U.S. patent application number 09/771338 was filed with the patent office on 2002-08-01 for pushing rich content information to mobile devices.
Invention is credited to Curtis, Brent, Fishman, Neil, Kadyk, Don, Ledsome, Mark, Seinfeld, Marc.
Application Number | 20020103935 09/771338 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 25091490 |
Filed Date | 2002-08-01 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020103935 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Fishman, Neil ; et
al. |
August 1, 2002 |
Pushing rich content information to mobile devices
Abstract
Methods, systems, and computer program products for customizing
content based on at least one operating characteristic of a mobile
client. A mobile gateway receives content from a content source,
such as an email server, a Web server, or some other content
server. For example, content may include email, calendar, contact,
task, Web, notification, financial, sports data, configuration
information, etc. The mobile gateway customizes the content based
on transforms assigned to each mobile client. Transforms account
for differences in the software, display, processor, memory,
communication channel, and the like, of each mobile client, without
imposing additional processing burdens on the content server.
Processing that is common among several transforms may be shared.
Mobile clients may be any type of computer, including telephones,
pagers, PDAs, laptops, and other mobile gateways.
Inventors: |
Fishman, Neil; (Bothell,
WA) ; Kadyk, Don; (Bothell, WA) ; Curtis,
Brent; (Seattle, WA) ; Seinfeld, Marc;
(Kenmore, WA) ; Ledsome, Mark; (Seattle,
WA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
RICK D. NYDEGGER
WORKMAN, NYDEGGER & SEELEY
1000 Eagle Gate Tower
60 East South Temple
Salt Lake City
UT
84111
US
|
Family ID: |
25091490 |
Appl. No.: |
09/771338 |
Filed: |
January 26, 2001 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
709/246 ;
707/E17.121; 709/203 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04L 69/329 20130101;
H04L 9/40 20220501; H04L 67/565 20220501; H04L 51/066 20130101;
G06Q 10/107 20130101; G06F 16/9577 20190101; H04L 51/212 20220501;
H04L 51/063 20130101; H04L 67/289 20130101; H04L 67/02 20130101;
H04L 67/303 20130101; H04L 67/04 20130101; H04L 51/58 20220501 |
Class at
Publication: |
709/246 ;
709/203 |
International
Class: |
G06F 015/16 |
Claims
What is claimed and desired to be secured by United States Letters
Patent is:
1. In a computerized system that includes a content server, a
mobile gateway, and a first and a second mobile client, the first
and second mobile clients differing from each other in at least one
operating characteristic, wherein the mobile gateway receives
content that is addressed to the first and second mobile clients
from the content server, a method of customizing the content based
on at least one operating characteristic of each mobile client,
wherein the customizing avoids further processing at the content
server, the method comprising a mobile gateway performing the acts
of: assigning a first transform to the first mobile client and
assigning a second transform to the second mobile client, the first
and second transforms specifically considering one or more
operating characteristics of the first and second mobile clients;
receiving content from the content server; altering the content
according to the first and second transforms so that the content is
compatible with the one or more operating characteristics of the
first and second mobile clients, the altered content comprising a
first transformed content and a second transformed content;
establishing a communication link between the mobile gateway and
the first and second mobile clients; and sending the first
transformed content to the first mobile client and sending the
second transformed content to the second mobile client.
2. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising the act of at
least one of the transforms encrypting the content.
3. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising the act of at
least one of the transforms compressing the content.
4. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein at least one of the
mobile clients is one of a telephone, a pager, a personal digital
assistant, and a cascaded mobile gateway.
5. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein the first transformed
content comprises a notification that additional content is
available at the content server, the method further comprising the
acts of: receiving a request for the additional content from the
first mobile client, retrieving the additional content from the
content server; altering the additional content according to the
first transform so that the content is compatible with the one or
more operating characteristics of the first mobile client, the act
of altering producing a first transformed additional content; and
sending the first transformed additional content to the first
mobile client.
6. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein the one or more operating
characteristics considered by the first and second transforms
include at least one of the first and second mobile client's
software, processor, memory, display, and communication link.
7. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein the computerized system
includes a third mobile client, the method further comprising the
acts of: assigning the first transform to the third mobile client,
the first transform specifically considering one or more operating
characteristics of the third mobile client; and sending the first
transformed content to the third mobile client.
8. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein the content received from
the content server is addressed to a list containing the first and
second mobile clients, the method further comprising the act of
addressing the content specifically to the first mobile client and
to the second mobile client as defined in the list.
9. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein the content comprises one
of email, calendar, contact, task, Web, notification, financial,
configuration, and sports content.
10. In a computerized system that includes a content server, a
mobile gateway, and a first mobile client, wherein the mobile
gateway receives from the content server, content that is addressed
to the first mobile client, a method of customizing the content
based on at least one operating characteristic of the first mobile
client, wherein the customizing avoids further processing at the
content server, the method comprising a mobile gateway performing
the acts of: assigning a first transform to the first mobile
client, the first transform specifically considering one or more
operating characteristics of the first mobile client; receiving
content from the content server; altering the content according to
the first transform so that the content is compatible with the one
or more operating characteristics of the first mobile client, the
altered content comprising a first transformed content;
establishing a communication link between the mobile gateway and
the first mobile client; and sending the first transformed content
to the first mobile client.
