Method for backing up data stored in a mobile phone

• US 20050107122A1
• Filed: 10/23/2002
• Published: 05/19/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 10/23/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Daniel Petrus Marais, Ian Carel Van Reenen, Jacobus Grobler
• Original Assignee: Daniel Petrus Marais, Ian Carel Van Reenen, Jacobus Grobler
• Inventors: Grobler, Jacobus, Van Reenen, Ian Carel, Marais, Daniel Petrus
• Application Number:
  US10/493,417
• Publication Number:
  US 20050107122A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/558
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/04 Arrangements for maintaining operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/205 Transfer to or from user equipment or user record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/24 Transfer of terminal data

Abstract

This invention relates to a method of backing up data in a mobile telephone, in which data is transmitted from the telephone device to a storage means via a telephone network. The invention extends to a telephone device having a transmitting means for transmitting data. The device is optionally provided with application software for controlling connection to a back up facility and the transfer of data to and from the back up storage means. The back up facility has a receiving data from the telephone device via the telephone network and a storage means.

Claims

1. A method of backing up data in a mobile telephone device, which includes storing changes that have been made to the data in the telephone device since a previous back up, in a storage means as patches.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, in which the data backed up is resident in a memory module of the telephone device.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, in which the data backed up is resident in a SIM cards associated with the telephone device.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, in which the changes that have been made to the data are transmitted from the telephone device to the storage means, via a telephone network.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, in which the data is received, changes that have been made to the data since the previous back up are determined at the storage means and these changes are stored.

6. A telephone device which includes

a detecting means for detecting changes that have been made to data in the telephone device since a previous back up, and

a transmitting means for transmitting the changes to a storage means.

7. The telephone device as claimed in claim 6, in which the detecting means detects changes made to data resident in a memory module of the telephone device.

8. The telephone device as claimed in claim 6, in which the detecting means detects changes made to data resident in a SIM card associated with the telephone device.

9. The telephone device as claimed in claim 6, which has functionalities selected from the group consisting of a calendar function, an address book, word processing, spreadsheet capability, and graphics capability.

10. The telephone device as claimed in claim 6, which is a personal digital assistant with telephone connectivity.

11. Application software for a telephone device as claimed in claim 6, for controlling connection to a back up f the transfer of data to and from a back up storage means, which includes a change determining means for determining changes that have been made to the data since a previous back up and for transmitting only the changes to a back up storage means.

12. A back up facility for backing up data from a mobile telephone device via a telephone network, which includes

a receiving means for receiving data from the telephone device via a telephone network;

and

a patch storing arrangement for storing changes that have been made to the data in the telephone device since a previous back up, as patches.

13. A method of backing data in a mobile telephone device, which includes receiving a back up initiating signal via a telephone network;

and transmitting data to be backed up, in response to the initiating signal, to a back up storage means, via a telephone network.

14. A telephone device which includes

an initiating signal detecting means for detecting a back up initiating signal received, in use, via a telephone network, and

a transmitting means for transmitting data in the telephone device to a back up storage means via a telephone network, in response to an initiating signal detected by the detecting means.

15. A method of maintaining data in a mobile telephone device, which includes synchronising data in the telephone device with back up data stored in a back up facility that has been modified from a further device.

16. A telephone device which includes

a synchronising means for synchronising data in the telephone device with back up data stored in a back up facility that has been modified from a further device.

17. A back up facility for backing up data from a mobile telephone device, which includes

a receiving means for receiving data from the telephone device via a telephone network;

and

a storage means for storing the received data characterised thereby that the storage means is accessible from a further device to modify the data stored in the storage device.