(12) INTERNATIONAL APPLICATION PUBLISHED UNDER THE PATENT COOPERATION TREATY (PCT)
`
`(19) World Intellectual Property Organization
`1nternational Bureau
`
`28 March 2002 (28.03.2002)
`
`(43) International Publication Date
`
`(10) International Publication Number
`WO 02/25890 A2
`
`(51) International Patent Classificationlz
`.
`.
`.
`(21) International Application Number:
`
`H04L 29/00
`
`PCT/USOl/26907
`
`(22) International Filing Date: 29 August 2001 (29.08.2001)
`
`(25) Filing Language:
`
`(26) Publication Language:
`
`English
`
`English
`
`(30) Priority Data:
`60/233,501
`60/237,616
`60/268,824
`
`19 September 2000 (19.09.2000)
`3 October 2000 (03.10.2000)
`14 February 2001 (14.02.2001)
`
`US
`US
`US
`
`(71) Applicant (for all designated States except US): RE-
`SEARCH IN MOTION LIMITED [CA/CA]; 295 Phillip
`Street, Waterloo, Ontario N21, 3W8 (CA).
`
`Waterloo, Ontario NZK 322 (CA). KNOWLES, Michael
`[CA/CA]; 235 Beaver Creek Road, Waterloo, Ontario N2T
`289 (CA). NAQVI, Noushad [CA/CA]; 120 Shadeland
`Cr., Kitchener, Ontario N2M 2H9 (CA). BAJAR, David
`[CA/CA]; 283 Resurrection Drive, Kitchener, Ontario
`N2N 3H4 (CA). BURNS, Tony [CA/CA]; 3101 Parkgate
`Crescent, Burlington, Ontario L7M 1R1 (CA). PAT-
`TERSON, Ian [US/CA]; 25 Alice Crescent, Patersbnrg,
`Ontario NOB 2H0 (CA). LEWIS, Allan [CA/CA]; 212
`Grand River Blvd, Kitchener, Ontario N2A 3G6 (CA).
`MOUSSEAU, Gary [CA/CA]; 493 Heatherhill Place,
`Waterloo, Ontario N2T 1H7 (CA). LAZARIDIS, Mihal
`[CA/CA]; 263 Carrington Place, Waterloo, Ontario N2T
`2K1 (CA).
`
`(74) Agents: COCHRAN, Dav1d, B. et al.; Jones, Day, Reav1s
`& Pogue, North Point, 901 Lakeside Avenue, Cleveland,
`
`(71) Applicants and
`(72) Inventors: HIND, Hugh, R. [GB/CAI; 610 Wissler Road,
`
`OH 44114 (US)~
`
`[Continued on next page]
`
`(54) Title: SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PU SHIN G INFORMATION FROM A HOST SYSTEM TO A MOBIEL DATA COM—
`MUNICATION DEVICE IN A WIRELESS DATA NETWORK
`
`PHYSICAL
`CRADLE DEVICE
`
`
`
`
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`
`.""liESK-frii5'§i§i'iu 0R l
`'
`NCIIORK SERVER
`1
`
`COMPANY FIREVALL
`I60
`
`BIS
`
`(57) Abstract: A system and method for redirecting data from
`a host system (or messaging server) to one or more mobile
`data communication devices via a wireless packet data net7
`work is provided in which the wireless packet data network
`dynamically assigns addresses to the one or more mobile data
`communication devices on an as—needed basis. A redirector
`application operating at the host system is configured by each
`user to continuously redirect certain data to the wireless packet
`data network, as the data is received (or otherwise altered) at
`the host system. Two methods are provided for communicati
`ing the redirected data from the network to the mobile device.
`In a first method, the mobile device is configured to period—
`ically contact a store—and—forward server within the wireless
`network, which, when contacted, assigns a network address to
`the mobile device and then transmits the stored, redirected data
`to the mobile device. In a second method, the network trans—
`mits a connection request command to the mobile device via
`a parallel voice network, or via a command channel, or other
`type of low—bandwidth data channel. The mobile device then
`contacts the data network and requests a network address so
`that the store—and—forward server can send the redirected data
`to the mobile device.
