JP7565680B2 - Portable information terminal and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a mobile information terminal and a program.

In recent years, mobile terminal devices and various electronic devices equipped with short-range wireless communication means using RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) such as the NFC (Near Field Communication) standard have become widespread.

In addition, Cited Document 1 discloses a technology that uses the above-mentioned RFID to check the serial number and software version of terminal devices in stock awaiting shipment without having to unpack them and turn them on.

JP 2011-39957 A

However, complex character strings are often used for terminal information such as serial numbers and software versions, and in terminal devices such as those described in Cited Document 1, there is a risk that users may misread the terminal information when checking the terminal information of a large number of terminal devices.

The objective of the present invention is to make it possible to easily compare information from multiple terminal devices.

In order to solve the above problems, a mobile information terminal according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises:
A portable information terminal whose terminal information is registered,
a reading means for reading terminal information of another mobile terminal device by wireless communication with an RFID tag of the other mobile terminal device while the other mobile terminal device is in a power-off state;
a display control means for displaying, on a display unit, the terminal information of the other portable terminal device read by the reading means and the terminal information registered in the portable information terminal, side by side so that the arrangement order of the information items is the same between the other portable terminal device and the terminal information registered in the portable information terminal;
The present invention is characterized by comprising:

In order to solve the above problem, a mobile terminal device according to a second aspect of the present invention comprises:
A reading means capable of reading terminal information from a terminal device in a power-off state by wireless communication with an RFID tag included in the terminal device;
a display control means for displaying the terminal information read by the reading means on a display unit of the plurality of terminal devices in such a manner that the order of information items is the same among the plurality of terminal devices;
The present invention is characterized by comprising:

In order to solve the above problems, a portable information terminal according to a third aspect of the present invention comprises:
a reading means for reading first terminal information including a plurality of items from a predetermined terminal device before the terminal device is powered on by wireless communication with an RFID tag of the terminal device;
a display control means for displaying, on a display unit, second terminal information having the same plurality of items as the first terminal information, such that the plurality of items are arranged in a predetermined order;
Equipped with
the display control means displays the first terminal information together with the second terminal information, and displays the order of arrangement of the plurality of items in the second terminal information in correspondence with the order of arrangement of the plurality of items in the first terminal information;
It is characterized by:

In order to solve the above problems, a mobile information terminal according to a fourth aspect of the present invention comprises:
a reading means for reading first terminal information including a plurality of items from a predetermined terminal device before the terminal device is powered on by wireless communication with an RFID tag of the terminal device;
a display control means for displaying, on a display unit, second terminal information having the same items as the first terminal information, such that the items are arranged in a predetermined order;
a specifying means for specifying an item in which the first terminal information is different from the second terminal information when comparing the second terminal information with the first terminal information for each item;
Equipped with
the display control means displays the first terminal information together with the second terminal information, and displays the first terminal information and the second terminal information on the display unit in a manner that allows a user to distinguish them from each other in the items identified by the identification means;
It is characterized by:

Further, the program according to the first aspect of the present invention comprises:
The computer of the mobile information terminal on which the terminal information is registered,
a reading means for reading terminal information in another mobile terminal device by wireless communication with an RFID tag of the other mobile terminal device while the other mobile terminal device is in a power-off state;
a display control means for displaying, on a display unit, the terminal information of the other portable terminal device read by the reading means and the terminal information registered in the portable information terminal, side by side so that the arrangement order of information items is the same between the other portable terminal device and the terminal information registered in the portable information terminal;
Function as.

Further, the program according to the second aspect of the present invention comprises:
A personal digital assistant computer,
a reading means capable of reading terminal information from a terminal device in a power-off state by wireless communication with an RFID tag included in the terminal device;
a display control means for displaying the terminal information read by the reading means on a display unit of the plurality of terminal devices in such a manner that the order of information items is the same among the plurality of terminal devices;
Function as.

A third aspect of the program according to the present invention comprises:
A personal digital assistant computer,
a reading means for reading first terminal information having a plurality of items from a predetermined terminal device before the terminal device is powered on by wireless communication with an RFID tag of the terminal device;
a display control means for displaying, on a display unit, second terminal information having the same plurality of items as the first terminal information, such that the plurality of items are arranged in a predetermined order;
Function as a
the display control means displays the first terminal information together with the second terminal information, and displays the order of arrangement of the plurality of items in the second terminal information in correspondence with the order of arrangement of the plurality of items in the first terminal information;
It is characterized by:

Further, a fourth aspect of the program according to the present invention is
A personal digital assistant computer,
a reading means for reading first terminal information having a plurality of items from a predetermined terminal device before the terminal device is powered on by wireless communication with an RFID tag of the terminal device;
a display control means for displaying, on a display unit, second terminal information having the same items as the first terminal information, such that the items are arranged in a predetermined order;
a specifying means for specifying an item in which the first terminal information differs from the second terminal information when comparing the second terminal information with the first terminal information for each item;
Function as a
the display control means displays the first terminal information together with the second terminal information, and displays the first terminal information and the second terminal information on the display unit in a manner that allows a user to distinguish them from each other in the items identified by the identification means;
It is characterized by:

The present invention makes it possible to easily compare information from multiple terminal devices.