11. A method as recited in claim 10 wherein the one or more
operating characteristics considered by the first transform include
at least one of the first mobile client's software, processor,
memory, display, and communication link.
12. A method as recited in claim 10 further comprising the act of
the first transform encrypting the content.
13. A method as recited in claim 10 further comprising the act of
the first transform compressing the content.
14. A method as recited in claim 10 wherein the first transformed
content comprises a notification that additional content is
available at the content server, the method further comprising the
acts of: receiving a request for the additional content from the
first mobile client, retrieving the additional content from the
content server; altering the additional content according to the
first transform so that the content is compatible with the one or
more operating characteristics of the first mobile client, the act
of altering producing a first transformed additional content; and
sending the first transformed additional content to the first
mobile client.
15. A method as recited in claim 10 wherein the first mobile client
is one of a telephone, a pager, a personal digital assistant, and a
cascaded mobile gateway.
16. A method as recited in claim 10 wherein the content comprises
one of email, calendar, contact, task, Web, notification,
financial, configuration, and sports content.
17. A method as recited in claim 10 wherein the computerized system
includes a second mobile client, the method further comprising the
acts of: assigning a second transform to the second mobile client,
the second transform specifically considering one or more operating
characteristics of the second mobile client; altering the content
according to the second transform so that the content is compatible
with the one or more operating characteristics of the second mobile
client, the altered content comprising a second transformed
content; establishing a communication link between the mobile
gateway and the second mobile client; and sending the second
transformed content to the second mobile client.
18. A method as recited in claim 17 wherein the content received
from the content server is addressed to a list containing the first
and second mobile clients, the method further comprising the act of
addressing the content specifically to the first mobile client and
to the second mobile client as defined in the list.
19. A method as recited in claim 17 wherein the computerized system
includes a third mobile client, the method further comprising the
acts of: assigning the first transform to the third mobile client,
the first transform specifically considering one or more operating
characteristics of the third mobile client; and sending the first
transformed content to the third mobile client.
20. In a computerized system that includes a content server, a
mobile gateway, and mobile clients, wherein some of the mobile
clients differ from each other in at least one operating
characteristic, and wherein the mobile gateway receives content
that is addressed to the mobile clients from the content server, a
method of customizing the content based on at least one operating
characteristic of each mobile client, wherein the customizing
avoids further processing at the content server, the method
comprising the mobile gateway performing steps for: associating
content transforms with a first and a second mobile client, the
content transforms accounting for one or more operating
characteristics of the first and second mobile clients; producing
first transformed content and second transformed content based on
content from the content server and the content transforms; and
providing the first and second transformed content to the first and
second mobile clients.
21. A method as recited in claim 20 wherein at least one of the
mobile clients is one of a telephone, a pager, a personal digital
assistant, and a cascaded mobile gateway.
22. A method as recited in claim 20 wherein the first transformed
content comprises a notification that additional content is
available at the content server, the method further comprising
steps for: producing a first additional transformed content based
on a content transform associated with the first mobile client; and
providing the first additional transformed content to the first
mobile client.
23. A method as recited in claim 20 wherein the one or more
operating characteristics considered by the content transforms
include at least one of the mobile clients' software, processor,
memory, display, and communication link.
24. A method as recited in claim 20 wherein the computerized system
includes a third mobile client, the method further comprising a
step for providing the first transformed content to the third
mobile client, due to similarities in one or more operating
characteristics of the first and third mobile clients.
25. A method as recited in claim 20 wherein the content received
from the content server is addressed to a list of mobile clients,
the method further comprising a step for providing the content to
each of the specific mobile clients contained in the list.
26. A method as recited in claim 20 wherein the content comprises
one of email, calendar, contact, task, Web, notification,
financial, configuration, and sports data.
27. In a computerized system that includes a content server, a
mobile gateway, and a first mobile client, wherein the mobile
gateway receives from the content server, content that is addressed
to the first mobile client, a computer program product for
implementing a method of customizing the content based on at least
one operating characteristic of the first mobile client, wherein
the customizing avoids further processing at the content server,
comprising: a computer readable medium for carrying
machine-executable instructions for implementing the method at a
mobile gateway; and wherein said method is comprised of
machine-executable instructions for performing the acts of:
assigning a first transform to the first mobile client, the first
transform specifically considering one or more operating
characteristics of the first mobile client; receiving content from
the content server; altering the content according to the first
transform so that the content is compatible with the one or more
operating characteristics of the first mobile client, the altered
content comprising a first transformed content; establishing a
communication link between the mobile gateway and the first mobile
client; and sending the first transformed content to the first
mobile client.
28. A computer program product as recited in claim 27 wherein the
one or more operating characteristics considered by the first
transform include at least one of the first mobile client's
software, processor, memory, display, and communication link.
29. A computer program product as recited in claim 27, the method
comprised further of machine-executable instructions for the first
transform performing the act of encrypting the content.
30. A computer program product as recited in claim 27, the method
comprised further of machine-executable instructions for the first
transform performing the act of compressing the content.
