System and method for providing remote data access and transcoding for a mobile communication device

• US 20040166834A1
• Filed: 01/08/2004
• Published: 08/26/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 07/12/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Yach, David P., Brown, Michael S., Little, Herbert A., Owen, Russell N., Omar, Salim H., Rybak, Tomasz K.
• Granted Patent: US 7,590,759 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/414.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9577 Optimising the visualization of content, e.g. distillation of HTML documents
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/00 User-to-user messaging in packet-switching networks, transmitted according to store-and-forward or real-time protocols, e.g. e-mail
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/00 Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/02 for separating internal from external traffic, e.g. firewalls
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0281 Proxies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0464 using hop-by-hop encryption, i.e. wherein an intermediate entity decrypts the information and re-encrypts it before forwarding it
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/083 using passwords cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using a predetermined code H04L9/3226
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1045 Proxies, e.g. for session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/765 intermediate
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/2871 Implementation details of single intermediate entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/288 Distributed intermediate devices, i.e. intermediate devices for interaction with other intermediate devices on the same level
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/561 : Adding application-functional data or data for application control, e.g. adding metadata
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/564 : Enhancement of application control based on intercepted application data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/565 : Conversion or adaptation of application format or content adding application control or application functional data H04L67/561
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/566 : Grouping or aggregating service requests, e.g. for unified processing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/567 : Integrating service provisioning from a plurality of service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 : in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 : Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/03 : Protecting confidentiality, e.g. by encryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/00 : Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/18 : Information format or content conversion, e.g. adaptation by the network of the transmitted or received information for the purpose of wireless delivery to users or terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/11 : Allocation or use of connection identifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 : Network addressing or numbering for mobility support

Abstract

A system for providing information content over a network to a mobile communication device includes a transcoding system and a first network device. The transcoding system includes a plurality of transcoders. Each transcoder is operable to transcode the information content from a respective input content type into a respective output content type. The first network device is in communication with the transcoding system and includes a connection handler system. The first network device is operable to receive a first connection request that includes transcoder request data and to select a corresponding connection handler. The connection handler is operable to select one or more transcoders from the plurality of transcoders based on the transcoder request data.

Claims

1. A system for providing information content over a network to a wireless mobile communication device, comprising:

a transcoding system comprising a plurality of transcoders, each transcoder operable to transcode the information content from a respective input content type into a respective output content type; and

a first network device in communication with the transcoding system and comprising a connection handler system, the first network device operable to receive a first connection request comprising transcoder request data and to select a corresponding connection handler operable to select one or more transcoders from the plurality of transcoders based on the transcoder request data.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the first network device is further operable to transmit the information content transcoded into an output content type to the wireless mobile communication device.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the transcoding system is further operable to transmit the information content transcoded into an output content type to the wireless mobile communication device.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the transcoder request data identifies a requested transcoder.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the transcoding system comprises a configuration file associated with the plurality of transcoders, and the connection handler is operable to search the configuration file to determine whether the requested transcoder is one of the plurality of transcoders and to select the requested transcoder where the requested transcoder is one of the plurality of transcoders.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the connection handler is further operable to transmit an error message to the wireless mobile communication device where the requested transcoder is not one of the plurality of transcoders.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the connection handler is further operable to receive alternate transcoder request data in response to the error message, the alternate transcoder request data identifying an alternate transcoder.

8. The system of claim 5, wherein the connection handler is further operable to transmit a list of selectable transcoders to the wireless mobile communication device where the requested transcoder is not one of the plurality of transcoders.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the connection handler is operable to receive selected transcoder data from the wireless mobile communication device and to select one of the selectable transcoders from the list of selectable transcoders based on the selected transcoder data.

10. The system of claim 5, wherein the connection handler is further operable to discard the information content where the requested transcoder is not one of the plurality of transcoders.

11. The system of claim 5, wherein the connection handler is further operable to pass the information content where the requested transcoder is not one of the plurality of transcoders.

12. The system of claim 5, wherein the transcoding system is further operable to transcode the information content into a content type forwarded to the wireless mobile communication device in response to a previous connection request where the requested transcoder is not one of the plurality of transcoders.

13. The system of claim 4, wherein the connection handler is further operable to determine whether the requested transcoder is one of the plurality of transcoders, and, where the requested transcoder is not one of the plurality of transcoders, to determine a type of the wireless mobile communication device and to select one or more transcoders from the plurality of transcoders based on the type of the wireless mobile communication device.