1 is an overall configuration diagram of a terminal information management system according to an embodiment of the present invention; 2 is a block diagram showing the physical configuration of a portable information terminal 1 (parent device). FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the physical configuration of a mobile terminal device 2A (child device 2A). FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of data storage in a parent terminal information TBL stored in an NFC memory of the portable information terminal 1. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of data storage in a child terminal information TBL in an NFC memory of a portable terminal device 2A. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of data storage in a child terminal information TBL stored in an NFC memory of a portable terminal device 2B. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of data storage in a child terminal information TBL in an NFC memory of a portable terminal device 2C. FIG. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a display example of a terminal information display screen. 13 is a flowchart showing a control procedure for a read permission process. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a display example of a setting screen. 13 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of a terminal information reading process. 13 is a display example of a terminal information list screen in a state in which terminal information of a parent device is displayed. 13 is a display example of a terminal information list screen in which terminal information of a parent device and a child device 2A is displayed. 13 is a display example of a terminal information list screen in which terminal information of a parent device and child devices 2A to 2C is displayed. 13 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of a software update process. 13 is a display example of a terminal information list screen in which terminal information of slave units 2A to 2C is displayed.

The following describes in detail an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the illustrated examples.

Best Mode
The system configuration and device configuration of this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 12. In this embodiment, the present invention is applied to a portable terminal device (handy terminal) used for business purposes as an electronic device powered by a secondary battery.
A mobile terminal device (mobile information terminal) is a handheld terminal device for business use in stores and the like, and is equipped with various business management functions such as managing inventory, arrival, shipment, and delivery, a scanner function for optically reading barcodes, etc., a clock function for measuring the current date and time, a contactless charging function, an NFC (near field wireless communication) function, and a wireless communication function for wirelessly connecting to a communication network.

As shown in FIG. 1, the terminal information management system of this embodiment is composed of a mobile information terminal 1 (hereinafter, parent device) that reads terminal information from a plurality of other mobile terminal devices that are not powered on by using near field communication (NFC function), which is a type of RFID, and mobile terminal device 2A (hereinafter, child device 2A), mobile terminal device 2B (hereinafter, child device 2B), and mobile terminal device 2C (hereinafter, child device 2C) whose terminal information is read by the mobile information terminal 1 (parent device).
In addition, the mobile information terminal (parent device) that reads the terminal information may be composed of multiple mobile information terminals, and the read terminal information may be configured so that it can be shared between the parent device terminals using communication means such as wireless communication.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing basic components of the portable information terminal 1. As shown in FIG.
2, the mobile information terminal 1 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11 that performs overall control of the device, an operation unit 12 having a plurality of operation keys, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 13 that provides a working memory space for the CPU 11, a display unit 14, a storage unit 15 that stores control programs and control data executed by the CPU 11, a communication unit 16, a scanner unit 17, and an NFC unit 18. The various units of the mobile information terminal 1 are connected via a bus 19.

The CPU 11 controls each unit of the mobile information terminal 1. The CPU 11 reads out a specified program from among the system programs and application programs stored in the storage unit 15, expands the program in a work area of the RAM 13, and executes various processes in cooperation with the program expanded in the RAM 13.
In addition, as will be described in more detail later, the CPU 11 functions as a reading means for reading the terminal information of the child device from the NFC memory 28c possessed by the child device using the NFC function, a display control means for displaying the reference terminal information (terminal information of the parent device) and the terminal information of the child device together and in the same arrangement order, and an identification means for identifying items in which the terminal information of the child device differs from the reference terminal information when the reference terminal information and the terminal information of the child device are compared.

The operation unit 12 includes a keypad that accepts operation inputs from various keys, and outputs operation information corresponding to the key operation inputs to the CPU 11. The various keys of the operation unit 12 include numeric and character input keys, various function keys, a trigger key for executing a scan by the scanner unit 17, a power key, etc. The operation unit 12 also has a touch panel provided on the display screen of the display unit 14, accepts touch inputs from the user, and outputs the operation information to the CPU 11.

RAM 13 is a volatile memory. RAM 13 also has a work area for storing various programs to be executed and data related to these programs.

The display unit 14 is composed of an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), an EL (Electro Luminescent) display, etc., and displays various information according to the display information instructed by the CPU 11.

The storage unit 15 has, for example, a ROM, a flash memory, etc., and stores programs and various applications for implementing this embodiment. In particular, the storage unit 15 stores an NFC function startup program, which will be described later. Note that the storage unit 15 may also be configured to include a removable portable memory (recording media), such as an SD card or an IC card, and may also include a storage area on the side of a specified server device when connected to a network via a communication function, although this is not shown.

The communication unit 16 is composed of a network card and is connected to a communication network such as the Internet. The communication unit 16 communicates with devices on the communication network.

The scanner unit 17 is a scanner unit that includes a light emitting unit, a light receiving unit, a gain circuit, and a binarization circuit, and reads one-dimensional barcodes. In the scanner unit 17, a light beam such as a laser beam emitted from the light emitting unit is irradiated onto the barcode, and the reflected light is received by the light receiving unit and converted into an electrical signal. The electrical signal is amplified by the gain circuit and converted into binary data by the binarization circuit, and the binary data is output to the CPU 11. In the CPU 11, the binary data input from the scanner unit 17 is converted and acquired into information contained in the scanned barcode. The scanner unit 17 may be an image scanner that captures an image of the one-dimensional barcode or two-dimensional code and acquires information contained in the one-dimensional barcode or two-dimensional code by analyzing the captured image data.