31. A method as recited in claim 27 wherein the first transformed
content comprises a notification that additional content is
available at the content server, the method comprised further of
machine-executable instructions for performing the acts of:
receiving a request for the additional content from the first
mobile client, retrieving the additional content from the content
server; altering the additional content according to the first
transform so that the content is compatible with the one or more
operating characteristics of the first mobile client, the act of
altering producing a first transformed additional content; and
sending the first transformed additional content to the first
mobile client.
32. A computer program product as recited in claim 27 wherein the
first mobile client is one of a telephone, a pager, and a personal
digital assistant and wherein the content comprises one of email,
calendar, contact, task, Web, notification, financial,
configuration, and sports data.
33. A computer program product as recited in claim 27 wherein the
computerized system includes a second mobile client, the method
comprised further of machine-executable instructions for performing
the acts of: assigning a second transform to the second mobile
client, the second transform specifically considering one or more
operating characteristics of the second mobile client; altering the
content according to the second transform so that the content is
compatible with the one or more operating characteristics of the
second mobile client, the altered content comprising a second
transformed content; establishing a communication link between the
mobile gateway and the second mobile client; and sending the second
transformed content to the second mobile client.
34. A computer program product as recited in claim 33 wherein the
content received from the content server is addressed to a list
containing the first and second mobile clients, the method
comprised further of machine-executable instructions for performing
the act of addressing the content specifically to the first mobile
client and to the second mobile client as defined in the list.
35. A computer program product as recited in claim 33 wherein the
computerized system includes a third mobile client, the method
comprised further of machine-executable instructions for performing
the acts of: assigning the first transform to the third mobile
client, the first transform specifically considering one or more
operating characteristics of the third mobile client; and sending
the first transformed content to the third mobile client.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. The Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to providing content to mobile
clients. More specifically, the present invention relates to
methods, systems, and computer program products for customizing
content based on one or more operating characteristics of a mobile
client.
[0003] 2. Background and Related Art
[0004] In past years, access to electronic content, such as email,
Web pages, financial data, sports information, etc., typically has
occurred from either a home or office computer. These home and
office computers may be classified in two broad categories, laptop
computers and desktop computers. The selection between laptop and
desktop generally depends on the needs of a particular user. Where
some level of portability is desirable, laptop computers are the
obvious choice. Otherwise, desktops are the usual selection because
laptops ordinarily command a price premium based on their
relatively small size when compared to desktops having comparable
processing capabilities.
[0005] More recently, society in general has been placing an
ever-increasing value on mobile access to information. Heightened
demand for content, both in business and personal settings, has
generated a need for content to be available immediately, from
almost anywhere at almost any hour. Therefore, access limited to
laptop or desktop computing systems presents a substantial
detriment. One of the most significant drawbacks with desktop
computers is readily apparent: it is impractical if not impossible
to carry a desktop computer around as a user moves from one place
to another. Thus, access to content via desktop computer is limited
to the location of the desktop computer.
[0006] While laptops ease the burden imposed by transporting a
computer from one physical location to another, they are only a
relatively minor improvement in terms of providing constant access
to information. Among other things, (i) the size and bulk of laptop
computers preclude a user from carrying a laptop on his or her
person; (ii) limited battery life prohibits constant operation;
(iii) boot time makes quick content access impractical; and (iv)
laptops usually are connected to a specific network, covering a
relatively small geographic area. In short, laptops provide a
sensible solution for intermittent access to content, but are
ill-suited for constant mobile access.
[0007] In contrast, truly mobile devices, such as telephones,
pagers, personal digital assistants ("PDAs"), and the like, are
easily placed in a purse or pocket, operate for many hours by
switching to a standby mode when not in use, require no boot time,
and use wireless protocols, covering large geographic areas, for
communication. Initially, limited processing and display
capabilities constrained telephones and pagers to voice or small
amounts of text. While PDAs provided more processing and display
characteristics, only short-range, infrared, wireless connections
were available. However, as the demand for constant mobile access
to information has become more pronounced, the once-separate
technologies of computers, telephones, pagers, PDAs, etc., are
converging. For example, the displays, processing, and memory of
telephones and pagers are increasing, and PDAs are supporting
telephone- and pager-like communication links.
[0008] Nevertheless, the rapidly changing technology of mobile
devices presents a number of significant obstacles to providing
constant mobile access to information. In particular, the operating
characteristics of mobile devices vary greatly. For example,
various operating systems, application software, and the like, may
represent data differently, support different data fields, and/or
support different file types. Differences in hardware impose
further barriers in furnishing constant mobile access to
information. In spite of the technology convergence mentioned
above, telephones typically have the least amount of display area,
followed by pagers. PDAs generally have more display, memory, and
processor power than either telephones or pagers, but these
characteristics vary substantially from one PDA to another.
[0009] Even for mobile devices having similar display, memory, and
processor capabilities, the assortment of communication links and
software that are supported by mobile devices often requires one
device to be treated differently from another. As a result, content
may need to be tailored or customized for each specific device
receiving or requesting content. For example, an email delivered to
a telephone may only include textual content based on the display
capabilities of the telephone, whereas the same message delivered
to a laptop computer may include the textual content and some
attached multimedia content. Email software on one telephone may
support only certain data fields or file formats for attachments,
and may require an underlying data format that is different as
compared to other telephones. Similar issues exist for other types
of content, such as Web pages, financial data, sports information,
meeting reminders, calendars, contacts, mailbox summaries,
configuration data, etc., due to the wide variety of operating
characteristics found in mobile devices.