14. The system of claim 4, wherein the connection handler is further operable to determine whether the requested transcoder is one of the plurality of transcoders, and, where the requested transcoder is not one of the plurality of transcoders, to determine an address associated with the wireless mobile communication device and to select one or more transcoders from the plurality of transcoders based on the address of the wireless mobile communication device.

15. The system of claim 4, wherein the information content originates at an information source, and wherein the connection handler is further operable to determine whether the requested transcoder is one of the plurality of transcoders, and, where the requested transcoder is not one of the plurality of transcoders, to determine an address of the information source and to select one or more transcoders from the plurality of transcoders based on the address of the information source.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein the transcoder request data comprises a list of one or more accepted content types in order of preference.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the connection handler is operable to select from the plurality of transcoders based on the order of preference of the list of one or more accepted content types.

18. The system of claim 1, wherein the connection handler is further operable to transmit a list of selectable transcoders to the wireless mobile communication device upon receiving the transcoder request data, to receive selected transcoder data from the wireless mobile communication device, and to select one or more of the selectable transcoders from the list of selectable transcoders based on the selected transcoder data.

19. The system of claim 1, wherein the transcoder request data comprises a network address specifying the location of a transcoder.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the transcoding system is operable to access the location specified by the network address, to retrieve the transcoder, and to store transcoder data associated with the transcoder in a configuration file.

21. The system of claim 1, wherein the transcoding system is operable generate and store mapping data comprising transcoding chains, each transcoding chain selecting one or more of the plurality of transcoders to transcode the information content from a respective input content type into a respective output content type.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the transcoding system comprises a configuration file including transcoder data associated with the plurality of transcoders, and wherein the mapping data is updated upon the addition or deletion of transcoder data.

23. The system of claim 21, wherein the connection handler is further operable to select a transcoding chain to transcode the information content from the input content type into the output content type based on user defined criteria.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the user defined criteria includes data priority and time priority.

25. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the information content includes multiple content types; and

the transcoder request data identifies a respective requested transcoder for at least one of the multiple content types.

26. A method for providing information content over a network to a mobile communication device, comprising the steps of:

receiving a connection request including a transcoder request for a requested transcoder;

establishing a connection with an information source responsive to the connection request;

receiving information content from the information source;

providing a plurality of transcoders, each transcoder configured to transcode information content from a respective input content type into a respective output content type;

selecting one or more transcoders from the plurality of transcoders based on the transcoder request;

transcoding the information content using the one or more transcoders selected to generate transcoded information; and

sending the transcoded information content to the mobile communication device.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the step of receiving a connection request comprises the step of receiving a connection request from the mobile communication device.

28. The method of claim 26, wherein the connection request identifies the information source.

29. The method of claim 26, wherein the step of selecting one or more transcoders from the plurality of transcoders based on the transcoder request comprises the steps of:

determining whether the requested transcoder is one of the plurality of transcoders;

selecting the requested transcoder where the requested transcoder is one of the plurality of transcoders; and

where the requested transcoder is not one of the plurality of transcoders;

determining a requested output content type of the requested transcoder;

determining a received content type of the information content; and

selecting one or more transcoders to transcode the information content from the received content type to the requested output content type.

30. The method of claim 26, wherein the step of establishing a connection with an information source responsive to the connection request comprises the step of sending an information request to the information source.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the connection request identifies one or more accepted content types.

32. The method of claim 31, further comprising the steps of:

determining whether any of the plurality of transcoders are configured to transcode any further content types into any of the one or more accepted content types where the requested transcoder is not one of the plurality of transcoders; and

including the one or more accepted content types and the further content types in the information request.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the step of determining whether any of the plurality of transcoders are configured to transcode any further content types into any of the one or more accepted content types where the requested transcoder is not one of the plurality of transcoders comprises the steps of:

determining a requested output content type of the requested transcoder; and

comparing the requested output content type to the respective output content types of each of the plurality of transcoders.

34. The method of claim 26, further comprising the steps of:

determining whether the requested transcoder is one of the plurality of transcoders; and

discarding the information content where the requested transcoder is not one of the plurality of transcoders.