The NFC unit 18 has an NFC antenna 18a, an NFC reader/writer unit 18b as an NFC reader/writer means, and an NFC memory 18c, and is connected to a power supply unit.

The NFC antenna 18a is a coil antenna or the like.
The NFC reader/writer unit 18b supplies power to an external device (such as an NFC card or an NFC tag) through non-contact NFC communication via an electromagnetic field via the NFC antenna 18a, and reads and writes information in an NFC memory provided in the external device (in this embodiment, the NFC memory 28c in the child devices 2A to 2C).
The NFC memory 18c is an NFC memory into which information is read and written in accordance with a signal from a communication destination device by non-contact communication via the NFC antenna 18a. A terminal information TBL (Table) serving as terminal information, which will be described later, is stored in the NFC memory 18c.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing basic components of the mobile terminal device 2A (child device 2A).
3, the mobile terminal device 2A includes a CPU 21 that performs overall control of the device, an operation unit 22 having a plurality of operation keys, a RAM 23 that provides a working memory space for the CPU 21, a display unit 24, a storage unit 25 that stores control programs and control data executed by the CPU 21, a communication unit 26, a scanner unit 27, and an NFC unit 28. The various units of the mobile terminal device 2A are connected via a bus 29.
The configuration of the portable terminal device 2A (child device 2A) is substantially the same as that of the portable information terminal 1 (parent device), so detailed description of each part will be omitted.
In addition, the configuration and operation of the portable terminal device 2B (child device 2B) and the portable terminal device 2C (child device 2C) are substantially similar to that of the portable terminal device 2A (child device 2A), so the configuration of the portable terminal device 2A is shown as a representative in Fig. 3. The numbers of the components constituting the portable terminal devices 2B and 2C correspond to the numbers of the components constituting the portable terminal device 2A.

In this embodiment, the terminal information includes information such as the model name of the terminal, version information of the OS (Operating System) for controlling the computers of the mobile information terminal 1 and the mobile terminal devices 2A to 2C, version information of applications installed in the mobile information terminal 1 and the mobile terminal devices 2A to 2C, serial numbers for identifying each mobile terminal device, serial numbers of parts installed in the mobile information terminal 1 and the mobile terminal devices 2A to 2C, and IP addresses (Internet Protocol Addresses) and MAC addresses (Media Access Control addresses) assigned to the mobile information terminal 1 and the mobile terminal devices 2A to 2C.

Figures 4a to 4d show the terminal information TBL5 to 8 stored in the NFC memory 18c and NFC memory 28c of the mobile information terminal 1 and the mobile terminal devices 2A to 2C, respectively. Note that the items displayed in Figures 4a to 4d are only the "model", "OS version", "application version", and "serial number" of the above-mentioned terminal information that can be confirmed on the terminal information display screens 50 to 70 described below, but are not limited to these items of information.

FIG. 4a shows parent terminal information TBL5 stored in the NFC memory 18c of the mobile information terminal 1 (parent terminal), and has items of model (model name) 5a, OS version 5b, application version 5c, and serial number 5d.
FIG. 4b shows a slave terminal information TBL6 stored in the NFC memory 28c of the mobile terminal device 2A (slave 2A), and has items of model (model name) 6a, OS version 6b, application version 6c, and serial number 6d.
FIG. 4c shows child device terminal information TBL7 stored in the NFC memory 28c of the mobile terminal device 2B (child device 2B), and has items of model (model name) 7a, OS version 7b, application version 7c, and serial number 7d.
FIG. 4d shows a child terminal information TBL8 stored in the NFC memory 28c of the mobile terminal device 2C (child terminal 2C), and has items of model (model name) 8a, OS version 8b, application version 8c, and serial number 8d.

The user can also press the power button provided on the mobile information terminal 1 and the mobile terminal devices 2A to 2C to start up the mobile information terminal 1 and the mobile terminal devices 2A to 2C normally and start up a specific application, thereby displaying the terminal information of the mobile information terminal 1 and the mobile terminal devices 2A to 2C themselves on the display unit 14 and the display unit 24 as the terminal information display screen 30.

5 shows an example of the display of the terminal information display screen 30. The terminal information display screen 30 has a menu display section 31, a terminal information display section 32, and a scroll bar 33.
The menu display section 31 has buttons for starting various applications such as an e-mail function and a chat function, in addition to displaying the remaining battery power and current time information of the portable information terminal 1 and the portable terminal devices 2A to 2C.
The terminal information display section 32 displays the above terminal information for each item. Note that, in addition to the above terminal information, information specific to the mobile information terminal 1 and the mobile terminal devices 2A to 2C, such as available capacity and remaining battery power, may also be displayed. In this case, the user can select and display only the above terminal information from the display of the terminal information display section 32.
Furthermore, the user can slide the scroll bar 33 up and down to display the portion of the terminal information that cannot be displayed on the terminal information display section 32 .

Here, in order for the mobile information terminal 1 (parent device) to read terminal information from the powered-off mobile terminal devices 2A-2C (child devices 2A-2C) by near field communication (NFC function), it is necessary to set the NFC memory 28c in the NFC section 28 of the child device so that it can be read when the child devices 2A-2C are powered off.

Figure 6 shows a flowchart of the read permission process controlled by the CPU 21 of the child devices 2A to 2C. The read permission process is a process for permitting reading and writing to the NFC memory 28c from the parent device when the power of the child devices 2A to 2C is turned off.