[0010] While customizing content based on the device that will
receive the content is desirable, customization leads to problems
of its own. For example, email servers often operate at near
capacity. Introducing the additional processing necessary to
customize content by device operating characteristics may degrade
server performance beyond tolerable limits. Furthermore,
implementing the customization at an email server requires changes
to the email server for each new type of mobile device that becomes
available. Frequent changes to email server code imposes
substantial coding and testing responsibilities on developers, due
to the already complex nature of email servers. Moreover, already
overburdened information systems staff are forced into essentially
constant upgrade cycles as developers release new software,
especially for rapidly advancing technologies like mobile devices.
Other types of content servers suffer from similar
considerations.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] These and other problems with the prior art are overcome by
the present invention, which is directed toward using a mobile
gateway to customize content based on one or more operating
characteristics of a mobile client. The mobile gateway includes
content transforms based on the individual operating
characteristics of the various mobile clients that are supported.
Upon receiving content for a mobile client, the mobile gateway
identifies the appropriate transform, transforms the content, and
sends the transformed content to the mobile client.
[0012] The mobile gateway is not limited to processing any
particular type of content and is not limited to any particular
mobile clients or corresponding transforms. For example, the mobile
gateway may transform email content, Web content, financial data,
sports information, notifications, schedules, contacts,
configuration data, etc. Transforms may be based on any relevant
operating characteristic of a mobile client, such as processor,
memory, display, communication link, application or operating
software, etc.
[0013] As used in this application, "mobile client" should be
interpreted broadly to include virtually any type of computing
device, and is not necessarily limited to devices that are easily
or conveniently moved. For example, mobile gateways may be
cascaded, meaning that one mobile gateway may be a mobile client of
another mobile gateway. Telephones, pagers, PDAs, and the like, are
merely examples of mobile computing devices and should not be
viewed as necessarily limiting the scope of the present invention.
One aspect of the invention is the mobile gateway's ability to
support new mobile devices as they become available without
requiring changes to be made at the content server. As such, it is
fully expected that a wide range of mobile devices will become
available in the future and should be considered to fall within the
meaning of mobile client. Furthermore, specific reference to
telephones, pagers, PDAs, and the like, should not be interpreted
as excluding support for other types of devices, such as laptops,
desktops, etc. The mobile gateway is capable of supporting a wide
range of computing devices. Some mobile devices, however, may
require more substantial transforms than others.
[0014] The mobile gateway does not limit how content is requested
and/or received. In some circumstances, a client will request data
through the mobile gateway and the transformed content will be
delivered to the mobile client as a result of the request. For
example, the mobile client may request Web content from the content
source. Alternatively, the mobile gateway may transform and deliver
content that the mobile client has not explicitly requested. For
example, an email notification, change in stock price, or some
other event (likely based on criteria set by a user of a mobile
client), may trigger the sending of content to the mobile
gateway.
[0015] The same content may be transformed for more than one mobile
client. When content is addressed to multiple mobile clients, the
mobile gateway will identifying the appropriate transform for each
mobile client, transform the content for each addressed mobile
client based on the identified transform, and deliver transformed
content to each mobile client. If two different mobile clients
share similar operating characteristics, a single transform may be
used for both mobile clients.
[0016] Using the mobile gateway provides constant mobile access to
content for a wide variety of mobile clients. Whether the content
is for a business traveler checking for messages, family and
friends exchanging personal information, the results or score of a
sporting event, changes in financial markets or investments, or
some other purpose, the mobile gateway provides mobile clients with
continuous access to the content that is of interest to them. In
providing this access, no additional processing burdens are placed
on the content source. Furthermore, mobile clients are not
dependent on the content source to provide customized access based
on the particular operating characteristics of each mobile client.
Customization need only be implemented at the mobile gateway.
[0017] Additional features and advantages of the invention will be
set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be
obvious from the description, or may be learned by the practice of
the invention. The features and advantages of the invention may be
realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations
particularly pointed out in the appended claims. These and other
features of the present invention will become more fully apparent
from the following description and appended claims, or may be
learned by the practice of the invention as set forth
hereinafter.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0018] In order to describe the manner in which the above-recited
and other advantages and features of the invention can be obtained,
a more particular description of the invention briefly described
above will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof
which are illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that
these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and
are not therefore to be considered as limiting its scope, the
invention will be described and explained with additional
specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings
in which:
[0019] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary system that provides a
suitable operating environment for the present invention;
[0020] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an exemplary mobile
gateway that transforms email content for mobile clients;
[0021] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an exemplary mobile
gateway that transforms table content for mobile clients;
[0022] FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an exemplary mobile
gateway that transforms Web content for mobile clients; and
[0023] FIGS. 5A and 5B depict an exemplary method for customizing
content based on one or more operating characteristics of a mobile
client.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0024] The present invention extends to methods, systems, and
computer program products for customizing content based on the
operating characteristics of mobile clients. As noted earlier, a
mobile client's operating characteristics encompasses any
consideration that is relevant to a content source in providing the
mobile client with content, including communication link,
differences in hardware or software, and the subjective interests
of a mobile client user. In other words, anything and everything
between a content source and a mobile client, including the source
and client themselves, is within the meaning of an operating
characteristic. A mobile gateway receives the content and applies
an appropriate transform based on one or more operating
characteristics of the mobile clients that will receive the
content. Using a mobile gateway allows for support of new mobile
clients without requiring modifications to the content server.