`
`APPLE 1004
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`WO02/25890A2
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` [NIERNEI
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`MOBILE
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`COMPUTER
` IP-BASED
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`HIRELESS NEWORK
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`ORIBlNIL VOICE
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`IlRELESS NEIHORK ..-
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`1
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`||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
`
`(81) Designated States (national): AE, AG, AL, AM, AT, AU,
`AZ, BA, BB, BG, BR, BY, BZ, CA, CH, CN, CO, CR, CU,
`CZ, DE, DK, DM, DZ, EC, EE, ES, FI, GB, GD, GE, GH,
`GM, HR, HU, ID, IL, IN, IS, JP, KE, KG, KP, KR, KZ, LC,
`LK, LR, LS, LT, LU, LV, MA, MD, MG, MK, MN, MW,
`Published:
`MX, MZ, NO, NZ, PL, PT, RO, RU, SD, SE, SG, SI, SK,
`SL7 T]: TM, TR: TT, TZ: UA: UG: US, UZ, VN, YU, ZA: 7 without international search report and to be republished
`ZW‘
`upon receipt of that report
`
`patent (AT, BE, CH, CY, DE, DK, ES, FT, FR, GB, GR, IE,
`IT, LU, MC, NL, PT, SE, TR), OAPI patent (BF, BJ, CF,
`CG, CI, CM, GA, GN, GQ, GW, ML, MR, NE, SN, TD,
`TG).
`
`(84) Designated States (regional): ARIPO patent (GH, GM,
`KE, LS, MW, MZ, SD, SL, SZ, TZ, UG, ZW), Eurasian
`patent (AM, AZ, BY, KG, KZ, MD, RU, TJ, TM), European
`
`For two-letter codes and other abbreviations, refer to the "Guid-
`ance Notes on Codes andAbbreviations” appearing at the begin-
`ning ofeach regular issue ofthe PCT Gazette.
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`2
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`System and Method for Pushing Information from a
`
`Host System to a Mobile Data Communication Device
`
`in a Wireless Data Network
`
`CROSS—REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
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`This
`
`application claims priority from United States Provisional
`
`Applications S/N 60/268,824, filed on February 14, 2001, S/N 60/237,616, filed
`
`on October 3, 2000, and S/N 60/233,501, filed on September 19, 2000. This
`
`application also claims priority from, and is a continuation—in—part of, United
`
`States Patent Application S/N 09/528,495, filed on March 17, 2000 which is a
`
`continuation of S/N 09/087,623, filed on May 29, 1998, now United States Patent
`
`No. 6,219,694. The complete disclosure of each of these provisional and utility
`
`applications, and the issued patent, including drawings and claims,
`
`is hereby
`
`incorporated into this application by reference.
`
`1.
`
`Field of the Invention
`
`BACKGROUND
`
`The present invention is directed to the field of data communications in a
`
`wireless network. More specifically,
`
`the invention relates to a system and
`
`method for communicating information to a mobile communication device
`
`(“mobile device”) Within a wireless data network (such as an IP based wireless
`
`data network) and also for replicating information between a host system (or a
`
`host system with an associated messaging server) and the mobile device via the
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`wireless data network.
`
`2.
`
`Description of the Related Art
`
`Wireless data networks are known in this field. Early wireless data
`
`networks include the Mobitex network and the Datatac network. These early
`
`30
`
`networks provided limited data capacity and also required to have fixed addresses
`
`for each mobile device. Such a fixed address is also known as a “static” network
`
`address. Recently, however, new types of wireless data networks have emerged
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`having much greater data bandwidth. These new data networks, such as the
`
`GPRS network, may utilize the Internet Protocol (It?) for routing data to a mobile
`
`device. The inherent addressing limitations of the IP protocol (and other similar
`
`packet protocols) typically limit the use of have static addressing in these types of
`
`data networks, thus leading to a dynamic addressing scheme.
`
`In this type of
`
`addressing scheme, a pool of available network addresses is dynamically
`
`assigned to a much greater pool of user devices depending on which devices are
`
`accessing the network at a given instant.
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`
`As described in more detail in the co-pending, and co-owned application
`
`S/N, a wireless data network can be coupled to one or more redirector
`
`applications for enabling real—time mirroring (or redirection) of user data items
`
`fiom a user’s office computer (or corporate server) to the user’s mobile device.