First, when the CPU 21 of the child devices 2A to 2C detects an instruction from the user to turn off the power of the child device (step S101), it displays a setting screen 40 for setting whether or not to permit reading and writing from the parent device to the NFC memory 28c while the power is off (step S102).

Next, if the user permits reading and writing to the NFC memory 28c while the power is off (YES in step S103), information on the connection status between the NFC antenna 28a and the NFC memory 28c in the NFC section 28 is acquired. If the NFC antenna 28a and the NFC memory 28c are not connected (NO in step S104), the NFC antenna 28a is connected to the NFC memory 28c (step S105). Next, the child device is shut down to stop the system, and then the power is completely turned off (step S106).
This allows reading and writing of terminal information in the NFC memory 28c included in the child device even while the child device is powered off.

However, if the user does not permit reading from and writing to the NFC memory 28c while the power is off in step S103 (NO in step S103), information on the connection status between the NFC antenna 28a and the NFC memory 28c is obtained, and if they are connected (YES in step S107), the NFC antenna 28a is disconnected from the NFC memory 28c (step S108) and then the power is turned off (step S106).
This prohibits reading and writing of terminal information from and to the NFC memory 28c included in the child device while the child device is powered off.

The parent device may be set to automatically read and write data from and to the NFC memory 28c of the child devices 2A to 2C when the child devices 2A to 2C are powered off.

Figure 7 shows an example of the setting screen 40. The setting screen 40 is a screen for setting whether or not to permit reading and writing of the NFC memory 28c from the parent device while the power of the child devices 2A to 2C is off. The setting screen 40 has a message display section 41 in which a message is displayed to confirm whether or not to permit reading and writing of terminal information while the power is off, a permission button 42, and a prohibition button 43.

After checking the message on the message display section 41, if the user presses the permission button 42 (step S103 YES), the NFC antenna 28a in the NFC section 28 is connected to the NFC memory 28c, and if the user presses the prohibition button 43 (step S103 NO), the NFC antenna 28a in the NFC section 28 is disconnected from the NFC memory 28c.

Next, a flow of a control procedure for terminal information reading processing will be described with reference to FIG. 8 to FIG.
8 is a flowchart showing the terminal information reading process controlled by the CPU 11 of the parent device (mobile information terminal 1). The terminal information reading process shows a series of steps for the parent device to read terminal information from the child devices 2A to 2C and display the terminal information on a terminal information list screen 50 (described later).

First, the CPU 11 of the parent device acquires information on the connection state between the NFC antenna 18a and the NFC memory 18c of the parent device in response to a terminal information acquisition instruction from the user (step S201). If the NFC antenna 18a and the NFC memory 18c are connected (step S202 YES), the NFC antenna 18a is disconnected from the NFC memory 18c (step S203). However, if the NFC antenna 18a and the NFC memory 18c are not connected in step S202 (step S202 NO), the process proceeds to step S204 without performing the process of step S203.
By performing the process of step S203, it is possible to prevent interference when the NFC reader/writer unit 18b of the parent device is in use, and to prohibit reading by the NFC function from an external device.

Next, the CPU 11 acquires the terminal information of the parent device from the parent device terminal information TBL5 (FIG. 4A) (step S204), and displays the terminal information on the terminal information list screen 50 on the display unit 14 of the parent device (step S205).
9 shows an example of the terminal information list screen 50. The terminal information list screen 50 has a reference terminal information display area 51, a child terminal information display area 52, an NFC reader/writer start button 53, a back button 54, a home button 55, and a save button 56.

The reference terminal information display area 51 is an area where data of the parent device terminal information TBL5 stored in the parent device's NFC memory 18c is displayed in a list. In FIG. 9 of this embodiment, the reference terminal information display area 51 displays the information items "model", "OS version", "application version", and "serial number" and the corresponding terminal information. Note that, in this embodiment, the reference terminal information display area 51 is located in the upper left of the terminal information list screen 50, but is not limited to this location, and does not have to be displayed on the terminal information list screen 50. In addition, the information displayed in the reference terminal information display area 51 may be configured so that the display order can be rearranged or can be set in advance by the user.

The child device terminal information display area 52 is an area in which, when the parent device reads the child device's terminal information via near field communication (NFC function), a list of terminal information and information items stored in the child device's NFC memory 28c is displayed.
In addition, the user can press the NFC reader/writer start button 53 to start the NFC reader/writer section 18b of the parent device, and by performing the processing of step S206 described below (reading terminal information from the child device), the terminal information of the child device can be displayed in the child device terminal information display area 52.

The back button 54 is a button for returning to the screen that was displayed before the terminal information list screen 50 when pressed by the user. The home button 55 is a button for transitioning to the home screen of the parent unit when pressed by the user. The save button 56 is a button for storing the terminal information and information items of the child unit currently read by the parent unit from the child unit and displayed in the child unit terminal information display area 52 in the memory unit 15 of the parent unit and terminating the terminal information reading process when pressed by the user.

Returning now to the explanation of the flowchart in FIG.
Next, the CPU 11 receives a terminal information acquisition instruction from the user (pressing the NFC reader/writer activation button 53), activates the NFC reader/writer unit 18b, and reads data of the child device terminal information TBL6-8 (FIGS. 4b-4d) from the NFC memory 28c of the child device desired by the user by short-distance wireless communication (NFC function) (step S206). That is, the CPU 11 functions as a reading means. If the child device terminal information is correctly read here (step S207 YES), the read data of the child device terminal information TBL6-8 and the data of the parent device terminal information TBL5 are compared item by item (step S208), and the terminal information that differs between the parent device and the child device is identified item by item (step S209). That is, the CPU 11 functions as an identifying means.