Furthermore, the additional burdens of customizing content for
mobile clients are met by the mobile gateway, without imposing
additional processing overhead on the content server. Embodiments
of the present invention may comprise a special purpose or general
purpose computer including various computer hardware, as discussed
in greater detail below.
[0025] Embodiments within the scope of the present invention also
include computer-readable media for carrying or having
computer-executable instructions or data structures stored thereon.
Such computer-readable media can be any available media that may be
accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. By way
of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can
comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage,
magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any
other medium which can be used to carry or store desired program
code means in the form of computer-executable instructions or data
structures and which can be accessed by a general purpose or
special purpose computer. When information is transferred or
provided over a network or another communications connection
(either hardwired, wireless, or a combination of hardwired or
wireless) to a computer, the computer properly views the connection
as a computer-readable medium. Thus, any such a connection is
properly termed a computer-readable medium. Combinations of the
above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable
media. Computer-executable instructions comprise, for example,
instructions and data which cause a general purpose computer,
special purpose computer, or special purpose processing device to
perform a certain function or group of functions.
[0026] FIG. 1 and the following discussion are intended to provide
a brief, general description of a suitable computing environment in
which the invention may be implemented. Although not required, the
invention will be described in the general context of
computer-executable instructions, such as program modules, being
executed by computers in network environments. Generally, program
modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data
structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement
particular abstract data types. Computer-executable instructions,
associated data structures, and program modules represent examples
of the program code means for executing steps of the methods
disclosed herein. The particular sequence of such executable
instructions or associated data structures represent examples of
corresponding acts for implementing the functions described in such
steps.
[0027] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention
may be practiced in network computing environments with many types
of computer system configurations, including personal computers,
hand-held devices, multi-processor systems, microprocessor-based or
programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers,
mainframe computers, and the like. The invention may also be
practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are
performed by local and remote processing devices that are linked
(either by hardwired links, wireless links, or by a combination of
hardwired or wireless links) through a communications network. In a
distributed computing environment, program modules may be located
in both local and remote memory storage devices.
[0028] With reference to FIG. 1, an exemplary system for
implementing the invention includes a general purpose computing
device in the form of a conventional computer 20, including a
processing unit 21, a system memory 22, and a system bus 23 that
couples various system components including the system memory 22 to
the processing unit 21. The system bus 23 may be any of several
types of bus structures including a memory bus or memory
controller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a
variety of bus architectures. The system memory includes read only
memory (ROM) 24 and random access memory (RAM) 25. A basic
input/output system (BIOS) 26, containing the basic routines that
help transfer information between elements within the computer 20,
such as during start-up, may be stored in ROM 24.
[0029] The computer 20 may also include a magnetic hard disk drive
27 for reading from and writing to a magnetic hard disk 39, a
magnetic disk drive 28 for reading from or writing to a removable
magnetic disk 29, and an optical disk drive 30 for reading from or
writing to removable optical disk 31 such as a CD-ROM or other
optical media. The magnetic hard disk drive 27, magnetic disk drive
28, and optical disk drive 30 are connected to the system bus 23 by
a hard disk drive interface 32, a magnetic disk drive-interface 33,
and an optical drive interface 34, respectively. The drives and
their associated computer-readable media provide nonvolatile
storage of computer-executable instructions, data structures,
program modules and other data for the computer 20. Although the
exemplary environment described herein employs a magnetic hard disk
39, a removable magnetic disk 29 and a removable optical disk 31,
other types of computer readable media for storing data can be
used, including magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, digital
video disks, Bernoulli cartridges, RAMs, ROMs, and the like.
[0030] Program code means comprising one or more program modules
may be stored on the hard disk 39, magnetic disk 29, optical disk
31, ROM 24 or RAM 25, including an operating system 35, one or more
application programs 36, other program modules 37, and program data
38. A user may enter commands and information into the computer 20
through keyboard 40, pointing device 42, or other input devices
(not shown), such as a microphone, joy stick, game pad, satellite
dish, scanner, or the like. These and other input devices are often
connected to the processing unit 21 through a serial port interface
46 coupled to system bus 23. Alternatively, the input devices may
be connected by other interfaces, such as a parallel port, a game
port or a universal serial bus (USB). A monitor 47 or another
display device is also connected to system bus 23 via an interface,
such as video adapter 48. In addition to the monitor, personal
computers typically include other peripheral output devices (not
shown), such as speakers and printers.