`
`In such a redirector application, user data items, such as e-mail messages,
`
`calendar events, etc., are received at the user’s office computer, which then
`
`redirects (or mirrors) the data items to the user’s mobile device via the wireless
`
`data network.
`
`It would be advantageous to extend this redirection system to
`
`operate with newer wireless data networks such as the General Packet Radio
`
`Service (“GPRS”) network, or other networks that may utilize a packet protocol,
`
`such as IP, in which the wireless data network dynamically assigns network
`
`20
`
`addresses on an as—needed basis.
`
`SUMMARY
`
`A system and method for redirecting data to one or more mobile data
`
`communication devices via a wireless packet data network is provided in which
`
`the network dynamically assigns network addresses
`
`to the mobile data
`
`communication devices on an as-needed basis. A redirector program preferably
`
`operating at a host system continuously redirects data to the wireless packet data
`
`network, as the data is received (or altered) at the host system. Two methods are
`
`provided for communicating the redirected data fi‘om the wireless network to the
`
`mobile device.
`
`In a first method, the mobile device is configured to periodically
`
`contact a store-and-forward server (or gateway) operating in conjunction with the
`
`wireless network, which, when contacted, transmits the data to the mobile device.
`
`In a second method,
`
`the Wireless network transmits a connection request
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`command to the mobile device via a parallel voice network, or via a control
`
`channel on the data network, or via some other type of low-bandwidth data
`
`channel. The mobile device then contacts the wireless data network and requests
`
`a network address so that the store-and—forward server can send the data to the
`
`mobile device.
`
`In this second embodiment the presence of a ‘push bearer’
`
`channel is preferred. A push bearer network is defined as a network that can
`
`provide an address for the wireless device that is statically defined and always
`
`reachable. The push bearer network can have low capacity and very limited
`
`bandwidth, as is the case with the Short Message Service (SMS) messaging, used
`
`on many wireless networks.
`
`The redirector program enables a user to redirect (or mirror) certain user-
`
`selected data items (or parts of data items) from the host system to the user’s
`
`mobile data communication device upon detecting that one or more user-defined
`
`triggering events has occurred. Also operating at the host system are various sub-
`
`systems that can be configured to create triggering events, such as a screen saver
`
`sub—system or a keyboard sub~system, as well as sub—systems for repackaging the
`
`user’s data items for transparent delivery to the mobile device, such as a TCP/lP
`
`sub-system or one or more E—Mail sub—systems. Other sub—systems for creating
`
`triggering events and repackaging the user’s data items could also be present at
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`the host system.
`
`Using the redirector program, the user can select certain data items for
`
`redirection, such as Email messages, calendar events, meeting notifications,
`
`address entries, journal entries, personal reminders, etc. Having selected the data
`
`items for redirection, the user can then configure one or more event triggers,
`
`which are sensed by the redirector program to initiate redirection of the user’s
`
`data items. These user-defined triggers (or event triggers) may include external
`
`events,
`
`internal events and networked events. Examples of external events
`
`include: receiving a message from the user’s mobile data communication device
`
`to begin redirection; receiving a similar message from some external computer;
`
`sensing that the user is no longer in the vicinity of the host system; or any other
`
`event that is external to the host system.
`
`Internal events could be a calendar
`
`alarm, screen saver activation, keyboard timeout, programmable timer, or any
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`other user—defmed event that is internal to the host system. Networked events are
`
`user—defined messages that are transmitted to the host system from another
`
`computer coupled to the host system Via a network to initiate redirection.
`
`In addition to the functionality noted above,
`
`the redirector program
`
`provides a set of software-implemented control functions for determining the
`
`type of mobile data communication device and its address (if a static address is
`
`used), for programming a preferred list of message types that are to be redirected,
`
`and for determining whether the mobile device can receive and process certain
`types ofmessage attachments, such as word processor or voice attachments.
`.