Next, the CPU 11 displays the read terminal information of the child device together with the terminal information of the parent device in the same arrangement order on the terminal information list screen 60 (step S210). At that time, the information specified in step S209 is displayed in a state that can be identified by the user. That is, the CPU 11 functions as a display control unit.
In this embodiment, the specified terminal information and information items are displayed underlined on the terminal information list screen 60, but the display method is not limited to this, and it is sufficient that the information that differs between the terminal information of the parent device and the terminal information of the child device is displayed in a manner that allows the user to distinguish it, such as by displaying it in bold, by displaying it in a different color, by displaying it with a mark, etc. In this case, the terminal information and the information items may be displayed in different modes (such as by underlining the terminal information and marking the information items).
Furthermore, when comparing the terminal information of the child device and the parent device in step S208, the items that the user wants to compare may be designated in advance in the child device terminal information TBL6 to 8 and the parent device terminal information TBL5.

Figure 10 shows an example of the display of the terminal information list screen 60. The terminal information list screen 60 represents a display screen in which, in addition to the display of the terminal information list screen 50, the terminal information read by the parent device (mobile information terminal 1) from the child device 2A (mobile terminal device 2A) is displayed in the child device terminal information display area 52. Like the terminal information list screen 50, the terminal information list screen 60 has a reference terminal information display area 51, a child device terminal information display area 52, an NFC reader/writer start button 53, a back button 54, a home button 55, and a save button 56. When the child device terminal information is displayed on the terminal information list screen 60, the child device terminal information display area 52 has a child device terminal identification information section 61, an underline display section 62, and a close button 63.

In the child device terminal identification information section 61, information for the user to identify the child device (mobile terminal device 2A to 2C) is displayed on the terminal information list screen 60. This information may be information contained in the child device terminal information TBL6 to 8, or may be information that the user can set on the parent device side when the data in the child device terminal information TBL6 to 8 is read from the child device in step S206.

In the underline display section 62, when the CPU 11 identifies terminal information of a child device that differs from the terminal information of the parent device in step S209, the information item and terminal information of the child device are underlined and displayed in the child device terminal information display area 52. This allows the user to easily identify the difference between the terminal information of the child device and the terminal information of the parent device. Specifically, of the information items and terminal information of the child device 2A displayed in the child device terminal information display area 52, the information "app version", "serial number", "1.6.0", and "MX14AB501LA028" are displayed underlined.

The close button 63 is a button that, when pressed by the user, deletes the terminal information read from the child device from the terminal information list screen 60. When this close button 63 is pressed, the NFC reader/writer start button 53 is displayed again in the child device terminal information display area 52.

Returning now to the explanation of the flowchart in FIG.
Next, when the user presses the save button 56, the CPU 11 determines that the reading of the terminal information of the child device has been completed (step S211: YES), stores the terminal information read from the child device in the storage unit 15, and ends the terminal information reading process (step S212). Note that in step S212, the storage unit 15 may be configured to store only the information specified in step S209 or information designated in advance by the user.

However, if the NFC reader/writer activation button 53 is pressed instead of the save button 56 in step S211 (NO in step S211), the CPU 11 repeats the processes from step S206 to step S210.
FIG. 11 shows the terminal information list screen 70 when the process from step S206 to step S210 is performed three times (when the terminal information of the slave units 2A to 2C is read).

In addition to the information on the terminal information list screen 60 in FIG. 10, the terminal information of the child devices 2B and 2C read by the parent device's NFC function is displayed on the terminal information list screen 70 in FIG. 11. On the terminal information list screen 70, the item data for "Application version" and "Serial number" in the terminal information of the child device 2B, and "OS version" and "Serial number" in the terminal information of the child device 2C are underlined.

Next, a flow of a control procedure for software update processing for updating the version of software in a case where the version of software in the child device read by the terminal information reading processing is different from the terminal information of the parent device will be described with reference to Fig. 12. As an example, the flow for updating the application version of the child device 2A from "1.6.0" to "1.6.2", which is the application version of the parent device, will be described.
FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a software update process controlled by the NFC section 28 and the CPU 21 of the child device 2A (mobile terminal device 2A).

First, the NFC reader/writer unit of the external device (in this embodiment, the NFC reader/writer unit 18b of the mobile information terminal 1) writes information on a startup request and terminal information for the item for which the user desires to update the software (the terminal information of the parent device corresponding to the item identified in step S209 of the terminal information reading process, in this embodiment, "application version (1.6.2)") to the NFC memory 28c of the child device 2A (step S301). Next, if it is determined that the startup request is included in the information written (step S302 YES), a startup signal is sent to the power supply unit of the child device 2A to start up the child device 2A (step S303).

Next, the CPU 21 displays a list of the terminal information written to the NFC memory 28c in step S301 on the display unit 24 (not shown) of the activated child device 2A (step S304). When the user selects information for which the user wishes to update the software from the terminal information within a predetermined time (step S305 YES), the software corresponding to the selected terminal information is updated via a network connection by the communication unit 26 (step S306).

Next, the CPU 21 determines whether the software update has been successful, and if it is determined to be successful (YES in step S307), it rewrites the selected pre-update terminal information to the updated terminal information in the NFC memory 28c of the child device 2A (step S308).
By the above software update process, the user can easily perform software update even on a terminal device that is not turned on.