[0031] The computer 20 may operate in a networked environment using
logical connections to one or more remote computers, such as remote
computers 49a and 49b. Remote computers 49a and 49b may each be
another personal computer, a server, a router, a network PC, a peer
device or other common network node, and typically include many or
all of the elements described above relative to the computer 20,
although only memory storage devices 50a and 50b and their
associated application programs 36a and 36b have been illustrated
in FIG. 1. The logical connections depicted in FIG. 1 include a
local area network (LAN) 51 and a wide area network (WAN) 52 that
are presented here by way of example and not limitation. Such
networking environments are commonplace in office-wide or
enterprise-wide computer networks, intranets and the Internet.
[0032] When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer 20
is connected to the local network 51 through a network interface or
adapter 53. When used in a WAN networking environment, the computer
20 may include a modem 54, a wireless link, or other means for
establishing communications over the wide area network 52, such as
the Internet. The modem 54, which may be internal or external, is
connected to the system bus 23 via the serial port interface 46. In
a networked environment, program modules depicted relative to the
computer 20, or portions thereof, may be stored in the remote
memory storage device. It will be appreciated that the network
connections shown are exemplary and other means of establishing
communications over wide area network 52 may be used.
[0033] FIG. 2 shows mobile gateway 250 customizing email content
for various mobile clients, such as phone 274, pager 276, and PDA
278. Email content may include various mailbox summaries (e.g.,
inbox, sent, saved, etc.) and is but one example of the content
that may be customized by mobile gateway 250. Other examples
include calendar data, including daily schedules, contact data,
task data, Web content, financial data, sports information,
notifications, etc. Similarly, notifications may represent a wide
range of content, including newly available email content, calendar
or task reminders, changes in financial data, such as a change in
the value of a particular investment, current financial data, such
as current market conditions, and current or recent sports
information, such as the score or results of a sporting event.
Those of skill in the art will further recognize that the
specifically enumerated types of content are not mutually
exclusive. For example, sports information may be delivered in the
form of Web content. As used in this application, therefore, the
term "content" should be interpreted broadly to encompass all of
the foregoing examples as well as other content. No specific
references to particular types of content should be interpreted as
necessarily limiting the present invention in any way, absent
explicit language to the contrary.
[0034] Content server 210 includes content store 230, storing data
object 232. Inbox A 222, inbox B 224, and inbox C 226 all refer to
data object 232. As shown, only a single copy of data object 232
exists at content server 210. This may occur when a single data
object is emailed to multiple recipients. Rather than storing the
data object separately for each recipient, content server 210 may
store a single copy of the data object, and allow each recipient's
inbox to reference the single copy. Alternatively, content server
210 may store a separate copy of the data object for each
recipient. The present invention is not limited by how content
server 210 chooses to store a particular data object. Each of inbox
A 222, inbox B 224, and inbox C 226 is configured to notify
recipients when a new email is received, such as the one identified
as data object 232. As a result, content server 210 uses
communication link 240 to send notifications of the newly received
data object 232 to all recipients through mobile gateway 250.
[0035] Mobile gateway 250 includes mobile client data 252 for
associating the appropriate transforms with each mobile client.
Phone 274 is labeled with an "A" to indicate that it corresponds to
inbox A 222. Similarly, the label "B" next to pager 276 and the
label "C" next to PDA 278 indicate correspondence with inbox B 224
and inbox C 226, respectively. Phone 274, pager 276, and PDA 278
communicate with mobile gateway 250 over communication links 264,
266, and 268, respectively. When mobile gateway 250 receives
content for a mobile client, mobile client data 252 identifies the
type of mobile client that will receive the content and the
transform associated with that mobile client. Mobile client data
252 may be based on data received from mobile clients (such as may
be present in the headers of a hypertext transfer protocol or other
type of request) or may be based on one or more known operating
characteristics of a particular mobile client. For example,
transform A 254 is associated with phone 274, transform B 256 is
associated with pager 276, and transform C 258 is associated with
PDA 278.
[0036] The nature of transforms A 254, B 256, and C 258 depend on
the operating characteristics of the corresponding mobile clients.
For example, resources such as software, hardware, etc., are likely
to vary between phone 274, pager 276, and PDA 278. Software
operating characteristics encompass a wide range of differences
between the operating systems and applications available at various
mobile clients, including differences in character sets, browser
versions and extensions, evolving communication protocols, data
representations for strings or numbers, supported data fields or
file types, mobile client location, and the like. Furthermore,
mobile gateways may offer a variety of services to mobile clients.
Over time, the services available to any particular mobile client
are subject to change. For example, a mobile client may drop an
existing service or add a new service. As part of changing some
services, mobile clients may need to receive certain control or
configuration information. Transforms A 254, B 256, and C 258 may
be used to customize the control or configuration information for
individual mobile clients. Likewise, hardware operating
characteristics, such as display area, processor speed, available
memory, and communication link also are likely to vary from one
mobile client to another. For example, phones often have the
smallest display area, PDAs the largest, and pagers are somewhere
in between. To compensate, transform A 254 of mobile gateway 250
may reduce a received data object to the minimal amount of display
area possible. In an email notification context, perhaps transform
A 254 limits the subject line to 25 characters or less.
