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

• US 20040170155A1
• Filed: 01/08/2004
• Published: 09/02/2004
• 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 7,526,572 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/349
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9577 Optimising the visualization of content, e.g. distillation of HTML documents
• 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 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/288 Distributed intermediate devices, i.e. intermediate devices for interaction with other intermediate devices on the same level
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• 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: H04W 12/03 Protecting confidentiality, e.g. by encryption
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image

Abstract

In one exemplary embodiment, a system for providing data access between an information source and a mobile communication device includes a transcoding system and a first network device. The transcoding system includes a plurality of transcoders, and each transcoder is operable to transcode information content from a respective first content type into a respective second content type. The first network device is in communication with the transcoding system and includes a connection handler system. The connection handler system is operable to receive connection data for a connection between the information source and the mobile communication device and to select a corresponding connection handler. The connection handler is operable to select one or more transcoders from the plurality of transcoders to transcode the information content.

Claims

1. A system for providing data access between an information source and a mobile communication device, the system comprising:

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

a first network device in communication with the transcoding system and comprising a connection handler system, the connection handler system operable to receive connection data for a connection between the information source and the mobile communication device and to select a corresponding connection handler operable to select one or more transcoders from the plurality of transcoders to transcode the information content.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the connection handler system comprises a connection handler directory, the connection handler directory storing connection handler data.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the connection handler data comprises connection handler data associated with at least one connection handler.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the connection handler data comprises a network address specifying the location of a connection handler.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the connection handler system is operable to access the location specified by the network address, retrieve the connection handler, and store connection handler data associated with the connection handler in the connection handler directory.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the transcoding system includes a transcoder directory, the transcoder directory storing transcoder data.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the transcoder data comprises transcoder data associated with at least one transcoder.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein the transcoder data comprises a network address specifying the location of a transcoder.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the transcoder system is operable to access the location specified by the network address, retrieve the transcoder, and store transcoder data associated with the transcoder in the transcoder directory.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the connection data includes accept data indicating an acceptable content type that the mobile communication device is operable to receive.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the connection handler is operable to determine a received content type of the information content received from the information source and determine whether the received content type matches the acceptable content type.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the connection handler is further operable to select one or more transcoders to transcode the information content where the received content type does not match the acceptable content type.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the connection handler is further operable send an error message to the mobile communication device if the information content cannot be transcoded into the acceptable content type.

14. The system of claim 6, wherein the transcoding system is operable generate and store mapping data comprising transcoding chains, each transcoding chain selecting one or more transcoders to transcode the information content from a respective input content type into a respective output content type.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the mapping data is updated upon the addition or deletion of transcoding data.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the connection handler is operable to determine a received content type of the information content received from the information source, to determine an acceptable content type that the mobile communication device is operable to receive, and to select one of the transcoding chains to transcode the information content from the received content type into the acceptable content type.

17. The system of claim 1, wherein the connection handler is operable to specify a list of content types in order of preference and to provide the list of content types to the information source.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the connection handler is operable to determine a received content type of the information content received from the information source, to determine an acceptable content type that the mobile communication device is operable to receive, and to select the one or more transcoders to transcode the information content from the received content type into the acceptable content type.

19. The system of claim 1, wherein the connection handler is operable to determine a type of the mobile communication device, and to select the one or more transcoders from the plurality of transcoders based on the determination.

20. The system of claim 1, wherein the connection handler is operable to determine an address associated with the mobile communication device, and to select the one or more transcoders from the plurality of transcoders based on the determination.

21. The system of claim 1, wherein the connection handler is operable to determine an address associated with the information source, and to select the one or more transcoders from the plurality of transcoders based on the determination.

22. The system of claim 17, wherein:

the information content includes multiple different content types; and

the connection handler is operable to select a respective transcoder to transcode the information content of each of the multiple different content types.

23. A method for providing remote data access to a mobile communication device, comprising the steps of:

receiving a connection request;

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 being configured to transcode information content from a respective input content type into a respective output content type;

transcoding the information content using one or more of the plurality of transcoders to create transcoded information content; and

forwarding the transcoded information content to the mobile communication device.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the step of receiving a connection request comprises the step of receiving a connection request from the mobile communication device.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the connection request identifies the information source.

26. The method of claim 25, 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.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein:

the connection request conforms to a first communication protocol; and

the information request conforms to a second communication protocol.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the second communication protocol is Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP).