(Modification)
In the above embodiment, the terminal information of the parent device is set as the reference terminal information, and if there is an item in which the terminal information of the child device read from the child device using the NFC function and the terminal information of the parent device have different information, the different information is displayed on the terminal information list screen of the parent device so that it can be identified for each item.
However, the terminal information used as the reference is not limited to the terminal information of the parent device, and may be configured so that the user can set reference information for each item in the terminal information TBL in advance, or so that the terminal information of the child device read by the parent device can be set as the reference terminal information.

Figure 13 shows a terminal information list screen 80 in the case where the terminal information of the child device read by the parent device is set as the reference terminal information. The terminal information list screen 80 assumes that when the parent device (mobile information terminal 1) reads the terminal information of the child device 2A using the NFC function, the terminal information of the child device 2A is set as the reference terminal information and displayed in the reference terminal information display area 51. In this case, when the parent device reads the terminal information of the child device 2B and the child device 2C using the NFC function and displays it in the child device terminal information display area 52, the information in the child device terminal information TBL6 of the child device 2A set as the reference terminal information is compared with the information in the child device terminal information TBL7 and 8 of the child device 2B and the child device 2C, and the information that differs is displayed identifiable for each item.

In this way, in the above modified example, by using the terminal information of the child device instead of the parent device as the reference terminal information, it becomes possible to compare the terminal information of the child devices with each other. Therefore, when checking the terminal information of a large number of portable terminal devices with one device, it becomes possible to easily find portable terminal devices with version information, etc. that differs from other portable terminal devices.

As described above, according to the terminal information management system of the present embodiment, after the terminal information stored in the NFC memory from the terminal device before power-on is read by the NFC reader/writer unit of the mobile information terminal, the read terminal information and the reference terminal information can be displayed side by side. At this time, the reference terminal information and the read terminal information are compared, and if there is an item with different information, the information can be displayed on the display unit so that the user can distinguish it.
This allows the user to easily compare information on multiple terminal devices.

In the above embodiment, the slave units 2A to 2C from which the terminal information is read are assumed to be portable terminal devices, but this is not limited thereto, and any information processing device capable of mounting an RFID tag including an NFC standard may be used.

In addition, the device may be configured so that information can be read and written by the NFC reader/writer just by bringing the parent device close to the child device, without pressing the NFC reader/writer activation button 53 on the device information list screen. This allows the user to obtain device information from the child device more quickly.

The device information list screen may also be configured so that the user can rearrange the order of the reference device information by dragging and dropping or the like. In that case, the order of the device information of the child devices displayed together on the device information list screen is also rearranged to correspond to the order of the reference device information. This is believed to make it easier for the user to compare device information.