[0037] However, the present invention is not limited by the actual
or relative operating characteristics of any particular mobile
client. Those of skill in the art will recognize that a wide
variety of mobile devices are available and that many new varieties
will become available in the future. Furthermore, the actual format
of content received by a mobile client is not limited in the
present invention. Rather, mobile gateway 250, along with transform
A 254, transform B 256, and transform C 258 ensure that the content
received by mobile clients 274, 276, and 278 is appropriate for one
or more operating characteristics of each respective mobile client.
As such, the term "operating characteristics" should be interpreted
broadly to account for any difference in the operation of one
mobile client as compared to another, including each of the
foregoing examples.
[0038] Mobile gateway 250 also may request content from content
server 210 on the behalf of mobile clients. In the email context
currently being described, after mobile client 274 receives a
customized notification that data object 232 is available, mobile
client 274 may request retrieval of data object 232 through mobile
gateway 250. After retrieving data object 232 from content server
210, mobile gateway 250 will customize data object 232 for one or
more operating characteristics of mobile client 274 using transform
A 254.
[0039] Note that content server 210 simply provides content in the
usual manner, without any regard for the operating characteristics
of any mobile clients. Mobile gateway 250 shields content server
210 from having to know the operating characteristics of the mobile
clients. However, this does not mean that content server 210 is
completely ignorant regarding mobile clients 274, 276, and 278. For
example, content server 210 may include rules for determining the
type of content that should be sent to mobile gateway 250. Based on
these rules, perhaps on a client-by-client basis, content server
210 may determine not to send a large multimedia file to mobile
client 274. Nevertheless, any processing performed by content
server 210 that may be specific to mobile clients, usually is minor
in comparison to the processing performed in customizing content
based on the operating characteristics of mobile clients, as
exemplified by transform A 254, transform B 256, and transform C
258.
[0040] FIG. 3 shows mobile gateway 350 customizing the contents of
table 322 for mobile clients, including phone 374, pager 376, PDA
378, and mobile gateway 379. Content server 310 includes content
store 330 containing the table 322, which stores data object 332
and subscriber data 328. Generally, table 322 stores information
that is shared among several users, such as calendar data, contact
data, collaborative documents, policies and procedures, discussion
groups, etc. Subscriber data 328 may be used to identify the users
who have permission to access table 322, identify users who have
expressed an interest in the contents of table 322, or identify
users who should receive a copy of data object 332.
[0041] Using communication link 340, mobile gateway 350 may be
configured to receive data object 332 along with a list of one or
more intended recipients. Mobile gateway 350 examines mobile client
data 352 to identify the mobile clients contained in the list, such
as phone 374, pager 376, PDA 378, and mobile gateway 379. In
identifying the mobile clients contained in the list, mobile
gateway 350 also identifies the corresponding transform to be used
in customizing data object 332 based on one or more operating
characteristics of the mobile clients that will be sent data object
332. Transform A 354 corresponds to phone 374, transform B 356
corresponds to pager 376, transform C 358 corresponds to PDA 378,
and transform D 359 corresponds to mobile gateway 379.
[0042] Those of skill in the art will recognize that one aspect of
transform A 354, transform B 356, transform C 358, and transform D
359, is to consider the communication links, 364, 366, 368, and
369, between mobile gateway 350 and mobile clients 374, 376, 378,
and 379. As used in this application, communication link should be
interpreted broadly to include any form or type of communication
between a mobile client and a mobile gateway. For example,
communication links 364, 366, 368, and 369 may be implemented as
unidirectional communication links, pushing content to mobile
clients through notifications, or as bi-directional communication
links. As such, mobile gateway 350 may implement a wide variety of
communication protocols, including wireless protocols to facilitate
the mobility of the mobile clients and wireline connection
protocols. The wireless transport protocol ("WTP") is an example of
a protocol commonly used in wireless communication and HTTP is an
example of a protocol commonly used in wireline connections.
Furthermore, communication links 364, 366, 368, 369, and 340 may
comprise one or more communication protocols in combination with
one another.
[0043] Although not shown, each transform may include a number of
sub-transforms. For example, the implementation of a particular
communication protocol or encryption technology may occur in a
sub-transform. Where two or more mobile clients share the same
communication protocol, type of communication link, or encryption
technology, the corresponding transforms for those mobile clients
may share the sub-transform that implements the communication
protocol, type of communication link, encryption technology,
etc.
[0044] Likewise, those of skill in the art will recognize that
similar mobile clients may be connected to mobile gateway 350 over
distinct communication links. As described above, the transforms
for these similar mobile clients may be identical except for
separate sub-transforms implementing the communication link. The
distinction between sub-transform and transform is semantic only
and described in this fashion only to indicate that transforms may
share processing where appropriate. Thus, any differentiation
between sub-transform and transform is completely arbitrary. A
transform may comprise one or more sub-transforms. Alternatively, a
transform may be a combination of several transforms and/or
sub-transforms. As such, the term "transform" should be interpreted
broadly to include any number of transforms and/or sub-transforms,
singly or in combination, that may or may not be included within
other transforms, either in whole or in part.
[0045] By placing transforms A 354, B 356, C 358, and D 359, in
mobile gateway 350, content server 310 is not required to implement
any of the communication protocols used in communication links 364,
366, 368, and 369. Content server 310 need only support a single
communication protocol for exchanging content with mobile gateway
350 over communication link 340. As a result, content server 310 is
not burdened with supporting the large number of communication
protocols that may be needed for communicating with mobile clients.