`
`The determination of Whether a particular mobile device can receive and
`
`process attachments is initially configured by the user of that mobile device at
`
`the host system. This configuration can be altered on a global or per message
`
`basis by transmitting a command message from the mobile device to the host
`
`system. If the redirector is configured so that the mobile device cannot receive
`
`and process word processor or voice attachments, then the redirector program
`
`routes these attachments to an external machine that is compatible with the
`
`particular attachment, such as an attached printer or networked fax machine or
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`telephone. Other types of attachments could be redirected to other types of
`
`external machines in a similar fashion, depending upon the capabilities of the
`
`mobile device. For example, if a user is traveling and receives a message with an
`
`attachment that the user's mobile device can process or display, the user may,
`
`from a mobile communications device, send a command message to the host
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`system indicating that that attachment should be sent to a fax machine at a hotel
`
`where the user will be spending the evening. This enables the user to receive
`
`important E-mail attachments as long as the host system is provided with
`
`sufficient
`
`information about
`
`the destination where the attachment
`
`is to be
`
`forwarded.
`
`Once an event has triggered redirection of the user data items, the host
`
`system repackages these items in a manner that is transparent to the mobile data
`
`communication device, so that the data at the mobile device appears similar to the
`
`same data at the user’s host system. The preferred repackaging method includes
`
`wrapping the user data items in an E-mail envelope that corresponds to the
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`address of the mobile data communication device, although, alternatively, other
`
`repackaging methods could be used with the present invention, such as special-
`
`purpose TCP/IP wrapping techniques, or other methods of wrapping the user
`
`selected data items. The repackaging method preferably results in a shared E-
`
`mail address for the user’s host system and the user’s mobile device. To a
`
`recipient of an E—mail generated at either the host or the mobile device, it appears
`
`as though the E-mail was generated at the host system. The repackaging method
`
`also provides encryption/decryption and compression/decompression.
`
`In an alternative system and method, the redirector program executes at a
`
`network server, and the server is programmed to detect numerous redirection
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`event triggers over a local area network (“LAN”) from multiple user desktop
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`systems coupled to the server via the LAN. The server can receive internal event
`
`triggers from each of the user desktops via the LAN, and can also receive
`
`external event
`
`triggers,
`
`such as messages
`
`from the users’ mobile data
`
`communication devices. In response to receiving one of these triggers, the server
`
`redirects the user’s data items to the proper mobile data communication device.
`
`The user data items and addressing information for a particular mobile device can
`
`be stored at the server or at the user’s desktop system. Using this alternative
`
`configuration, one redirector program can serve a plurality of users.
`
`This
`
`alternative configuration could also include an Internet or
`
`Intranet-based
`
`redirector program that could be accessible through a secure webpage or other
`
`user interface.
`
`In another alternative configuration of the present invention, a redirector
`
`program operates at both the host system and at
`
`the user’s mobile data
`
`communication device.
`
`In this configuration, the user’s mobile device operates
`
`similarly to the host system, described below, and is configured in a similar
`
`fashion to redirect certain user-selected data items from .the mobile device to the
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`user’s host system (or some other computer) upon detecting an event trigger at
`
`the mobile device.
`
`This configuration provides two-way redirection of
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`3O
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`information from the host to the mobile device and from the mobile device to the
`
`host.
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`The present
`
`invention can be used with many types of mobile data
`
`communication devices, including two—way pagers, cellular telephones having
`
`data messaging capabilities, PDAs,
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`laptops, palmtops, or any other type of
`
`wireless communicator.
`
`These wireless communicators may be dual-mode
`
`devices that operate on both voice and data networks, such as a communicator
`
`capable of sending and receiving voice signals over a voice network like GSM,
`
`and also capable of sending and receiving data signals over a data network like
`
`GPRS. Or,
`
`the Wireless communicator may be a single-mode device that
`
`operates on just a data network (like GPRS), or it may be a multimode device
`
`capable of operating on some other combination of voice and data networks.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`FIG. 1 is a system diagram showing the redirection of user data items
`
`fiom a user’s desktop PC (host system) to the user’s mobile data communication
`
`device, Where the redirector software is operating at the user’s desktop PC.
`
`FIG. 2 is a system diagram showing the redirection of user data items
`
`fiom a network server (host system) to the user’s mobile data communication
`
`device, where the redirector software is operating at the server.
`
`FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the interaction of the redirector
`
`software with other components of the host system in FIG. 1 (the user’s desktop
`
`PC) to enable the pushing of information from the host system to the user’s
`
`mobile data communication device.
`
`FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the steps carried out by the redirector
`
`software operating at the host system.