29. The method of claim 26, wherein the connection request identifies one or more accepted content types, 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; and

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

30. The method of claim 23, wherein:

the connection request identifies one or more accepted content types; and

the step transcoding the information content using one or more of the plurality of transcoders to create transcoded information content comprises the step of determining if a received content type of the information content may be transcoded into one or more of the accepted content types.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the step of determining if a received content type of the information content may be transcoded into one or more of the accepted content types comprises the steps of:

determining whether any of the plurality of transcoders are configured to transcode the received content type into the one or more of the accepted content types; and

selecting a transcoder for transcoding the information content into one of the accepted content types where any of the plurality of transcoders are configured to transcode the received content type into the one or more of the accepted content types.

32. The method of claim 31, further comprising the step of discarding the information content where none of the plurality of transcoders are configured to transcode the received content type into the one or more of the accepted content types.

33. The method of claim 31, further comprising the step of performing a default transcoding operation on the information content where none of the plurality of transcoders are configured to transcode the received content type into the one or more of the accepted content types.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the step of performing a default transcoding operation on the information content comprises the step of passing the information content.

35. The method of claim 33, wherein the step of performing a default transcoding operation on the information content 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.

36. The method of claim 30, wherein:

the information content comprises multiple content types; and

the step of determining if a received content type of the information content may be transcoded into one or more of the accepted content types comprises the step of;

determining whether any of the plurality of transcoders are configured to transcode any of the multiple content types into the one or more of the accepted content types; and

selecting a respective transcoder for transcoding the information content of each of the multiple content types into one of the accepted content types where any of the plurality of transcoders are configured to transcode any of the multiple content types into the one or more of the accepted content types.

37. The method of claim 23, wherein:

the information content comprises multiple content types; and

the step transcoding the information content using one or more of the plurality of transcoders to create transcoded information content comprises the step of selecting a respective transcoder for transcoding the information content of each of the multiple content types.

38. The method of claim 23, wherein the step transcoding the information content using one or more of the plurality of transcoders to create transcoded information content comprises the steps of:

determining a type of the mobile communication device; and

selecting one or more of the plurality of transcoders associated with the type of the mobile communication device.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein the step of selecting one or more of the plurality of transcoders associated with the type of the mobile device comprises the step of accessing a mapping table which maps mobile communication device types to transcoders.

40. The method of claim 23, wherein the step transcoding the information content using one or more of the plurality of transcoders to create transcoded information content comprises the steps of:

determining an identifier associated with the mobile communication device; and

selecting one or more of the plurality of transcoders associated with the identifier of the mobile communication device.

41. The method of claim 23, further comprising the step of mapping the plurality of transcoders to create a plurality of transcoding chains, each transcoding chain associating one or more transcoders to transcode a respective input content type into a respective output content type.

42. The method of claim 41, wherein the connection request identifies one or more accepted content types, and wherein the step of transcoding the information content using one or more of the plurality of transcoders to create transcoded information content comprises the steps of:

determining a received content type of the information content;

searching the transcoding chains for a respective input content matching the received content type and a respective output content type matching one of the one or more accepted content types; and

selecting a transcoding chain to transcode the information content.

43. The method of claim 23, wherein the step of transcoding the information content using one or more of the plurality of transcoders comprises the steps of:

transcoding the information content into an intermediate content type; and

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

44. The method of claim 23, wherein the connection request identifies one or more accepted content types, and wherein the step of establishing a connection with the information source comprises the steps of:

searching the plurality of transcoders for a set of transcoders configured to transcode information content into the one or more accepted content types;

generating a list of respective input content types corresponding to the set of transcoders; and

sending the list of respective input content types and the one or more accepted content types to the information source.

45. The method of claim 23, wherein the step of transcoding the information content using one or more of the plurality of transcoders comprises the steps of:

sending the information content to a transcoding system; and

receiving the transcoded information content from the transcoding system.

46. The method of claim 23, wherein the step of forwarding the transcoded information content to the mobile communication device comprises the step of encrypting the transcoded information content.

47. The method of claim 23, wherein the step of forwarding the transcoded content to the mobile communication device comprises the step of compressing the transcoded content.

48. The method of claim 23, wherein the step of forwarding the transcoded content to the mobile communication device comprises the step of encrypting the transcoded content.

49. The method of claim 23, wherein the information source is a private information source configured to operate within a private computer network behind a security firewall.

50. The method of claim 23, further comprising the steps of:

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

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

51. The method of claim 23, wherein the input content types and output content types include content types selected from the group consisting of Wireless Markup Language (WML), Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), compiled WML (WMLC) and Extensible Markup Language (XML).

