142 is detected, the application management module may be executed.

Referring to FIG. 11B, when the application management module is executed, the display 1140 may display an application list. In addition, the display 1140 may display a first menu 1144 for displaying a list of operator applications and a second menu 1146 for displaying a list of manufacturer applications.

When a touch input to the first menu 1144 is detected, the mobile terminal 1100 transmits the operator identification information to the relay server, and receives the operator application list in response thereto. When the operator application list is received, the display unit 1140 displays the operator application list.

When a touch input to the second menu 1146 is detected, the mobile terminal 1100 transmits manufacturer identification information to the relay server, and receives a list of manufacturer applications from the relay server in response. In addition, when a manufacturer application list is received, the display unit 1140 displays a manufacturer application list.

Referring to FIG. 11C, when a selection of any one of items of an application list is detected, the display 1140 may display detailed information about the selected application. In this case, the display 1140 may display a download menu 1148 for downloading the selected application.

When a touch input to the download menu 1148 is detected, the mobile terminal 1100 transmits a download request signal to the relay server and downloads the selected application from the relay server in response.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the structure of the present invention can be variously modified or changed without departing from the scope or spirit of the present invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they fall within the scope of the following claims and equivalents.

Claims (18)

An identification module for storing identification information;
A display unit displaying a list of applications provided by a provider corresponding to the identification information;
A controller configured to generate a download request signal when a selection of at least one of the items in the application list is recognized; And
And a communication unit which transmits the download request signal to a relay server and downloads an application corresponding to the selected item from the relay server in response to the download request signal. The method of claim 1,
The identification information includes a carrier identification information and a manufacturer identification information. The method of claim 2,
The identification module is a mobile terminal, characterized in that the universal user identification module (USIM) for storing the operator identification information. The method of claim 1,
Wherein,
And receiving from the relay server an update list provided by a provider corresponding to the identification information. The method of claim 4, wherein
The control unit,
And determining whether there is an update version for the downloaded application based on the update list. The method of claim 5, wherein
The control unit,
And if it is determined that an update version for the downloaded application exists, generating an update request signal. The method according to claim 6,
Wherein,
And transmitting the update request signal to the relay server, and downloading an application of an update version corresponding to the downloaded application from the relay server in response to the update request signal. The method of claim 1,
The mobile terminal further comprises a memory for storing the applications managed by the control unit. The method of claim 8,
The control unit,
And determining whether to generate the download request signal according to a comparison result of the size of the application corresponding to the selected item and the size of the remaining storage area of the memory. The method of claim 8,
The control unit,
And when the size of the application corresponding to the selected item is larger than the size of the remaining storage area of the memory, performing a cleanup operation on the memory. 11. The method of claim 10,
The arranging of the memory may include deleting at least one of the applications stored in the memory. The method of claim 1,
Wherein,
And the application list is received from one of the relay server and another relay server connected to the relay server. A mobile terminal for displaying a list of applications provided by a provider corresponding to the identification information, and generating a download request signal when a selection of at least one of the items in the list of applications is recognized; And
And a relay server transmitting an application corresponding to the selected item to the mobile terminal when receiving the download request signal from the mobile terminal. The method of claim 13,
The mobile terminal,
Read the identification information from an internal identification module, and transmit the identification information to the relay server. 15. The method of claim 14,
The relay server includes:
In response to the identification information received from the mobile terminal, transmitting the application list to the mobile terminal. The method of claim 15,
The relay server includes:
When receiving the operator identification information from the mobile terminal, and transmits a carrier application list to the mobile terminal,
When receiving the manufacturer identification information from the mobile terminal, the application management system, characterized in that for transmitting a list of manufacturers application to the mobile terminal. The method of claim 13,
An operator server for uploading applications corresponding to the operator identification information among the identification information to the relay server; And
And a manufacturer server for uploading applications corresponding to manufacturer identification information among the identification information to the relay server. The method of claim 13,
And another relay server configured to store and manage applications having a mobile platform different from the mobile platform of the applications managed and stored at the relay server.

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