Furthermore, new communication links may be implemented and old
communication links may be upgraded at mobile gateway 350 without
significantly impacting the operation of content server 310.
[0046] Mobile gateway 379 shows that a mobile gateway is another
type of mobile client. Cascading mobile gateways in this manner
provides additional flexibility in a given implementation for
providing customized content to mobile clients. Like transforms A
354, B 356, and C 358, transform D 359 customizes content for
mobile gateway 379. For example, transform D 359 may provide the
data fields and representations that are supported by mobile
gateway 379, compress the content, and implement the protocol used
over communication link 369. Mobile gateway 379 operates like
mobile gateway 350, and includes transforms for the mobile clients
it serves. For example, the transforms of mobile gateway 379 may
implement the protocols for communicating with the mobile clients
of mobile gateway 379, and may implement encryption to ensure
secure communication.
[0047] FIG. 4 shows mobile gateway 450 customizing Web content from
Web server 410 for phone 474, pager 476, PDA 478, and other mobile
clients. Web server 410 includes content store 430 storing data
object 432. Mobile gateway 450 and Web server 410 exchange content
over communication link 440. When mobile gateway 450 receives data
object 432 in response to a request originating from one of phone
474, pager 476, or PDA 478, mobile client data 452 identifies the
appropriate transform that must be performed to customize data
object 432 for the requesting mobile client. As noted previously,
similar mobile clients may share a single transform.
[0048] Upon receiving an appropriate request from PDA 478, mobile
gateway 450 retrieves data object 432 from content store 430 of Web
server 410. Mobile client data 452 identifies transform C 458 as
the transform to be used in customizing data object 432 based on
one or more operating characteristics of PDA 478. All processing
performed by transform C 458 need not be unique to PDA 478. For
example, PDA 478 may communicate with mobile gateway 450 over an
encrypted communication link that also uses some form of data
compression. Pager 476 and phone 474 may use similar encryption
and/or compression technology. In this case, transform A 454,
transform B 456, and transform C 458, may all share a common
implementation for encryption and data compression. Alternatively,
a different encryption and data compression implementation may be
present for each mobile client.
[0049] As indicated above, customizing data object 432 for phone
474, pager 476, and PDA 478, may include a variety of transforms,
based on the operating characteristics of each mobile client. For
example, phone 474, pager 476, and PDA 478 may have different
operating systems and/or application software. Data object 432 may
include text, graphics, markup, and multimedia content. Pager 476
and phone 474 may not include an MPEG decoder for viewing the
multimedia content or may not include sufficient memory, processor
capability, and display area for showing graphics. Pager 476 may
support only plain text. Communication link 464 for phone 474 may
be ill-suited for transferring large files, whereas communication
link 466 for pager 476 and communication link 468 for PDA 478 may
provide a greater bandwidth and packet size, allowing large files
to be transferred without significant concern. The display area for
phone 474 may provide for a relatively small number of characters
when compared to the display area of PDA 478. Transforms A 454, B
456, and C 458 consider one or more of these operating
characteristics and customize data object 432 accordingly. Although
phone 474, pager 476, and PDA 478, all request the same data object
432, each may receive a transformed data object that differs from
the transformed data object received by the others.
[0050] FIGS. 5A and 5B depict an exemplary method of a mobile
gateway customizing content based on one or more operating
characteristics of a mobile client. The step of associating (510)
content transforms with a mobile client includes the act of
assigning (512) content transforms to each mobile client. For
example, a first transform may be assigned to a first mobile client
and a second transform may be assigned to a second mobile client.
Where a third mobile client is similar to the first mobile client,
the first transform also may be assigned to the third mobile
client.
[0051] The step for producing (520) transformed content based on
the transforms associated with each mobile client may include the
acts that follow. At 522, the mobile gateway receives content from
a content server, such as an email server, a Web server, or some
other type of content server. If decision block 524 determines the
content is addressed to a list of recipients, the content is
addressed to each specific mobile client (528). With content
addressed to specific mobile clients, the content is altered (532)
according to the transforms. The act of encrypting (536) the
transformed content is shown separately to suggest that encryption,
like other transform processing, may be shared among several
otherwise distinct transforms. Although not shown, an act of
compressing transformed content may precede the act of
encrypting.
[0052] The step of providing (540) the transformed content to the
mobile clients may include an act of establishing (542) a
communication link with each of the mobile clients and an act of
sending (544) the transformed content to each of the mobile
clients. If an implementation only provides one-way notifications
to mobile clients, no further processing is necessary. However, for
implementations that include bi-directional communication,
processing may continue as follows. Decision block 546 shows the
act of the mobile gateway receiving a request for additional
content from a mobile client, such as may occur in response to a
notification that a new email has been received. After receiving
the request from the mobile client, the mobile gateway performs the
act of requesting (548) the content from the content server.
Whether or not mobile clients request additional content from the
content server, processing returns prior to block 522, where the
mobile gateway waits for content to be received from the content
server.
[0053] The present invention may be embodied in other specific
forms without departing from its spirit or essential
characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in
all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of
the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims
rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come
within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be
embraced within their scope.
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