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

means for receiving a connection request identifying one or more accepted content types;

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 into a transcoded 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; and

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

53. The system of claim 52, wherein the means for receiving a connection request identifying one or more accepted content types receives the connection request from the mobile communication device.

54. The system of claim 53, wherein the connection request from the mobile communication device identifies the information source using an Internet protocol (IP) address.

55. The system of claim 54, wherein the means for receiving information content from the information source determines if a received content type of the information content is one of the accepted content types.

56. The system of claim 52, wherein the means for receiving information content from the information source determines if any of the plurality of transcoders are configured to transcode the information content into the one or more of the accepted content types and selects one of the plurality of transcoders to transcode the information content into one of the accepted content types where any of the plurality of transcoders are configured to transcode the information content into the one or more of the accepted content types.

57. The system of claim 56, wherein the one or more accepted content types are classified by an order of preference and the selection of the one of the transcoders is based upon the order of preference of the one or more accepted content types.

58. The system of claim 56, wherein the means for receiving information content from the information source selects a default transcoder where none of the plurality of transcoders are configured to transcode the information content into the one or more of the accepted content types.

59. The system of claim 58, wherein the default transcoder discards the information content.

60. The system of claim 58, wherein the means for forwarding returns an error indication to the mobile communication device where none of the plurality of transcoders are configured to transcode the information content into the one or more of the accepted content types.

61. The system of claim 60, wherein the means for establishing a connection returns an error indication to the information source where none of the plurality of transcoders are configured to transcode the information content into the one or more of the accepted content types.

62. The system of claim 58, wherein the default transcoder is operable to pass the information content.

63. The system of claim 58, wherein the default transcoder is operable to transcode the information content into a content type forwarded to the mobile communication device in response to a previous connection request from the mobile communication device.

64. The system of claim 63, further comprising a transcoder configuration file including file entries associated with each of the plurality of transcoders;

and wherein the means for receiving information content from the information source determines whether any of the transcoders are configured to transcode the information content into one or more of the accepted content types by searching the configuration file.

65. A system for accessing data over a network, comprising:

a mobile communication device operable to transmit a connection request over the network and operable to receive information content of a first content type, the connection request comprising a network address specifying the location of a first transcoder operable to transcode information content into the first content type.

66. The system of claim 65, wherein the connection request further comprises a list of alternate transcoders, each alternate transcoder operable to transcode the information content into a respective alternate content type.

67. The system of claim 65, wherein the connection request further comprises a list of acceptable content types in order of preference, the first content type first in the order of preference, and wherein the first transcoder is operable to transcode the information content into the first content type.

68. The system of claim 67, wherein the connection request further comprises user priorities including high data priority and high time priority.

69. The system of claim 67, wherein the mobile communication device is further operable to encrypt the connection request prior to transmitting the connection request.

70. A method of providing data over a network comprising the steps of:

providing a plurality of transcoders, each transcoder operable to transcode an input content type into an output content type;

mapping the plurality of transcoders to create a plurality of map entries, each map entry associating one or more transcoders to transcode a respective received content type into a respective accepted content type;

receiving a request for the information content;

receiving the information content;

determining a received content type of the information content;

determining an accepted content type;

determining whether the received content type matches the accepted content type, and selecting a map entry to transcode the information content from the received content type into the accepted content type where the received content type does not match the accepted content type; and

transmitting the information content in the accepted content type in response to the request for the information content.

71. The method of claim 70, wherein the step of mapping a plurality of transcoders to create a plurality of map entries, each map entry associating one or more transcoders to transcode a respective received content type into a respective accepted content type, comprises the steps of:

determining the input content types for the plurality of transcoders;

determining the output content types for the plurality of transcoders;

creating a plurality of map entries, each map entry associating a respective received content type with a respective accepted content type; and

for each map entry, selecting one or more transcoders to transcode the respective received content type into the respective accepted content type.

72. The method of claim 71, wherein the step of determining the accepted content type comprises the step of receiving an accepted content type identifier.

73. The method of claim 70, wherein the step of receiving the information content comprise the steps of:

establishing a connection with an information source;

receiving the information content from the information source; and

determining the received content type of the information content received from the information source.

74. The method of claim 70, further comprising the steps of:

comparing the accepted content type to the respective accepted content types of each map entry;

generating a list of respective received content types corresponding to the respective accepted content types that match the accepted content type; and

transmitting the list of respective received content types and the accepted content type to an information source.