35. The method of claim 26, further comprising the steps of:

determining whether the requested transcoder is one of the plurality of transcoders; and

performing a default transcoding operation on the information content where the requested transcoder is not one of the plurality of transcoders.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein the default transcoding operation comprises the step of passing the information content.

37. The method of claim 35, wherein the default transcoding operation comprises the step of transcoding the information content into a content type forwarded to the mobile communication device in response to a previous connection request.

38. The method of claim 26, further comprising the step of transmitting a list of selectable transcoders to the mobile communication device where the requested transcoder cannot be selected.

39. The method of claim 35, further comprising the step receiving another connection request where the requested transcoder cannot be selected, the other connection request comprising an alternate transcoder request.

40. The method of claim 26, wherein the transcoder request comprises a network address specifying the location of the requested transcoder, and the step of selecting one or more transcoders from the plurality of transcoders based on the transcoder request comprises the steps of:

accessing the location specified by the network address; and

retrieving the requested transcoder.

41. The method of claim 26, wherein the step of transcoding the information content using the one or more transcoders selected comprises the steps of:

transcoding the information content into an intermediate content type; and

transcoding the information content from the intermediate format into a final content type.

42. The method of claim 26, wherein the step of transcoding the information content using the one or more transcoders selected comprises the steps of:

sending the information content to a transcoding system; and

receiving the transcoded information content from the transcoding system.

43. The method of claim 26, wherein the step of sending the transcoded information content to the mobile communication device comprises the step of encrypting the transcoded information content.

44. The method of claim 26, wherein the step of sending the transcoded information content to the mobile communication device comprises the step of compressing the transcoded content.

45. The method of claim 26, wherein the information source is a private information source configured to operate within a private computer network behind a security firewall.

46. The method of claim 26, further comprising of steps of:

determining whether the requested transcoder is one of the plurality of transcoders; and

where the requested transcoder is not one of the plurality of transcoders;

receiving a list of transcoders according to an order of preference; and

selecting one or more of the transcoders in the list of transcoders based on the order of preference.

47. The method of claim 26, further comprising of steps of:

determining whether the requested transcoder is one of the plurality of transcoders; and

where the requested transcoder is not one of the plurality of transcoders;

determining a type of the mobile communication device; and

selecting one or more of the plurality of transcoders based on the type of the mobile communication device.

48. The method of claim 26, further comprising of steps of:

determining whether the requested transcoder is one of the plurality of transcoders; and

where the requested transcoder is not one of the plurality of transcoders;

determining an identifier associated with the mobile communication device; and

selecting one or more of the plurality of transcoders based on the identifier.

49. The method of claim 26, further comprising the steps of:

determining whether the requested transcoder is one of the plurality of transcoders; and

where the requested transcoder is not one of the plurality of transcoders;

determining an identifier associated with the information source; and

selecting one or more of the plurality of transcoders based on the identifier.

50. The method of claim 26, wherein:

the information content comprises multiple content types;

the step of selecting one or more transcoders comprises the step of selecting a respective transcoder for at least one of the multiple content types.

51. The method of claim 50, wherein the multiple content types comprise at least a first content type and a second content type, wherein the transcoder request identifies a requested transcoder for the first content type, and wherein the step of selecting one more transcoders comprises the steps of:

selecting the requested transcoder for the first content type; and

selecting at least one of the plurality of transcoders for the second content type.

52. The method of claim 51, wherein the step of selecting at least one of the plurality of transcoders for the second content type comprises the step of selecting at least one of the plurality of transcoders for the second content type based on the respective input content type of the plurality of transcoders.

53. The method of claim 51, wherein the step of selecting at least one of the plurality of transcoders for the second content type comprises the step of selecting at least one of the plurality of transcoders for the second content type based on a type of the mobile communication device.

54. The method of claim 51, wherein the step of selecting at least one of the plurality of transcoders for the second content type comprises the step of selecting at least one of the plurality of transcoders for the second content type based on an address of the information source.

55. The method of claim 26, wherein the respective output content types include one or more content types selected from the group consisting of Wireless Markup Language (WML), Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), compiled WML (WMLC) and Extensible Markup Language (XML).

