System and method for processing encoded messages

• US 20050071508A1
• Filed: 08/11/2004
• Published: 03/31/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 08/12/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Brown, Michael S., Brown, Michael K., Little, Herbert A.
• Granted Patent: US 8,335,823 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/246
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0272 Virtual private networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0442 wherein the sending and receiving network entities apply asymmetric encryption, i.e. different keys for encryption and decryption cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for public-key encryption H04L9/30
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0823 using certificates cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving certificates H04L9/3263
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/123 received data contents, e.g. message integrity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/168 above the transport layer
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/106 Packet or message integrity

Abstract

Systems and methods for processing encoded messages within a wireless communication system. A server within the wireless communication system provides one or more indications to a mobile device as to certain conditions existing with respect to an encoded message. The mobile device performs a different message processing function based upon whether the indication is provided. The indications may include indicating whether a message exceeds a message size threshold and/or may indicate whether a partial message is being sent.

Claims

1. A method for handling an encoded message provided by a sender to a server, comprising:

receiving at the server an encoded message;

generating at the server a message status indication about the received encoded message;

sending the message status indication and message data to the device;

wherein the message data sent to the device is a portion of the entire message of the sender;

wherein the message status indication is for use by a wireless mobile communications device to determine that an encoding-related operation is not to be performed by the device upon the partially received encoded message.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the encoded message received by the server from the sender comprises the entire message of the sender.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the encoded message received by the server from the sender comprises only a portion of the entire message of the sender.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the encoded message received at the server has a message size, said method further comprising:

determining the size of the encoded message;

if the determined size of the encoded message does not satisfy a predetermined message size criterion, then sending the message status indication to the device through a wireless connector system that provides information about the size of the message;

wherein the encoding-related operation is a secure message-related operation;

wherein based upon the provided information about the size of the message, the device does not perform a secure message operation upon the message data provided by the server.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the provided information about the message size indicates that the size of the encoded message did not satisfy the message size criterion, wherein the device attempts to perform the secure message operation if the message size indication is not provided by the server or if the message size indication indicates that the message size satisfied the message size criterion.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the message data is a signed message, wherein the message data comprises only a first portion of the sender'"'"'s encoded message because of the size of the encoded message;

wherein the server sends the message status indication to the mobile device in a first encoded message portion which indicates that the message is too large for digital signature verification by the device.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the generated message status indication indicates to the device that the digital signature of the message has already been verified by the server.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the device authenticates the sender'"'"'s message after the server has provided enough of the message to the device for the device to authenticate the message.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein a user of the device that receives the first message portion is notified that the device cannot verify the signature on the user'"'"'s device, thereby obviating the user from repeatedly activating the device'"'"'s more message button in an attempt to verify the received message.

10. The method of claim 4, wherein the server removes attachment data from the sender'"'"'s encoded message before sending the sender'"'"'s encoded message to the device;

wherein the message status indication indicates that the attachment has been removed.

11. The method of claim 4, wherein the message size includes size of an attachment associated with the sender'"'"'s encoded message.

12. The method of claim 4, wherein the message size includes size of a message encoded through one or more of the following techniques:

an S/MIME technique, a PGP technique, an OpenPGP, a digital signing technique.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the message status indication is for use by a wireless mobile communications device to delay performing a secure message-related operation until enough of the message has been provided to the device for the device to perform the secure message-related operation upon the message.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the message data sent to the device comprises a first portion of the sender'"'"'s encoded message;

wherein the server sends the message status indication to the mobile device indicating that the message is too large for digital signature verification by the device;

wherein the first message portion is made available for display to the device'"'"'s user.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the generated message status indication provided by the server to the device indicates that only a portion of the entire message has been sent to the device.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the message status indication is used by the device to delay performing a secure message-related operation until enough of the message has been provided to the device for the device to perform the secure message-related operation upon the message.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the server provides additional portions of the sender'"'"'s message as the message is provided to the server.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the device is provided with only a portion of the message sent from the sender;

wherein the device partially populates one or more software objects with the information contained in the partially provided message for use in handling the message on the device.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the one or more partially populated software objects are used in displaying the incomplete message to the device'"'"'s user.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the device displays to the user additional portions of the message as additional message portions are provided by the server.

21. A data signal that is transmitted using a network, wherein the data signal includes the generated message status indication of claim 1;

wherein the data signal comprises packetized data that is transmitted through a carrier wave across the network.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein the message status indication is for use by a computing device to determine that an encoding-related operation is not to be performed upon the encoded message;

providing the message status indication and at least a portion of the sender'"'"'s encoded message to the computing device.

23. Computer-readable medium capable of causing a computing device to perform the method of claim 1.

24. A method for handling encoded messages by a wireless mobile communications device, comprising the steps of:

receiving a portion of an encoded message at the device and a message status indication about the received message portion;

using the message status indication to determine that an encoding-related operation is not to be performed upon the portion of the encoded message received by the device;

generating a notification to communicate the message status indication to the device'"'"'s user;

displaying to the device'"'"'s user the received message portion.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the encoding-related operation is a secure message-related operation, wherein the message status indication is for use by the device to delay performing a secure message-related operation until enough of the message has been provided to the device for the device to perform the secure message-related operation upon the message.

26. An apparatus for handling an encoded message provided by a sender to a server, comprising:

processor executable instructions configured to receive at the server an encoded message;

processor executable instructions configured to generate at the server a message status indication about the received encoded message;

processor executable instructions configured to send the message status indication and message data to the device;

wherein the message data sent to the device is a portion of the entire message of the sender;

wherein the message status indication is for use by a wireless mobile communications device to determine that an encoding-related operation is not to be performed by the device upon the partially received encoded message.

27. An apparatus for handling an encoded message provided by a sender to a server, comprising:

means for receiving at the server an encoded message;

means for generating at the server a message status indication about the received encoded message;

means for sending the message status indication and message data to the device;

wherein the message data sent to the device is a portion of the entire message of the sender;

wherein the message status indication is for use by a wireless mobile communications device to determine that an encoding-related operation is not to be performed by the device upon the partially received encoded message.