When updating the software of the child device in the software update process, the reader/writer unit 18b of the parent device may write new version software information to the NFC memory 28c of the child device, and the software update may be started if it is determined that the software version information at the time the child device is turned on differs from the version information newly written by the parent device. This allows the CPU 21 to execute the software update without waiting for a user instruction.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but includes the scope of the invention described in the claims and its equivalents.
The scope of the invention described in this application and its equivalents are as follows. The order of the claims described in the appendix is the same as the order of the claims first attached to this application.
[Additional Notes]
<Claim 1>
A portable information terminal whose terminal information is registered,
a reading means for reading terminal information of another mobile terminal device by wireless communication with an RFID tag of the other mobile terminal device while the other mobile terminal device is in a power-off state;
a display control means for displaying, on a display unit, the terminal information of the other portable terminal device read by the reading means and the terminal information registered in the portable information terminal, side by side so that the arrangement order of the information items is the same between the other portable terminal device and the terminal information registered in the portable information terminal;
A portable information terminal comprising:
<Claim 2>
the display control means displays an information item for which terminal information differs between the mobile information terminal and the other mobile terminal device in a manner different from that for an information item for which terminal information matches between the mobile information terminal and the other mobile terminal device.
2. The portable information terminal according to claim 1.
<Claim 3>
when an order of the information items in the portable information terminal arranged and displayed on the display unit is changed, the display control means changes the order of the information items in the other portable terminal device so as to correspond to the changed order of the information items in the portable information terminal;
3. The portable information terminal according to claim 1 or 2, wherein:
<Claim 4>
A reading means capable of reading terminal information from a terminal device in a power-off state by wireless communication with an RFID tag included in the terminal device;
a display control means for displaying the terminal information read by the reading means on a display unit of the plurality of terminal devices in such a manner that the order of information items is the same among the plurality of terminal devices;
A portable information terminal comprising:
<Claim 5>
the display control means displays an information item for which terminal information differs between the terminal devices in a manner different from that for an information item for which terminal information matches between the terminal devices.
5. The portable information terminal according to claim 4.
<Claim 6>
a reading means for reading first terminal information including a plurality of items from a predetermined terminal device before the terminal device is powered on by wireless communication with an RFID tag of the terminal device;
a display control means for displaying, on a display unit, second terminal information having the same plurality of items as the first terminal information, such that the plurality of items are arranged in a predetermined order;
Equipped with
the display control means displays the first terminal information together with the second terminal information, and displays the order of arrangement of the plurality of items in the second terminal information in correspondence with the order of arrangement of the plurality of items in the first terminal information;
A portable information terminal comprising:
<Claim 7>
The second terminal information is terminal information of a terminal device other than the predetermined terminal device.
7. The portable information terminal according to claim 6,
<Claim 8>
The second terminal information is terminal information possessed by the mobile information terminal.
8. The portable information terminal according to claim 6 or 7,
<Claim 9>
when an order of the items of the second terminal information arranged and displayed on the display unit is changed, the display control means changes an order of the items of the first terminal information to correspond to the changed order of the items of the second terminal information.
9. The portable information terminal according to claim 6, wherein
<Claim 10>
a reading means for reading first terminal information including a plurality of items from a predetermined terminal device before the terminal device is powered on by wireless communication with an RFID tag of the terminal device;
a display control means for displaying, on a display unit, second terminal information having the same items as the first terminal information, such that the items are arranged in a predetermined order;
a specifying means for specifying an item in which the first terminal information is different from the second terminal information when comparing the second terminal information with the first terminal information for each item;
Equipped with
the display control means displays the first terminal information together with the second terminal information, and displays the first terminal information and the second terminal information on the display unit in a manner that allows a user to distinguish them from each other in the items identified by the identification means;
A portable information terminal comprising:
<Claim 11>
The second terminal information is terminal information of a terminal device other than the predetermined terminal device.
11. The portable information terminal according to claim 10.
<Claim 12>
The second terminal information is terminal information possessed by the mobile information terminal.
12. The portable information terminal according to claim 10 or 11.
<Claim 13>
a storage means for storing the first terminal information in the item specified by the specifying means in a storage unit in response to an instruction from a user;
13. The portable information terminal according to claim 10, wherein the portable information terminal is a portable information terminal having a plurality of ports.
<Claim 14>
the identifying means, when comparing the second terminal information with the first terminal information for each item, compares the information with respect to an item designated in advance by a user;
14. The portable information terminal according to claim 10, wherein the portable information terminal is a portable information terminal having a plurality of ports.
<Claim 15>
a writing means for writing information corresponding to the item identified by the identifying means from among the second terminal information, into a memory unit in an RFID tag of the terminal device;
15. The portable information terminal according to claim 10, wherein the portable information terminal is a portable information terminal having a plurality of ports.
<Claim 16>
The computer of the mobile information terminal on which the terminal information is registered,
a reading means for reading terminal information in another portable terminal device by wireless communication with an RFID tag of the other portable terminal device while the other portable terminal device is in a power-off state;
a display control means for displaying, on a display unit, the terminal information of the other portable terminal device read by the reading means and the terminal information registered in the portable information terminal, side by side so that the arrangement order of information items is the same between the other portable terminal device and the terminal information registered in the portable information terminal;
A program to function as a
<Claim 17>
A personal digital assistant computer,
a reading means capable of reading terminal information from a terminal device in a power-off state by wireless communication with an RFID tag included in the terminal device;
a display control means for displaying the terminal information read by the reading means on a display unit of the plurality of terminal devices in such a manner that the order of information items is the same among the plurality of terminal devices;
A program to function as a
<Claim 18>
A personal digital assistant computer,
a reading means for reading first terminal information having a plurality of items from a predetermined terminal device before the terminal device is powered on by wireless communication with an RFID tag of the terminal device;
a display control means for displaying, on a display unit, second terminal information having the same plurality of items as the first terminal information, such that the plurality of items are arranged in a predetermined order;
Function as a
the display control means displays the first terminal information together with the second terminal information, and displays the order of arrangement of the plurality of items in the second terminal information in correspondence with the order of arrangement of the plurality of items in the first terminal information;
A program that features.
<Claim 19>
A personal digital assistant computer,
a reading means for reading first terminal information having a plurality of items from a predetermined terminal device before the terminal device is powered on by wireless communication with an RFID tag of the terminal device;
a display control means for displaying, on a display unit, second terminal information having the same items as the first terminal information, such that the items are arranged in a predetermined order;
a specifying means for specifying an item in which the first terminal information differs from the second terminal information when comparing the second terminal information with the first terminal information for each item;
Function as a
the display control means displays the first terminal information together with the second terminal information, and displays the first terminal information and the second terminal information on the display unit in a manner that allows a user to distinguish them from each other in the items identified by the identification means;
A program that features.

Reference Signs List 1 Portable information terminal 2A Portable terminal device 2B Portable terminal device 2C Portable terminal device 11 CPU
12 Operation unit 13 RAM
14 Display unit 15 Storage unit 16 Communication unit 17 Scanner unit 18 NFC unit 18a NFC antenna 18b NFC reader/writer unit 18c NFC memory 19 Bus 21 CPU
22 Operation unit 23 RAM
24 Display unit 25 Memory unit 26 Communication unit 27 Scanner unit 28 NFC unit 28a NFC antenna 28b NFC reader/writer unit 28c NFC memory 29 Bus

Claims (20)