`
`FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the steps carried out by the mobile data
`
`communication device to interface with the redirector software operating at the
`
`host system.
`
`FIG. 6 is a system diagram showing the basic components of an I]? based
`
`wireless data network, such as the GPRS network, for use with the present
`
`invention.
`
`FIG. 7 is a detailed illustration of how addresses are dynamically assigned
`
`and how data tunnels are created and used within an I? based wireless network.
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`FIG. 8 sets forth the steps to redirect data items over the IP based wireless
`
`network to a mobile device.
`
`FIG. 9 is a data flow diagram that depicts how a store-and-forward
`
`gateway handles incoming data from redirector programs going to mobile
`
`devices.
`
`FIG. 10 is a continuation of FIG. 9, and is a data flow diagram of how a
`
`mobile address to IP address mapping database is updated with external and
`
`internal events.
`
`FIG.
`
`11 is a data flow diagram of the mobile device’s logic for
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`10
`
`communicating with the store-and—forward gateway.
`
`FIG. 12 is an illustrative system diagram of a proposed dual mode device
`
`that could be used with the invention.
`
`FIGS. 13a and 13b are sequence diagrams illustrating actions taken at the
`
`mobile, DHCP and store and forward gateway after a connection request
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`15
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`command is made to the mobile.
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`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
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`Referring now to the drawings, FIG.
`
`1 is an example system diagram
`
`showing the redirection of user data items (such as message A or C) fiom a user’s
`
`office PC (host system) 10 to the user’s mobile data cormnunication device 24,
`
`where the redirector software 12 is operating at the user’s PC. Message A in
`
`FIG. 1 represents an internal message sent from desktop 26 to the user’s host
`
`system 10 via LAN 14. Message C in FIG. 1 represents an external message
`
`from a sender that is not directly connected to LAN 14, such as the user’s mobile
`
`data communication device 24, some other user’s mobile device (not shown), or
`
`any user connected to the Internet 18. Message C also represents a command
`
`message from the user’s mobile data communication device 24 to the host system
`
`10. As described in more detail in FIG. 3, the term “host system” 10 preferably
`
`includes, along with the typical hardware and software associated with a
`
`workstation or desktop computer, the redirector program 12, a TCP/IP subsystem
`
`42, a primary message store 40, an E-mail subsystem 44, a screen saver
`
`subsystem 48, and a keyboard subsystem 46. The Email subsystem may be
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`composed of one or more message servers (not necessarily the same type of
`
`message server) linked Via communication means for the purposes of sending and
`
`receiving E-mail between workstations in the LAN, the Internet, and one or more
`
`Intranets or other proprietary private networks.
`
`In FIG. 1, the host system 10 is the user’s desktop system, typically
`
`located in the user’s office. The host system 10 is connected to a LAN 14, which
`
`also connects to other computers 26, 28 that may be in the user’s office or
`
`elsewhere. The LAN 14, in turn, is connected to a Wide area network (“WAN”)
`
`18, such as the Internet, which is defined by the use of the Transmission Control
`
`Protocol/Internet Protocol
`
`(“TCP/IP”)
`
`to exchange information, but which,
`
`alternatively, could be any other type of WAN. The connection of the LAN 14 to
`
`the WAN 18 is via high bandwidth link 16, typically a T1 or T3 connection. The
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`WAN 18, in turn, is connected to a variety of gateways 20 via connections 32. A
`
`gateway forms a connection or bridge between the WAN 18 and some other type
`
`of network, such as an RF wireless network, cellular network, satellite network,
`
`or other synchronous or asynchronous land-line connection.
`
`In the example of FIG. 1, a wireless gateway 20 is connected to the
`
`Internet for communicating Via wireless link 22 to a plurality of wireless mobile
`
`data communication devices 24. For the purposes of this application description
`
`the term store—and-forward gateway 140 Will also be used in place of the term
`
`wireless gateway 20. In an embodiment, the store and forward gateway may be
`
`referenced as a Access Point Name (APN) as defined on a network like GPRS.