56. A system for providing remote data access to a mobile communication device, comprising:

means for receiving a connection request, the connection request comprising a transcoder request for a requested transcoder;

means for establishing a connection with an information source responsive to the connection request;

means for receiving information content from the information source;

means for providing a plurality of transcoders and for transcoding the information content using one or more of the plurality of transcoders, each transcoder being configured for transcoding information content from a respective input content type into a respective output content type;

means for selecting the requested transcoder from the plurality of transcoders based on the transcoder request; and

means for sending the transcoded information content to the mobile communication device.

57. The system of claim 56, wherein the means for receiving a connection request comprises means for receiving a connection request from the mobile communication device.

58. The system of claim 57, wherein the connection request identifies the information source and the information content.

59. The system of claim 58, wherein the connection request identifies the information source using a network address.

60. The system of claim 56, wherein the means for establishing a connection with an information source responsive to the connection request comprises means for sending an information request to the information source.

61. The system of claim 60, wherein the connection request identifies one or more accepted content types.

62. The system of claim 61, wherein:

the means for selecting the requested transcoder from the plurality of transcoders based on the transcoder request comprises means for determining whether any of the plurality of transcoders are configured to transcode any further content types into any of the one or more accepted content types; and

the means for establishing a connection with an information source responsive to the connection request is further adapted for including the one or more accepted content types and the further content types in the information request.

63. The system of claim 62, wherein the means for determining whether any of the plurality of transcoders are configured to transcode any further content types into any of the one or more accepted content types comprises means for searching the plurality of transcoders for transcoders configured to transcode information content into the accepted content types.

64. The system of claim 56, wherein the means for selecting the requested transcoder from the plurality of transcoders based on the transcoder request comprises means for discarding the information content where the requested transcoder cannot be selected.

65. The system of claim 56, wherein the means for providing a plurality of transcoders and for transcoding the information content using one or more of the plurality of transcoders comprises means for performing a default transcoding operation on the information content where the requested transcoder cannot be selected.

66. The system of claim 56, wherein:

the information content comprises multiple parts having respective content types; and

the connection request comprises a transcoder request for respective requested transcoders for at least one of the respective content types.

67. The system of claim 66, wherein the means for selecting the requested transcoder comprises means for performing a default transcoding operation on any of the multiple parts of the information content for which the respective requested transcoder cannot be selected.

68. The system of claim 64, wherein the default transcoding operation passes the information content.

69. The system of claim 64, wherein the default transcoding operation transcodes the information content into a content type forwarded to the mobile communication device in response to a previous connection request.

70. The system of claim 56, further comprising means for transmitting a list of selectable transcoders to the mobile communication device where the requested transcoder cannot be selected.

71. The system of claim 56, wherein the transcoder request comprises a network address specifying the location of the requested transcoder, and the means for selecting the requested transcoder from the plurality of transcoders based on the transcoder request comprises means for accessing the location specified by the network address and for retrieving the requested transcoder.

72. The system of claim 56, wherein the means for providing a plurality of transcoders and for transcoding the information content using one or more of the plurality of transcoders comprises means for transcoding the information content into an intermediate format and for transcoding the information content from the intermediate format into a final format.

73. The system of claim 56, wherein the means for providing a plurality of transcoders and for transcoding the information content using one or more of the plurality of transcoders comprises:

means for sending the information content to a transcoding system; and

means for receiving transcoded information content from the transcoding system.

74. The system of claim 56, further comprising means for encrypting the transcoded information content.

75. The system of claim 60, wherein the information request includes the respective input content type and the respective output content type of the requested transcoder.

76. A system for providing information content over a network, comprising:

a mobile communication device operable to transmit a first connection request over the network, the first connection request comprising transcoder request data identifying a requested transcoder;

wherein the requested transcoder is operable to transcode the information content into a content type that is accepted by the mobile communication device.

77. The system of claim 76, wherein the transcoder request data further comprises a network address specifying the location of the requested transcoder.

78. The system of claim 76, wherein the transcoder request data further comprises a list of alternate transcoders, each alternate transcoder operable to transcode the information content into a content type that is accepted by the mobile communication device.

79. The system of claim 76, wherein the transcoder request data further comprises a list of acceptable content types in order of preference, and wherein the requested transcoder is operable to transcode the information content into a content type corresponding to the acceptable content type first in the order of preference.

80. The system of claim 76, wherein the transcoder request data further comprises user priorities including high data priority and high time priority.

81. The system of claim 76, wherein the mobile communication device is further operable to encrypt the first connection request prior to transmitting the first connection request over the network.