A portable information terminal whose terminal information is registered,
a reading means for reading terminal information of another mobile terminal device by wireless communication with an RFID tag of the other mobile terminal device while the other mobile terminal device is in a power-off state;
a display control means for displaying, on a display unit, the terminal information of the other portable terminal device read by the reading means and the terminal information registered in the portable information terminal, side by side so that the arrangement order of the information items is the same between the other portable terminal device and the terminal information registered in the portable information terminal;
A portable information terminal comprising: the display control means displays an information item for which terminal information differs between the mobile information terminal and the other mobile terminal device in a manner different from that for an information item for which terminal information matches between the mobile information terminal and the other mobile terminal device.
2. The portable information terminal according to claim 1, when an order of the information items in the portable information terminal arranged and displayed on the display unit is changed, the display control means changes the order of the information items in the other portable terminal device so as to correspond to the changed order of the information items in the portable information terminal;
3. The portable information terminal according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: A reading means capable of reading terminal information from a terminal device in a power-off state by wireless communication with an RFID tag included in the terminal device;
a display control means for displaying the terminal information read by the reading means on a display unit of the plurality of terminal devices in such a manner that the order of information items is the same among the plurality of terminal devices;
A portable information terminal comprising: the display control means displays an information item for which terminal information differs between the terminal devices in a manner different from that for an information item for which terminal information matches between the terminal devices.
5. The portable information terminal according to claim 4. a reading means for reading first terminal information including a plurality of items from a predetermined terminal device before the terminal device is powered on by wireless communication with an RFID tag of the terminal device;
a display control means for displaying, on a display unit, second terminal information having the same plurality of items as the first terminal information, such that the plurality of items are arranged in a predetermined order;
Equipped with
the display control means displays the first terminal information together with the second terminal information, and displays the order of arrangement of the plurality of items in the second terminal information in correspondence with the order of arrangement of the plurality of items in the first terminal information;
A portable information terminal comprising: The second terminal information is terminal information of a terminal device other than the predetermined terminal device.
7. The portable information terminal according to claim 6, The second terminal information is terminal information possessed by the mobile information terminal.
8. The portable information terminal according to claim 6 or 7, when an order of the items of the second terminal information arranged and displayed on the display unit is changed, the display control means changes an order of the items of the first terminal information to correspond to the changed order of the items of the second terminal information.
9. The portable information terminal according to claim 6, wherein a reading means for reading first terminal information including a plurality of items from a predetermined terminal device before the terminal device is powered on by wireless communication with an RFID tag of the terminal device;
a display control means for displaying, on a display unit, second terminal information having the same items as the first terminal information, such that the items are arranged in a predetermined order;
a specifying means for specifying an item in which the first terminal information is different from the second terminal information when comparing the second terminal information with the first terminal information for each item;
Equipped with
the display control means displays the first terminal information together with the second terminal information, and displays the first terminal information and the second terminal information on the display unit in a manner that allows a user to distinguish them from each other in the items identified by the identification means;
A portable information terminal comprising: The second terminal information is terminal information of a terminal device other than the predetermined terminal device.
11. The portable information terminal according to claim 10. The second terminal information is terminal information possessed by the mobile information terminal.
12. The portable information terminal according to claim 10 or 11. a storage means for storing the first terminal information in the item specified by the specifying means in a storage unit in response to an instruction from a user;
13. The portable information terminal according to claim 10, wherein the portable information terminal is a portable information terminal having a plurality of ports. the identifying means, when comparing the second terminal information with the first terminal information for each item, compares the information with respect to an item designated in advance by a user;
14. The portable information terminal according to claim 10, wherein the portable information terminal is a portable information terminal having a plurality of ports. a writing unit that writes information corresponding to the item identified by the identifying unit from among the second terminal information into a memory unit in an RFID tag of the terminal device;
15. The portable information terminal according to claim 10, wherein the portable information terminal is a portable information terminal having a plurality of ports. The computer of the mobile information terminal on which the terminal information is registered,
a reading means for reading terminal information in another mobile terminal device by wireless communication with an RFID tag of the other mobile terminal device while the other mobile terminal device is in a power-off state;
a display control means for displaying, on a display unit, the terminal information of the other portable terminal device read by the reading means and the terminal information registered in the portable information terminal, side by side so that the arrangement order of information items is the same between the other portable terminal device and the terminal information registered in the portable information terminal;
A program to function as a A personal digital assistant computer,
a reading means capable of reading terminal information from a terminal device in a power-off state by wireless communication with an RFID tag included in the terminal device;
a display control means for displaying the terminal information read by the reading means on a display unit of the plurality of terminal devices in such a manner that the order of information items is the same among the plurality of terminal devices;
A program to function as a A personal digital assistant computer,
a reading means for reading first terminal information having a plurality of items from a predetermined terminal device before the terminal device is powered on by wireless communication with an RFID tag of the terminal device;
a display control means for displaying, on a display unit, second terminal information having the same plurality of items as the first terminal information, such that the plurality of items are arranged in a predetermined order;
Function as a
the display control means displays the first terminal information together with the second terminal information, and displays the order of arrangement of the plurality of items in the second terminal information in correspondence with the order of arrangement of the plurality of items in the first terminal information;
A program that features. A personal digital assistant computer,
a reading means for reading first terminal information having a plurality of items from a predetermined terminal device before the terminal device is powered on by wireless communication with an RFID tag of the terminal device;
a display control means for displaying, on a display unit, second terminal information having the same items as the first terminal information, such that the items are arranged in a predetermined order;
a specifying means for specifying an item in which the first terminal information differs from the second terminal information when comparing the second terminal information with the first terminal information for each item;
Function as a
the display control means displays the first terminal information together with the second terminal information, and displays the first terminal information and the second terminal information on the display unit in a manner that allows a user to distinguish them from each other in the items identified by the identification means;
A program that features. The first terminal information is terminal information of the predetermined terminal device set as a reference terminal.
10. The portable information terminal according to claim 6, wherein

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