`
`Also shown in FIG. 1 is external machine 30, which could be a FAX machine, a
`
`printer, a system for displaying images (such as video) or a machine capable of
`
`processing and playing audio files, such as a voice mail system. The present
`
`invention includes the ability to redirect certain message attachments to such an
`
`external machine 30 if the redirectorprogram configuration data reflects that the
`
`mobile device 24cannot receive and process the attachments, or if the user has
`
`specified that certain attachments are not to be forwarded to mobile device 24,
`
`even if such device can process those attachments. By way of example, consider
`
`an E-mail sent to a user that includes three attachments —— a word processing
`
`document, a video clip and an audio clip. The redirection program could be
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`configured to send the text of the E-mail to the mobile device, to send the word
`
`processing document to a networked printer located near the user, to send the
`
`Video clip to a store accessible through a secure connection through the Internet,
`
`and to send the audio clip to the user's voice mail system.
`
`The preferred mobile data communication device 24 is a hand-held two—
`
`way wireless paging computer, a wirelessly enabled palm-top computer, a mobile
`
`telephone with data messaging capabilities, or a wirelessly enabled laptop
`
`computer, but could, alternatively be other types of mobile data communication
`
`devices capable of sending and receiving messages via a network connection 22.
`
`Although it is preferable for the system to operate in a two-way communications
`
`mode, certain aspects of the invention could be beneficially used in a "one and
`
`one-half" or acknowledgment paging environment, or even with a one—way
`
`paging system. The mobile data communication device 24 includes software
`
`program instructions that work in conjunction with the redirector program 12 to
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`enable the seamless, transparent redirection of user-selected data items. FIG. 4
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`describes the basic method steps of the redirector program 12, and FIG. 5
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`describes the steps of the corresponding program operating at the mobile device
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`24.
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`One example of a dual—mode device is shown in FIG. 12. The mobile
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`communication device 24 shown in Fig.
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`12 is preferably a
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`two-way
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`communication device having at least voice and data communication capabilities.
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`The device preferably has the ability to communicate with other computer
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`systems on the Internet. Depending on the functionality provided by the device,
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`the device may be referred to as a data messaging device, a two—way pager, a
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`cellular telephone with data messaging capabilities, a Wireless Internet appliance
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`or a data communication device (with or without telephony capabilities).
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`Where the device 24 is enabled for two-way communications, the device
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`will incorporate a communication subsystem 1911, including a receiver 1912, a
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`transmitter 1914, and associated components such as one or more, preferably
`embedded or internal, antenna elements 1916 and 1918, local oscillators (LOs)
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`3O
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`1913, and a processing module such as a digital signal processor (DSP) 1920. AS
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`will be apparent to those skilled in the field of communications, the particular
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`design of the communication subsystem 1911 will be dependent upon the
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`communication network in which the device is intended to operate. For example,
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`a device 24 destined for a North American market may include a communication
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`subsystem 1911
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`designed
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`to
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`operate within
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`the MobitexTM mobile
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`the DataTACTM mobile communication system,
`communication system or
`whereas a device 24 intended for use in Europe may incorporate a General Packet
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`Radio Service (GPRS) communication subsystem 1911.
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`Network access requirements will also vary depending upon the type of
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`network 1919. For example, in the Mobitex and DataTAC networks, mobile
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`devices 24 are registered on the network using a unique personal identification
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`number or PIN associated with each device. In GPRS networks, however,
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`network access is associated with a subscriber or user of a device 24. A GPRS
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`device therefore requires a subscriber identity module (not shown), commonly
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`referred to as a SIM card, in order to operate on a GPRS network. Without a SIM
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`card, a GPRS device will not be fully functional. Local or non-network
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`communication functions (if any) may be operable, but the device 24 will‘be
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`unable to carry out any functions involving communications over the network
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`1919. When required netw0rk registration or activation procedures have been
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`completed, a device 24 may send and receive communication signals over the
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`network 1919. Signals received by the antenna 1916 through a communication
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`network 1919 are input to the receiver 1912, which may perform such common
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`receiver functions as signal amplification, frequency down conversion, filtering,
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`channel selection and the like, and in the example system shown in Fig. 19,
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`analog to digital conversion. Analog to digital conversion of a received signal
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`allows more complex communication functions, such as demodulation and
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`decoding to be performed in the DSP 1920. In a similar manner, signals to be
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`transmitted are processed, including modulation and encoding, for example, by
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`the DSP 1920 and input to the transmitter 1914 for digital to analog conversion,
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`frequency up conversion,
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`filtering, amplification and transmission over the
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`communication network 1919 via the antenna 1918.
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`The DSP 1920 not only processes communication signals, but also
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`provides for receiver and transmitter control. For example, the gains applied to
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`communication signals in the receiver 1912 and transmitter 1914 may be
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`adaptively controlled through automatic gain control algorithms implemented in
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`the DSP 1920.
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`The device 24 preferably includes a microprocessor 1938, Which controls
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`the overall operation of the device. Communication fimctions, including at least
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`data and voice communications, are performed through the communication
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`subsystem 1911. The microprocessor 1938 also interacts with other device
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`subsystems, such as the display 1922,
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`flash memory 1924, random access
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`memory (RAM) 1926, auxiliary input/output (I/O) subsystems 1928, serial port
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`1930, keyboard
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`1932,
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`speaker
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`1934, microphone
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`1936,
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`a
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`short-range
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`communications subsystem 1940 and any other device subsystems generally
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`designated as 1942.
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`Some of the subsystems shown in FIG. 12 perform communication—
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`related functions, whereas other subsystems may provide “resident” or on—device
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`fimctions. Notably, some subsystems, such as keyboard 1932 and display 1922,
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`for example, may be used for both communication-related functions, such as
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`entering a text message for transmission over a communication network, and
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`device-resident functions, such as a calculator or task list.
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`Operating system software used by the microprocessor 1938 is preferably
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`stored in a persistent store, such as flash memory 1924, which may alternately be
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`a read only memory (ROM) or similar storage element. Those skilled in the art
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`will appreciate that the operating system, specific device applications, or parts
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`thereof, may be temporarily loaded into a volatile store, such as RAM 1926. It is
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`contemplated that received communication signals may also be stored to RAM
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`1926.
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`The microprocessor 1938, in addition to its operating system functions,
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`preferably enables execution of software applications. on the. device. A
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`predetermined set of applications that control basic device operations, including
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`at least data and voice communication applications, for example, may be installed
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`on the device 24 during manufacture. A preferred application that may be loaded
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`onto the device may be a personal information manager (PIM) application having
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`the ability to organize and manage data items relating to the device user such as,
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`but not limited to, e-mail, calendar events, voice mails, appointments, and task
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`items. Naturally, one or more memory stores would be available on the device to
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`facilitate storage of PIM data items on the device. Such PIM application would
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`preferably have the ability to send and receive data items, Via the wireless
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`network.
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`In a preferred embodiment,
`
`the PIM data items are seamlessly
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`integrated, synchronized and updated, via the Wireless network, with the device
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`user’s corresponding data items stored or associated with a host computer system.
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`Further applications may also be loaded onto the device 24 through the network
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`1919,
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`an auxiliary I/O subsystem 1928,
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`serial port
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`1930,
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`short-range
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`communications subsystem 1940 or any other suitable subsystem 1942, and
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`installed by a user in the RAM 1926 or preferably a non-volatile store for
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`execution by the microprocessor 1938. Such flexibility in application installation
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`increases the functionality of the device and may provide enhanced on—device
`
`functions, communication-related functions, or both. For example,
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`secure
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`communication applications may enable electronic commerce functions and other
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`such financial transactions to be performed using the device 24.
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`In a data communication mode, a received signal, such as a text message
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`or web page download, will be processed by the communication subsystem 1911
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`and input to the microprocessor 1938, which will preferably further process the
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`received signal for output to the display 1922, or alternatively to an auxiliary I/O
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`device 1928. A user of device 24 may also compose data items, such as email
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`messages, for example, using the keyboard 1932, which is preferably a complete
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`alphanumeric keyboard or telephone—type keypad, in conjunction with the display
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`1922 and possibly an auxiliary I/O device 1928. Such composed items may then
`
`be transmitted over a communication network through the communication
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`subsystem 1911.
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`For voice communications, overall operation .of the device 24 is
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`substantially similar, except that received signals would preferably be output to a
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`speaker 1934 and signals for transmission would be generated by a microphone
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`1936. Alternative voice or audio I/O subsystems, such as a voice message
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`recording subsystem, may also be implemented on the device 24. Although voice
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`or audio signal output is preferably accomplished primarily through the speaker
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`1934, the display 1922 may also be used to provide an indication of t